What follows is another powerful chapter in my ongoing musical journey.
While volunteering my regular Monday evening shift at the local no-kill animal shelter for dogs and cats, C.A.R.E. (Community Animal Rescue Effort), YouTube played two excellent songs in succession which had never previously been heard by my ears and I must tell you about them.
I was walking a hound with a brindle coat when I heard a “stoner” rock tune. I looked, saw “Creep Purple,” and continued my walk. So I had encountered an “influencer” of the doom/sludge metal aka stoner rock genre named Creep Purple. Purple’s website, creeppurple.com, claims on its banner head that it focuses on and facilitates exposure to music found on Bandcamp. The website also lists Purple’s own 29 releases. The releases’ names are clearly an homage to Black Sabbath, which laid the foundation to chart a new direction for rock and roll. Titles include “Earth,” which refers to Sabbath’s first name circa 1968 before the release of their eponymous debut. “Electric Wizard,” well, Sabbath has legendary songs called Electric Funeral and The Wizard. “Black Magick” and “Mephistofeles” nod to Sabbath’s dark imagery while “Cough” is a clear reference to Sweet Leaf from Sabbath’s “Master of Reality.”
I presume the focus on Bandcamp to be true as I recognized only several labels such as: Amphetamine Records, based in Minneapolis and home to The Melvins and Boredoms; Drag City (Shellac, U.S. Maple, and Death); Nuclear Blast (Lamb of God and Rammstein); and, Relapse (Death re-issues, Dillinger Escape Plan, and High on Fire to name a few).
Yes, a long introduction or say, background information. Salem’s Pot recorded the first Creep Purple song I heard on YouTube.
This band hails from Sweden and definitely fits the stoner rock label! This impressive sound experiment prompted me to buy :…Lura rut dig på präirien, which roughly means “lurk around you on the prairie.” I proceeded to buy the cd on eBay.
The second, Corpse, is a Shinki Chen song from 1972. Who?? A little research found they hailed from Tokyo, and Wikipedia considers Chen to be the “Japanese equivalent of Jimi Hendrix.” Corpse includes the unmistakable sound of a Hammond organ along with guitar distortion and feedback, cats’ meows, street cars…a cacophony of sounds that pleased my ears.
Walking the dog several times during a shift always lifts my spirits. Each dog enjoys the attention, fresh air, and exercise as well. Tonight’s walk provided me with the impetus to expand my musical horizons!
Happy Holidays!
