THE DUKE TALKS TO
EGG FROM BACON AND EGG
EGG FROM BACON AND EGG
Few weeks ago I’m lain in the bedroom, doin some
reading, feelin kinda blue on account of the no sleep
followed by a buncha far too much sleep, fuckin with the
head-sauce no end, all this slumber-time mania.
Chillin, is all, sat for a time watching God Told Me To,
ended up layin back with Fevers And Mirrors by Bright
Eyes, thinking all bout fringes and hurt in the key a E
minor.
Who knows how long I’d a lay there, staring at the
ceiling, looking down now and again at the pages in the
book, some story I got half-way through before realising
I’d just scanned every page, never really took anything
in, and so I dunno if it was good enough to justify
reading properly.
Then a thought, a memory, a realisation, an Oh The Fuck
Yeah, what I’ll do is I’ll listen to that record arrived
this morning, fling it on and see what the hell it’s all
about, anyway.
Bacon And Egg Are Fanduvo it’s called, fresh out Wantage
USA, a label makes me feel all warm in the nuts on
account of the brilliantly quirky nature of the output.
No-Fi Soul Rebellion, The Pope, Last of the Juanitas,
records like a PCP lobotomy, wonderful stuff.
So I’m putting this on. All I know is that the band are
Bacon And Egg, that the cover has an odd fairy-tale type
vibe goin on, knights and castles and dragons.
Three minutes in I’m screaming, face purple, veins
bulging out the teeth, what the hell’s goin on?
Laid back hip-hop vocals and a sonic backdrop of 80’s
metal, all solos and riffs and the like.
So I’m saying to a friend, “The fuck is this? I don’t
know if it’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard or the
best! I have no bearing here, flounderin round in the
middle the compass. It’s kinda like Goldie Lookin Chain,
except I don’t think it’s a joke, except everything's
really really good, in so far as the performances and
the like. I just don’t know what to do with the damn
thing.”
“Listen to it”, is her advice. “Quit yackin and sit back
and listen.”
So I did, and what happened was that I ended up liking
it, although I still don’t know if it’s any good. That’s
not The Duke being mean, it’s The Duke being honest
about his capacities as a Critical Mind with regards the
Popular Culture. I never encountered the like of it
before, I don’t know if this is generic or wildly
eccentric or what? Is there a Hip-Hop meets Power Metal
sub-genre?
I don’t know.
But what I did know was how to contact the folks
involved, get some word from them with regards it all,
since I don’t know what the hell to say.
I got in touch with Egg, I got to asking him a couple
questions, the single bulb swaying this way and that up
above, shadows in the eyeholes for a second, then
blinded with the light, and what I got to asking was,
“So how the hell did this whole enterprise come about,
anyway?”
Egg – “I met Bacon about ten years ago. I was playing in
Spanker with one of his best friends. He would hang out
at practices, come to shows, make stickers and t-shirts,
people thought he was in the band he was so involved. We
became great pals and started jamming once in a while
forming short-lived acts. One that stands out was Night
Hawk. He played bass and sang, and I played drums.
Spanker broke up, my wife (singer for Spanker) and I
started Sharky, where she played drums and I played
guitar, and we got Bryan, the bass player for Volumen,
to play bass. Then Sharky broke up, but Bryan asked me
to play drums for Volumen just after Bacon joined
Volumen as their keyboardist (1998) so, we hung out even
more. We played in a Sabbath tribute band together
(Bacon =Ozzy, me =Bill Ward), we formed Bearded Youth an
improvisational hardcore duo (bacon = drums!,
me = guitar). Simultaneously, I was playing drums for
Saved For This Dark Dawn, (resurrected “Spanker” with a
new bass player).
It was apocalyptic metal and I had this idea to add
Bacon on the organ. The other dudes didn't go for it,
but Bacon and I liked the sound of the organ so much, we
started using a drum machine while I played guitar just
so we could hear him play the organ. This usually
happened late at night, often after seeing another show,
like 2 a.m. or after Volumen practice. We eventually
started writing songs, playing shows and three years
later cut the record (Bacon And Egg Are Fanduvo). We
still play in Volumen and often get billed as a Volumen
side project, although we sound nothing like Volumen.
The short answer is: I like to hang out with Bacon.”
The Duke – “So what has the reaction to the record been
like?”
Egg – “Very positive. We’ve got some great reviews, and
folks that have heard us live for the past 3 years
really like the record. All the local rockers (Missoula)
dig it. People love the production (Tim Green), the
artwork (Chris Fairbanks), and the songs.”
The Duke – “Isn’t there a danger, though, that the album
gets dismissed as a “Novelty Record”? Does that bother
you? Hell, was that the intention?”
Egg – “I look as novelty as being a good thing. There
are so many bands out there doing the same thing, I hope
we sound refreshing. I think there is always a
possibility of being misunderstood though.
As far as bothering me, no, people can call it a joke
band, because it is funny, but it rocks, too.
