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Industrial Pioneers Ministry goes Bush-bashing on new CD, set to play Sokol By Alan Sculley
Ministry w/ the Revolting Cocks
Wednesday, July 5 8 p.m. show doors open at 7 $30 adv., $35 day of show Sokol Auditorium 13th and Martha streets MinistryMusic.org Neil Young may be getting most of the publicity these days for writing one of the most political albums in rock history with his anti-Bush administration CD, “Living With War.” But as much as Young lands his share of body blows against the war in Iraq and the Bush administration, another new CD may land an even bigger knock-out punch. Ministry, the band that pioneered industrial rock 20 years ago, is back with “Rio Grande Blood,” a full-on assault both lyrically and musically if ever there was one. “I think they’re the most corrupt administration that the United States has ever seen,” Ministry mastermind Al Jourgensen said in a recent phone interview. “I’m kind of a history buff and I kind of follow things. Maybe since the Hoover or the Harding years, they’ve just taken, Karl Rove and his band of pirates, (Vice President Dick) Cheney of course and (Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld and (Deputy Defense Secretary Paul) Wolfowitz and etc. etc. have just taken arrogance to a new all-time level. And my only regret in doing this album is I got it done before the incident that happened with the first sitting vice president of the United States doing a drive-by shooting. I wasn’t able to include that.” The tone of the CD is set immediately with the title song, as Jourgensen pieces together soundbites from George W. Bush himself that find the president declaring himself “a dangerous, dangerous man,” a “weapon of mass destruction” and “brutal dictator.” The effect, of course, is comical, but it also hints at the opinions Jourgensen unleashes throughout “Rio Grande Blood.” On a musical level, Jourgensen feels “Rio Grande Blood” is the best Ministry CD yet. Considering that the catalog includes such ground-breaking industrial rock classics as 1988’s “The Land of Rape and Honey” and 1992’s “Psalm 69” (an album that actually crashed the pop charts), it’s an achievement for “Rio Grande Blood” to even be mentioned in the same sentence. Yet Jourgensen may be right. After hitting a creative lull in the mid-1990s, “Rio Grande Blood” offers the kind of relentless, highly charged mix of hard rock guitars, pummeling rhythms, industrial noise and just enough melody to make the songs listenable. In addition to the policies of the Bush administration giving him plenty of songwriting inspiration, Jourgensen points to two factors that have re-ignited his creative fire – the end of his all-consuming heroin and crack habit, and the departure before the 2004 CD, “Houses Of The Mole,” of long-time collaborator Paul Barker. The drug habit had been a constant companion for 21 years, and Jourgensen said he realized three years ago he had hit bottom. “You finally just like gross yourself out to where I lost everything,” Jourgensen said. “I lost my family, my house, my guitars, and woke up one morning on some crack dealer’s floor and just said either I should blow my head off today or I should do something about this because eventually you bottom out.” The split with Barker, who had been a central collaborator in Ministry since 1986, Jourgensen said, also helped put him on track artistically. “Paul Barker leaving the band was a real breath of fresh air and a real energizer for me because we kind of found our working relationship difficult over the last couple of albums, to say the least,” Jourgensen said. Jourgensen, in fact, is on such a creative roll that he has also reactivated his side band, the Revolting Cocks. That group’s new CD, “Cocked And Loaded,” is the first RevCo release since 1993. As with the other RevCo albums, “Cocked And Loaded” finds Jourgensen joined by some notable musical guests who join in on the group’s seedy and cheeky mix of industrial rock, pop and classic rock. Fans are now getting the chance to check out both Ministry and the Revolting Cocks as the two groups tour together this summer. Taking both bands on tour together made infinite sense to Jourgensen. “Both albums came out really quickly within a time period of each other, so why not do it?” he said of “Rio Grande Blood” and “Cocked And Loaded.” “The great thing is I get to drink twice as much as everyone else. I get paid for Ministry. I just play for beer for the Cocks.” Zoo Bar festivities This July 3-8, celebrate the 33rd anniversary of blues and booze at Lincoln’s internationally known Zoo Bar. Founded in 1973 by musician and artist Larry Boehmer, the bar continues to thrive thanks to his son Jeff and co-owner Pete Watters. This week’s event will feature some of the best national and local blues talent around. Tinsley Ellis and the Savants kick of celebrations on the July 3, followed by Kelly Hunt and the Nimble Fingered Gentlemen on the July 5. Things step up a notch on the 6th when Magic Slim and the Teardrops roar into Lincoln, along with locals the Kris Lager Band and the Blues Messengers featuring Ms Anna Degraff. On the July 7, the buzz continues with the Table Rockers, the Bel-Airs, and Tijuana Gigolos. The July 8 features the Bel-Airs, Mezcal Bros., and the Darlings. All shows are $15 in advance, $18 day of show. For more information, visit ZooBar.com. Frontman bites leg After a scuffle with fashion guru Tommy Hilfiger last month in New York, Guns N’ Roses lead singer Axl Rose lost control again when he apparently bit the leg of a Swedish security guard, MTV reported. The Swedish Police said the event occurred in the wee hours at a hotel in Stockholm Tuesday morning where Rose was partying after a sold-out show. By 11 a.m. Swedish time, Rose was said to be in his cell, intoxicated, and charged with property damage, assaulting a security guard and threatening police. Witnesses told local papers that Rose was fighting with a woman at the bar when hotel security attempted to intervene. Braids flailing, Rose began brawling and broke a lobby mirror. During the fight, one of the security guards apparently got bitten in the leg. Jail time is possible but not likely, and the band was anticipating a good show in Oslo Wednesday night. |
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The News & Entertainment Weekly of Omaha, Lincoln, & Council Bluffs |