No Filler Music Podcast - Spooktober Rewind: Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats

Episode Date: October 24, 2023

This episode originally aired October 31st, 2021. We get it: if you have to hear Monster Mash one more time, your boombox will be the only thing getting graveyard smashed. If you're in need for some new tunes for your costume party tonight, we've got you covered. Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats takes psychedelic rock and doom metal and mashes it with The Manson Family, Universal Monsters, and all the other horror film essentials on your October watch list. And of course, singer K.R. Starrs is an absolute vocal doppelgänger for John Lennon. What more could you ask for? Turn the lights down low, light some candles, and tune in for our bonus Halloween episode. Tracklist Witches Garden Withered Hand of Evil Murder Nights I See Through You Vampire Circus This show is part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Pantheon is a proud partner of AKG by Harman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Boarding for flight 246 to Toronto is delayed 50 minutes. Ugh, what? Sounds like Ojo time. Play Ojo? Great idea. Feel the fun with all the latest slots in live casino games and with no wagering requirements. What you win is yours to keep groovy. Hey, I won! Feel the fun!

The meeting will begin when passenger Fisher is done celebrating. 19 plus Ontario only. Please play responsibly concerned by your gambling or that if someone close, you call 1-8665-3-3-2-60 or visit Comex Ontario.ca. With MX Platinum. You have access to over 1,400 airport lounges worldwide. So your experience before takeoff is a taste of what's to come. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Conditions apply.

It's hockey season, and you can get anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. Well, almost, almost anything. So no, you can't get a nice rank on Uber Eats. But iced tea, ice cream, or just plain old ice? Yes, we deliver those. Goaltenders, no, but chicken tenders, yes. Because those are groceries, and we deliver those too. Along with your favorite restaurant food, alcohol, and other everyday essentials.

Order Uber Eats now. For alcohol, you must be legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly. Product availability varies by region. See app for details. And welcome to the extra spooky edition of No Filler. It's the bonus Halloween episode. Happy Halloween, dude.

You as well, Q. It is Halloween night. So let me ask you this, Jeff, because it's been... years since I have picked up a piece of candy from a basket and handed it to a child. I don't know where they are. They don't come to our neighborhood. Okay, I was going to say, because I mean, you live in a proper neighborhood. Yes, it's a very nice neighborhood. Nobody knocks on the door. I mean, I haven't been here every Halloween.

Well, there's your problem, dude. But, but what I'm saying, like, you know, I've been here the last few Halloweens and nothing, dude. I can tell you, We get maybe five knocks, which is nothing when you think about it. Because, you know, back in our heyday when we were kids. And maybe we're just like waxing nostalgic and like, well, imagining things. But yeah, dude, it felt like the entire neighborhood would just come alive. You know what I think it is, dude?

I think a lot of, I think the, the trunk or treat type stuff has taken over. I think parents take their kids to their church or their kids. community center and do it that way. I don't think people do the door to door anymore, which is sad. No, you know what, dude? You're probably right because, you know, I was serving and bartending just a couple years back. And I worked to Halloween shift one year. And they were a ridiculous amount of trick-or-treaters walking around in the mall. And we had our big, big bowl of candy at the, at the host stand. Yeah. Yeah. I guess it's a safety thing, maybe. Anyway.

Yeah. But you know what, dude, we got treats. We got treats right here. We got ear candy. Yeah. Oh, nice. Thanks. We got ear candy corn.

No, dude. I can't stand candy corn. Candy corn is the worst. Yeah, Q. If you had to pick one favorite candy bar or piece of candy, what would it be? Honestly, dude, I think it's Snickers bar. Just a straight-up Snickers. It's a classic. I think I'm a twigs guy. Twix are good. I can't do like the fruit can't,

you know, like I can't do Skittles. I can't do Starburst. I'm too old for that shit now. What do you mean? Like when you say it's too sweet. Too sweet. It's too sweet. It's too sweet. Chocolate I can get behind. I'm with you. I can't eat like more than like one or two starbursts or gummy bears is like that. I feel like shit. Yeah. Like my son occurrence. Crap. What happened? Yeah. You know, because, you know, used to just a handfuls of it when you were a kid. Youth is fleeting, dude. All right.

