Alice in Chains unplugged

[The Assassin]

This CD will NEVER,I repeat, NEVER got old. Great album by IMO an underrated band. War "I Stay Away".

[Funkywhiteboy]

Too bad Layne Staley "Unplugged" himself from life! :twisted:

[The Assassin]

Too bad Layne Staley "Unplugged" himself from life! :twisted:

Hes now lying under 6 feet of "Dirt"

[Funkywhiteboy]

Too bad Layne Staley "Unplugged" himself from life! :twisted:

Hes now lying under 6 feet of "Dirt"

If the embalmer was smart, he gave Layne a "Facelift" before the burial. :twisted: :twisted:

[MiketheangrydrunkenCUfan]

"We Die Young"

[BSmack]

Has this thread been cleared with Dinsdale?

[PrimeX]

Dinsdale's been an AIC fan since before they were even born. You best rec'nize!

[Moby Dick]

Dinsdale's been an AIC fan since before they were even born. You best rec'nize!

oh no you di'int!

[Moby Dick]

This CD will NEVER,I repeat, NEVER got old. Great album by IMO an underrated band. War "I Stay Away".

RACK.

some of AiC's best tunes were their instrumentals... Nutshell rules.

dont think it was done unplugged tho :?

[patsy stone]

"Rain When I Die" = Best song ever.

And didn't it actually rain the day he died?

[BSmack]

"Rain When I Die" = Best song ever.

And didn't it actually rain the day he died?

I'm sure it did somewhere.

[Dinsdale]

Dinsdale's been an AIC fan since before they were even born. You best rec'nize!

U&L dude has been a :BIGFAN: since about 1989. Since the days the early "grunge" bands gravytrained their Portland forefathers to create the "Seattle Sound," which they all cut their teeth on when they'd come to the then-uberhip Satyricon to open for the likes of Napalm Death and Dharma Bums( the ORIGINAL "grunge" bands). If I'm not mistaken, Soundgarden's first ever show was opening for Dharma Bums at the good ol Satyricon(Old Town Portland) in 1987 (open again under new management). Also where Nirvana got started, and most of those other "Seattle Sound" bands. Music writers sure rewrote history on that stuff. The Satyricon was such a huge launching pad for all of those bands, even though the bands they used to travel 170 miles to open for never really became household names. All to get into the 200 capacity (when they'd overload the rated capacity by 50) Satyricon. Tiny place (the room the stage is in is probably about the same size as most of your living rooms) that was probably the most important venue in shaping the grunge movement. Heck, the Dead Kennedys and Black Flag used to play that joint regularly in the mid-late 80's. Mudhoney was quite the weekend regular, which getting a headlining gig on the weekends was a huge deal back then, and Mudhoney would often bring Nirvana with them. Late 80's/early 90's were an amazing time in the Great Northwest, just like the mid-2000's are shaping up to be. And the Satyricon was in the middle of all of it. Regular weekend headliners Pond and Hazel became SubPop's darlings on the heels of all of that. Crazy crowds, where punks, buttrockers, and preppies all intermingled freely, assuming they didn't get killed trying to get parked and safely inside the club (rough part of town that's gotten much better...you don't even have to purchase a bag of heroin to be granted safe passage over the sidewalk to get to the door anymore). They'd schedule a punk band, a metal band, and a pop band all in the same night. Place still sports some of the graffiti/murals the bands used to paint on/around the stage during the soundchecks. Legendary club, and it's making a comeback. Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain met at the Satyricon-btw.

That said, I never got to see AIC play the Satyricon. Saw them play with...somebody or another somewhere along the way (stupid brain...be more better memory).

Agree that they're a vastly underrated band in the overall picture.


Into the flood again, same old trip it was back then

[Moorese]

If I'm not mistaken, Soundgarden's first ever show was opening for Dharma Bums at the good ol Satyricon(Old Town Portland) in 1987 (open again under new management).

