Thursday, July 31, 2008

Inside This Week's Music Section (and on the Cover)

Posted by Steve Haruch on Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 8:41 AM

click to enlarge 2403052.66.jpg
Oh, What a Mangled Web We Leave: After flirting with fame and fortune, Nashville's most decadent local rockers The Pink Spiders lost a major-label deal and two of the three founding members—so now what? (Classiest Bob Ferrari quote: "We had, like, eight dudes in the same house and we were all just doing drugs and fuckin' the same bitches on the same days, sometimes at the same time.") Guitar Heroes: Def Leppard aren't ready to trade metal for Music Row just yet. (Playing Thursday, 31st at Sommet Center.) Tracing Influences: Grizzly Bear and David Vandervelde harken back while moving forward. (Playing Thursday, 31st at Mercy Lounge.) From Indie to Outie: What made What Made Milwaukee Famous famous. (Playing Wednesday, 6th at 12th and Porter.) Hot Chips: William Sides Atari Party and Giveupnewyork hack old video games. (Playing Thursday, 31st at The End w/Jensen Sportag.) Critics' Picks: Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, Seawitch, King Crimson, The Howlies, Gladys Knight and more. The Spin: Richard Lloyd, James Jackson Toth, Big Nurse, The Clutters, Shoot the Mountain and more.

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That cover story was totally badass, Cody. Good work.

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Posted by Bawston Sean on July 31, 2008 at 9:08 AM

Whoever came up with the bit about "what made what made..." that was hilarious.

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Posted by burrito on July 31, 2008 at 9:14 AM

If anyone out there has any empathy for the three of these assfaces after reading this article, I don't know what to say.
And for the record, Pixies were on Elektra/4AD. That may be a trivial point, but if you signed to Geffen based on the fact that Pixies were on Geffen, well, that just explains a whole lot.

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Posted by The Obvious on July 31, 2008 at 9:25 AM

yeah, i can't really understand why the drummer is complaining about some kind of band integrity when the singer wasn't cutting the others in on songwriting. i mean, he was also fine with selling out to shill products he didn't even like. where do you draw a line?
the fact is, U2 wouldn't be the same without their drummer or the Edge. the Pixies wouldn't be the same without Kim Deal, etc. etc., but the Pink Spiders? i don't know, it just seems like a very assembled band in the first place. but hey, i wasn't there. if one of the dudes from Fall Out Boy or any of the other Warped Tour mainstays had a bassist or drummer who didn't write the lyrics and music leave, do you think they would stop? i'm gonna guess not.
a lot of bands in the punk pop genre don't have an active interest (or in some cases a decision) in controlling how their image and music is portrayed and sold, and this inevitably will happen. obviously these guys worked fucking hard at what they did, but i think that more attention to what they were getting themselves into would have alleviated a lot of the problems that popped up. then again, i guess that's the risk you take when you sign a deal like this.

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Posted by HighonLife on July 31, 2008 at 10:19 AM

bob ferari cracks me up! I wish he would just kick Matt Friction pansy ass! The picture of the new line up is fucking hilarious, what a bunch of pussies!

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Posted by bob on July 31, 2008 at 12:37 PM

Bob Ferrari should change his name to Bob Turd.

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Posted by Anna on July 31, 2008 at 12:50 PM

I went from hating these losers going into this article, to pitying them a bit, to hating them again. Ferrari and Decious seem like decent guys, even if they allowed themselves to be rooked. Friction is still, out and out, an asswipe.

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Posted by AGFB on July 31, 2008 at 1:25 PM

Great article! I never really gave this band much attention, hadn't ever heard them until their forgettable NBN set last year, and after reading this I got curious and watched a couple videos on Youtube. Indeed one of the most vacuous, insipid bands in recent memory.

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Posted by Gold on July 31, 2008 at 1:54 PM

Really interesting read. I don't think Bob and Jon are ENTITLED to songwriting/publishing dollars, but it definitely made a lot of sense that they would expect to get paid out of the band fund before "re-investing" the money in auxillery musicians. If you aren't getting tour support, or not enough to get by, make it work live as a 3-piece or learn how to use pre-recorded backing tracks.
And a question...how did TPS or Matt get the rights to the new record?

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Posted by Keith on July 31, 2008 at 3:07 PM

there's a good chance that the label just wanted to cut their losses and let it go. also, a good lawyer can get you all kinds of things that you wouldn't think you were entitled to.

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Posted by good chance on July 31, 2008 at 6:01 PM

if you ever encounter one of the chicks that slept with Bob Ferrari, put them down like a wild animal. don't even think about it. just take them out. one shot. make it quick and simple. then sleep well knowing that you did a good thing.
the world doesn't need that type of infestation walking around. think 28 Days Later minus the scarecrow.

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Posted by for the love of god on July 31, 2008 at 6:46 PM

Shoot Bob instead. Dickface.

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Posted by chicks on July 31, 2008 at 9:11 PM

fuck the pink spiders. cry me a river. boo fucking-hoo.

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Posted by shine box on August 1, 2008 at 12:05 AM

Fuck matt!! BOB RULES! he's my hero and he lives lke a playa HE DESERVES BETTER THAN THAT SHIT, keep on fightng the good fight bob!

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Posted by boozie on August 1, 2008 at 7:10 AM

sure, he was just the auxillary guitar player, but couldn't you have spelled dave paulson's name correctly in the article?