Well, anyway, Q, we got treats. We don't need candy. I'm really excited, dude. Uncle Acid and the Dead Beats is who we're covering today. Yes. So this is the perfect band for Halloween night. They're called Uncle Acid and the Dead Beats. You may have heard of them before.

We may have mentioned them before on this podcast. I'm going to read their biography on Spotify because it's, But there's no better way to describe them than this right here. So here we go. Somewhere out there in the multiverse of infinite possibilities exists a world where the Beatles recorded Helter Skelter decided to stop cutting their hair and never looked back. That's it. Yeah.

That explains him perfectly. If you didn't read that, I was going to bring it up. Like, Uncle Acid and the Dead Beats are, I mean, John Linen really is what I hear, and the vocals, but like the Beatles, but if they were, like John Lennon in a metal band, you know, like in a psych rock metal band. To me, I almost think of like John Linen took Ozzy spot in Black Sabbath. Yeah, yeah, dude. Hell yeah. John Lennon fronts Black Sabbath, right? Yeah.

And everything about them, all their album covers, their aesthetic, you know, the look, it just screams like Halloween. You know, like it screams like spooky. And like like, think like a cult, you know, like cultish imagery and stuff like that. They actually used to go by the name the Sharon Tate Experience, which she was one of the victims of the Manson family. So Sharon Tate. Shit. So that's, you know, yeah, it's all part of the same package here. There's a weird obsession with the Manson family in rock and roll, dude.

Like, that's something I learned reading David Brown's book on Sonic Youth. Like, there's a lot of imagery with Charles Manson and a lot of their early stuff, like their album art and stuff. Yeah. I mean, it is, it is fascinating. It is. And, of course, you know, Manson was a musician, right? But anyway, that's another descriptor here on their Spotify biography. It's the Fab Four, as in the Beatles, fronted by Charles Manson, right?

So anyway, we're not going to really spend too much time talking about them. That's all you need to know, right, is this is a psychedelic sounding throwback to the 60s. And his voice is very, very John Lennon. and, you know, they kind of flirt with like the bluesy metal stuff that Sabbath did, but also some of like the melodic stuff that the Beatles would do. But it's all like under this like psychedelic rock umbrella, right? So anyway, we're just going to play a handful of tracks from a few of their records. That first one that played us in was off their debut record called Volume 1.

The name of that song was Witch's Garden. That's another thing you're going to pick up on is that, All the names of these songs are also perfect for this particular night on the calendar. All right. So let's jump ahead to their second record, Bloodlust. And we're just going to jump right into it here, Q. This song is called Withered Hand of Evil. Love it, dude.

I haven't heard this stuff. The only album there, as I'm familiar with, is Night Creeper. Yeah, dude, this is, you know what, dude, I'm reminded of when I was obsessed with, like, a psychedelic garage rock for like a full straight year. And that's all I brought as Watcher Hertz for like a whole year. You know, and you brought up like saying, you said something like, you know, there's a right and wrong way to be not gimmicky, but like to, to pay homage to this era. Yeah.

And they're doing it in all the right ways, dude, you know? Yeah. Well, yeah. And I think what they're doing right is that they're combining some, some, you know, bits and pieces from a bunch of different things to make the sound. Because, like, the pace of this particular song is very doom metal, like the crawl, the really slow kind of riff in the background there. very Sabbathesque

Yeah the way I always It always feels like to me And I know it's not out of Tempo but it always feels like The drums are kind of dragging behind Like and that's like it's not they're not You know but like that's just when I think of like the doom Like sludgy metal

Yeah that's what I think of like it's just feels like we're You're trying to to catch up the whole time Yeah You know and this is a perfect example of his voice sounding like the linen, right? So the singer is Kevin R.

Well, he goes by K.R. Kevin K.R. Stars. Let me see the timeline. So he's the one consistent member. Yeah. Every other bandmate has rotated out at some point, but he's been the consistent member. Because without that voice,

I feel like you don't really have it, you know. but it's almost like he had a seance and he is channeling. Like Lennon is like singing through him. You know what I mean? It really does feel like that. The imagery of the evening. And you know what, dude, I used to feel the same way about... Kevin Parker?