Nyah. First Soundgarden show was my junior year of high school (1984) fronting Wojnarowicz's Three Teens Kill Four. In 1985, they opened for Husker Du and the Melvins at the Rockandy (I think that was the venue). By 1986, they had already recorded "Heretic" and "All Your Lies" on the CZ compilation with the Melvins, the U-Men, Skin Yard, Malfunkshun, and Green River and played probably 20+ shows everywhere from Capitol Hill to Belltown (which was a slum at the time).

Nirvana's first gig was March 19, 1988 at CWT in Tacoma although Kurt and Chris (plus a random assortment) had been playing gigs under various names around Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Olympia, and Tacoma since September of 1986. (One of Kurt's earlier bands, Fecal Matter, opened for the Melvins in 85 during the Christmas break of my first semester in college.) Nirvana's first Seattle gig was April 24, 1988 at the Vogue. They first played Portland (at the Satyricon) in June, opening for Mudhoney. By that time, they'd already played a few local shows at the Vogue and the Central Tavern as well as some gigs in Olympia.

But Nirvana was a late entry to the scene (as was AIC).

The Dharma Bums were formed in 87. "Haywire" (1st album in 89) was produced by Scott McCaughey - the singer of the Young Fresh Fellows formed in 82 in Seattle. Ever listen to "The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest?" That was released in 84. Napalm Death is from England and debuted in 86.

The Satyricon was a legendary joint, sure, but it was the epicenter of shit for Portland - not here. It was a place for Seattle bands to pull a roadie and gig so you bumpkins had something to do.

And as you well know, shit was close to closing up shop in 1989. By that time, the British rag, Melody Maker, published "Seattle, Rock City." Overblown? Sure was by 1990.

[Dinsdale]

First Soundgarden show was my junior year of high school (1984)

My bad. I thought that at that time, Cornell and whatshisface were in a different outfit, that was the 'Garden's precursor.

And hooooly shit...did I type Napalm Death? Ooooops. You knew who I was talking about, Mo -- Napalm BEACH. Typo extraorinaire. I'm guessing with your resume, you've caught them once or twice. If my memory is working right(Bwaha...yeah, right...sup THC), they headlined Bumbershoot back when. I wish I would have saved some of the old Napalm Beach/Dharma Bums playbills that adorned every light pole in Downtown back in those glory days, even after the city passed the stupid anti-playbill laws. It's such a part of the local culture, even big name acts that sellout in minute still have playbills advertising the shows on the lightposts. Not sure if it's that common in too many other cities, but there's something kind of cool about a light post with 3" of playbills stacked up on it.

I'm familiar with Nirvana's history, and I've spent way more time in Aberdeen that I would have cared to. That must have been lame for Nirvana, since I can't think of one bar in Aberdeen that's set up for live music, although one bar there on hiway 12(?) tells the story that one of their regulars won some contest that let him have Metallica play at the venue of his choosing for him and his friends. He picked this lame sports bar in Aberdeen. Moved all of the pool tables out back to make room. They even have some pics on the wall of it. I'd stop by and get more information, but A) I don't plan on ever stopping a vehicle in Aberdeen or Hoquiam again as long as I live, and B) even if I broke the policy outlived in "A," I'm pretty sure I'm still not allowed back in that place. Sometimes the small town work roadies get a little out of hand. But on the bright side, we somehow managed to escape the impending beating that was surely coming from that place. God, but Aberdeen sucks...unless you like idiots, recession, and heavy fog 24/7.

Interesting that Nirvana opened for Mudhoney in April 88(Seattle) and June (Portland). Can't remember where, but not too long ago, I saw pics of Nirvana opening for Mudhoney at the Satyricon from 91. I guess they must have enjoyed themselved at that madhouse, back in the good old days when the Satyricon had a stage door, and the acts didn't have to deal with Old Town and the gauntlet that was NW 6th back in those days. Getting from the car/bus stop to the Satyricon or the Starry Night (now the Roseland, and mo, I wouldn't even believe you if you told me you've never been to that dive...at least it's only about 125 degrees inside in winter, usually about 175 degrees in summer) back then could be pretty sketchy. Back then, that area was the center of Portland's booming heroin trade -- now, it's rapidly being taken over by $2,000,000 condos.

