Ugly Kid Joe?

Betcha I'm gonna get slammed for this one, but what the hell...



Any other fans of U.K.J. round here? I've been a fan since I saw them opening for Scatterbrain (!) in early '92, only a few months before "(I Hate) Everything About You" blew up. It was kind of odd to see them all over MTV and think "gee, I just saw those guys six weeks ago and nobody cared who they were then," haha. Yeah, they got tagged with the dreaded "one hit wonder" classification because of "Everything About You" but aside from that goofball track, they also had some surprisingly heavy stuff. The debut EP from '91 (AS UGLY AS THEY WANNA BE) is somewhat unnecessary since two of the five tracks on it re-appeared on the first full length, AMERICA'S LEAST WANTED. A.L.W. found the guys getting heavier than the EP, and even features some background screams by Rob Halford himself in the track "G**damn Devil." They also contributed a pretty damn fine version of "N.I.B." to the Sabbath tribute album NATIVITY IN BLACK.
The album pictured above, MENACE TO SOBRIETY (featuring former Wrathchild America/future Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin) is their second full length (third release overall) and my favorite, as it's their most "metal" album by far. Of course, since it was released in 1995, when metal was at its lowest point, it probably sold about 12 copies (one of which was to me!)
Third and final full length MOTEL CALIFORNIA was a stiff that crashed and burned (avoid!) but aside from that misstep these guys managed to crank out some decent fun, low-brow kind of stuff.
Gonna listen to MENACE TO SOBRIETY right now...that one's a lost gem if you ask me. Hardly anyone knows it even exists so it can usually be found pretty cheap. Check it out if you ever come across it!

Some video evidence:

"Neighbor"


"N.I.B."


"Panhandlin' Prince"


"Tomorrow's World"

Not a bad band, but they fall into a snare with their cutsie album titles that try to be clever. I would guess people (such as I) automatically don't take them seriously, except for Eyesore. On a positive note, Whitfield has a pretty good voice.

I've always liked them.Panhandlin Prince was one of my favorite songs off their first album.I dont think they wanted to be taken too seriously.Although it seems they got more serious on Menace to Sobriety.If you like a groove laden band with a little humor thrown in,UKJ is your band

aren't they the guys that did that Cats in the Cradle remake?

mc666 wrote:

aren't they the guys that did that Cats in the Cradle remake?

Yep

mc666 wrote:

aren't they the guys that did that Cats in the Cradle remake?

Yea, that was probably not their brightest idea, I'll admit...

I am not huge fan of Ugly Kid Joe but I only have America's Least Wanted and I always thought the singer was very talented, he even sang for life of Agony for a short while, I heard a rumor that he was up for the Antrax vocal spot vacated by Belladonna but they choose to go with that dude that sounds like he wishes he was in a Pantera tribute band, if the rumors are true they should reconsider and call U.K.J singer, who's name escapes me. If he can sing with LOA he could certainly pull off Anthrax.

I always found them harmless and fun.

For some reason I read Karen Duffy's biography Model Patient. Her stories about dating Whitfield Crane were awesome. Apparently he really loved drunken body puppetry. I believe he was also heir to some fortune.

I thought the tune "Every Thing About You" was pretty funny. I bought that EP and then the CD "America's Least Wanted" after that but then they seemed to drift into obscurity. The lead singer is fronting the spinoff "Godsmack" project Another Animal I believe. He sounds much different today than in the UKJ days.

I remember having the EP Ugly As They Want To Be on cassette and getting their greatest hits on cd, but never really dove any deeper into thier music. My old roommate was a fan and had their other releases. He'd play them a lot and I don't recall hearing anthing that blew me away.

There was another band that Whit was the lead singer for after UKJ and I briefly had the cd, but I can't remember the name.

EDIT: The group/album Medication, also featuring Logan Madder from Machine Head. Thanks, Wikipedia.

spectrefate wrote:

Not a bad band, but they fall into a snare with their cutsie album titles that try to be clever. I would guess people (such as I) automatically don't take them seriously, except for Eyesore. On a positive note, Whitfield has a pretty good voice.

Pffft! I take them seriously because they had one goofy song. Sure, it became a hit, but beyond that these guys were a fantastic band with some killer tunes.

They're entertaining in a novelty kinda way.

