'I Bleed Rock 'N' Roll' by Kepi Ghoulie

By Jason Duarte

11/28/2011

Asian Man Records

Rating: 4.5/5

[Originally written for Jaded In Chicago].

Former Groovie Ghoulies frontman Kepi Ghoulie is back with a new album titled I Bleed Rock ‘N’ Roll, his first since 2009’s Life Sentence. The album starts out with the short, sweet and defining “Rock ‘N’ Roll Shark,” which sends the strong message that like a shark that stops swimming, Kepi will die if he stops rockin’. “Nikki Lee” is a very upbeat, Chuck Berry-esque rock ‘n’ roll tune, and one of the album’s strongest. The title track reinforces the opener as Kepi sings, “I bleed rock ‘n’ roll. I believe in rock ‘n’ roll. When every single friend is gone, the music just keeps playing on and out into the universe, second verse same as the first.” To Kepi, rock ‘n’ roll is more than just a job or a passion; to him it’s a way of life. Kepi also re-recorded “When I’m Gone,” which originally appeared on his solo EP, Yes Depression. The new version is electrified and the guitar work is reminiscent of something out of a rock ‘n’ roll standard. Another revisited track is “Love to Give,” which originally appeared as “(I’ve Got) Love to Give,” on the Groovie Ghoulies’ final album in 2007, 99 Lives. There is one cover that Kepi chose for this album, and that’s Johnny Thunders’ “Blame It on Mom.” I enjoy Kepi’s cover better because he left out the saxophone. My favorite track on the album is “The Fever,” for its infectious chorus and dedicated lyrics. I’m with Kepi when he says, “What the world needs now is rock ‘n’ roll.” The album closes with a melancholy acoustic song called “Hard to Forget,” which surprised me as a closer. I wish it were toward the middle of the album, so it would serve as a break, but the album is still strong. I Bleed Rock ‘N’ Roll pleasantly surprised me. Kepi branches further from his previous material and continues to make great songs, and also revisit and put a twist on some old ones.

Interview with Keith Morris of OFF!/The Circle Jerks/Black Flag

Photo by Katie Hovland

Chris Carlton interviewed Keith Morris of OFF!, The Circle Jerks and Black Flag via the web recently about his new band, OFF!, the state of the Circle Jerks, his influences and much more.

Squid Pro Quo: Thank you very much for taking time our of your busy schedule to talk with Squid Pro Quo, Keith. I know you've been touring nonstop with OFF! for the past few months. How did the band get together?

Keith Morris: "We can blame this OFF! mess on those swell guys in the Circle Jerks. Dimitri Coats (Burning Brides), the guitarist in OFF!, came to the CJs to get us in songwriting mode in order to create a new record and of course, it turned into an ugly situation. Dimitri was fired as producer and in the process, I quit over this shitty crybaby episode. Now it was my idea to start the CJs in the first place and I wasn't gonna walk away from something I helped create. I thought to myself, 'everybody in the Jerks has 20 other things they do to make scheduling nothin' but a royal flaming CLUSTERFUCK so I'll add to the confusion by starting OFF! and creating my own schedule!' This new band's probably the best decision I've ever made. During our creative process, I told Dimitri that the other guys in the Jerks were gonna figure out a way to ruin the scenario and that the songs we've written are way too happening to be tossed out with the garbage. Let's come up with plan #B, #C and #D and make something outta this! That's when Mario Rubalcaba (Earthless/Hot Snakes/Rocket From the Crypt) and Steven McDonald (Redd Kross) stepped up and it's been pretty much non stop party action since then."

SPQ: The short, in-your-face blasts of music that you're doing with OFF! are reminiscent of the first Circle Jerks album. Was it the band's intention to make fast, in-your-face hit-and-run music? Or was it just a natural direction to go in?

KM: "Well, we were attempting to make a CJs record but one day, Dimitri hit the strings on his guitar and I was totally wiped out! YEAH! That's where we need to take this! The way we'd work is him starting out riffing and us going back and forth as to how it should be put together which also applied to my lyric writing. He played something on the six string device which reminded me of where I came from in Hermosa Beach. He comes from a 'heavier' Nirvana-esque place and I told him to pay attention to the guitarists we'd listened to the previous day: Link Wray, who is the Father of the 'down stroke' and Johnny Ramone, who popularized it! No more 'butterfly,' which is the technique a metal or folk guy uses to strum on the strings, it has to be down strokes and attack! AIM FOR THE FLOOR!"