The instrumentation is kind of unique, two dudes with an
goodwill organ, a drum machine and guitar making
metalish songs and rapping. That’s kind of novel. Our
intention was, and is, to make songs that feel good,
have good beats, riffage, and clever vocals. Pleasing
yourself should come first, but making music that other
folks want to hear should always be a close second.”
(Around this point, I started getting some sort of
insight into the whole thing, suddenly track one, My
Mind Keeps Thinking Of The Thoughts In My Mind, started
making all the sense in the world.)
The Duke – “So I gotta ask about Influences, which I
don't really wanna do most times, but here and now,
we're talking about a record that brings to mind images
of Dio and Wu Tang Clan at the same damn time. I’d be
wrong not to ask.”
Egg – “Thank you! I’ve been saying, “Black Sabbath meets
Run D.M.C.”. We listen to all kinds of stuff, especially
on the road. Bacon has over 10,000 songs on his iPod. If
I was pressed to name some influences, I’d say: Black
Sabbath, Judas Priest, Beastie Boys, The Fucking Champs,
Grandmaster Flash, Sepultura, Hall and Oats, Danzig,
Rush, 80’s movie soundtracks…”
The Duke – “So how did the recording sessions for the
record go?”
Egg – “Amazing, I love Louder Studios. Tim Green is
totally brilliant and we grooved together like hand and
glove.
We cut all the basics, guitar and vocals the first day,
then came back the next day did overdubs and mixed. It’s
an analog recording (2 inch tape), Tim has a Hammond
organ, a piano, a baritone guitar, and tons of pedals
and toys, the ideas were flowing like an elixir from a
mead horn.
It was the most rewarding session I’ve ever been
involved in. I must add that Bacon and I had spent
dozens of hours talking about the recording, so we had
mapped out a scheme to go off of. It went perfectly. Did
I say Tim Green is a genius? He is.”
The Duke – “So what’s next in the crazy world of Bacon
And Egg? What the hell can we expect?”
Egg – “We’re going on a west coast tour this August,
playing clubs, radio, skate parks, and parties in
support of the record. We are writing new songs and hope
to record another record in the fall of 2006. Then go on
another tour and so on and so on. We’ve also been
talking about a big radio hit that will just blow the
whole thing open for us. (I’ve been saying that since I
was 13, hi mom!!!)”
And that was that.
What I got to thinking is that it’d be great if Bacon
And Egg did blow the damn Billboard apart. What we need
is something other than what we get 90% of the time.
Maybe it ain’t to The Duke’s tastes, but fuck it, it’s
not predictable, it’s fun, and hell, there ain’t nowhere
near enough bands in the world riffin on Rush and
Run D.M.C.
Thanks Folks
Fling The Duke An Email or Leave A Message
reading, feelin kinda blue on account of the no sleep
followed by a buncha far too much sleep, fuckin with the
head-sauce no end, all this slumber-time mania.
Chillin, is all, sat for a time watching God Told Me To,
ended up layin back with Fevers And Mirrors by Bright
Eyes, thinking all bout fringes and hurt in the key a E
minor.
Who knows how long I’d a lay there, staring at the
ceiling, looking down now and again at the pages in the
book, some story I got half-way through before realising
I’d just scanned every page, never really took anything
in, and so I dunno if it was good enough to justify
reading properly.
Then a thought, a memory, a realisation, an Oh The Fuck
Yeah, what I’ll do is I’ll listen to that record arrived
this morning, fling it on and see what the hell it’s all
about, anyway.
Bacon And Egg Are Fanduvo it’s called, fresh out Wantage
USA, a label makes me feel all warm in the nuts on
account of the brilliantly quirky nature of the output.
No-Fi Soul Rebellion, The Pope, Last of the Juanitas,
records like a PCP lobotomy, wonderful stuff.
So I’m putting this on. All I know is that the band are
Bacon And Egg, that the cover has an odd fairy-tale type
vibe goin on, knights and castles and dragons.
Three minutes in I’m screaming, face purple, veins
bulging out the teeth, what the hell’s goin on?
Laid back hip-hop vocals and a sonic backdrop of 80’s
metal, all solos and riffs and the like.
So I’m saying to a friend, “The fuck is this? I don’t
know if it’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard or the
best! I have no bearing here, flounderin round in the
middle the compass. It’s kinda like Goldie Lookin Chain,
except I don’t think it’s a joke, except everything's
really really good, in so far as the performances and
the like. I just don’t know what to do with the damn
thing.”
“Listen to it”, is her advice. “Quit yackin and sit back
and listen.”
So I did, and what happened was that I ended up liking
it, although I still don’t know if it’s any good. That’s
not The Duke being mean, it’s The Duke being honest
about his capacities as a Critical Mind with regards the
Popular Culture. I never encountered the like of it
before, I don’t know if this is generic or wildly
eccentric or what? Is there a Hip-Hop meets Power Metal
sub-genre?
I don’t know.
But what I did know was how to contact the folks
involved, get some word from them with regards it all,
since I don’t know what the hell to say.
I got in touch with Egg, I got to asking him a couple
questions, the single bulb swaying this way and that up
above, shadows in the eyeholes for a second, then
blinded with the light, and what I got to asking was,
“So how the hell did this whole enterprise come about,
anyway?”