But say what you will, I guess the crux of the biscuit was what an interesting place the Satyricon was. Even after Mudhoney and Nirvana (not to mention DK et al) were big names, they still played the Satyricon, with it's whopping 150-person capacity. There's a 1500 capacity club directly across the street, but all of those bands chose to play the hole-in-the-wall across the street.

And really -- what's a little historical accuracy when taking such a freaking wonderful walk down U&L music memory lane? Cause you can't EVEN tell me this discussion isn't making you take a fond look back at those wonderful times?

Speaking of U&Lness, Dr Theopolis has a new live(at the Crystal aka"The Trampoline," which apparently Death Cab (sup new Portland residents, or some of them anyway) have taken to having a "who can get the biggest air off the trampoline" contest before their shows) album available for download on their website, for $6.99. My buddy is allegedly coming over sometime this week with a burned disk for me, which I can FTP you, if you're so inclined. Great band who are absolutely magical live. I will even take a modicum of credit for the ultra-cool appearance of the song Three Pieces Of Toast, which was enjoying a couple of years of retirement before Your's Truly finally got his request when they coincidentally played the same joint where my bestest bud's wedding reception was being held, which they begrudgingly honored(since we were buying the drinks). Now, it's on a live album-wtf? I rule, I guess. I'm a PLAYAH in this town, baby...despite my geriatric status.

And speaking of the Crystal, jeebus -- that place is getting to where if your name isn't Modest Mouse, Death Cab, Steven Malkmus or someone along those lines, you don't get to play there anymore. When they renovated that place, seems like you could walk up to the door, pay $5 and see some band you've never heard of. The times they are a'changin, I guess. We used to like to keep our good bands to ourselves, but this whole "let's move to Portland, hang out at the Crystal, and then we'll be cool" thing is getting out of control. Seems like on the ever declining times I make it out, it's getting to be at ever-smaller venues. We'll see how that works out, since my friends Mom(who I'm close to) has decided that we're taking her to see Pink Martini in the near future...don't know about in Seattle, but that's about the toughest ticket to get around these parts. When they announce a show, you literally have about 5 minutes to get to a boxoffice and get tix...for a band that's made what...2 albums in 12 years, or something like that. I've seen them before, and they're a definite hoot for the older set...if you're into that sort of thing.


Ahhhh, the good old days of doing a bunch of drugs and fucking the shit out of every grunge skank I saw. Good times.

[Bizzarofelice]

you guys are like old and shit. I had to sneak in with a fake ID to see Soundgarden on the Louder Than Love tour.

[Dinsdale]

Being in the U&L, 1988 wasn't too bad a year to turn 21.

Almost as much live music then as there is now. But I'm old now. I pick my spots a little more descriminantly.

And Mo...how about Nero's Rome? Remember them? I think they Bumbershooted it up, and even hung around long enough to play the early Lolapaloozas. I think Courtney Taylor even played drums for them for a while. One of my good party buds back then was one of the Nero's Rome dudes (don't even remember the guy's name) roommates. We were given tix to all of their shows like they were going out of style. Saw them way too many times. Didn't really dig them that much, but their crowds were so overwhelmingly hot chicks, I'd groove it up a little.

[MuchoBulls]

"Rain When I Die" = Best song ever.

And didn't it actually rain the day he died?

Good tune no doubt. Rooster is definitely up there as my favorite AIC song.

RACK your sig Patsy.

[Moorese]

And really -- what's a little historical accuracy when taking such a freaking wonderful walk down U&L music memory lane? Cause you can't EVEN tell me this discussion isn't making you take a fond look back at those wonderful times?

Same paradise, different era, brother. It's just a damn shame when joints like the Satyricon get turned into condos.