Kevin Parker. Yeah, from Tame and Paula. At least in their early stuff, like I felt like it was straight up just John Lennon in an Australian psych rock band. Yeah. Well, yeah, here's another metaphor, dude. People love having, they love the metaphors with this band. I'm reading from the Wikipedia page.

The band has been described as the original Alice Cooper band jamming in a cell with early Black Sabbath and the Stooges. Okay. Now, that's interesting. I don't know if I've ever gone back and listened to early Alice Cooper. I was about to say that, dude. An interesting Halloween episode for next year, maybe. I was going to say, like, that makes me want to go back. and listen to quote unquote original Alice Cooper because all I can think of is schools out

or you know the well it was uh wainsworld two the freaking be my Frankenstein be my Frankenstein dude it's just super cheesy man it but think about it though dude that's exactly the kind of stuff that uncle acid singing about they got so uncle acts is not doing it straight up like just like laying on the cheese and maybe that's just because Alice Cooper was doing it in the 80s and but I feel like it didn't feel cheesy back then or so I was going to say I think the only reason it's cheesy is because we're like decades removed and like it's not it's there's no shock factor like I feel like Alice Cooper was probably like shocking you know yeah like when he came out true there's no there's no shock anymore do you're not anymore we're all just disinsitized to

everything totally all right well let's move on to the next track here and I'm going to play a song off of the night creeper so you might you might be familiar with this one cue But here we go. This is the Night Creeper record. It came out in 2015. And this song is called Murder Nights. And I mean, they nailed it, you know? Like, there's no faults that I can think of with this band.

As far as, like, what they're going for? Yeah. And I was going to say, like, again, there's bands that try, like, that stick to a sound. And they fall short. for whatever reason. Like maybe, I don't know. Like,

as far as like the, it's, it's just too on the nose. Yeah, here's who I think of. And I, I, I have probably thrown these guys

under the bus before. Temples. Yes, dude. I know. You bring them up all the time. That and obviously, Greta Van Fleet.

Don't say it. How dare you? But no, Temples, it's not that they're not writing good tunes. Same with Greta Van Fleet. But,

like, it's too on the nose, I guess. I don't know. Temples just weren't spooky enough for you. That's what it is. Yeah. Yeah, you're right. All right.

So let's move along to the next pick here. This is from their 2018 record. It's called Wasteland. And I'm going to play a song called I See Through You. That was a song. That was a good. That was if... Just say it.

John... Because I think I'm going to agree with you on this. If John Lennon joined Caius or Queens of the Stone Age, yeah. Yeah. Well, I was thinking... What I was thinking of two particular songs off of songs... Songs for the Deaf. Yeah, dude.

I want to leave you. Gonna leave you. Do it again. Another love song. They had that kind of vibe, right? Yeah. Those were all songs. that Josh Hami didn't sing, right?

That was the other guy in the band. Yeah, Nick, the bass player. Yeah. Gonna leave you in another love song where Nick Alivari. Yeah. But yeah, I think those songs had a different vibe, right,

from the rest of the songs for the deaf stuff. Totally. And I feel like this has that same kind of like a little bit more up-tempo than the other two songs I played, right? So they're kind of picking up the tempo a little bit on this new record, this latest record.

I mean, it's also worth noting that they, you know, they've switched members too by the time you get to this record. I mean, it's the same guy, but like, you know, they got a different, they got different drummer. They got a different bass player. They got a different guitar player. So all that plays into it, right? Totally. But yeah. Dude, the lyrics, man, I love the lyrics.

It's great. Let me just read the lyrics. You tell me what you think this is about. Okay. Somebody switched the oxygen off. and take their games away. Somebody take the plug from the wall and let them find their own way through.

I know it's you. It's the evil you do. That to me sounds like he's pissed off at the internet and social media. Maybe, yeah. And the state of youth these days. Listen to this, dude. I think you might be right.

The next verse, somebody take their platform away and let them stand alone. Somebody cut the fog with a knife down to the knucklebone. It's true they lie to you. It's the evil they do. I can't breathe, but I can see through you. Shit.

