Hunt and Gather Profile: Fu Manchu

"You're fucked up baby, your eyes like glass. Your mind's like a beer bottle filled with butts."

Fu Manchu's sound could only have come from California; the epitome of fuzzed out, laid back stoner riffs, which manage to still be aggressive, or at least energetic. They make the perfect soundtrack for driving down a desert highway one of the few bands with a sound so uniquely their own, that they completely transform a cover song simply by playing it.

 The band was formed from the remains hardcore punk band Virulence; guitarist Scott Hill, bassist Mark Abshire and drummer Ruben Romano had previous gone through several front men before Glenn Chivens joined and they changed their name to Fu Manchu.
After Chivens' departure, guitarist Scott Hill took over as vocalist and added a second guitarist Scott Votaw to play leads.
Taking inspiration from local heroes Black Flag (Hill is one of the few guitarists to use Greg Ginn's favored Dan Armstrong lucite guitars) and Bl'ast (whose name and song titles are often referenced in Fu songs) but also by 70's rock and Sabbath, Scott's vintage Univox Superfuzz and lyrics inspired by the 1977 teen sex comedy "The Van," the band forged their unique style.

Much of the early material from the first 3 Fu Manchu singles are available on the "Return To Earth 91-93," comp released on CD in 1998.

After Votaw left, the band cemented their line-up with lead guitarist Eddie Glass.

The Hill/Glass/Abshire/Romano line-up recorded just one album before Mark Abshire left (he had left Virulence once already and returned) and Brad Davis filled the bass player slot, playing on every record since.
The next major line-up change was when Eddie Glass and Ruben Romano left the band in 1997 to re-unite with Mark Abshire as the power trio, Nebula. Bob Balch stepped in on lead guitar duties with Kyuss' Brant Bjork on drums.

This line-up continued until drummer Scott Reeder replaced Bjork in the line-up that continues to this day. 

L to R Scott Hill, Brad Davis, Ruben Romano, Eddie Glass

L to R Davis,Bjork, Balch, Hill

Brad Davis

 Bob Balch, Scott Hill

Bob Balch

No One Rides For Free (1994)

Recorded with an advance they were given to produce a "demo," for a major label, the band decided to record their debut album, knowing that the label would reject it and released the album on indy label "Bong Load Custom." It is a landmark in desert stoner sludge. Scott Hill's trademark vocals; a laid back, almost spoken style with a slightly sleazy quality, that never takes the "chick," part of the chicks and cars formula any further than asking if they want a ride in his "shaggin' wagon."

"Ojo Rojo," delivers the classic line, "She wanted nothing and I delivered."  The overlooked van anthem (vanthem?) "Time To Fly," makes sure to mention, "it's got a teardrop ..." Beautiful!

The two I just mentioned and "Super Bird,' are probably the highlights but the whole thing is good.

The only glaring exception is a song I've always wondered about: "Summer Girls (Free and Easy)" a bizarre attempt at a ballad? A joke? I dunno but it comes up on ipod shuffle every so often and is astoundingly bad. It reminds me of the NOFX song "Together on The Sand," except not funny and with worse singing. It is unique within the Fu catalogue. Still their first record is one of their best.

 Daredevil (1995)

After a stellar debut, the band continued to hit their stride, with this great album. It has a slightly less sludgy shade of fuzz and incorporates additional percussion (think cowbell) for even more groove. It's like Black Sabbath meets "Lowrider." The riffs are monumentally huge and even though I have no idea what the lyrics to "Trapeze Freak," "Travel Agent," or "Sleestak," refer to ("Spiral Architect," and "A National Acrobat," are sort of in the same category for me) they are irresistible headbanging material. Actually more of a THC induced head-nodding but whatevs. Of all the bands given the annoying label of "stoner rock," Fu Manchu establish themselves as the most fun to get stoned and listen to.
This is the second and last "Bong Load Custom," release before moving to Mammoth records. It's unfortunately a bit difficult to track down, much like "No One Rides For Free." Thank God for the internet cause these are two absolutely essential Fu Manchu records.

