Last Sunday, September 11th, was the seven-year anniversary of the death of Jim Carroll. I’d like to have posted this entry then, but life gets in the way of these things sometimes.
In any event, while I’ve extolled the merits of Jim Carroll as musician, poet, author and luminary of cool several times here before, there’s actually a genuinely new development that warrants bringing it all back up beyond the anniversary of the great man’s passing.
The layperson might simply recognize Jim Carroll as the author of the seminal urban-teen memoir, “The Basketball Diaries,” which was later turned into a frankly abortive movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The less said about that the better. Passive music fans of a certain age might also know Carroll as the voice behind “People Who Died” by the Jim Carroll Band, an arguably tasteless slab of high-octane rock from the Punk era. I say “arguably tasteless” as, over the years, people have taken me to task for championing the song, asserting that it was unduly frivolous, morbid or exploitative when — in truth — none of those adjectives are even close to accurate. I wrote at some length about the song shortly after the man’s own death in 2009. Should you not feel like clicking, here’s what I had to say about it.
I remember first hearing “People Who Died” on some late night radio station when I was in 8th grade in 1980, but didn’t catch the name of the band responsible. The next day at school, I approached my classmate Zachary T. -- the grade’s resident coolster – and asked if he’d ever heard of the song. Without hesitation, Zach slipped into a back-arching a cappella rendition of “People Who Died,” before feverishly extolling the merits of the artists behind it, namely the Jim Carroll Band. Dutifully informed, I went out in search of the LP, entitled Catholic Boy, the very next day.
Sounding incongruously jubilant for what is essentially a lament, “People Who Died” rarely leaves its listener indifferent. Punctuated by Jim Carroll’s dizzyingly detailed lyrics and breathless, rapid-fire delivery, the song is a colorful laundry list of casualties who meet their respective ends in manners both tragic and absurd. Though popularly perceived as pitch black humor (sort of the punk rock equivalent to Edward Gorey’s “Gashlycrumb Tinies”), I’ve never doubted the sincerity of Carroll’s narrative, earnestly exhorting the passing of his fallen comrades as some sort of high-volume catharsis. Some of the characters cited in the song appear in Carroll’s more celebrated memoirs “The Basketball Diaries” (later made into a frankly forgettable film starring Leo DeCaprio and Marky Mark Wahlberg) and “Forced Entries.” Swapping the solemn cadence of a funeral dirge in favor of a hiccupy, adrenalized rhythm buffered by frantically strummed electric guitars, “People Who Died” may sound flippantly tasteless -– like much of the more sensationalized punk rock of its era -- but it also singularly captures Carroll’s mournful rage at the hopelessness and destruction that surrounds him. It may sound funny, but it remains an exorcism.
Not everybody hears it that way, of course. I vividly remember playing the track one night on my college radio station (WDUB 91.1 FM in Granville, Ohio) and a girl in my sociology/anthropology class found it so offensive that she actually stopped talking to me the very next day. Meanwhile, I think the biggest shame about “People Who Died”— as great a track as it is -- is that it’s leant Carroll a rather unfair one-hit-wonder status. Beyond that celebrated “novelty hit,” Catholic Boy is a classic album, rife with lesser-celebrated but equally visceral songs like “Three Sisters,” “It’s Too Late,” “Wicked Gravity” and the title track. Later Jim Carroll Band albums weren’t quite as punchy (although I liked their cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane” on 1983’s I Write Your Name), but my point is that there’s always been so much more to Jim Carroll than “People Who Died.” One would also do well to track down Carroll’s excellent spoken-word album from 1991, Praying Mantis.
Yeah, so anyway, glad we cleared that up.
Anyway, the new reason for bringing up “People Who Died” is my friend Jason Dennie. He's the gent on the left below.
