Monster Magnet

Chairman_Smith wrote:

I need to get into these guys, I really like the Kick Out The Jams cover they did on one of my compilation CDs.

I hate that only a censored version of that song is available! Haha.

The new album is starting to take off at Metal radio, M.M. are always a fun band to work!-TJ

Todd Jaymz wrote:

The new album is starting to take off at Metal radio, M.M. are always a fun band to work!-TJ

What song? This album is really different, aside from two or three songs.

Well, here's a really interesting read. This guy had me seriously fooled. And a lot of other people, too, it would seem. This is a bunch of replied Dave has made on his forum over the past few months. Someone condensed them all. It tells a pretty enlightening tale. Dave found Jesus, he has drank or done hardcore drugs in years, crazy stuff. It's long:

Quote :

Dave's story taken from the many pages of 'hey' and others.
Understand that there were many comments between his posts.
It is what it is...


Hey Y'all! sorry if I've been rude by not posting but It's been a long ,strange trip indeed! No time to yak now but I'll be on soon to tell you the whole sorted story. Love, Dave.

Hey Mack (and everybody else talkin' bout touring)

I think maybe I was getting too devoted to the touring buzz. Hell, I was poppin' benzos just so I could stay down till showtime and beyond. The "beyond" part is what was getting me in trouble. No drugs or drink mind you. No, that would have been too easy! I wanted FUN. Interesting conversation, sightseeing, that kind of thing. And WOMEN to do it with! Well, I don't have to tell you that when one starts packing two lives into one, something has to give. There just wasn't enough time in 24 hours to keep me satisfied. I tried, believe me!

Of course I could have done the responsible, professional thing like a good singer and cabbed it to the hotel after each show. Or gotten on the bus with a cup of lemon tea with an "I can't speak, saving my voice" sign around my neck. But talk about slow death!

End part 1.

Anyway, I was showing signs of wear and tear in the emotional dept. The touring life had become the real one and I was just going from performance to performance (on stage and in the hotel rooms) while losing the ability to enjoy life on any other level but "extreme". Everything had to be intense and temporary. The shows, the sex and even sleep had to be "on eleven" or they weren't worth doing at all. I had hard wired myself to the life.

The benzos were frying my neuro-receptors also so no wonder I wanted things amped up. It's like going emotionally deaf without catching on right away. Slowly turning up the volume all the time, not noticing that it's REALLY smurfing LOUD!

Needless to say, any real relationships I had were becoming strained at the least and the road was the only place I felt comfortable. End Part Two.

there's work. and then there's work. Hey hey, don't get me wrong. I've worked all kinds of jobs from janitor to reporter so I know the difference between working to live and living to work. Music is a passion but rock and roll is work. Unconventional ? Yup. Cool as Smurf? Hell yes. Better than a day job? Well,duh,yeah.....if you are single with no serious relationships. That's where the dues are paid in living the R+R lifestyle. Just for the record. YAH!

I found that "off road" time was becoming more of a rest between tours than a return "home". As a result I tended to write less and less which is like depriving myself of water. I need to write to keep my head alive and the seemingly endless touing was taking up all my energy.

Of course, the sleeping pills were quietly nipping away at my esmotional reflexes so I really wasn't proccessing in a timely fashion. I was behind my own curve but couldn't or wouldn't recognise it. Enter...... gnawing disatisfaction with no definable features! Always fun!

So to re-cap: Tour ,tour,tour! Sleep lousy! No write much! (veddy bad) Personal relationships growing dim! Tour,tour,tour! Sleep even worse! Me cranky! don't know why. Depression come soon, yah?

End part 3. pardon my spelling!

More:

Quote :

Thanks for your kind words. I hope you all will be glad to know that through a combination of rehabilitation and a long overdue reconciliation with our Lord Jesus Christ, I have found true clarity.

My one true wish is that you, the loyal forum members will give me the chance to share this enlightenment. I love you all and this is the most amazing gift I can offer you.

A gift, not for your years of support and goodwill,( although I am truly grateful and humbly undeserving ) but for the simple and glorious fact that you are my brothers and sisters. All children of our Lord Jesus Christ, our saviour.

My music is my gift and my music is God's music.

I hope you enjoy and I hope you listen to our saviour's message that lives and breaths in every note and lyric.

