Tonight at Beauty Bar

Arggh, Gibby is guest dj tonight at Beauty Bar on 14th Street and I am not able to go. Once again, foiled by laziness.

May 3, 1987 in Trenton

This is a most entertaining story about a Butthole Surfers gig in Trenton that has the following elements:

- dog food on the floor
- all ages show with the ubiquitous dancing women and crazy films
- bouncers unplugging the show
- rubbing alcohol and fire
- How Gibby got his hands on all those 16mm medical films
- riotous behaviour by all

My favorite part of the interview where Gibby explains how the shows were actually an overcompensation because he wasn't confident in his singing:

Gibby Haynes: I was in charge of the show. I thought if I couldn’t really sing, then I might as well put on a show. So at first it was smoke and strobes. And then it was lots of smoke and lots of strobes. Completely fill the club with smoke until you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, with a pulsing, bright-as-shit light that would make you vomit and convulse. We would make effigies out of newspaper and then tear them up in the strobe light, which was cool because it looked like you were tearing a human apart. We would dress up the dummies the same way we were dressed, and then jump behind an amp and throw out the dummy and rip it up.

Photos from Rock, Paper Scissors

Not very good photos, but it's all I could find. Plus, no captions to identify the artist. Overall though it looks pretty interesting, very rock and roll.

Rock Paper Scissors - More Information

More better information on this upcoming show in Los Angeles. It is a 3 day multi-media affair featuring some of the biggest names in rock n roll. If you live in the area, it is worth checking out.

Rock Paper Scissors Art Show

Gibby Haynes is part of a group show opening Feb 28 in LA featuring rock star artists. It is unclear to me what format this will be, is it performance art, or actual I-can-hold-it-in-my-hand-and-touch-it art?

Touch & Go is Gone

It was announced today that the Butthole Surfer's former label, Touch & Go, has shuttered. The music industry is in a shambles, and it's not surprising that small labels are having trouble keeping up. Sounds like big labels are having trouble too.

Here is the story of what transpired between them. Buttholes suffered from a lot of bad publicity, and for the first time in my life I saw musicians siding with the record label over the band. It leaves a bad taste in everybody's mouth.

The Devil & Daniel Johnston

10-minute outtake from the movie with Gibby Haynes talking to Daniel Johnston (well Gibby doesn't say much, doesn't have to).

Gibby Wisdom

The wisdom of youth

Eating Egyptian

A Village Voice food critic takes Gibby and his wife to an Egyptian restaurant for what sounds like quite the meal. The rich just get richer with their free meals and swag.

Who Was in My Room Last Night?

I've had a bad day with too much ranting about other things so I come here to write a little about the Buttholes to calm myself down.

I did get to the gym and managed to stay there for a full 10 minutes, when usually I can manage only 9. Independent Worm Saloon is one of my favorites to play while at the gym, even if I only make it through the first two or three songs before going home.

Purists like to deride this album because it marks the Butthole's foray into big record label-dom. But I disagree. I think it's a brilliant album, about as perfect as you can get. Even the worst song on the album is called The Annoying Song, because it is annoying, and you know it before you listen, because they said so.

Produced by John Paul Jones (of Led Zeppelin fame), he managed to find a way to present the incredible genius of the Buttholes, cleaning them up, making them presentable for prime time. While this album doesn't have the noise and garage quality that is endearing in their independently produced records, it doesn't completely lose those qualities either. The arrangements are more organized so that their musical talent shines. Everything about this band is amazing, but you have to have either seen them live or really listen carefully, with headphones, to their early albums to truly get them. If you haven't done either, then you will never understand.

Independent Worm Saloon is more accessible, easier to listen to, and thus more mainstream, but without the gloss that could turn the corner into horribleness, as happened with Weird Revolution, where some songs practically scream Dance Hall Vomit.

Where else do you find an ode to alcohol, or talking to a cop about chewing chocolate that the doggy dropped, or the love song that doesn't give a fuck about the fbi? And a dispute on t-shirt sales - that one is custom made for Guitar Hero if I ever heard a song made for Guitar Hero this is the one.

I'M FLYING...

Gibby as Comedian

From the Upright Citizens Brigade website. I think this is from a TV series.

The Fillmore, San Francisco 12/30/08

Wow, it sounds like this was truly the show of the year. Fog and 3 screens and 2 hours of Butthole Surfers. I can't spend too much time thinking about it or I'll feel depressed the rest of 2009 knowing that I couldn't figure out a way to get out there to witness new years eve 08/09 with Gibby.

Here are some photos from the show.

Locust Abortion Technician

While opinions differ over which is the greatest Butthole Surfer album, this review stands firm with Locust Abortion Technician as the winner. The review is well written and amply describes the experience of listening to it for the first time (though you need not be on acid to fully experience its extremities). This truly is a record that is unlike any other since or ever will be. Play it loud and often, and be free of mainstream anything for the rest of your life. And as a bonus, it has clowns and a puppy on the cover!

