Grifters: C er D?

interesting. is this something you guys actually talked about?

we didn't sit around and say that we need to cultivate that kind of dynamic by any means but there would be moments onstage when we were playing and we were all blotto, and the audience was mostly blotto, and we'd look at each other and have that unspoken agreement that we had tapped into that same dynamic a little.

We didn't think were anything like the grateful dead BUT, like them, people who loved acid seemed to dig us. which is weird because we didn't do a lot of feelgood 'jamming' or anything.

seemed like we'd be the source of a bad trip.

have we talked about live recordings? i only got to see you guys twice, but i'd love to hear some live tapes, especially ones that go pretty out there.

Founder's Day is one of my fave Grifter's songs ever.I just love that dripping melancholy and the guitar lines
I've never heard Impala - wasn't that your friend's band (Stivers)

You may well have been a trippin tripp and all rock n roll but there's some glorious sadness in there
...the casual years, sain,founders day, junkie blood, contact me now...black bile by the bucket load

... and yes, plain old Big Star sadness - certainly evokes the same feeling - probably plain old nostalgia for something that never happened .Or maybe they're all ecstacy fuelled motherbangers...

You mention K C. Was it true that Spin thought Ain't My Lookout was a concept album about Kurt Cobain's suicide!Jeebus G! I remember those trendy fucks at the NME panned it - on the premise you weren't Britpop.The post 'grunge/lo fi'- come to think of it- USA- backlash.

I've done enough Tripp stalking now

Thanks for the great rekids.

Let us know how Dragoon are shaping. You may even get to the Adelphi? I'll ask Jacko to fumigate'upstairs', but I doubt he's talking to me yet.

.......

SAIN is scott's baby. don't want to take credit.

casual years was something i was very proud of though
and I'd say that there is defintiely some Big Star influence if not just outright Chris Bell influence on it.
thank you D tuning.

I don't remember SPIN saying that about AIM. I don't think it was a concept album but maybe nobody told me..

You might like Impala. If you like the Ventures you'll like Impala.
I believe I saw one of them boys in here last week. i love Impala. My favorite memphis band of the 90's.

,,,
here's a true story from the vault...

We were in Hollywood once (on tour, not making pornos) and before leaving town we stopped for lunch at Barney's Beanery. I swear their menu is like a whole section of the New York Times. Huge omelettes and whatever. If it's still there I recommend.
great bloody marys.

So it's us, Martin the soundman and our ole girlfriend Jean (who happened to be in LA taking care of her brother).

In walks Quentin Tarantino and Jean screams "OH MY GOD ITS QUENTIN TARANTINO!!" So we all immediately crouch behind our gigantic menus, embarassed.

But there he was with a lovely young lady. no idea who.
Me and Scott and martin go outside the restaurant for a smoke and martin suggests we give him a grifters cd. So I volunteered for the mission.

Unfortunately the van is backed up to a wall and the cd's are in the merch case at the bottom of everything. I checked in the front to see if there was anything laying out. There wasn't. BUT I did find an Impala cd. I don't remember which one. Rancho Reverbo? Kings of the Strip?

So i walked up and gave it to mr tarantino. I said nothing. he politely said 'oh, thanks man' and I assume he thought we were Impala.

Could it be a coincidence that a few years later, Quentin's buddy George Clooney wanted to use some Impala stuff in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind?

actually, yeah. it probably was a coincidence.

.......

SAIN is scott's baby. don't want to take credit.

...

ALSO y'know, the BOB version of Junkie Blood (which obviously wasn't called Junkie Blood) sounded nothing like the grifters version. BOB's version sounded like Sittin On The Dock of the Bay. Dave took it and slowed it waaay down to Codeine-speed (the band not the...)
He took one of our goof-offs and made it something really cool.

audience recording and Peel Session up now on D!mead0zen.

I'm ecstatic to hear this, annoyed that I can't seem to join the site, and saddened that nobody else flipped out over the news. Every week or so I have to play Soda Pop and She Blows Blasts of Static to remind myself that no, nobody does anything like this anymore.

dlp email me

Consider me also flipped out. A 1994 sbd show from Philadelphia had just been put up in the last week or two previous as well. (The Soda Pop/Blasts of Static single is always right by the turntable for me too.)

YAY!!! My favorite band!
Under The Ground - "Please Don't Tease Me, Tease Me Like That, Especially When I'm Holding This Baseball Bat"

I've been playing my Grifters mix non-stop lately. What is the link to D!mead0zen? I can't find it.

I wouldn't mind buying 'No Particular Slogan' singles collection if any of you know where to get that. Maybe I can mail: THE GRIFTERS c/o Raleigh Springs Mall, Memphis.

