The Rolling Stones by Johnny And The Creeps

Halloweenend 2011, one to remember. I wanted to do something more embellished with a bigger band. A group that could set the room on fire. A set that would be familiar to the audience, have some hits but could also include songs that haven’t been tarnished by the mainstream radio. The tunes should be loose, the focus on charisma, not technical playing. Plus I really wanted to perform sans guitar and focus on singing and in this case dancing! Thus the idea was born to become The Rolling Stones era 1972.

Dave and Russ were in, we just needed to find two guitar players, a piano player, two horn players and a female vocalist. Hmmm… It was actually a bit weird how easily it all fit together. As the players came on board I felt really lucky to know so many talented musicians in Chicago.  We practiced a handful of times, drank quite a bit of bourbon whiskey and gained a new appreciation for a band who can be incredible sloppy one moment and then fall into the meanest groove the next moment.

Dave had to stand still as Bill Wyman which is hard for him to do. Russ changed his snare hand technique to mimic Charlie Watts, impressive. Phil and Matt wove the guitars together where there was no distinction between lead and rhythm. Dan was a locomotive behind the piano. John and Matt punched the horns and percussion into place. Holly belted out harmonies like there was no tomorrow and I tapped into my inner rooster.

The crowd was so enthusiastic and our performance was loose and spirited. All in all it was one of the best gigs I have ever played.

Our friend Evan Sears was able to capture most of the show from front row. Here are links to the videos.

http://vimeo.com/31355059

http://vimeo.com/31375700

SET LIST:
1. Brown Sugar
2. Bitch
3. Rocks Off
4. You Can’t Always Get What You Want
5. Tumbling Dice
6. Happy
7. Let’s Spend The Night Together
8. Gimme Shelter
9. Jumping Jack Flash

Nirvana by Johnny And The Creeps

Due to a last minute cancellation, I was offered a slot in the Halloween show at the Abbey Pub. The band who dropped out were supposed to be Nirvana, the Unplugged set and all the show promo materials had already been printed. I would have never chosen to cover their music becasuse it comes preloaded with a lot of “history” but it seemed too late to decide on anything else.

With only a week to learn the songs, David Veller and Russ Mallord jumped right on board. There was no way to do the acoustic material justice and distorted guitars have a nice way of covering up mistakes. So we tried our best to channel the chaotic energy of this nervy group. Staying away from the obvious hits we reaffirmed our love and appreciation for this throat wrenching, ear pounding music.

We were lucky to have Evan Sears, a gifted photographer, in the audience the night of the show and he was able to get some great footage.

Here is a link to our performance.

http://vimeo.com/16397522

SET LIST:
1. About A Girl
2. Been A Son
3. Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle
4. Very Ape
5. On A Plain
6. Drain You
7. Breed

Tommy James And The Shondells by Johnny And The Creeps

Back in high school I found a 45 of “Mirage” in a used record bin. I remember being impressed by the song but a little confused. Was this really the same band that Tiffany was covering? The music of Tommy James has been overshadowed by bad renditions that were big hits and it doesn’t help that “Mony Mony” has reached archetype frat rock status. In 2008 I was asked to play Last Alley’s annual Halloween show and I chose Tommy James. Everybody thought I was crazy.  What people don’t remember is that he wrote a lot of very catchy, wonderful pop songs and I wanted to breathe new life into them. Anyway, the gig was great and we were able to record our efforts about a week later, this is how the set went.

01 Hanky Panky

02 I Think We’re Alone Now

03 Crimson And Clover

04 Dragging The Line

05 Mirage

In Between Days – The Cure

“In Between Days” was the song that really sold me on The Cure. It sounds silly but I saw the video on MTV back in ’85 and was I so blown away by the hypnotic sound, the synthetic pining, the bird like camera movements, the glow in the dark socks! Well, I immediately went and bought the record and I spent the next few weeks realizing that there was a musical world beyond REM and The Replacements. In my head the interpretation sounded like Merle Haggard but I think it came out more like John Denver.

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy – 1910 Fruitgum Company

“Yummy, Yummy, Yummy” has to be one of the most banal songs of all time. However, late one night I heard it on a classic rock radio station and I was amazed at how disturbing the lyrics were. “Love you’re such a sweet thing, good enough to eat thing?” Well, of course visions of Jeffrey Dahmer started spinning in my head and I got the idea to record a “darker” version of the song.