Regular readers might recognize his name from this post, although he was also responsible for inspiring this post. A transplant from Seattle, Jason and I got to know each other during my relatively brief tenure working at MSN, where we bonded over our mutual love of needlessly stentorian rawk (although, to be fair, I believe Jason’s tastes span a greater breadth of musical styles than those of yours truly). To that same end, he’s also a tireless musician, routinely juggling new projects that find him kicking up a racket in any number of divey haunts around town. For a gent originally hailing from the Grunge capital of the Pacific Northwest, Jason’s managed to steep himself with efficiency into the New York City music scene. His most recent endeavor — an ensemble dubbed The Crier Brothers — recently harnessed the temerity to cover what some of us might considered the untouchably hallowed (as laboriously expressed in the paragraphs above) — “People Who Died” by the Jim Carroll Band. Were that not enough, Jason and his co-hort in Crying, James G. Barry (he's the gent on the right in the shot above), actually managed to convince surviving members of the Jim Carroll Band to even play on it. What balls, eh?
Once I re-affixed my eye-brows to my face, I decided to grab Jason and James by their respective lapels to ask them where the Hell they get off doing such a thing. Here’s what they had to say.
First up, tell me a little about the Crier Brothers? Who exactly are you guys, and what are you trying to do?
[James G. Barry] I met Jason at a beach house of a mutual friend. It was sort of a set-up meaning my friend though we gave off similar vibes. Anyway after a day of eating and drinking and listening to music we found an old guitar in a closet, tuned whatever strings were left on it. And the rest is history.
[Jason S. Dennie] As soon as I met Jim, I introduced him into a residency I had started in NY of like-minded musicians that would get together at Otto’s Shrunken Head the last Friday of each month. It kinda was a testing ground for me for folks that I could write and play music with. I had successfully done the same thing in Seattle, and sure enough, from day one, Jim and I were writing songs from the first time we jammed. The creation of Crier Brothers actually happened on stage in Philadelphia where we improved a set that was so locked in, we actually took a few of the songs, put a band together, and learned a few of our improv songs. The nail in the coffin was recording in Seattle with Jack Endino where we improved a few mores songs, learned them, and went on to recorded and self-release the EP, Original Music & Guide to Existence with a companion book, since linear notes don’t work so well with self-published CDs. Not sure if that explains exactly what we are, but I’ll tell you, that base is exactly what we are constantly trying to do, catch lightning in a bottle, multiple times, in multiple locations.
What made you decide to cover "People Who Died" (y'know, obviously beyond it being a seminal single)?
[JB] My dad grew up in Washington heights and played basketball all over Manhattan and the Bronx (his one claim to fame is that he actually played against Lewis Alcindor, ...later known as KareeM Abdul-Jabbar). His brother was the opposite and sort of hung out with bands and got really interested in punk. He told me about Jim Carroll when I was younger. I really can t remember when exactly. They always seemed to be sort of like the main character from "Basketball Diaries: split into two people. Fast forward yes we both just loved the song. I personally have dealt with a lot of deaths of close friends and Jay and I talked about doing the song and pulling on loss.
[JD] Jim was dealing with a lot of death around him and in turn, me. I have a weird rule that if we do a cover, it needs to be our own. And the best compliment of doing a cover is if someone knows its a cover but not sure who the song is by. I always like when people take something amazing and make it their own. ‘People who Died’ always seemed untouchable to me. I met Jim Carroll in the 90’s in Bellingham WA while he was on a book tour and he really made an influence on me. His ghost-like demeanor and sensitivity were striking. When Jim proposed we cover this song, I knew what it meant to him but I also didn’t want to touch it. We recorded the song in pieces and when it was being put together it really was distinct and sounded like Crier Brothers. It wasn’t until Brian Linsley and Terrell Winn came on board and played guitar solo’s that made it sound more like the original and my rule was throughout the window because it was ACTUALLY members of the Jim Carroll Band that was playing on the song! Be damned, my silly rules.
It's actually kind of a crazy audacious choice. I can't think of anyone covering it in the past. I know Pearl Jam tried "Catholic Boy." Was it tough to master?
[JB] We play it fast. Yes. Especially live. Our drummer will audibly groan if it comes after the single b-side "Sinuous Nature" (also fast)
[JD] It’s funny because when Jim proposed it and I was hesitant to cover it, I went searching to see if anyone had touched this song. The only cover I found was Patti Smith covering a live version on stage with her band. It was that moment that I knew it was going to come together perfectly. This was before Brian and Terrell were on board, but there was connection already to Crier Brothers. Pete Bischoff, our guitar player, has worked on Patti Smith albums and knows her band very well. It just seem to all fall into place from there on out.
