Stu Sturgis is Mr. Kick Ass!

The Queen City Roller would like to welcome the decorative Rock and Roll stylings of Stu Sturgis. There's nothing too tall he can't tackle and nothing too short he can't kick over.

The QCR hopes that you enjoy art as much as the next Joe or Jane.

And this illustration gives us a chance to quote DBT;
"Lord knows, I can’t change” sounds better in the song than it does with hell to pay."

Tom Petty - Even the Losers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers "Even The Losers"
Released November, 1979

"It's just the normal noises in here."

Yeah, just what you would've expected from Petty in 1979, but "Damn the Torpedoes" is anything but normal. It's like the band operated from within some genius brain. I don't think it's all Jimmy Iovine's doing but someone, something, made one of the greatest albums ever and in the fall and spring 79-80 I suddenly realized what it was to be an individual. I mean look at the cover! Signature black suit coat, probably velvet, a simple red shirt, and a Rickenbaker so cool I bought one. Hell, I bought the whole goddamn look. "Damn the Torpedoes," song for song, taught me what it meant to be cool and at 15 I really needed to be cool. I'd had enough of Darren Kinney spitting on me in the halls of Parkview High.

I didn't really have a connection with "I'm One" by The Who in 1979 but "Even the Losers" proved to me that the best music isn't written by bullies. The best pop songs are about everyday guys and gals getting off or getting one over on the Nugents of the world.

Ever have a summer when it was just you and the girl or guy at the lake? Or your neighbor that you've always hung out with but when the hair started to grow all you could really think about was them? That's where the guy in "Even the Losers" lives. It's the moment. That time when nothing else matters but hanging out on the roof, smoking mom's stolen Pall Malls, and pointing out things that are further away then the nearest star. Three months of lovin', touchin', and squeezin' and then at the end of it all they're gone. They're all you can think about and school really sucks.

Who knew that guys like you could get that lucky? Skipping rocks, skinny dipping, heavy petting, and maybe making it to a Babys song. It may never happen again and part of you hopes that it never does. "God it's such a drag when you're livin in the past."

Big Rickenbaker chords and a simple D-A-G melody aren't all it really takes for "Even the Losers" to work. Stan Lynch's shaker and fuck-all fills combined with Benmont Tench's great, thick, Hammond chords texture and frame the song through the first two verses and chorus. They give a little extra in the bridge but after the last chorus, as Mike Campbell plays a second solo that shoots the song home, the whole band just makes you move. The Heartbreakers spin you with the promise that everything after this moment is going to be awesome and that "even the losers get lucky sometime."

"Oh-oh-oh-OH!"



ap - 2008

Isaac Hayes - Sail On You Soul Bastard!

I'm still bummed about Black Moses. This guy, who the thumbs are pointing to, is a big fucking Stax fan. Huge. I have Stax people I love and people I really love. Black Moses is one of them. Issac was Soul Brother number 1.5.

Can I just say that his version of "Walk On By," is way soul heaven to me. While I really love Bacharach era Dionne Warwick, Hayes' spooky ass arrangement and killer chick backing vocals took this song places that old Burt wouldn't have ever imagined; bedrooms around the world.

I went to see Eartha Kitt once in the East Bay. Eartha was in the middle of a song in French, or Turkish, or Kitty Kat, and she was wailing away like she does when all of a sudden, in my right ear, comes this silky soapy baritone saying "Man, Eartha really sounds good tonight." I turned around and in the booth behind me was one bad mother. Eartha's alright but this was Isaac! I kept looking around because he wouldn't stop talking and then when he wouldn't stop talking I wanted him to shut his mouth, so I could dig Eartha. I think it was a show that actually cost me money and I didn't want it ruined by anyone, especially Isaac Hayes.

I could give a shit about Scientology or Chef and as far as Shaft is concerned, I'm more thankful for the sequel because it's responsible for one of the baddest motherfucking soul performances of all time and it gives me an excuse to post the video. Just watch the sister dance in this performance from Wattstax. No one dances like that anymore and no band looked or sounded like they were coming straight outta the funk box to devastate more than The Bar-Kays (who were the band that backed Hayes on Shaft ) in this live version of "Son of Shaft."



Righteous.

ap - 2008

Scott Murphy - Sail On You Punk Bastard!

My old friend Scott died this week. Drugs took him in the Pacific Northwest. He was easy for drugs to find, difficult for friends. I'd only seen Scott once in 20 years. He roamed into the Outland in the middle of a set I was doing in 1999. He gave me a wave and was gone. I had so much catching up to do.

Scott was punk rock. He was the "get your ass kicked for just being a punk" punk. Only, Scott fought back. We skated ditches, parking garages, ramps. We wrestled over issues of Maximum Rock and Roll. We wore old man bermudas. Swapped decks and folded pizza the proper way, down the middle. We stayed up late with Tony, Andy, and Kellett watching URGH! A Music War. We took punk rock to the roller skating rink and busted our asses doing DEVO flips in the back. We worshipped the The Jam. We lived together. We stole food. Shared girlfriends. Scott and I took a trip to see Die Kreuzen, skated all over Kansas City, did an interview with The Star. We dropped acid for the first time together. Thanks be to DEVO for getting that party started.

Murphy and I were mates. Thick as fucking thieves. Scott took all the English Punk Rock shit he could take, blended it with really early and cutting edge American Hardcore, and turned himself into a one man wrecking crew. Crass, Husker Du, Throbbing Gristle, Black Flag, The Jam, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, J.F.A., Bauhaus, Youth Brigade, were just a few of the bands that passed from his wide eyes and fast talking mouth into my record collection. Scott moved at a speed that none can imagine. He was firmly electric.

After Scott moved back to the Queen City from Tulsa, where we had moved to further ourselves, I moved towards Modism and we lost touch. Scott became a father of two and ventured towards Seattle. And there he stayed.



His Glendale yearbook featured a blurb about Scott and his punky new wave ways. This nifty skate ditch photo purports to show Murphy in action. The QCR staff is not sure about the short shorts and safety gear. They may have been needed to teach good, responsible boarding. I can't make out the deck but I think it's mine. The yearbook staff asked Scott what he thought about society…

"I think people are too caught up with other people's standards. Society suppresses people and strips them of their individuality. Individualism is my main idea on what I really stand for."

That sounds a lot like Paul Weller and like Weller, Scott made the standards and he made the rules. I'll miss him.

Take care brother.

AP - 2008