And yeah, Aberdeen just fucking blows. Hoquiam's not much better even though it's the "rich" neighbor. The really amusing thing about the "Grunge Scene" is that most of the bands formed in garages in places like Monsanto ("The Melvins"), the aforementioned Aberdeen and Hoquiam, Bellevue (Mark Arm of Mudhoney started "Limp Richards" there in 1981) and Bainbridge Island (Andrew Wood formed "Malfunkshun" there ("Mother Love Bone" precursor) in 1980). Not surprisingly, they were no places to play in podunk so every band was forced into Seattle (which even then was like fucking Manhattan compared to the above backwaters). Next thing you know, Band X from Small Town Y has moved to Seattle to add their tunes to the collective revolution, and once they started actually scoring gigs and recording, they would never again associate themselves with Small Town Y. Some Brit takes a spin through Seattle in 1989 and discovers that there's fucking killer bands playing every night at several clubs all around town. He writes an article and a local groove becomes a international phenomenon with the unfortunate assistance of the radio accessibility of "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Good times? Fuck yes. Great times. But the shit that gets lost by most is just how neighborly it all was in the beginning and just how long it had been that way. It wasn't just that you could drop into any number of Capitol Hill dives and run into dudes that had or were soon to have recording contracts and some amount of pub - dudes who all knew each other - rather, it was that most of these people all grew up together, that people like Cobain and Matt Lukin played Little League together.

Small, isolated U&L goes global...and the fuckers have never left.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

AIC wasn't underrated. They are/were widely recognized by the mainstream as well as cult circles. Everyone knows of them, and most respect them (even if they do not care for their music).

[Dinsdale]

It's just a damn shame when joints like the Satyricon get turned into condos.

Satyricon reopened...still there. It's just in somewhat of a yuppie Mecca these days, rather than the Heroin Gauntlet of Death, where you had better have known some Mexican gang signs, or you were DONE. Matter of fact, ran into another high school bud who played there the first night they reopened (although not the official grand opening). Don't know how well you knew any of the metal bands of that era, but he was a fitting guy to have play the reopening, since his old band, Fall From Grace played there about a buhzilllion times (they opened for White Zombie on their first tour, at the Starry Night...I think they opened the Seattle WZ show, as well...and I think my bud nailed the bass player chick backstage). Actually, Fall From Grace's big album, Dogod is still in production, I believe.

And funny you mention that "everyone knows everyone." Another friend lived in Seattle late 80's/early 90's, and knew all of those guys. Once again on the metal thing, don't suppose you remember Cement? Was on the NW charts for quite a while. Anyhoo, he has interesting insight, being privy to the inside of that scene. Said that as the whole Seattle scene progressed and was taken over by big-time execs, that things kind of polarized, since all of a sudden everyone was cowtowing to the record industry. But he saiod it came down to a variant of the Have/Have-nots, but different -- it came down to the heroin users/non-heroin users. And the catch was, that all of the A&R guys for the record companies were heroin users, and my bud and his band weren't. The heroin using bands(sup AIC, Garden, Nirvavna, Mudhoney, Pearl Jam, Candlebox, and everyone else you ever heard of...those guys all owe just about everything to Mother Love Bone) became much more endeared to the using execs than the non-users...different crowds that once weren't. Even though Cement sold something like 30,000 copies of their independently produced CD without any promotion(I was hanging with Joe the days his big royalty check came a couplefew years later (a whopping 6 grand, I think)...fun day). Anyhoo, he said the drugs and big producers killed the "homieness" of that scene. And in the end, AIC and MLB became huge, but Joe is still alive and well without trackmarks, and Layne and Wood are dead....so I guess my friend Joe garnered a huge chunk of BODE over the long-term.

It was really interesting to hear an insiders tale during those days. What he says was in stark contrast to the hunky-dory picture that was painted, where everyone knew everyone, and everything was about love and music. Turns out that after the early days, the common bond all of those guys shared was that they bought their drugs in the same places. He was never bitter about it, but tells the story quite matter-of-factly. It's not like dude was a stranger to heavy drug use, but never got so out-of-touch that he didn't realize where the one-way ticket of heroin would have taken him.

BTW -- dudes old cohorts from his pre-Cement (and I think even in Cement's early days) eventually decided they were tired of playing with such a metal-screamer, and went and joined forces with the new kid in town, Art Alexakis. The rest was history.

[Screw_Michigan]

i might read this thread later but unplugged was aic's best album, and i for the most part don't like aic. but their unplugged album was sure as shit solid.