So come join me won't you? I promise you that God rocks harder than you could ever imagine.
Your brother, Dave.

hey, uh...what i said..there uh a couple of pages ago..uh, do you think it's..is it too late to take it back? it kinda didn't work out 'yknow the god rocks harder stuff and rehab 'n all....y'know, uh..if it's..if it's cool with you guys i'd just as soon 'yknow, like, pretend i didn't say that stuff.....yeah.not that there's anything WRONG with 'yknow, rehab 'n god and people getting better and stuff.......that's cool like, hey! if it works for you, dude, 'yknow?....anyway...... yeah....so ..what else is up?

no like, i found god 'n stuff and yeah it's cool but i put him inside me but then i looked and hey, guess what he was already there yknow? woah! freeky-deeky! dude, sunrise in half an hour! MONKEY TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just fuckin' with ya! I can't remember why....oh yeah, somebody mentioned the whole "got off drugs, now the music wiil suck" thing". Balderdash.

Thing is, I havn't done drugs or even drank in years and years. Hell, I stopped pot and drugs in the early 80s and drinking in 96! And I would hardly call my Benzo binge a creative period. Quite the contrary.

What I'm trying to say is that if there's any change in future music, good or bad, it sure as hell aint cause of drugs. There isn't one MM song that was written stoned. Not one MM album that was recorded stoned. I know it sounds boring but it's true. I tried! Didn't work! Boo drugs! Oh yeah, enough of the God stuff already, you're making me nervous!

(Question) 90's?

(Back to Dave) 80s

Hey cad! let me clarify. My WHOLE time with MM was drug free. There were the cople of times I smoked pot in the 90s but it just wasn't doin for me like it did when I was a teenager. Then there was a time in holland where I got dosed by a girl while i was stage diving. (long story!)

The whole bong culture/evil hippie vibe was a translation of my teenage years to the conceptual band image. The concept was lovingly cultivated by me along with Tim Cronin and Jon Mcbain. We all thought it was funny as hell (cool too). Kind of a reverse punk rock thang. (this was the 80s after all and hardcore/straight edge and metal were the only types of music in the Jersey underground at the time.)

I guess you have to understand the kind of sense of humor that would birth such a thing ,but I thought it was the height of hilarity to blatantly promote a satanic drug thing while doing nothing more than smoking butts and drinking coffee! I felt more tha qualified to write this stuff as I had participated in the stoner 70s and well, I LOVE psychedelia!I

But drugs? actually taking drugs? Nah, I had stopped a few years before and didn't miss them a bit. MORE LATER.......

Suzanne, you're my hero! Hey, hey Suzanne!

As far as being a role model, first of all, back in the days i've been speaking of I had NO idea that anyone would ever hear or see this band beyond some aging punkers in a local saloon. I mean, this was not the most commercial band concept ever created! (laughter)

By the time we finished our first tour of Europe it seemed to be written in stone. I was a stone cold user! AND a satanist! I neither confirmed or denied anything that was written about me. Best to let the press have their way.

When Superjudge came out I thought it was a good idea to explain that I wasn't a get-high guy , that MM was my way of creating an atmosphere of excess through imagination. And that I had indeed stopped getting stoned years before. Nobody believed it!

From then on when the subject of drugs came up in interviews I always stated that i didn't do 'em but i think most journos liked the "stoner" angle. It's way more interesting than writing about a "conceptual artist" And that was the point really. To let the music and concerts create a world that was so believable that no matter what the singer said to the contrary , everybody else knew better.

Minus the drugs, life soon began to imitate art as I grew ever more comfortable with the role of "rock guy". I mean, anyone who grew up male in small town America I think can relate to the allure of having a forum for creativity, a chance to see the world and a license for uninhibited behavior!! I didn't hate it!
MORE LATER

The rest:

Quote :

'89/'90--Yeah, there were no commercial expectations at all in the conceptual stage. but as soon as we got some record co. and press reaction (indies and fan mags) I started thinking ahead. "Rock the way you want to!" It CAN be done! I figured that we had nothing to lose by seeking opportunities far and wide while continuing to push the angle. This was my idea of the rock band I, as a fan always wanted to see. And if it didn't fly, then oh well. Pretty soon though, MM became a personal mission! This was the most fun I had since I was a little kid, except this was a much bigger playpen!

So after Superjudge my life had completely changed and I had to cull from the"now" for things to write about. The only thing I could write about as it turns out were very personal situations and observations. BORING!

So it was natural that I wrote my confessions/delusions/love letters/declarations of horniness and general rantings in the vernacular of the endless parade of sensationalist movies, comics and beloved junk that had been marching through my head since I saw my first giant monster movie on tv. Metaphors were king. This was MY secret language that allowed me to create songs from reality without putting everybody to sleep. Very therapudic(sp?) I must say.

Meanwhile, I was discovering that curiosity, passion and a healthy imagination was creating a trip that no drug could ever match.

MORE LATER

Oi! Don't get yer panties in a bunch! I guess what I thought was honesty is being perceived by some as backpeddling. I do have one question for dagger though. Dude, I did the MM thing with a nod and a wink. (i guess you missed the wink!)