In Search Of... (1996)

I'm not sure why I've always had the impression that this record was somehow vastly inferior to "Daredevil." Honestly, there aren't as many stand-out tracks for me, but it's still damn good. The fuzz hits a "Master of Reality," level and Eddie Glass really goes to town on his final album appearance, his lazy wah-wah heavy leads suddenly kicked into overdrive. The spacey vibes of "Neptune's Convoy," can likely be attributed to Glass as well, being consistent thematically with his next band, "Nebula." "Regal Beagle," "Asphalt Risin'," and "The Falcon Has Landed," are all highlights of, probably the heaviest Fu Manchu record of all time.

The Action Is Go (1997)

Somehow released right on the heels of the previous album, even after replacing guitarist Eddie Glass with Bob Balch and with Brant Bjork (producer of their first album and former member of Kyuss) taking over cowbell duties from Ruben Romano. The huge personnel changes are nullified by incredible momentum and, based entirely on it's own merits, it's arguably as good as "Daredevil,"although it may begin to feel repetitive to the casual listener.

Closer content-wise to "Daredevil," with lots of faster numbers and killer grooves. "Urethane," "Evil Eye," "Anodizer,"and "Laserbl'ast," all make my best-of list don't miss a beat, serving up killer skating/desert driving anthems. I would put this record on par with the first two, depending on mood.

Eatin' Dust (1999)

So, "Eatin' Dust," was originally put out as a 10" on Frank Kozik's now-defunct "Man's Ruin," label. It was later re-released on CD with the 10" "Godzilla," and re-titled "Godzilla's Eatin' Dust."

Really there are a few things working against this one - the different releases, labels, track listings; I think of this one more like an EP, since it only has 5 songs and was a 10".

For some reason some other dude plays guitar on the "Godzilla," record, which consists of 2 originals and a cover of the BOC song, which is okay.

The highlight of any version of this release is "Mongoose," possibly the best song the band ever recorded (easily top 3 at the very least.) Don't bother with the easier to find re-recorded version of the song on "California Crossing." The rest of it sounds is not necessarily "A," material

King of The Road (2000)

 Side one of this record features some of the band's best material, maybe of all time; "Hell on Wheels," and "King of The Road," are absolute ass-kickers. "Boogie Van," could be called the perfect Fu Manchu song. Unfortunately it runs out of momentum a bit on side two, which is hit or miss. As a bonus Devo's "Freedom of Choice," is given the Fu treatment. I'll put up side one of this one against anything in their catalogue. This could be considered the last of a string of classic recordings, starting with the first, and skipping over the less essential  "Eatin' Dust."/"Godzilla."

California Crossing (2001)

This record was a mistake for the band and has since been acknowledged as such. It was intended to be a more commercial sounding record in an effort to appeal to the dreaded "wider audience." So we have a much clearer guitar sound - the mountain of sludge is absent, and the leads are more prominent. Scott makes the attempt to sing and the choruses are more defined. You hear most of the traditional elements of the sound and then pop hooks jump out of nowhere. The band butchers "Mongoose," as far as I'm concerned, unnecessarily re-recording it with the type of slick backing vocals that record companies think everyone wants to hear. It doesn't work and sounds like pop garbage. Leave the pop sound to bands like the Descendents who make it work. Fu Manchu is not about that (this has since been made abundantly clear in the years since the album's mixed reception.)

Highlights "California Crossing," "Hang On," and "Squash That Fly," (which seems to share the same riff with "Amp-n," which makes it peculiar to sequence them back to back) come off sounding a lot better on their "Go For It Live,"record, which I recommend. It's a also a weird choice to throw a drum-solo on the last song if you ask me but I guess it's appropriate as a farewell to Brant Bjork on his final recording with the band .