The Warsaw, Brooklyn, Dec 12, 2008

Videos posted.

Rush Limbaugh Mystery

Once, purportedly in 1991 Rush Limbaugh said that he banned Gibby Haynes from his show. However, the video on youtube that showed this is no longer available. If anybody has it, I would love to post it.

Here are two posts about the incident:
Radio Exile
Political Base

Gibby Says Something at ATP, Dec 2008

Not sure what he is saying, I need a translator and for the audience to shut up.

Watch more YouTube videos on AOL Video

Dumb Things List

Read here to see the section on the Butthole Surfers in the Book "Rock Stars Do the Dumbest Things", which is a nice compendia of interesting factoids. I will trust that the fact checkers made sure these are true, but you never know. Urban myths are often more interesting than facts anyways.

Short Interview Before Touring with School of Rock

Funny and not sounding annoyed for once, Gibby gave a good interview and revealed that he didn't clean up his act in front of all those kids' parents, just in case you were worried that those kids corrupted his morals.

And he takes off his pants

They look so young, this is the the earliest video of the Butthole Surfers I've seen (no I haven't watched too many it's true, but when I come across one, I look at it), but there is no date or place noted with it. Enjoy the youth.

John Frusciante

The notes on this video say that it was directed by Johnny Depp and Gibby Haynes, and filmed in John Frusciante's crack den. True or not, it is kind of mesmorizing.

Photos from Philadelphia

Possibly the best set of photos of the Buttholes I've seen. Great work Arnold Bower.

NYC Taper Recorded the Warsaw Show

Happily, a very prolific taper recorded the Butthole's show from the Warsaw last week. Click here to read his review and listen.

Gibby and Kid Rock

So I just read that Kid Rock co-wrote Shame of Life, which explains everything.

Interview with Gibby 10/24/08

Not sure who the interviewer is, supposedly it's MC Trachiotomy (whoever he is, but it isn't totally clear). Gibby isn't in a great mood and it's kind of funny how disinterested in the whole thing he seems to be.

http://blogofneworleans.com/blog/2008/10/24/gibby-haynes-doesnt-totally-understand-mc-trachiotomy-either/

The Warsaw Last Night Rocked

What a great show last night, and indeed Gibby changed his shirt, thank you.
We were waiting since July to see the Butthole Surfers return to New York. They've been touring around, playing in other less deserving cities, and finally they came to Brooklyn last night to make up for the awful show in July at Webster Hall.

It was worth the wait. They were really ON last night, the energy was at 100% and the band played wonderfully. As Slim said, "What a great world we live in where you can eat pyrogy and watch the Butthole Surfers at the same time." They ROCKED.

Last time we went to Greenpoint we were lost for two hours, finally having to take a cab to our final destination. This anxiety led to us arriving at The Warsaw around 7:30. We were the second people to show up. The first was a lone guy who told us they weren't open. But immediately after we showed up, the giant, bald bouncers showed mercy on us and let us in so that we could start drinking and warming up. This lasted only about 40 minutes, when we were told to drink up and go back outside to get on line. We were certain our seats at the bar would be gone by the time we got through the line that was now snaking around the block, but it was for naught, our seats were still there, and a good thing too because the 8:00 show really meant 10:30. Which really meant after 11:00.

Many drinks, and a plate of pyrogy later, the first "band" went on. It was an awful display of some guy who looked like Crispin Glover reading from his notebook while music blared from the wall of amps behind him. It was unmercifully long. We didn't know there were 2 opening acts so when the 2nd act came on, and the screens lit up we thought it was the main event and so rushed into the main hall. But it was Black Dice playing their psychedelic electronica. I can't tell you if it was any good, because we lost our seats at the bar and had to sit in the noisy middle room.

As luck would have it, sitting in the middle room turned out to be one of the highlights, because it was right next to the back door, where Gibby was coming and going. He shook my hand and looked delighted that someone recognized him. Or, the jetlag from just returning from their Europe made him delirious. Either way, it was fun to touch his warm, soft hand, but I couldn't get my camera out in time to honor the event.

Being a girl who loves hard rock has one main advantage - there is never a long line for the bathrooms. This led to a second advantage last night while I was waiting for Slim to emerge from his long line. I noticed that the "VIP" section in the balcony had no actual guard. Upstairs we found SEATS, a blessing in a general admission nightclub type of place. I was dreading standing up for several hours, and this was the answer to my dream.

