The Vandals Play Really Bad Original Country Tunes
Encyclopedia
The Vandals Play Really Bad Original Country Tunes is an album by the southern California
punk rock
band The Vandals
, released in 1999 by Kung Fu Records
. Essentially a re-release of their 1989 album Slippery When Ill
, it contains 8 of the 10 songs from that album along with 2 newer, previously unavailable songs. Part of the impetus for its release was that the original Slippery When Ill, long asked for by the band's fans, had become very rare and difficult to obtain due to the small size of the record labels it was originally released on. With their Kung Fu label (founded in 1996 by Vandals members Joe Escalante
and Warren Fitzgerald
) now firmly established, the band was able to re-release this music from ten years earlier in their career.
The original Slippery When Ill album represented a turning point in the history of the Vandals. It was their first album to feature Dave Quackenbush on vocals, who would remain the band's singer throughout the rest of their career. It was also something of a departure from the punk rock formula of their previous releases, fusing a country
and western
style with their humorous brand of punk. The result was a sound the band called "cow punk" which somewhat mocked the resurgence in popularity of country music in their native Huntington Beach
. Two exceptions were the songs "Shi'ite Punk" and "(Illa Zilla) Lady Killa," which relied heavily on scratch boxes. These songs were left off Country Tunes and replaced with the more country-sounding "Play That Country Tuba, Cowboy" and "Complain." "Shi'ite Punk" was re-issued the following year on the special anniversary re-release of their album Fear of a Punk Planet
.
, Robbie Allen on bass
, and Joe Escalante on drums
.
Mininmal credits are given for the last two songs on the album. Stan Freese
is credited after the title "Play That Country Tuba, Cowboy" although it is unclear exactly what his credits are in the creation of the song. He is the father of Josh Freese
, drummer for the Vandals since 1990, and is also an accomplished tuba
player who contributed to the band's 1998 album Hitler Bad, Vandals Good
. He sings and plays tuba on the song, although it is unclear who provided the rest of the musicianship and backing vocals. Likewise no credit is given for "Complain," except that it is "from the film Bob Roberts". Bob Roberts
is the title of a 1992 movie starring, written and directed by Tim Robbins
, in which he plays a right-wing folk singer running for political office. "Complain" is one of the songs performed by Robbins in the film, and it is covered on this album by the Vandals. Based on the dates of the film and of the band's involvement with the Freese family, it is most likely that the band's lineup of Dave Quackenbush, Warren Fitzgerald, Joe Escalante and Josh Freese (a lineup which has remained intact since 1990) should receive credit for the performances on these last two songs. However, no specific recording or production information is given.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Vandals
The Vandals
The Vandals are an American rock band established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...
, released in 1999 by Kung Fu Records
Kung Fu Records
Kung Fu Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996 by Joe Escalante and Warren Fitzgerald of the punk rock band The Vandals. Founded in order to release a record by the Riverside, California band Assorted Jelly Beans, the label soon grew to include a roster of notable artists...
. Essentially a re-release of their 1989 album Slippery When Ill
Slippery When Ill
Slippery When Ill is the second album by the Huntington Beach punk rock band The Vandals, released jointly in 1989 by Restless Records and Sticky Fingers Records. It was their first album to include Dave Quackenbush on vocals, who would remain the band's singer for the rest of their career...
, it contains 8 of the 10 songs from that album along with 2 newer, previously unavailable songs. Part of the impetus for its release was that the original Slippery When Ill, long asked for by the band's fans, had become very rare and difficult to obtain due to the small size of the record labels it was originally released on. With their Kung Fu label (founded in 1996 by Vandals members Joe Escalante
Joe Escalante
Joseph Patrick "Joe" Escalante is an American musician, record label owner, radio host, film and music video director, and amateur matador, as well as a former television executive and entertainment lawyer...
and Warren Fitzgerald
Warren Fitzgerald
Warren Fitzgerald is an American punk rock musician, guitarist, songwriter, and record label owner.-Overview and business:Warren Fitzgerald is most famous for being the current guitarist of The Vandals...
) now firmly established, the band was able to re-release this music from ten years earlier in their career.
The original Slippery When Ill album represented a turning point in the history of the Vandals. It was their first album to feature Dave Quackenbush on vocals, who would remain the band's singer throughout the rest of their career. It was also something of a departure from the punk rock formula of their previous releases, fusing a country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and western
Western music (North America)
Western music originated as a form of American folk music. Originally composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Directly related musically to old English, Scottish, and Irish folk ballads, Western music celebrates the life of...
style with their humorous brand of punk. The result was a sound the band called "cow punk" which somewhat mocked the resurgence in popularity of country music in their native Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 189,992; making it the largest beach city in Orange County in terms of population...
. Two exceptions were the songs "Shi'ite Punk" and "(Illa Zilla) Lady Killa," which relied heavily on scratch boxes. These songs were left off Country Tunes and replaced with the more country-sounding "Play That Country Tuba, Cowboy" and "Complain." "Shi'ite Punk" was re-issued the following year on the special anniversary re-release of their album Fear of a Punk Planet
Fear of a Punk Planet (album)
Fear of a Punk Planet is the third album by the southern California punk rock band The Vandals, originally released in 1990 by Triple X Records. It was their first album to include the lineup of Dave Quackenbush, Warren Fitzgerald, Joe Escalante and Josh Freese, solidifying the band's roster after...
.