Start the Machine (2004)

I always had the impression that this record is the totally boring Fu album; the cover is generic and so is the title (unless you can appreciate the Bl'ast reference.) What it really is, is an album with an identity crisis. Scott Hill has stopped writing about chicks, cars and skating for some reason and the songs now don't really seem to be about anything. I realize none of these are very deep subjects and lyrics on previous albums made very little sense to begin with, but
 although on subsequent listens, it's actually a lot better than I remember I still instantly forget any lyrics or song titles and it's just not very fun to listen to.
"Written In Stone," is the best of the bunch, "Make Them Believe," and "Understand," are catchy enough. "Hey," (that's the actual title) is pretty good too. The songs are back to a "no-bullshit," approach, following their experimentation on "California Crossing,"except

"Out To Sea," which is sort of a mellow, surfy instrumental that's not bad. My opinion of this record improves a little with every listen but, honestly if I look at the track listing, I still can't remember what any of these songs sound like.
Scott Reeder's first outing on drums and the only release on "DRT Records," which went tits-up shortly after.

We Must Obey (2007)

The title track  really sounds like their triumphant return to past glory and, while the the overall quality is better than "Start The Machine," the rest sounds a bit like filler. The cover of

The Cars "Moving In Stereo," and "Sensei Vs. Sensei," stand out but "Between The Lines," "Never Again," "Didn't Really Try," sound uninspired. Bob Balch still keeps it interesting with some cool guitar lines. This was the sole release on yet another label, "Liquor and Poker."

Signs of Infinite Power (2009)

By the time I was finished listening to "We Must Obey,"  I though I might have been going through Fu Manchu fatigue or something, which had unfairly affected my ability to appreciate that record.

Not so, apparently, because I put this, their latest album on the stereo and immediately felt the need to turn the volume up. Whereas, "Obey," had one really good tune and a bunch of mediocre ones, I can't really pick a standout track here because they're all good. 

Coincidentally, there's also the welcome return of unusual song titles - I have no idea what "Webfoot Witch Hat," or "El Busta" are about but they're hell of a lot more memorable, especially since they're attached to songs you'll walk away humming along to. "Steel Beast Defeated," is another highlight for me 

The title track again is good... "Gargantuan March," really gets the "head-nod," happening.

It might actually be the best thing they're done since "King of The Road."

Things I've Learned From Pro Wrestling

"You ain’t got a job, you can’t pay the rent

And now you’re paying interest on all the money you’ve been lent."

Jimmy Snuka - "Polynesians"

Polynesian is a fancy word for Hawaiian or something. People from there never wear wrestling boots, because they haven't been invented there yet. It is a good strategy to stomp on their exposed bare feet, which is actually one of the reasons that we have shoes in the first place. All Polynesians like sticking out their tongues a lot and jumping off of things. Also their heads are always, always super hard. Headbutting them is like them headbutting you. Don't bother headbutting someone from Samoa or even hitting them in the head with a chair: no dice. I'm pretty sure, if you had to, you could shoot one of them in the head and that would do the trick, but that's not allowed in wrestling.

The Ultimate Warrior - "Crystal Meth Addicts"

This is the only explanation I have for the bizarre behaviour of this strange person. I can overlook the running around and beating his chest and that weird headbanging thing he used to do; also, the saliva frothing, eyes bugging out ... maybe he was just excited, but have you actually sat back and listened to one of those crazy interviews he used to give, where he starts talking like he's from outer space and shit? He must've been piping up pretty hard and often if you ask me.

Slick - "African Americans"

Slick is a "doctor or style," which is a codeword for pimp. He has a Jheri-curl a pinstriped suit, wears a fedora and spatz. He enjoys dancing and speaks in ebonics.

Papa Shango - "African Americans"

Papa Shango was some sort of voodoo dude. He wore a big top hat like Slash and a lot of bones around his neck. He also cast spells on other wrestlers to make them puke or make all kinds of black shit drip out of their face or to just make them have really horrible wrestling matches with him. He later went on to become a pimp who enjoyed dancing.

"Animal Lovers"

A weird phenomenon where some wrestlers like their animals so much, they start acting like them. Koko B. Ware is a good example of this. He had a parrot that he'd walk down to the ring with so, the parrot could "watch," or something. Koko would imitate the bird, and do weird things like wave his arms like he was flapping wings.