Not only were there seats, there were EMPTY seats, but not two together. We asked three people if they would move down one seat so we could sit together. Two of the three were perfectly amiable with the suggestion. The third, a sullen Asian woman with her coat in her lap the entire night, absolutely refused to move. It was odd and under normal circumstances that would have led to an all night elbow fest, but I was in too good a mood and that bitch wasn't going to ruin it for me. She could wait until after the show to feel my wrath.

After about 10 minutes the guy sitting next to me decided to follow his girlfriend, with whom he was having a fight, downstairs, opening up a seat next to me. Disaster averted, we had unobstructed views in the front row of the tiny balcony. The only thing missing was the vibe, as up there it was kind of calm. Down in front it looked much more vibey. Didn't matter, the sound was great, the band played really well and the videos were as gruesome as ever.

Next stop... New Year's Eve at the Fillmore in San Francisco? I'm checking flights now.

Get Gibby a New Shirt

Some chick in England posted photos on her Flickr site of the the festival this past weekend in Butkins or whatever that place is called. The Buttholes look as they've been looking recently, nothing new or exciting seems to have happened.

I am going to send out mental messages to Gibby to please wear a new shirt tomorrow night, I'm tired of looking at this one already. Unless he has fifty identical shirts in his drawer, it's kind of gross. Please?

Minehead Review

Last weekend the Butthole Surfers played at the Nightmare Before Christmas festival in Butlins Minehead England, along with a bunch of bands that, all together, would have been a whole lot of fun to see. The Guardian has a short review that made me feel all the more remorseful for not being able to go to such an awesome sounding festival. The Times also has a review that really described the great time that I didn't have.

I did look at the options for going to this weekend of rock and roll, but honestly, it was so very British that I couldn't understand how it all worked. There were several different kinds of hotel rooms and it seemed as though you had to buy the whole package in order to get tickets. Also, it seemed like this thing is at a resort at the beach, but again, I couldn't quite dig into it deep enough to get the whole picture. I think this place is somewhere remote, so maybe they wanted to make sure too many people didn't show up and then sleep in their cars or something.

Live in Providence Rhode Island 10-16-01

I know there are a ton of live tapes of the Butthole Surfers out there, but I came across this one recently that I like a lot. It is from a Providence Rhode Island show at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel while promoting Weird Revolution. The sound is good, and most importantly, Gibby sings all the words, in their correct order, to I Saw An Xray of a Girl Passing Gas. My guess is that he was reading them from a piece of paper (which I saw him do once in a video). I appreciate this mostly because it's the only song that I know all the words and can sing along, mostly without fucking it up.

Moon & Moon Record Release Party

When it rains, it pours. Just two days after the Butthole Surfers return to New York and play in Brooklyn, Gibby will be part of the Moon & Moon record release at Glasslands. There is, as of yet, no actual information about this event, but mark your calendars as it will be a very busy weekend in Brooklyn.

East Village Radio

On Nov 17 08, EVR had Gibby as a guest DJ on the show The Continuous Mammal. I would like to provide a link to the show, but I can't figure it out. This is the link they give on the website, but I can't make it work.

Moon & Moon

Gibby is one of many guest performers on this new collection. Herewith from GQ (of all the weird places):

Brooklyn collective Moon & Moon releases its independent debut today, an allegorical song cycle that addresses war, the imperial presidency, and, naturally, self-perception. Okay, so easy listening it's not, but VII Acts of an Iron King is still intriguing—a prog-leaning pastiche of sounds and ideas that's best described as experimental. (Read: They use horns.) Guests include Devendra Banhart, Bat for Lashes, and, of course, Butthole Surfers singer Gibby Hanes, whose influence is felt throughout. Consider it an art project with a sweet touch: Band leader Will Lemon has included one of his original block prints with every CD, each one hand-scented with jasmine. Insert your own sweetening-the-deal joke here.
$13.98, available at amazon.com

Satxpunk

This site is an archive of San Antonio punk posters from from 1979-1989, each with a caption and a brief memory about the bands in the posters. Check out this cool site and look at the awesome online museum this guy has created.

The Smallest Bit of Butthole Trivia, unconfirmed

So somehow I came across this 80's punk band from Texas, "Fearless Iranians from Hell" whose bassist purpotedly had a member who later became a Butthole. I cannot find any more information, but one punk rock archivist claims he was in an early version of the band, before they made their first LP. I cannot find out his name, but I don't think it matters, other than I'm obsessively recording this stupid detail.

I listened to a couple minutes of this skinhead band, and while I can appreciate their pounding drums, grinding guitar, and of course their name, they were pretty generic. The singer's voice is a little irritating.

They're Back!

Yay! The Butthole Surfers are indeed scheduled to play Dec 12 at the Warsaw in Brooklyn. I've bought my tickets and now the countdown begins.

Warm and Fuzzy with Mr. Peppermint

A warm look at the relationship of Gibby and his dad, just before his retirement as Mr. Peppermint.

