Ziggy 2000

This week I am taking a sidetrip down memory lane. I have mentioned the detholz in past posts. Not only friends and great musicians, but a great band. They do a halloween show that is a must see if you live in chicago land. I will post a detholz related song at the end but this is about my first detholz experieince. One of legendary preportions…

Ziggy

I was at a conference in sunny california about 6 months ago. The reception had a hollywood theme with impersonaters walking around. Your regulars, marilynn monroe, clark gable, etc…

Did I mention Clark Gable? He had a “could not be natural” tan and gave off an overall creepy vibe. Several of us noticed it and it became the subject of conversation. That’s when I said “It reminds me of the scariest David Bowie impersonater…”

That is when, Brian, who I have worked with for 4 years, turned to me and dropped the bomb. “Oh, Ziggy 2000!” Who is Ziggy 2000 and what does this have to do with the Detholz?

The first detholz show I saw was in chicago at the Big Horse Saloon. They were sandwiched between Alison Kenady and Ziggy 2000. I could write an entire post on Miss Alison as well. It was a memorable night. (just one anecdote: For one song, she used a drop-d tuning along with her companion on 12 string. I took a good 5 minutes to get that done. only to play one song and then 5 more minutes to tune back up to e).

In the words of my work mate, responding to my lifting my jaw off the floor and shouting “do not tell me you know who ziggy 2000 is !!!!”

“yeah. I never saw him, but I friends that did. they said they couldn’t describe the show other than its the scariest thing you will ever experience”

That about sums it up. Here are some of the things I remember.

• “Do not forget to tip your mexican bartender” said repeatedly throughout the set. It was a mexican resturant.
• Ziggy, floating above a bundle of balloons singing Major Tom
• A feeling of complete panic everytime ziggy got near the audience (especially anywhere near me).
• Jim Cooper, getting up to go to the restroom (requiring one to walk up near the stage), and Ziggy shouting “Where the f#$k are you going!” – a frightened Mr. Cooper half jumping and looking at us.
• Ziggy 2000, rolling on the floor with a 8×12 glossy of Donald Trump
• Ziggy 2000 simulating being felated by said 8×12 glossy of Donald Trump

did I miss anything?

What I also remember from that night:

• hearing sunburned in the sun for the first time and just being absolutely floored by that song.
• hearing Mr. roboto with detholz treatment
• pretty much not being able to follow anything they were doing on guitar
• meeting up with old college friends
• figuring out who Jim Cooper was in college (oh, its the neil young guy!)
• did I say being blown away by how good the detholz were?

To this day, that show lives in my memory as something special. The detholz may have been upstaged by a psychotic bowie impersonater, but only by a little.

The other show that has a special place in my heart is the one and only Jukebox of the Dead show I have been able to attend in chicago. I still remember the chills as they opened with Susudio. I remember, Jim barking out the words to live a virgin, with eyeliner melting down is pale corpse like face (nice combo there).

I am hoping to attend this year. If you live in the chicagoland area, you need, and I mean you really need, to go to the show. Get tickets. It will probably sell out again like last year. here is what you need to know:

Jukebox of the Dead IX
“Detholz! FLEX!”
w/special guests Aleks and the Drummer & Hood Internet
Friday, October 31, 2008
Empty Bottle
1035 N Western Avenue
Chicago, IL
Buy tickets at www.emptybottle.com

A Heavenly Way – my detholz tribute

And here is a link to a song I wrote called “A heavenly way” which was my attempt to rip off completely the Detholz! It’s many years old and imitates the “classic” detholz which included, ridiculous time signatures, dissonant chords, erratic chord changes, odd runs, and slightly off kilter lyrics.

None of which, at the time, did i have any experience with. So I challenged myself to write something like that. I will leave it there except to say the lyrics for the verses were based on the lyrics for Michael W. Smith’s “friends”. On of the worse songs every. I would take a line from that song (which had long flowing lines) and remove words to make a short line from it. IE. “packing up the dreams god planted” = “packing up god planted”

here is a link: http://tinyurl.com/3osn83