Lack of credits
Although no credit is given to the performers in the album's liner notes (except "all songs written by the Vandals unless otherwise noted"), the band's 1989 lineup should be credited with making the original recordings used here, as it differed substantially from their 1999 incarnation. From the information provided in the liner notes of the original release Slippery When Ill it can be deduced that the performers on the first eight tracks of Country Tunes are Dave Quackenbush on vocals, Jan Nils Ackermann on guitarGuitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Robbie Allen on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and Joe Escalante on drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
.
Mininmal credits are given for the last two songs on the album. Stan Freese
Stan Freese
Stanford Freese is a world-renowned tuba soloist and Talent Casting & Booking Director with Disney Entertainment Productions ....
is credited after the title "Play That Country Tuba, Cowboy" although it is unclear exactly what his credits are in the creation of the song. He is the father of Josh Freese
Josh Freese
Josh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
, drummer for the Vandals since 1990, and is also an accomplished tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
player who contributed to the band's 1998 album Hitler Bad, Vandals Good
Hitler Bad, Vandals Good
Hitler Bad, Vandals Good is the seventh studio album by the southern California punk rock band The Vandals, released in 1998 by Nitro Records. Much of the album is characterized by the pop-punk music and humorous lyrics for which the band is known, and it became their most popular and commercially...
. He sings and plays tuba on the song, although it is unclear who provided the rest of the musicianship and backing vocals. Likewise no credit is given for "Complain," except that it is "from the film Bob Roberts". Bob Roberts
Bob Roberts
Bob Roberts is a 1992 film written and directed by Tim Robbins. It is a satirical mockumentary, chronicling the rise of Bob Roberts, a conservative politician who is a candidate for an upcoming United States Senate election...
is the title of a 1992 movie starring, written and directed by Tim Robbins
Tim Robbins
Timothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon...
, in which he plays a right-wing folk singer running for political office. "Complain" is one of the songs performed by Robbins in the film, and it is covered on this album by the Vandals. Based on the dates of the film and of the band's involvement with the Freese family, it is most likely that the band's lineup of Dave Quackenbush, Warren Fitzgerald, Joe Escalante and Josh Freese (a lineup which has remained intact since 1990) should receive credit for the performances on these last two songs. However, no specific recording or production information is given.
Track listing
- "Clowns Are Experts (At Making Us Laugh)" (Escalante/T. Murphey)
- "Susanville" (Escalante/Ackermann)
- "Desert Woman" (Escalante/Ackermann)
- "In America" (Charlie DanielsCharlie DanielsCharles Edward "Charlie" Daniels is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer...
/F. Edwards/J. Marshall/C. Hayward/T. Crain/T. Digregorio; originally performed by the Charlie Daniels Band) - "Elvis Decanter" (Escalante/Allen)
- "Goop All Over the Phone (Pleasant All Over the Bill)" (Escalante/Ackermann)
- "Gator Hide" (Escalante/Ackermann)
- "Long Hair Queer" (Escalante/Quackenbush)
- Play That Country Tuba, Cowboy (Stan FreeseStan FreeseStanford Freese is a world-renowned tuba soloist and Talent Casting & Booking Director with Disney Entertainment Productions ....
) - Complain (TimTim RobbinsTimothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon...
& David RobbinsDavid RobbinsDavid Robbins is an artist and writer who was one of the first to investigate the art world's entrance into the culture industry....
)
Performers
- Dave Quackenbush - vocals
- Jan Nils Ackermann - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, backing vocals - Robbie Allen - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals, second guitar on "In America" - Joe EscalanteJoe EscalanteJoseph Patrick "Joe" Escalante is an American musician, record label owner, radio host, film and music video director, and amateur matador, as well as a former television executive and entertainment lawyer...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
on tracks 1-8, bass on tracks 9 & 10, backing vocals - Stan FreeseStan FreeseStanford Freese is a world-renowned tuba soloist and Talent Casting & Booking Director with Disney Entertainment Productions ....
- tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
and vocals on track 9 - Josh FreeseJosh FreeseJosh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
- drums on tracks 9 & 10
Album information
- Record label: Kung Fu RecordsKung Fu RecordsKung Fu Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996 by Joe Escalante and Warren Fitzgerald of the punk rock band The Vandals. Founded in order to release a record by the Riverside, California band Assorted Jelly Beans, the label soon grew to include a roster of notable artists...
- Tracks 1-8 recorded at The Music Grinder in Hollywood, California 1987-1988
- Tracks 1-8 produced by Thom WilsonThom Wilson-Thom Wilson:Thom Wilson is a now-retired American punk rock record producer and engineer.-Career:Wilson began his musical career in the mid-1970s, engineering recordings by soft rock artits Burton Cummings and Seals & Crofts. He began working on punk rock albums in the early 1980s while producing...
- Track 1 written by Joe Escalante and T. Murhpey. Tracks 2, 3, 6, & 7 written by Joe Escalante and Jan Nils Ackermann. Track 4 written by the Charlie Daniels Band. Track 5 written by Joe Escalante and Robbie Allen. Track 8 written by Joe Escalante and Dave Quackenbush. Track 9 written by Stan Freese. Track 10 written by TimTim RobbinsTimothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon...
and David RobbinsDavid RobbinsDavid Robbins is an artist and writer who was one of the first to investigate the art world's entrance into the culture industry....
. - Art by Mackie Osborne