I
didn't
know what the fuck to expect when Dan Sartain's
latest album arrived in my box. The cover depicts a black &
white line-illustrated man [Sartain, self portrait] who A]
has either just blown his brains out with the gun in his hand
(the huge pizza-sized bloodstain directly behind head was a "dead"
giveaway) -or- B] has decided to pose in front
of the bloody splatter with gun in hand. Either way, I think I
get what it is Dan wants me to "join" on his latest
album - and I can say that each time I committed suicide, all
I got were medical bills and a headache.
Now let me tell you something Dan has said in the past [in MOJO],
and I quote: "I was in Berlin and somebody said 'I
don't like Alabama, there are too many Nazi's.' But I've
lived there my whole life and never seen anything like that. A
KKK man walking down the street would be dead. He would be dead
because I would kill him."
"All
hail Sartain - the Ivory Godfather™".
[crowd] "Amen!"
Musically, Sartain and his finely tuned guitar would be the perfect
touring partners for a set of dates with poetic six-stringer Hammel
on Trial and global / civil rights warrior Ethan
Daniel Davidson. For Join, Sartain is backed by a
wealth of musicians, from the Mariachi Real de San Diego quartet
[hear: "Flight of the Finch"] to percussionist Raj Parmely
[the only permanent member other than Dan] and the multi-talents
of RFTC/Hot Snakes et al John
Reis [who links Sartain to Swami].
You know what... Join is a diamond encrusted barrel of
all things west of Nevada brimmed with sterling silver tumbleweeds
and topped with attitude and talent [hear" Gun vs. Knife"]
. If you're not into this collection of rock'n'brawl.. . as Hammel
would say, "go fuck yourself". Or - as Dan would say
- "Bring your gun and I'll bring my knife"
[and a carload of young girls].
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