SPQ: The band's been touring nonstop. Any plans for a break in the tour to record a full-length album?

KM: "'The First Four EPs' is our album! I'm on break as I type and we'll get together next week to start writing new songs so we won't fall into the same hole as before. My initial idea was to release a four-song EP every two or three months until we had 16 or so songs then compile them into a full-blown record. It didn't work out that way as we were gonna sign with Epitaph Records but then decided to see what else was out there and test the waters. We signed with Vice Records 'cause their marketing's beyond CRAZY! Vice gave us a couple of deadlines to meet to really make this happen as they had abso-fuckin'-lutely nothing goin' on for a couple of months and told us we would be their priority until the Black Lips finished their album. We jumped at the opportunity and here we are!"

SPQ: You worked with legendary artist Raymond Pettibon on the artwork for the band's 7" EPs. Being the original singer for Black Flag (Pettibon did the album artwork during their career), did it feel like you came full circle having worked with him again after so many years?

KM: "The great thing with Raymond Pettibon is that we get to re-establish a long lost friendship as when we hung out at the Church in Hermosa Beach and were drug and boozin' buddies! I'm no longer doin' any of that stuff as I'm a diabetic so I've got no time for that but Raymond and I immediately hit it off and started carrying on like a couple of crazy teenagers! He realized how his older Bro stepped all over the bands and peeps he dealt with so we had that in common and Raymond allowed me to come into his workspace and gave me carte blanche when it came to his artwork. He's a Stud Prince Rawker of the tallest order and plays a seriously mean tambourine!"

SPQ: When you worked with Black Flag on the "Nervous Breakdown" EP or the first couple Circle Jerks albums, did any of the band members get the sense that the music you were creating was going to be as influential as it turned out to be?

KM: "We were CLUELESS! We were excited to just be doin' what we were doin' and being able to receive an invitation to the punker-dunker party. There wasn't a map or a plan as to how we'd do things; we just did them and suffered whatever consequences later on. There weren't any managers telling us what to do or record companies that sniffed around at our gigs. We had to go by the "live and learn" technique and let it all go down however it was gonna' happen! We didn't sit around talking as to what our music/noise was gonna' do out in the public 'cause our credo was pretty much just 'go for it!' and worry about all this stuff further down the road."

SPQ: How do you feel the hardcore scene has changed since the early days? Do you feel it's gotten better or worse?

KM: "I try not to pay any attention to this as it's music and it's gonna be shoved in some of the faces of the music-listening public, dark corners and under dirty rugs. As with any genre of music, some of it will stick to the wall and some is gonna be so thin and watered down, it'll slide right off. I listen to so much music that I really could care less about any one category! College rock, hardcore, sweater, foxcore, punk, prog or whatever they're labeling it; if it's great, it transcends or rises from any box it's being placed in!"

SPQ: Is there any bands out there that you feel are carrying the torch as far as making music on their own terms and not conforming to what's considered popular by today's standards?

KM: "I'm moved by Deerhunter's "Microcastle" recording, who are a drone band outta Atlanta, Georgia or The Shins who made an almost perfect "Pop" record called "Chutes Too Narrow" that came out on Sub Pop a few years back. I'm also very partial to Trash Talk, Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Moon Duo and Fucked Up."

SPQ: It's been 16 years since the last Circle Jerks album of original material. Are there any plans in the near future for a new album or possible tour?

KM: "When it comes to the CJs, it all started to come down to money and the fact that we're older guys who are set in our ways; TOTAL BUMMER! The mentality became, 'We're who we are and can write/record whatever we want and our fans will buy it because it's us!' and that's REALLY weak! I told them that I wouldn't be a part of the 30th anniversary tour 'cause I'm busy with the OFF! first anniversary tour."

SPQ: You seem to still have that fire and energy in you that you had back in the late '70s and through the '80s. Your passion for your craft is obvious. Do you still find enjoyment in playing live and creating new music?

KM: "Well, I'm on a bit of a roll and OFF!'s providing me with new opportunities that my other band couldn't make happen. OFF! is going to Europe for the entire month of August to play several festivals and tour across Holland, Germany, Sweden and Norway and my feelings toward this is that I'd be a fucking idiot to not go over there and have some fun! The CJs would only talk about this and end up not doing it!"

SPQ: Who are some of your musical influences? And what drives you to be as creative as you are?