Jake The Snake would sort of slither into the ring all snakey and then would let his snake crawl around on his opponent after he knocked them out and scare the living fuck out of everyone. It's a boa constrictor, dude relax; unless you just rubbed mice guts all over yourself it's not going to bite you.

So anyhow, the way things would usually happen was the guy's bird/dog/snake was sitting there and a bad  guy would come up all sneaky-like and take the guy's animal just to fuck with him!

Well, that sucks and all but you just left it there, man! What were you thinking about? You don't lock your bike up: it gets stolen. Figure it out.

Name Your Poison: Sex

"He's a pistol-grip shiftin' and a lightening rod hammer step.He always busts his knuckles when he's wrenching up his shit."
In the words of the great Sleazy P. Martini, "What good is all the violence in the world unless it is tempered with limitless sex?" Agreed. Mr. Martini also went on to observe that, when you are in France, you do indeed pull down your pants.

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Auteur of  the classic song "I Put a Spell On You," he obviously never put a condom on himself. He holds the distinction of having the largest number of illegitimate children of any modern day musician(somewhere between 57 and 75) after carelessly tossing his seed throughout North America. Not bad for a dude with a bone through his nose.

George Michael

Hey, what the big deal? Just 'cause the guy makes a habit of receiving anonymous sexual favors in public restrooms? Is that such a crime? What's everyone getting so uptight about?

Motley Crue

Fun fact: in addition to shoving drugs into every imaginable orifice and dating skanky porn chicks, these guys also found time to make some really terrible records!

R. Kelly

"R." was probably trying earn some extra points for creativity, by combining sex tapes, statutory rape and golden showers. Tres bien, monsieur.

Chuck Berry

I hate to break it to anyone who's opinion of Chuck Berry didn't suffer enough after watching "Hail Hail Rock 'n' Roll," but Chuck was into "scat," in a serious way ... and I don't mean the jazz vocal style.

Tim Bachman

Oh how the mighty have fallen .. Who knew the "business," this BTO member was taking care of was with an eleven year old. I mean, might expect this type of behaviour from Burton Cummings but come on...

Gene Simmons

This poster-boy for genital warts never met a vagina he didn't want to put his disgusting thing inside of. I can only imagine how many of his "conquests," asked him to keep the make-up on.

Kim Fowley

I don't know how the man does it but, somehow, The Runaways' former Svengali manages to be 100 times creepier than almost anyone on this list. I don't even know the specific details of his personal life and wouldn't want to...

Factoid: Listening to his voice on his radio show reveals that he has a strange croak, nearly identical to Larry Flynt, no doubt proof that syphilis corrodes the vocal chords

Bono

Of course his official explanation of this facebook-photo gaffe is that he was teaching these underaged girls to read but make no mistake; this bloated, self-righteous fuck likes to play ball whether there's grass on the field or not.

Gary Glitter

Reigning champion of creepy pervs and composer of the now-all-too-ironic "Do You Wanna Touch Me,"  Gary forgot to erase the thousands of volumes of child pornography from his computer before he sent it in for repair, then after his career was ruined, moved to Vietnam to pursue molestation full time before landing himself in prison. Hope he got to bring the shiny suit with him. "Rock 'n' roll, rock 'n' ro - oll, Hey!"

The Awesome Hall of Fame And The Hall of Total Bullshit

"The guys in here are pretty cool. Three epileptics and the rest are fools. Well the rooms are rubber and they're painted pink. Now my blood's drippin' in the sink."

Awesome Hall of Fame - Turducken

Only in america! Evidently a hybrid between the words, duck, chicken and turd this delicious concoction is the result of asking; "what happens if we just stick a bird up the ass of another bird up the ass of another bird?" Snap!

Hall of Total Bullshit: Rockabilly

Just a head's up; the 50's are over.You look like a retard

Awesome Hall of Fame: Flowbee

Think: someone bought this and they, or perhaps some member of their family stuck their head into it.

Hall of Total Bullshit:Vomit Burp

So unexpected.

Awesome Hall of Fame - Freepour

This is how they pour liquor in a civilized society that doesn't treat it's citizen's like children. Instead of portioning it out like chemists ...