What is the link to D!mead0zen? I can't find it.

neither can I and i've tried many a permutation- any joy Capatin Lorax or is 'sleeve' around to assist?

no joy yet

it's www.D!mead0zen.org, but with the more normal characters in there.

Also, it took me a while to be able to log on, but persistance paid off and I did finally get this.

Listening to 'Crappin' You Negative' right now.

It must be the water in Memphis.

Where the hell is Tripp with more anecdotes?

Do I need sectioning?

I was listening to this just the other day. It's just a flat-out awesome American rock album. I love that murky groove on "Get Out of That Spaceship and Fight Like a Man."

one of my favorite song titles ever^^^

ber ber ber ber bump

Grumptious open tunings in da flower shop

whatup yall? I forgot my password and had to re-register..

I don't know if you knew but Scott and Dave have a band now called New Mary Jane.

Shame you not involved in that Tripp - that bass was always a huge part of the Grifters groove - but as you have hinted at before - too much water under. Not really in the know with the Grifters split but kind of surprised that Scott and Dave are performing together again? Any good?

Dragoon still bouncing?

Grifters are still my favorite band in the world ever. Sometimes I don't let people know about The Grifters because I don't feel they are worthy enough to know about music like this. Besides that, I don't think a lot of my friends would understand how cool Grifters are when they know jack shit about music in general (except that stuff on the radio).

Are Grifters an acquired taste? Perhaps. But if you listened to lots of outlandish music growing up than maybe the Grifters will sound perfect on so many levels that the idea of them being an acquired taste seems absurd.

Anyone have A Band Called Bud or Hot Monkey mp3s?

BTW, as the person who started this thread lo these many moons ago, I now renounce my earlier opinion of the later Grifters albums as less than prime. That is, the Shangri-La stuff is still the gold standard, but I have found the Sub Pop albums have plenty of tunes that grew on me in the fullness of time. So there.

Sometimes I don't let people know about The Grifters because I don't feel they are worthy enough to know about music like this. Besides that, I don't think a lot of my friends would understand how cool Grifters are when they know jack shit about music in general (except that stuff on the radio).

You don't sound like a very good friend.

Dragoon is still slugging through.

myspace.com/dragoonmemphis

trying to get the first record done. Everything's recorded just need to mix a few things. And get it mastered. And do all the art.. it'll never get done..

I've been adding photos to the Grifters myspace page

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=66945055&albumId=1861489

more to come probably

Dave and Scott's new thing; Dave is playing bass, Scott's on guitar, John Argroves is on drums. John plays in about a hundred bands in Memphis. he's great. I hear they use a lot of the same toys that BTL used. Sequencers and such. And I think the only Grifters' song they do is Banjo.
I haven't heard them yet.

I've been thinking about posting some Bud stuff on the myspace page but every time I go back and listen to it it freaks me out. it's too much f___ing perspective.

"Not really in the know with the Grifters split but kind of surprised that Scott and Dave are performing together again? Any good?"

I was surprised too. I think they were maybe hoping that the grifters would have returned by now and be out on the reunion circuit. Which is something I really don't want to do. For one thing I don't have time. So I guess they're going for the next best thing. From what I hear from friends NMJ supposedly sound a bit like BTL but y'know, with Scott on guitar.

I just think it's good that Scott's back into doing something again.

i got there too late for NMJ when they played, but I did see The Simple Ones follow and that was pretty ace!

wanna hear Dragoon performing Grifters songs with vocals by audience members? We call it Grifteroke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6odQieEKcY

this is from a recent show at Sluggo's in Pensacola Fla.

Trippster

get Dragoon to the Hull Adelphi or even the Lincoln Imp in Scunthorpe and I'll play Grifteroke.

Are you insured?

Long live Grifters.

Fuck you doubters.

Hull and Scunthorpe.

Nowhere can compete.

Fuck you doubters

shame no one caught the grifteroke at the Bucc a couple of weeks before. it was a thing of beauty, y'all. Also, Greg Ginn in attendance(!)

caught on video

Greg Ginn!!!!I have visions of him with a guitar permanently strapped on. Shooting atonal randomness 24/7

Was he wigging out? Did Dragoon play 'Rise Above'? A crime if they didn't. Or maybe a note 'perfect' 'The Process of Weeding Out'?

Where's the vid Will?

typographical error. i don't think it was caught on video, unless tripp knows something i don't.

but Dragoon's playing tonight, for anyone in the vicinity of Mem!

Fuck - wish I was in Memphis right now. Will never forget my trip there. Overton Square?