Could you honestly not see the layers of references in the vibe and lyrics? And, do you really belive that anybody could do that many albums and tours and be such a druggie?

You've stated that you think conceptual art is bullshit but R+R is the ultimate conceptual art. Think about it.

Lastly, i haven't pushed the stoner image in YEARS! It's like, 10 years! Yeesh!

When we toured Superjudge I started to drink beer again after what I recall was about 8 years, more or less, of being happily straight. Couple 'o beers a night after the show. Felt good. I was discovering that I was wound up after the shows and the brewski did the trick. I also found that it kinda freaked the ladies out when I constantly turned down offers of foriegn substances of ANY kind. (don't wanna mess up THAT vibe!)

I was having a goddamn good time, let me tell YOU! The shows were intense. The high point of each day. I can't explain fully how smurfing carried away I get when I'm with an audience. It really feels like the greatest party I could ever attend. adrenalyn! I always read that it got you off but after trippin, speed, downers, coke and anything except narcotics I guess the concept of a "natrural high" seemed laughable to me. WRONG! Drug of choice mother goose! I found it. The ability to get high off your own excitement! Sounds stupid I know, but there it is.
MORE LATER Apologies for the spelling

After touring Superjudge we came back to Jersey and I got started writing Dopes. My drinking had escalated steadily while out on the road but when I got home I had no problem leaving the "insanity" behind. My daughter is the reason for that. She is simply the most interesting and fun person I know. I didn't want to miss a second of her company so it was natural. PLUS, it was time to WRITE! No time for drinkin' 'n fuckin'!

So Dopes was the first COMPLETELY honest collection of songs I wrote.Meaning every single song concerned my "now". I wasn't writing the "drug madman" character any more. My life had gotten so crazy that I didn't need the shtick as a jump off point any more. Didn't want it either. My "secret language" remained however. This too, was natural. My brain was filled up with observations of my own emerging penchant for creating REAL LIFE bachanals und general craziness. This was the smurf poo. Write it ,and it comes true! Life imitating art! COOL!

But y'know, this is dangerous ego smurf poo and being a good, guilty ex catholic and a pretty well read guy, I had an informed "angel/devil" thing going on. That's where the songs came from, that dichotomy.

MORE LATER sorry for spelling

Finished "Dopes" and hit the road. Europe. The shows were much bigger this time around and it kinda freaked me out at first. Big stages meant being further away from the crowd. Less intimacy=less adrenalin so I had to really go deeper into the old cranium and make a playpen. A state of mind that could be conjured at will in order to do a good show. My definition of a good show: being completely carried away with the music regardless of the details and circumstances surrounding the gig it's self. The power of rock! (it really works!)

Well, I made the playpen and it worked a little TOO well. I was havin' a good old time freakin' out on stage, staring into the light show and trippin' on the volume dude! "Uh, hey man, there's a crowd out there. You may wanna acknowledge them every once in a while" The shows became somewhat of an "out of body" experience for me just like I was told LSD would provide. Now, I've tripped my BALLS off many times in the past, but this was WAY more. Another thing entirely.

Of course, along with the bigger shows came more free booze in every dressing room. Bigger parties too. See where this is heading? Oh yeah, people started giving us free DRUGS as well. Fill the basket.

Soooo, my after- show beers had become after -show VODKA and beers. I've been leaving the details of my sexual promiscuity out of this timeline because that just opens up a whole 'nother can of worms, but let me say that by adding ALCOHOL to my adventures ,I created a new level of madness for me to navigate. It seemed that most of my waking moments were spent in various stages of "bliss".

Bliss for ME maybe ,but not for anybody who was working with me. The short periods of time my bandmates and crew saw me sober (or showtime, when I was in the "playpen") I was a hungover, and quite asshole-ish perfectionist.
Crazy as I was getting, the music was first and foremost the paramount of importance. That was MY drug, y'know? The music. The show. The little world that was being created as a result. I yelled. I screamed. I was like Buddy Rich on his best night. I wanted every show to be a smurfing religious experience! For everybody! Not just me, but for my band mates too, and I just couldn't understand why they didn't seem to share (and or) understand my idealistic (crazy?) enthusiasm. Anyway, I was acting like a dick, to be sure, and those guys didn't deserve it. Boy, if I could just do THAT part over.

MORE LATER

Finishing off my drug history a little early(goin' overseas) but after this there's not much more.

Went straight to Canada from Europe as I remember, without missing a beat. my after show drinking was now somewhat psychotic in nature as I would purposefully hook up with the craziest girls I could find. Lots of mirror smashing and riding on the top of cars, that kind of thing. Hotel bills were murder.

