Altered Zones

The Story of me finding out about Pussy Galore is not that interesting. I'm not even sure how it happened, but they were definitely one of those bands that didn't click right away. I was around 19; I thought they were cool, but I didn't fully get it. Not until I heard their live record, Live: In The Red (1998), did my mind get completely blown. I quickly revisited their Right Now! (1987) and Dial M For Motherfucker (1989) LPs and continued down the path to noise rock enlightenment.

The funny part of this story is what happened when I was 21, in New York City, during my brief stint as a member of Sic Alps. We were playing The Knitting Factory, and I was a little nervous because it my first show with the band outside San Francisco. I decided to have a couple of beers. A couple turned into a few, and a few turned into many. At this point, I noticed a familiar face; he was leaning up against a wall, sporting cowboy boots and slick hair. "Holy shit!," I thought. "That's Jon fucking Spencer [of Pussy Galore and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion]!" So I took my drunk self over to him and decided to tell him what I thought: "Dude, Pussy Galore is like my favorite band man. You guys were so awesome! Right Now is insane!"

"Thanks man." Silence.

"Ok man, thanks....take it easy." That night I was totally that dude. And Right Now is still totally insane.

"Dick Johnson" is a track from Dial M For Motherfucker, originally issued by Caroline in 1989