Michael Stipe

So the rumor is that P was playing this song at the very time River Phoenix died.

Butthole Surfers at the Granada Theater Review 10/23/08

Sounds like it was a great show in Dallas, and unlike in New York, they played to the end and beyond. Lucky Texans... But weird that they didn't play Sweat Loaf because Gibby's family was in the audience? Have they been sheltered from his music all this time? Really?

Someone posted video from the show, thanks, but really the clips might have been labeled somewhat better. This one has "I saw an XRay of a Girl Passing Gas," my personal favorite, at 2:21. Lyrics be damned.

1983? 1985? BBQ Pope

This is the oldest live recording I can find of the Buttholes, purportedly from 1985 but one of the commenters says 1983. (you have to click the link, the embedding is turned off)

This one says 1984. Also BBQ Pope, from the clothespin era.

Dadaist Shame

The song, Shame of Life, is on that last album Weird Revolution that at first I really really hated. Then it started to grow on me. Then my husband kept singing the riff "I like the girls and the money and the shame of life" and it wouldn't leave my brain.

One DJ, Stefan Gagne (twoflower) calls the song "a good bitter dadaist Surfers track, kinda epic. At this point I have to agree.

It was also the soundtrack to an awesome graffiti vignette.

Biggest Assholes

Chunklet ranked the Butthole Surfers the top ranking assholes in rock in their list of 100 due to their handling of their record company in 2000. What I can't tell from their website is when this magazine was published.

Gibby Sings For Someone Else

Ministry - "Jesus Built My Hot Rod"
Psychic TV - PT3 - plays on a few tracks
Deconstructio - "Fire in the Hole"

Dallas Observer Interviews Gibby

Prep school boy, basketball captain and all around weirdo in a recent newspaper interview.

Buttholes in the Movies

I am going to list the movies that use Buttholes songs. This will be a work in progress because I don't have the time to do it all at once.

Mission Impossible II - They Came In
Spawn - Tiny Rubberband (with Moby)
Saw II - “Caliente (Dark Entries)” Revolting Cocks with Gibby & Al Jourgenson of Ministry
Wicked Lake - Ten Million Ways to Die (Revolting Cocks with Gibby)
Beavis & Butthead Do America - The Lord is a Monkey
Scrubs (TV show) - Dracula from Houston
Slacker (1991) - Colored FBI Guy
Freaked (1993) - Gumby Jack Flash (Paul Leary)
Freaked (1993) - Butter Queen
Freaked (1993) - Sweat Loaf
Exit to Eden (1994) - Jesus Built my Hotrod
Escape from LA (1996) - Pottery
Laurel Canyon (2002) - Shame of Life
William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (2007) - Whatever, I Had a Dream


Where does Gibby himself appear?
Gwar Phallus in Wonderland (1992)
Freaked (1993)
Dead Man (1995)
Nowhere (1997)
The Brave (1997 and directed by Johnny Depp)

Gibby 'n Gwar

Gibby made an appearance in a sick little film by Gwar. Great accent.

Austin, this past weekend

Some very kind soul posted a few minutes of the Butthole Surfers show this past weekend in Austin. Next best thing...

P, 1993

Even though the series of these P videos taped in Austin in 1993 show no faces, it is worth the view just for the joke told at :33.

P features Gibby Haynes, Johnny Depp, BillCarter, Sal Jenco.



This video of P purports to be from 1994 but it looks like the same gig as the one labeled 1993. In any case, this is a great song, called Mr. Officer.

Fishing with Gibby and Friends

To hear Gibby's maniacal laugh over and over, in between bouts of fishing related chatter, watch this video of Gibby, Jeff Pinkus and Dean Ween on a boat somewhere in New Jersey.

Surfers On Tour

After the disappointing finish to an otherwise agreeable show in New York, the Butthole Surfers are playing more shows, but not in a city near me. I am totally willing to go to New Orleans but alas, at my far advanced age I know of nobody who wants to spend their weekend with me while I'm being a stupid fan while they gag on oysters and beer waiting for me to get over my excitement. So I will perish in New York while everybody else is having fun.

Here is the upcoming 2008 schedule that I will be missing out on. Cue the tears.

Sept 27 - Austin, TX, Stubbs
Oct 22 - Dallas, TX, Granada Theater
Oct 23 - Houston, TX, Meridian
Oct 24, New Orleans, LA, One Eyed Jacks
Oct 26, New Orleans, LA, The Voodoo Experience Festival
Dec 5-7, Minehead, England, The Nightmare Before Christmas

10 Minutes of Butthole Fun

Amazing 10 minutes of your life will be spent watching this little film. It ends with a great performance of Fast from Hairway to Steven.

Shame of Life

Great video from with the song that annoyingly gets stuck in your head very quickly.
Thank you Alex for pointing this out.