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THE BOTTLE ROCKETS SAY...
ITS THE SONG, STUPID
‘We’re like the beautiful twin cities, 40 like Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Freedy
miles south of St. Louis.” Johnston, and we go over great, because those
In describing his hometown Crystal City audiences will always accept more than what
and the nearby Festus, Mo., BottleRockets they’ve come to see. With Gilmore, he's not
vocalist &. co-songwriter Brian Henneman gonna rock it up, but they’ll accept us. We’re
has that tell-tale Midwestern twang. He also sort of the Ted Nugent of singer/songwriters,
has prodigious facial hair (he jokingly says his Honestly, though, I don’t think it’s the lyrics,
band’s photos on the back of their new album I have doubts that anybody’s even heard a
makes them look like Foghat), and writes word of what we’ve done. It’s just that we don’t
songs like ‘Trailer Mama,” “Stuck In A Rut” get up there and act goofy, wear wigs and belch
& the harrowing “Kerosene.” in the microphone. We don’t look like we’re
What sets the Rockets apart, though, Iz partying. I’ve always said I would rather play
how, much like the late Uncle Tupelo, they for six people that know what they’re there
can combine the spirit of Buck, Hank Sr. & for than 450 [that don’t]. That’s what was go-
Merle with the proto-metallic slam of Crazy ing on when we toured with Dash Rip Rock.
Horse and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The places were full, but if anybody was lik-
u They just ran a poll m this cheesy free pa- ing it, you couldn’t tell. Those folks show up
per, The Riverfront Times, in St. Louis,” to drink and hear ’em play funny versions of
Henneman told me, "and we scored for the best Hank Williams songs. That whole mentality
country band, [smirking] best “alternative” band of the only way to make country go over is to
and best rod. band. We scored highest in best make a joke out of it... I don’t go for that in
country band, but, jeez, live we don't sound very any way.
country at all.'
Years ago, folks in Austin called it the New
Sincerity. Frankly, the Byrds and the Flying
Burrito Brothers proved there was nothing
FP: It’s such a strange dichotomy, but did
you get into Ted Nugent & John Prine simulta
neously?
Henneman: Ted Nugent came first, but
new about it, but the threaa trat tied those John Prine hit me harder. What first hit me
bands to newer voices like the Jay hawks, the
Blood Oranges, the aforementioned Uncle
Tupelo and the Dashboard Saviors was, and
is, musical honesty and, well, heart.
Flagpole: Had you always thought you would
end up a songwriter? I'm just wondering how all
this started.
Brian Henneman: I’d been in bands be
fore I hooked up with Tupelo (notably
Chicken Truck), and we’d always do original
music; we just never left St. Louis. So I’d been
doing these solo gigs with just an acoustic
guitar, occasionally opening up for Tupelo,
and it was easy money. I’d open for anybody
and make 50 bucks. I’d known (Uncle Tu
pelo manager) Tony Margherita peripherally
and he had approached me to get a record
out on Rockville, which was Uncle Tupelo’s
label at the time. [Henneman’s single, ‘Wave
That Flag” with UTs Jay Farrar & Jeff Tweedy,
was subsequently released.] I had never really
expected it, you know? I was just happy being
“Mr. Roadie Guy,” being a guitar tech [laugh
ing]. The crew always got paid. Our sound guy
makes money, but we don’t have shit.
FP: Instrumentally you resemble a lot of
"good-old-boy" music, but lyrically, your stuff is
a little more challenging. Do the Rockets draw
well down here?
Henneman: We just bomb every time in
the South. I had a plan that we should just
play in St. Louis and rent a 15-passenger van
and we could bring everybody up. There can’t
be more than 15 fans of ours in the South.
We’ll just shuttle ’em up and it’ll cost us less
money. What I’ve come up with is this: we
get on the road with these songwriter types
was Buck Owens & the Buckaroos on Hee-
Haw, but then I hit those formative rock years
and had to put that stuff behind me. Man, I
got into some bad stuff. Like Rush when I was
14, and Boston, real “Hoosier-rama” guy stuff,
and it was all on eight-track in my friend’s ’68
Torino. I realized about three years ago,
though, that all the “alternative” bands that
were coming out sounded like Rush with re
ally lame guitar players. But I liked some cool
stuff, too, like Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Lynyrd
Skynyrd....