Egg – “I met Bacon about ten years ago. I was playing in
Spanker with one of his best friends. He would hang out
at practices, come to shows, make stickers and t-shirts,
people thought he was in the band he was so involved. We
became great pals and started jamming once in a while
forming short-lived acts. One that stands out was Night
Hawk. He played bass and sang, and I played drums.
Spanker broke up, my wife (singer for Spanker) and I
started Sharky, where she played drums and I played
guitar, and we got Bryan, the bass player for Volumen,
to play bass. Then Sharky broke up, but Bryan asked me
to play drums for Volumen just after Bacon joined
Volumen as their keyboardist (1998) so, we hung out even
more. We played in a Sabbath tribute band together
(Bacon =Ozzy, me =Bill Ward), we formed Bearded Youth an
improvisational hardcore duo (bacon = drums!,
me = guitar). Simultaneously, I was playing drums for
Saved For This Dark Dawn, (resurrected “Spanker” with a
new bass player).
It was apocalyptic metal and I had this idea to add
Bacon on the organ. The other dudes didn't go for it,
but Bacon and I liked the sound of the organ so much, we
started using a drum machine while I played guitar just
so we could hear him play the organ. This usually
happened late at night, often after seeing another show,
like 2 a.m. or after Volumen practice. We eventually
started writing songs, playing shows and three years
later cut the record (Bacon And Egg Are Fanduvo). We
still play in Volumen and often get billed as a Volumen
side project, although we sound nothing like Volumen.
The short answer is: I like to hang out with Bacon.”
The Duke – “So what has the reaction to the record been
like?”
Egg – “Very positive. We’ve got some great reviews, and
folks that have heard us live for the past 3 years
really like the record. All the local rockers (Missoula)
dig it. People love the production (Tim Green), the
artwork (Chris Fairbanks), and the songs.”
The Duke – “Isn’t there a danger, though, that the album
gets dismissed as a “Novelty Record”? Does that bother
you? Hell, was that the intention?”
Egg – “I look as novelty as being a good thing. There
are so many bands out there doing the same thing, I hope
we sound refreshing. I think there is always a
possibility of being misunderstood though.
As far as bothering me, no, people can call it a joke
band, because it is funny, but it rocks, too.
The instrumentation is kind of unique, two dudes with an
goodwill organ, a drum machine and guitar making
metalish songs and rapping. That’s kind of novel. Our
intention was, and is, to make songs that feel good,
have good beats, riffage, and clever vocals. Pleasing
yourself should come first, but making music that other
folks want to hear should always be a close second.”
(Around this point, I started getting some sort of
insight into the whole thing, suddenly track one, My
Mind Keeps Thinking Of The Thoughts In My Mind, started
making all the sense in the world.)
The Duke – “So I gotta ask about Influences, which I
don't really wanna do most times, but here and now,
we're talking about a record that brings to mind images
of Dio and Wu Tang Clan at the same damn time. I’d be
wrong not to ask.”
Egg – “Thank you! I’ve been saying, “Black Sabbath meets
Run D.M.C.”. We listen to all kinds of stuff, especially
on the road. Bacon has over 10,000 songs on his iPod. If
I was pressed to name some influences, I’d say: Black
Sabbath, Judas Priest, Beastie Boys, The Fucking Champs,
Grandmaster Flash, Sepultura, Hall and Oats, Danzig,
Rush, 80’s movie soundtracks…”
The Duke – “So how did the recording sessions for the
record go?”
Egg – “Amazing, I love Louder Studios. Tim Green is
totally brilliant and we grooved together like hand and
glove.
We cut all the basics, guitar and vocals the first day,
then came back the next day did overdubs and mixed. It’s
an analog recording (2 inch tape), Tim has a Hammond
organ, a piano, a baritone guitar, and tons of pedals
and toys, the ideas were flowing like an elixir from a
mead horn.
It was the most rewarding session I’ve ever been
involved in. I must add that Bacon and I had spent
dozens of hours talking about the recording, so we had
mapped out a scheme to go off of. It went perfectly. Did
I say Tim Green is a genius? He is.”
The Duke – “So what’s next in the crazy world of Bacon
And Egg? What the hell can we expect?”
Egg – “We’re going on a west coast tour this August,
playing clubs, radio, skate parks, and parties in
support of the record. We are writing new songs and hope
to record another record in the fall of 2006. Then go on
another tour and so on and so on. We’ve also been
talking about a big radio hit that will just blow the
whole thing open for us. (I’ve been saying that since I
was 13, hi mom!!!)”
And that was that.
What I got to thinking is that it’d be great if Bacon
And Egg did blow the damn Billboard apart. What we need
is something other than what we get 90% of the time.
Maybe it ain’t to The Duke’s tastes, but fuck it, it’s
not predictable, it’s fun, and hell, there ain’t nowhere
near enough bands in the world riffin on Rush and
Run D.M.C.
Thanks Folks
Fling The Duke An Email or Leave A Message