Shangri La records had a big hand painted sign outside- 'Big Ass Cds'

And then we finished up at the Antenna club to see some dodgy Ohio hardcore band. But, saw at least two homemade Grifters shirts in there.

Sun studios and Graceland were a limp second

Cheers.

Since I have all the Grifters albums (huge fan), I'm trying to get The Blood Thirsty Lovers - self titled and Hot Monkey - Lazy (something or nother). Amazon.com has good used prices

Don't forget Grifters singles...lotta good stuff that's not on album out there!

check Shangri-la for Blood Thirsty etc and Hot Monkey, Champ!, and other Griftage. Call the store (901) 274-1916

excellent

now we're 2 for 4, when will Dave or Stan post

superb!!

hey scott it's mcgonigal. how you doing? grifters still rule my world.

when stan introduced me to his wife as "the fifth grifter" -- why i have no idea i'm so musically inept and etc. -- it was seriously a total highlight of my life. hah.

So I've seen 2 different interviews now with Bruce Pavvit and Jonathon Poneman where they describe the grifters as being at the center of 'the dark years' at Subpop. That they signed us for too much money (even giving out numbers.. which I thought was an industry no-no) and that we were pretty good but not deserving of that kind of money..

well, first off, Bruce was barely even involved with the label the whole time we were there. All the employees at Subpop described Bruce as being this crazy guy who lives out in the mountains and every now and then he would send them some band and say 'sign these guys, they're great' (anyone remember Chixdiggit?) and then everyone at the label had to do so, apparently begrudgingly. They essentially described it as being saddled with him. 'but he's the co-founder of the label so what're you gonna do?'.

secondly, maybe Subpop could have made a return on their investment in us if they, oh I dunno, TRIED! They barely did any advertising. I told them they should take out an ad for us in some Fantagraphics comics (which they used to do all the time) but they didn't. I think they maybe bought some tiny ad space in an issue of Magnet.
They chose Last Man Alive as the 'single' from the record. And we had a big fight with them about it. Well, I had a big fight. Dave seemed pretty pleased with the decision. They tried to placate me by saying that it didn't really matter because nothing we chose would ever really get any airplay. If thats the case why NOT pick a song that is maybe at least SOMEWHAT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE BAND'S SOUND! And why then spend $50,000 on a video that will ALSO NEVER BE SEEN OR HEARD.?

Maybe it was because they were such amazingly inept business people? OR maybe they wanted us to tank. Why did they make SO MANY wrong decisions regarding Aint My Lookout? Why did they let Those Bastard Souls do a major tour with Sebadoh exactly when we should've been out touring supporting the record? Me and Scott and Stan were told that Sebadoh didn't want to get blown off the stage by us every night... I have to kinda think that blowing Sebadoh off the stage every night MIGHT'VE BEEN A GREAT WAY TO SUPPORT THE NEW RECORD!
But that was Dave dicking us over more than Subpop, they just let it happen.

And what happened right before Full Blown Possession came out? Almost the entire staff left Subpop and a lot of them ended up at Matador. There was a so-called mutiny supposedly spear-headed by Poneman. it seemed to us that they were trying to get out of their deal with Warners by losing a lot of money.

Like I said, maybe they could've made a return on their investment if they'd been better business people. Maybe they didn't want to make a return. From what I saw when we were with them they never worked anything. They had a hit with Sunny Day Real Estate but that was because SDRE did it themselves. They built their own fan-base and did all the hard work (as did we) and then all Subpop had to do was squirt out some records for them and they sold themselves. But we never saw them get off their asses and work anything. What I saw was the staff of Subpop flying all over the country and the world and staying at THEE most posh hotels in whatever city they were in. They friggin LOVED playing Record Company when it meant traveling with the gold card.

So lay off the effing Grifters Pavvitt. Not that you were there but we threw you a friggin touchdown pass with Ain't My Lookout and you fucking fumbled it ON PURPOSE.

And at the same time we had to contend with Dave's not so secretly-scheming to advance TBS. I've read articles where people are saying we'd run our course and that Ain't My Lookout was a bomb. Well let me tell ya it was really hard trying to eek out a little success when your label is sitting on their fat asses doing nothing and at the same time one of the band-members is plotting their exit and stealing tours from you.

And now years later we have to endure this bullshit rewriting of our own friggin history..?! IF YOU DIDN'T THINK WE WERE WORTH THE MONEY YOU SIGNED US FOR THEN WHY DID YOU DO IT? WHY'D YOU STEP INTO A BIDDING WAR IF YOU DIDN'T PLAN ON FOLLOWING THROUGH? DID YOU EVEN KNOW HOW TO?

I will say that Joyce Linehan was a great friend to us and I feel truly believed in us and fought for us.