Hall of Total Bullshit: Burning Man

Finally! Another excuse for hippies to spread crabs in the desert! Hooray!

Awesome Hall of Fame:Street-za!

Greasy, disgusting ... delicious? Yep, yep.

Hall of Total Bullshit - Hummer

Dear Hummer Driver; Do you still exist? If so, can you try sticking your balls (or ovaries) into the microwave and turning it on, and then let me know if it sterilizes you or not? I'd appreciate it, thanks.

Awesome Hall of Fame:Superfluous nipple

A sign of virility in some cultures....

Hall of Total Bullshit: Trick-or-Treat Apple

I'm not referring to apples dipped in stuff, I'm talking straight up Macintosh, Spartan, Granny Smith, Red Delicious; whatever... if you give a kid a fucking apple on Halloween you might as well get a ladder ready ahead of time to remove the toilet paper from your trees. If you give me a toothbrush, your window's getting smashed.

Live Fast Die Fast Comes Alive! "Iron Maiden - A Real Live One/A Real Dead One"

"Here's a little somethin' from a God to a slave. I never should have been let out the fuckin' microwave. I'm on this planet, I'm runnin' amuck, I should give a shit but I don't give a fuck."

These were originally released as a 2 CD set.

Are They Really Live?

Yuh-huh! Overdubbed probably and stitched to together from different performances but whatever.

Where Were They Recorded?

Hoo-boy!. Let's say all over Europe; Copenhagen, Rome, Essen Germany, Lausanne Switzerland, Moscow, somewhere in Holland, Paris, Brussels, Stockholm, Donington Monsters o' rock, at least 6 from Helsinki Finland.

What are the Details? (CD 1)

These two records are from the period around 1992. Bruce Dickson had announced he was leaving the band after a massive European tour supporting the "Fear of The Dark," album. It was the first official maiden live recording since "Live After Death," but then, curiously followed immediately by "Live at Donington," which included many of the same songs.
The way the songs are pieced together makes it sound a bit off, with Bruce starting out saying "Scream for me, Helsinki," then speaking French, then saying "good night, Moscow." 

"Live One," consists of songs from the period post-"Powerslave," (1985-1992)  

You get "Tailgunner," and "Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter," from "No Prayer For The Dying,"

Five from "Fear of The Dark," the decent "Be Quick or Be Dead," and the uh .... sort of whatever ... "Afraid To Shoot Strangers," and "From Here the Eternity," as well as the ballad "Wasting Love." The title track is amazing, with the live crowd absolutely making the whole song with their participation, chanting along like a soccer crowd. It'll give you goosebumps.

From "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son," the overly slick "Can I Play With Madness," the so-so "The Clairvoyant," and "The Evil That Men Do," (my favorite track from that particular album.)
"Heaven Can Wait," is the lone offering from "Somewhere In Time," featuring another awesome crowd sing-a-long in the middle, which is the reason they play it live, "The band sounds a lot fresher playing these (at the time) newer songs. The quality of the material is a big step down and, really, 1990-1992 isn't an era I'd prefer to concentrate on for Maiden. It's still interesting to hear a couple of live tracks that disappeared relatively quickly from the set list.
The Set:
1. Be Quick Or Be Dead 
2. From Here To Eternity 
3. Can I Play With Madness
4. Wasting Love
5. Tail Gunner 
6. The Evil That Men Do
7. Afraid To Shoot Strangers
8. Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter 
9. Heaven Can Wait
10. The Clairvoyant
11. Fear Of The Dark

What are the Details? (CD2)

For a band as committed to filling the majority of their sets with material from the album they're touring to support, rather than greatest hits packages, they are pretty rigid about playing the same 5 songs at every concert until the end of time "The Trooper," "Number of The Beast," "Hallowed Be Thy Name," and "Iron Maiden," often in that order. This record includes those and a couple of less favored tracks from the Paul Di'Anno era

"Number of The Beast," has an especially hot crowd reaction, as with the chants of "maiden!maiden!" finishing off the final track. As Wesley Willis might have said "The crowd roared like a lion. It whipped a spider monkey's ass."
This record has a number of things going against it; the mundane-ness of the song-selection for one and also somewhat sluggish performances, since many of these tunes are saved for the end of long-sets full of running, jumping and shrieking. It is natural that Bruce sounds a bit out of breath during "Hallowed Be Thy Name," and the band in general sounds not as fresh as they would have earlier in the night.