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Posted by krh on August 1, 2008 at 8:20 AM

if that's your hero, you need to quit drinking, playa.

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Posted by Anonymous on August 1, 2008 at 8:21 AM

Dave fucking Paulson? Yeah krh, stop with the meth too, that shits burning your brain up! That photo of the new pink spiders is so funny, I guess you can just put on a pink shirt, and learn to play an instrument in a day to qualify as a pink spider? Yes you could be a pink spider too, ha ha!!! I hope someone gets on stage and beats the shit out of Matt Friction if the new pink spiders have the balls to play in Nashville again.

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Posted by bob on August 1, 2008 at 8:47 AM

It's funny how the band seems to be defending their integrity as artists. The part of the article where one of them says the record company wanted some type of "backstreet boys" and the spiders just weren't that. Yet they had no problem with wearing pink uniforms and putting their name on any type of product? Their music was completely secondary to their images. Maybe I'm completely confused, but did they not want to be just like the "backstreet boys"?

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Posted by Matt Friction's mom on August 1, 2008 at 9:26 AM

i think the BSB comment was directed more toward their image and music than integrity. all these dudes ever wanted to do was make money and play rock n roll. i don't see what the big deal is. they weren't trying to change the world with their music. they wanted to be rock n roll stars and were doing whatever they felt was necessary to achieve that. i'm not saying it's exactly noble to aspire to cheese it up alongside corporate logos, but i don't think TPS ever had any delusions about what they were doing. it was all a means to an end. first you get the money, then you get the freedom. i mean, tori amos did cornflake commercials in her salad days.
just seems like these dudes were hustlin' any way they could to get rich making music and the corporate money-go-round is pretty much the only route to go about it. if these guys were a rap group, this issue would never even have come into question. but it's the exact same mentality.
i usually stay quiet during the TPS bashing sessions as my opinion is usually far outnumbered. however, all three of these dudes have always been nothing short of cool to me. they let my shitty one-man-band open for them many many times even after they got signed. i even had the honor of being in the band for a few days on the road. when i worked on one of their music videos, they paid me for two days work instead of one. but anyway. so maybe i'm biased due to a lack of negative experience with anyone in the band. i don't even think their music is that great, but they've got a hell of a lot more fans than i do.

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Posted by casio. on August 1, 2008 at 10:26 AM

I think the difference in the "pink spiders" and the "back street boys" is that the "back street boys" are somewhat inclined musically, not just a straight rip-off of a bunch of other bands. It's sad to say but it's true, they even admit that. It's also completely unbelievable they didn't have any control over how the record company portrayed them. Also casio, if the spiders were ultimately seeking "freedom" as you say would they have been naive enough to believe they would've been ever taken seriously after the way they were "cheesing it up"?

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Posted by blue spider on August 1, 2008 at 11:56 AM

Well, Casio, the boys did get their money, and now they definitely have their "freedom"

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Posted by Geffen on August 1, 2008 at 12:40 PM

Also you have the 'too little too late' factor. I could see the PS making some kind of impact back when, say, Green Day was still a market force, or even during the third wave of even shittier pop-punk (Blink-182), but the idea that such an act would succeed during this time is ridiculous. The music was obviously marketed to pre-teens, who are even more fickle than adult music buyers, and by the time PS hit the shelves, they were antiquated even to the 12 year olds they hoped to inspire. The best part was watching people fawn over this stuff as if it was gonna "put Nashville on the map."
Add to this the tiny fact that none of those guys could play their way out of a paper bag and you see why nobody is suprised at this joke of a 'musical' offering.

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Posted by Dead Milkman on August 1, 2008 at 12:54 PM

"The picture of the new line up is fucking hilarious, what a bunch of pussies!"
1. exactly how is that hilarious when the other two were pussies too?
2. their fucking band name is basically "the pussies."
3. didn't the guy write songs for Avril Lavigne?! i think you know where i'm going with this one...

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Posted by Davey G. on August 1, 2008 at 1:01 PM

I think it's hilarious just because it seems like they are doing a half-assed version of the look now and none of the new guys really fit the bid. Who is that dipshit keyboard player from the Comfies fooling wearing white-pink shoes. It just totally looks like they're unsure of themselves. I would be to if I had to wear some gay shit like that, ha ha!!!!

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Posted by Davey G. jr. on August 1, 2008 at 1:27 PM

that's my boy.

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Posted by Davey G. on August 1, 2008 at 1:34 PM

Thanks for the support dad.

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Posted by Davey G. jr. on August 1, 2008 at 2:09 PM

how could anyone not like coke over pepsi?
wait, allow me to rephrase that..

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Posted by wh on August 1, 2008 at 4:02 PM

re:Dead Milkman
Pop punk is still huge. Green Day play stadiums.
also, see my chemical romance, fall out boy, our own paramore...

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Posted by re on August 1, 2008 at 6:58 PM

Great article.. a good read. all you bob haters just wish you could be him. i don't really care for the pink spiders, but i do care for people like bob ferrari who make life a little more fun.

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Posted by Toney $tarks (bak frum dead..or dad) on August 4, 2008 at 11:47 AM

Anyone remember when Bob Pontiac was really fat? He would sweat like hell playing those sets. Good times.

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Posted by p 90x on August 4, 2008 at 8:51 PM
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