In my youthful ignorance I dismissed them as a goofy, one hit wonder, so I never gave them a shot (although WC has a great voice); maybe now is the time to pick something up? Peace.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I remember having the EP Ugly As They Want To Be on cassette and getting their greatest hits on cd, but never really dove any deeper into thier music. My old roommate was a fan and had their other releases. He'd play them a lot and I don't recall hearing anthing that blew me away.

There was another band that Whit was the lead singer for after UKJ and I briefly had the cd, but I can't remember the name.

EDIT: The group/album Medication, also featuring Logan Madder from Machine Head. Thanks, Wikipedia.

I like the Medication albums. Whit is also in a band called Another Animal. Very modern alt-rock, though, as it's basically Godsmack sans Sully Erna.



As for Ugly Kid Joe, they have one novelty song. That song is clearly not like these:


(Halford's on this one)

Quote :

I like the Medication albums. Whit is also in a band called Another Animal. Very modern alt-rock, though, as it's basically Godsmack sans Sully Erna.

I don't remember anything from the Medication album, other than I thought it was kinda boring, I guess. I had a free copy of Another Animal that I gave to a buddy of mine. I heard the 1st single, didn't care for it, and gave away the full cd without ever listeing to it. Since then, I've seen it pop up quite a bit in the used bins, so I don't think I'm missing out on much.

I can't believe how many responses this thread has received, for Ugly Kid Joe no less !

I like the Another Animal song "I'm Broken"

Saw Kid Joe alot, used to hang in Santa Barbara ( back when)on the week-ends. Nice place to ride the motorcycle too from the Inland Empire. I think they are/were great musicians and appreciated the fun factor they exhibited.

Never heard the 2nd and 3rd release, but the EP and first LP were great!

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Quote :

I like the Medication albums. Whit is also in a band called Another Animal. Very modern alt-rock, though, as it's basically Godsmack sans Sully Erna.

I don't remember anything from the Medication album, other than I thought it was kinda boring, I guess. I had a free copy of Another Animal that I gave to a buddy of mine. I heard the 1st single, didn't care for it, and gave away the full cd without ever listeing to it. Since then, I've seen it pop up quite a bit in the used bins, so I don't think I'm missing out on much.

It's a good album, if you can dig on that Godsmack style. Sadly, if Erna were singing and it was called Godsmack, it would have sold millions.

Eyesore wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Quote :

I like the Medication albums. Whit is also in a band called Another Animal. Very modern alt-rock, though, as it's basically Godsmack sans Sully Erna.

I don't remember anything from the Medication album, other than I thought it was kinda boring, I guess. I had a free copy of Another Animal that I gave to a buddy of mine. I heard the 1st single, didn't care for it, and gave away the full cd without ever listeing to it. Since then, I've seen it pop up quite a bit in the used bins, so I don't think I'm missing out on much.

It's a good album, if you can dig on that Godsmack style. Sadly, if Erna were singing and it was called Godsmack, it would have sold millions.

And therein lies the problem. I liked Godsmack's 1st album. And their 2nd one too. By the 3rd album, it was starting to get all same-y sounding. I got bored with them after that and have no interest in going back. Trying to sell me on something that sounds "sorta-like Godsmack, but with a different singer" isn't gonna change my opinion. That boat has sailed on.

But enough about that. We're talking Ugly Kid Joe here, right? "Godd*mn Devil" was a bitchin' tune, huh? They even got the Metal God hisself to do some vocals.

I've heard all their albums and I still don't like them.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

But enough about that. We're talking Ugly Kid Joe here, right? "Godd*mn Devil" was a bitchin' tune, huh? They even got the Metal God hisself to do some vocals.

Even cooler, they had "It's Pat" from "Saturday Night Live" do a voiceover on "Everything About You" and he/she/it appeared in the video for "Neighbor" too.

But seriously... wow, I'm surprised at all the UKJ love being thrown around up in this piece. I half expected to be laughed off the forum when I started this thread earlier today!!

Quote :

I half expected to be laughed off the forum when I started this thread earlier today!!

Quite frankly, we're tired of trying. You've hung around for this long, you might as well stay .

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Quote :

I half expected to be laughed off the forum when I started this thread earlier today!!

Quite frankly, we're tired of trying. You've hung around for this long, you might as well stay .

Gee, thanx!

Menace To Sobriety is an album I recommend all the time. It's killer!