So you're full of shit, is what he's saying to this person. But the shit you're spewing is so toxic, I can't breathe. Exactly. All right, cute. Well, that's it, man. Quick and dirty. Awesome. Love it.

If you weren't convinced by those three tracks to check out Uncle Acid in the Deadbeats, then you might not like him as what it comes down to. But it's hard. If you're a fan of 60s rock, right, and the psychedelic, that psychedelic rock sound or even do metal sound, like this band has a little bit of everything for people that like that kind of stuff. Yeah. And it's just cool to hear to hear that linen vocal sound mashed.

up with some some heavy heavy metal type stuff that is cool what made me fall in love with tame impala back in the day was that exact reason dude the linden plus psychedelic type stuff yep also if this you know 30 minute show wasn't enough for you on uh all hallows eve we have got two more official bonus Halloween episodes in our catalog one one of them we covered a bunch of them we covered a bunch of John Carpenter scores. And then another one. Our first one, a few years back, was on this really awesome, like, dancey, gothy, synth band, I guess, from Denton called The Undoing of David Wright.

That was a really fun episode. But yeah, last year, we did an entire month of, no, two years ago, we did an entire month of metal for Halloween or for October. So we've got lots of good, like, spooky metal, you know, episodes for October if you want to dive deeper. I could tell you another one to check out is our sidetrack episode on Ghost. That one was great, dude. That one was a really fun. That was October 2019, if you need to know when that episode came out.

That was a fun episode, dude. But that was, yeah, if you don't know who Ghost is, that's a good kind of starter pack, the songs that we covered. So go check that out And then if you need yet another spooky episode Okay, this was technically our Our first Halloween episode We just didn't call it a Halloween episode We recorded it on Halloween night

It didn't come out until November of 2018 But we talked about the music of Susperia Which is a 70s French horror film Oh and we did Goblins and Tommy Orks Yeah we did Yeah exactly We played off the original

the original and then we played the Tom York, a Tom York track off of the remake. Yeah, dude. So there you go. You got some episodes to listen to. Yeah, we got lots of spooky episodes if you want to dig deep into our catalog. Yeah, if you want to spend the next four hours listening to no filler instead of going out and having some spooky fun of your own on Halloween night.

I mean, if your neighborhood is like mine, you know, and you don't have any other plans for the night, just hang out with us for the night, you know? Yeah, we'll keep you company. We'll scare you. And especially if you listen to that 2018 episode, the sound quality is probably so bad. It's probably real scary, dude. Yeah, you'll get spooked for sure.

It's probably real scary. Yeah. All right, well, that's it, man. Yeah, so tomorrow we've got our what you heard for November, because it's November 1st tomorrow. So check that out. And, yeah, stay tuned for the 200 that, coming right around the corner shortly afterward as in the following week.

And yeah, that's it, man. We'll give you a rundown, actually, of kind of our plans for the next few months here, or next few episodes at least, in tomorrow's episode. But, yeah, check us out on Instagram. Just look for No Filler Podcast. You'll find us on there. You can also find us on the Pantheon Podcast Network. It's pantheonpodcast.com.

And that's it. This has been the bonus Halloween episode. Happy Halloween, everybody out there. Go get some candy or, you know, partake in some other fun activities, you know, because I don't think any 12-year-olds listen to our show. Go bob for some apples. Yeah, you're probably not getting candy anymore, but... You're probably not bobbing for apples either.

Whatever version of a treat for yourself. Go in that Halloween costume, you know what I mean? Yeah. Or go in that Halloween costume contest. Right. Go do something. Yeah. Or just listen to those episodes we told you to go listen to.

Either way, we will see you guys again soon. And by that, I mean, tomorrow. Yes, because again, it's October 31st. Yeah, we're definitely not recording this on October 27th. What? All right, man. Thank you so much as always for listening. We will shout at you soon.

You all take care. I'm holiday magic at Holt Renfrew with gifts that say I know you. From festive and cozy fashion to lux beauty and fragrance sets, our special selection has something for every style and price point. Visit our Holt's holiday shop and store or online at Holtrenfrew.com.