I need to backtrack here a little. During the last few weeks of the European tour I had developed a a re-accuring low level fever. It would be there when I woke up, stay all day and break during the show. (sweating it out I guess)

After a week or so of vanning it accross the great white north ( canada is awesome btw) we got a couple days off in a row. (a rarity) I was feeling pretty bad and I went straight to my hotel room and crashed.
Slept on and off for two days and woke up on show day feeling like my blood had turned to ice. Couldn't move really. Not good.

Well, I went to the emergency room and the doctor took one look at me and said "Pneumonia, you've got pneumonia. You should be in a hospital" It turns out that I had been touring around Europe and Canada with this, and because of the sweaty shows, the fever never really got a hook in me. When I ceased activity on the days off, it settled in and took over. Doc said it probably would have finished me off in a day or two if I hadn't come in.

Back to Jersey for a month and then hit it again. (The tour I mean) Never drank again after that. Took me a year get my health back. Sleeping pill problem came years and years later. (2005)

So, there it is. A highly compressed little timeline of my substance abuse during the MM days. It's interesting that it's the time AFTER I quit drinking,no drugs either, that the REAL insanity began. But that's another story.

To anybody who feels like I "cheated" by playing an angle, I'm sorry if broke the code of rock. I understand the importance of the "real deal" in rock and roll. I'm a fan, you see. A fan who turned it real for himself. I think it's kinda cool actually.

Now that I've got that out of my systym I feel better. Like I did some s'plaining to my friends. Which is what I consider you all to be.

Now, that Iv'e got my MIND back( it was gone for a while, scary smurf poo ) could we please get back to normal? Meaning I get to get goofy and nobody reads too much smurf poo into it? Also, if anybody got a problem wit me, bring it on, I aint afraid of some internet jousting! Love----Dave.

Hey E! I kinda threw the image out there through the words, music and artwork. The press did the rest! Pretty early on, it seemed that every time I fell down on stage or missed a gig it was due to DRUGS! I just didnät spend a lot of time denying what was printed. Even when I explained my self in interviews the press would always roll back to the drug stuff. People seemed to love it!

Hey, hey! There's a long story behind this album (ok, there always is) and I'm gonna post it. But for now i just wanna tell you that this record was originally "planned' by me to be a straight up garage/r+r affair. However, "ah, hem" ,that plan was dashed when Mr. medication got the better of me( as in, I didn't write anything!) so I pulled in some unused tunes I had salted away for some reason or another.

Good thing I had that stuff or it would've been an EP! Anyway, 90% of all the lyrics were written and all songs were sung this past May in LA.
All my guitars, keyboards, percussion and general weirdness were recorded in this same time period. Most of Ed's leads as well although I did use lots of Ed's original "scratch" stuff because he evidently was on fire while recording the basic tracks in Oct. 05.

ED, Bob, Jim and of course Matt Hyde totally stepped up to the plate and recorded those basic tracks by themselves while I withered away in my hotel room on a serious benzo withdrawl.( A nightmare I wouldn't wish on Adolf Hitler! Ok, maybe Hitler) "I'm so fuckin' sorry, you guys!"

Anyway, this a real fly by the seat of the pants record. There were no commercial intentions at all. Indeed, there were no intentions whatsoever except to make a MM album.

The "mood" of 4-Way Diablo is mostly reflected by the quite nasty memories of my bout with the pill shovel. But let it be said that getting back to "work" again inspired some down right happy lyrics too. (if happy means "killing nazi zombies in a german town") Well, you know what I mean.

Comin up, space rock.------Dave.

Wow, I felt like Ian Anderson writing liner notes. Unfortunately, I'm also beginning to look like Ian Anderson!

Ho! Hang on there D! There's a few things I've got to get straight

I didn't have a heart attack
I didn't try to off myself
I haven't "found religion"
I'm only blind in one eye
It's not a "hunch back". It's just a bump.

There! Who says all the best rumors come from the UK?

I just gave the new Monster Magnet (4 WAY DIABLO) its first spin. Sounds pretty good so far, though it's not an "immediate grabber" like MONOLITHIC BABY was, I was a few songs in before I finally thought to myself "Ahhh, there we go."

Where MONOLITHIC BABY sounded like MM's take on arena rock (HUUUUUGE sound!), 4 WAY is stripped down and sounds more "garage rock." A little spacier, not as fast and furious. So far my fave tracks are "Blow Your Mind" and the cover of the Stones' "2000 Light Years From Home."

This will definitely take a few more spins before it fully sinks in but so far I like what I hear.

I still gotta buy this. I downloaded it, listened a few times, and deleted it. I liked it, but it was definitely a more laid back affair.

Was listening to this one today:



Great video. Love how it starts out all dark and smoky like a Nirvana video and then suddenly explodes into this brightly colored, hot girls dancin', fire breathin' Vegas spectacular!