How did you end up collaborating with those surviving members of the band? Were they cool with it?
[JB] We were struggling with getting a compulsory license for publishing and I noticed that ALL of the band members actually split the rights to the track. I contacted Brian Lindsey (guitarist) in a Hail-Mary kind of way and he immedietly got back to me and has been really amazing.
[JD] I pointed Jim in the right direction to get the publishing rights but he hit a brick wall. So what did he do? Reach out to the surviving members who after hearing our rough cut, wanted in on the release. Very cool.
What's the reaction been thus far?
[JB] People really like it. We have never (as a literal mantra of our improv group Empire Vista Social Club) recorded a cover. So this was ambitious, but it rocks.
[JD] It’s fitting right in with the faster numbers, like "Sinuous Nature" and "Wholehearted." Fans really seem to get on their feet for these in live shows. So far, everyone that heard the single is digging it.
Has there been any official reaction from the Carroll estate?
[JB] Brian has been working with the estate on trying to do some future projects relating to Jims other works. I don't think he has actually gotten this in front of them yet though. We are getting the 7" pressed now so we are hoping to circulate it that way.
[JD] Yeah, since it's a self-release, we don’t think it’s gotten the ears. We will be doing a radio push this fall so hopefully we will get some reactions.
As a hard-working, gigging rock band in the New York City of 2016, it's obviously a world of difference from gritty NYC of Carroll's era. Are you finding it a challenge to play live? Is there still a thirst for that which rocks?
[JB] Frankly, yes. Jay and I both work full time and end up financing things one way or another. People love to see live music but the city is bigger now. The scenes are spread out from Coney Island to Bushwick all the way to Inwood. People tend to stay local if they can. So we try to move around when we can.
[JD] I once heard, if you want to make it as a musician in New York, move here after you’re famous and I agree. You can walk into just about any club in New York on any given night and you have such amazing talent all around that are screaming into an abyss. But there’s nothing better than playing to a New York crowd that’s into what you’re doing.
For jack-offs like myself who are still preoccupied with the physical manifestation of music, where can we get our mitts on a copy of your cover of "People Who Died?
[JB] We released it digitally through CD baby out of Seattle. The 7" will be out by Halloween
[JD] Yep, it came out this summer in all the digital spots, Amazon, Spotify, YouTube, you name it. But this is the first time we are releasing a 7" and we are learning as we go. Our first turn around quote was 14 weeks, in which we thought we had in the bag for our June release. But turns out, it was pushed back and now looking like October for the physical copy. We have done something unique with this release. The 1st 50 copies will be an original artwork by Chris Georgalas, an amazing NY artist. After that, a printed copy in stores who accept DIY band’s vinyls and online on our website.
Any plans to play live with the Jim Carroll Band?
[JB] The Jim Carroll Band obviously has disbanded but we would love to play with Brian sometime. He is based in Utah now.
[JD] Yep, we are always working on opportunities to play on the west coast or east with Brian. The fact that he is doing a play based on Jim Carroll means we might be able to pull it off in NY. And the fact the Band formed in LA, we are brainstorming ideas out there.
What's next for the Crier Brothers?
[JB] We have another 7" that's being mixed right now. Cbs songs are also featured in a short film called "Home Slice" that is premiering at the Coney Island film festival this weekend.[JD] This concept of 7 inches and artist contributing original artwork to them has got some legs. Chris Georgalas did the first one and with that, Art Chantry has contributed to the second single coming out. Art and I have know each other since the 90s and I’ve always wanted to work on something with him on a personal project. I pitched him the idea and he came up with an amazing design. We are going to silk screen only 50 copies and make them available on his site and on ours. I’m sure it will be a collectors item as his posters have been in the Smithsonian and many other museums around the world. That should be out by the end of the year. If both projects work, we will probably continue to release in that fashion. And as Jim said, our songs are featured in a short film being premiered at the Coney Island Film Festival this weekend, which ain’t bad either.
Here’s the Crier Brothers’ take on “People Who Died.” Find out more at their website and their Facebook page.
Recent Comments