FP: I've always had trouble with Lynyrd
Skynyrd. I have the same problem with them that
I do with the Grateful Dead. I don’t hate the band
so much as 1 do the fans. I’ve had friends recom
mend early Skynyrd, but I just can't make the
leap. ' '
Henneman: I’ve had this discussion with
Jay Farrar, because I’m a Lynyrd Skynyrd ad
vocate. You’ve got to go back and listen to
the lyrics on the early stuff. What I love about
Lynyrd Skynyrd was that nobody really got it,
including the fans. It wasn’t “jam” rock, it was
very intricate stuff. I guess I was more a fan of
(vocalist and songwnter) Ronnie Van Zandt
than the band. As soon as he was gone, you
could tell that the brains of that tend went
with him. But it was during those Rush years
that I discovered the Ramones, who were very
cool, and realized that I had started thinking
more about rhe song, than just, uh, “rocking.”
Which sorta led me back to country music,
initially John Anderson, and then John Prine.
1 just took the stuff I liked out of all of that, I
guess.
Jason Slatton
r i* i o r if s
presents: DAYROOM's
debut CD
"Perpetual Smile"
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AVAILABLE IN
THESE STORES
Lj
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M
Bockbuster Music
Wuxtry
Big Shot Records
5th Annual
Mental Health Benefit
(it// 1995
tl
Art Auction
Saturday, Feb. 11, 5p.m.
at The Globe
Benefit Rock Concert
Friday and Saturday, Feb. 3 and 4,
10 p.m., 40 Watt Club
Bands: Hazel Virtue, Asa Nisi Masa,
Fuzzy Sprouts, 5-8, Hayride and guests.
Tickets on sale January 30
$5 at Big Shot Records
SpunMircil li\:
Cookies VC Co. Last Resort Cir ill.*
'Guo Wrap. Lumpkin Calc. Big Shot
Records. The linginc Room Phconix
Foods. Lock Nest. Junkman's
Daughter's Brother. Rage. Helix.
Dream Catcher Dixon's l)ic> ties.
Jackson Street Books. Guaranteed.
Jitters Joe's. I he Alnss. Local Color.
Athens ColTec House. Del’alma's.
Compadres. R L M/Athens Ltd
Homegrown Graphics. The Grit. Bel
Jeans. Daih Groceries. Kinko's. 40
Watt Club. The Globe. Flagpole-
Magazine. Athens Observer. Athens
Banner I lerald The Red and Black.
Revolution Promotion. 5 I NI
WUOG. Barrs Stock Graphics.
Creative Consultants. Washington •
Street Tavern. KoadkillEnterprises.
Frontier Borman Printing Co
NIGHT
. Athens' Premiere
WL Rock'n Roll Night Club
Admittance; 18 and up
M55AILWTAHWY.. \|||| \S
OPTA MONDAY SAM KD.Vt II.AM 2AM
DRINK SPECIALS;
Monday Nights-Pass the Buck Night
When you buy any drink or arty beer, we give you a
NIGHT OWL BUCK. You pass the buck back to us
when you order your next drink and we take a
buck($1.0Q)off.
Tuesday Nights-Wack Jack Night
Play black jack for prizes, T-shirts. Jack Special $1.50
VIP Special
You can be a very special person for only $5.00.
Get VIP stamp.
Domestic been are 75$ and bar drinks are 50C
Wednesday Nights-Talent Contest
2 Winners weekly each get $25.00. T-shirt drawings also.
Bud Draft 75$ glass
Thursday Nights- Pool Tournaments
Blind draw doubles for cash prizes.
Feb. 2 & 16 Athens Songwriters Showcase
Feo. 9 Country Musk: Night
Tequila Spedd $1.00 off al tequla drinks.
February 23 - Battle of tho Bands
For 8 hours recording time at Full Moon Studio. 2
openings left. Call for more details.
Fri. & Sat. Bands:
WIDE OPEN
and class alley
1
h
2*
A*
9 I © 0 2
Large Dance Area
until 7:00 daily i
7Pool Tables
Foosball
i*
©:
01
2 • SHISaturdays
Jukebox.
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