[King Crimson]

you guys are like old and shit. I had to sneak in with a fake ID to see Soundgarden on the Louder Than Love tour.

i didn't have to sneak in but saw SG on the LL tour and actually, better, on the whatever tour where they opened for Danzig at some basketball gym in Denver.

they opened with "beyond the wheel" off Ultramega OK and it was epic.

playing in a basketball gym.

as far as it goes, there are a lot of GOOD bands missing from Seattle love fest. but i'm too tired.

[King Crimson]

actually one thing about AIC. i semi-liked man in the box as far as MTV went.....but they opened for Iggy Pop at the Boulder Theatre (which is now a dead end for music other than yuppie/brew pub bluegrass aand baby boomer shit)....

and my friend Shaun and I smoked some quality grass with them before the show.

i think Dirt is a pretty good record. "was" just soars...

[PSUFAN]

rack the my fact-checkin' cuz appearance.

[Bizzarofelice]

i didn't have to sneak in but saw SG on the LL tour and actually, better, on the whatever tour where they opened for Danzig at some basketball gym in Denver.

That's a shitty venue. One time in school we were going to have an outdoor event with Das EFX, Red Krayola, Grifters, Ass Ponys and Revelators, but it rained like crazy so we had the show ON THE FLOOR at the Brewer Fieldhouse gym at Mizzou. I walked over and played basketball in between bands.

Also saw Shellac at a VFW hall.

[King Crimson]

dude, Red Krayola....dayum.

at Dallas' venerable (no longer existing) Bronco Bowl you could hit golf balls into a net just outside a show....and obvioiusly, bowl. I saw the Cure and the "newly" re-formed Squeeze and Siouxsie and the Banshees in the mid-late 80's. Elvis Costello.

CU has that place: Balch Fieldhouse. the sound quality is SO bad at the place....it's unreal.

i tell you, that Squeeze show was outstanding. really a great show.

[Bizzarofelice]

dude, Red Krayola....dayum.

Probably told this Zy story before, but playing with Mayo were Tom Watson (Slovenly), Jim O' Rourke (Sonic Youth) and Minutemen/fIREHOSE drummer George Hurley.

[BSmack]

Best U&L band..... EVER.

[Dinsdale]

Hehehe

A golf buddy's parents claim to have been present when a young Jake first came up with the lyrics to Hitting From The Back Of The Range(something about going out to the end of the range, and hitting a bucket back into the rich old fogeys at Waverly).

[King Crimson]

i dig that slovenly record thinking of empire. it's pretty good.

[Moorese]

What he says was in stark contrast to the hunky-dory picture that was painted, where everyone knew everyone, and everything was about love and music.

The hunky-dory days were a reality, but only in the 80's when everyone (but Soundgarden) were still kicking around on indie labels. There was a little junk floating around, but not nearly as much as people think. That shit arrived in force at the same time the $$$$ arrived in the early 90's, falling out of the pockets of major label executives from distant lands (fuck California). Hand a wet and wide-eyed pothead a few grand a month for "leisure" and you'll end with a blabbering junkie.

And yep, I remember Cement and Nero's Rome (and yeah, your boy Courtney was a fucking shitty drummer...pretty though, huh?).

[Dinsdale]

I remember Cement

Oh yeah...?

Me too. Frontman was my next door neighbor, and is a good friend, although I haven't seen him for a bit.

Best enjoyed with the volume at 11.

http://s16.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3NT7 ... EBOZH63NAQ

your boy Courtney was a fucking shitty drummer

Did I mention more than 100 times that I listened to that shitty drumming every day for 3 freaking years? We used to be friends, you know. (I'll give myself a tongue for the reset.)

I can't exactly remember the name of the song, but if you put a gun to my head and made me listen to one Nero's Rome song, I'd probably beg you to pull the trigger...or listen to that one that might have been called something like Cathouse Tango, or some crap like that. Sad, eh? Saw about a zillion shows, and I can't name one song. Then again, I was in it for the chicks. Can't even remember my friend's roomy's name who gave us all the tix. They were obviously pretty noteworthy.

[Moorese]

Then again, I was in it for the chicks.

I'll be the first to admit that a Dandys show is a worthwhile endeavor if for nothing other than the quality fur.