Secondly, Bruce's renditions of Di'Anno's songs has been a bit lackluster. "Sanctuary," doesn't sound very good and  there should be a court injunction against him ever playing "Remember Tomorrow."He pulls off "Prowler," pretty well.
Likewise, most who consider themselves "real," Iron Maiden fans object Janick Gers' re-interpretation of Adrian Smith's solos. Gers' style is more noisy off the cuff and he often plays whatever the hell he feels like instead of Smith's more melodic composed style. He noticeably screws up leads on "2 Minutes To Midnight," (the rhythm as well) and "Where Eageles Dare."

 Due to the staggering number of live maiden recordings and live albums, in general, I wouldn't put any of these versions on a "must have list." The "Live/Dead," concept is an interesting idea but the presentation doesn't make either album especially satisfying.
The Set:

1.  Number of the Beast
2.  The Trooper
3.  Prowler
4.  Transylvania
5.  Remember Tomorrow
6.  Where Eagles Dare
7.  Sanctuary
8.  Running Free
9.  Run to the Hills
10. 2 Minutes to Midnight
11. Iron Maiden
12. Hallowed Be Thy Name

The Earth's Greatest Album Covers ... Ever!!! "Exodus - Bonded By Blood"

"I've got a feelin' in my knees that tell me the degrees I've been loved on. You've got dents in your head that tell me all the beds you've been shoved on."

Curiously, the band chose to replace this iconic cover, featuring two naked monster babies conjoined at the ass, on later editions of the record. Little-known factoid; the original album title? "Bonded By Butts."

Live Fast Die Fast Come Alive! - "Melvins - A Live History of Gluttony and Lust"

"He spent fifteen years gettin' loaded, fifteen years 'til his liver exploded now what's Bob gonna do now that he can't drink?"

Is It Official?

She's an officially sanctioned, Ipecac release, Cap'n'.

Is It Really Live?

The album was record live in a sound studio, with little or no audience.

Where Was It Recorded?

2005 in Vernon California.

What Are The Details?

After putting together a live set, recreating of all the songs from their "Houdini," record, for the "All Tomorrow's Parties" festival, the band decided to go ahead and record it and release it as a live album. Their interpretations of several "studio-only," compositions, as well as hearing the older, more seasoned band, this time featuring fill-in live bass player Trevor Dunn of Fantomas and Mr. Bungle makes it an interesting listen.

Is this record worth owning for anyone already familiar with "Houdini?" Well ... not necessarily owning but worth listening to.

The Set:

Subtle changes in the song order are interesting. With the original album, obviously sequenced to emphasize possible hits, the "live set," is allowed to build to a crescendo, pushing back "Honey Bucket," and "Hag Me," and leading off with "Pearl Bomb," the most noticeably different track, with more discernible lyrics, actually drums, instead of whatever that weird type-writer sound was on the original and the main riff on instead of bass. An even more sinister "Night Goat," gets a longer build up and "Set Me Straight," gets part of  a Cream song (?)  "DCH," tacked on the end.

The weird percussion track "Spread Eagle Beagle," seems like it would be the most difficult but they pull it off pretty well, even if it sounds quite a bit different from the original. Again a record that could probably seem unnecessary to the average listener but worthwhile for rabid members of the Melvins Army, especially those who didn't get to see them pull it off live.

1. Pearl Bomb

2. Hooch
3. Night Goat
4. Lizzy
5. Going Blind
6. Copache
7. Set Me Straight/DCH
8. Sky Pup
9. Teet
10. Joan Of Arc
11. Honey Bucket
12. Hag Me
13. Spread Eagle Beagle