KM: "Too many: The Kinks, Iggy Pop, Jagger & Richards, MC5, Jeff Beck, John Dwyer, Jon Wurster, Ray Davies, Lennon & McCartney, Pete Townsend, Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Alice Cooper, Leon Russell, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Henry Rollins, Dave Vanian, Jerry Morris, Bob Caldwell, John Jancar, y mas!"

SPQ: Your musical history has influenced countless bands for more than 30 years and counting, with no signs of slowing down. Where can people get in touch with OFF! for tour dates, new releases and merch?

KM: "OFF! has a facebook page that has an 'Events' section that lists all of our tour info. or go to http://www.offofficial.com, which is our 'real' site!"

SPQ: Keith, I want to thank you again for taking the time to talk with Squid Pro Quo. It's truly an honor and a pleasure to speak with you (NOTE: via web). We're all looking forward to more OFF! releases and more amazing live performances. Thanks again.

KM: "Well that's really a misnomer as we didn't speak! Don't be a liar! Just kidding! If you wanna take the time to write questions, I'll gladly take a portion of my time to answer them. YER' WELCOME! Have fun!"

Jerry Lee Lewis in Chicago Sat., July 9 at the Congress Theater

Holy crap! One of the pioneers of rock n' roll, Jerry Lee Lewis, is coming to Chicago on Saturday, July 9! Wha! Ken Lovelace and the Memphis Beats will be supporting. Tickets are $30 for general admission, $100 VIP/all you can drink and $100 front row seating. Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m. This is all presented by Riot Fest, which brought us Chuck Berry in January. Stokage!

Chuck Berry @ Congress Theater, Chicago, 1/1/11

Octogenarian rock n' roll icon Chuck Berry collapsed in disappointment
at his keyboard about an hour into his set on New Years Day at the
Congress Theater in Chicago.
He opened the show with "Roll Over Beethoven," but the show quickly
took a turn for the worse as Berry would just stop playing mid-song.
He became obviously frustrated with his backing band, whom he never
practiced with. The band seemed to do everything it could to follow
Berry, but it wasn't enough. Berry kept changing songs mid-song and
then tuned his guitar for half the show, either stalling or being
legitimately out of tune the entire time. He walked over to the
keyboard player, and would hit the keys, to tune to the notes and then
told the keyboard player his keyboard was the one out of tune.
"I'm not saying it's your fault," Berry said.
It was horribly sad witnessing an 84-year-old man's intent and then
watching him struggle and fail to deliver. He walked over to the
keyboard, sat down and started playing/hitting keys, and then slammed
his hand on some low notes and put his head down for a minute before
being walked off stage by the Chicago Fire Department. When he came
back out later, he said he had "no strength." He looked defeated. We
were all thanked for coming out. Most of the people left. My friends
and I stuck around with a bunch of others and towards the back of the
stage, Chuck suddenly walks out, puts his guitar on, and tries to
play. Every one of us who was behind the fence in the pit hopped or
ran through it, rushing the to front of the pit, standing on chairs
and crowding the front of the stage. The Chicago Fire Department took
him off stage again, and we were told they were running some tests,
and if we could wait for 15 minutes, he might come back out and play
for us. We roared, cheered and applauded for Chuck as the Fire
Department took his blood pressure and ran some tests. As we all
hoped, he came back out about 15 minutes later, saying someone took
his guitar. He took the microphone and apologized. He said when he
collapsed over the keyboard, he felt he had no strength. He then said
he felt like he was "at a 10, maybe 15." He said after they ran the
tests on him, he now feels like he's at "a 65 or a 70." We cheered him
on more. People were shouting, "We love you, Chuck!" The Fire
Department and what looked like his manager among others were alertly
watching him as he took the microphone and said, "You wanna see me do
my scoot!"
What was left of the crowd, which previously rushed through the
barriers and to the front of the stage, roared with applause. Chuck
Berry did his signature duck walk, despite being told he shouldn't and
for the last time, was escorted off the stage. I felt like everyone
held their breath, afraid he might fall in his weak state, but after
he did it, I felt a burst of happiness. Here's Chuck Berry - the man
who created rock n' roll - at 84 years old, struggling to deliver a
performance on New Years Day in Chicago. He couldn't and it seemed
like the night changed when he did his "scoot." He didn't admit
defeat. It seemed like he knew what might happen if he did the duck
walk and he did it anyway. This may not be at all the case, but in his
face, I saw a man who would rather take a big risk doing what he loved
than succumb to old age and be carried away in front of his fans. Hail
hail rock n' roll, Chuck Berry.