Sunday, March 11, 2012

Attention King's X fans! Jerry Gaskill needs your help!

Jerry Gaskill is the drummer for King's X and last month he had a heart attack. Professional musicians don't usually have great health care plans and it's not like King's X are the Rolling Stones, so Jerry is having financial troubles. If you want to help Jerry you can buy and download an mp3-only release the band is doing of a 1991 King's X show from Boston. It costs only $20 and all proceeds go to help Jerry with his medical bills. I got it yesterday morning and it rocks and if you're a King's X fan you should definitely get it.

Here's the link: http://molkenmusic.com/store/shop/details.php?id=50

And here's a clip of King's X doing their most well known song, "It's Love" from the great Faith Hope Love album.


I first saw King's X when they opened for AC/DC. That was a bit of a weird bill because King's X are a heavy yet harmony driven progressive band and AC/DC are, well they are AC/DC. Still it was a killer show. I saw it at old Reunion Arena in Dallas TX when I was 16 years old. This would have been 1990. I went with my (then) best friend John O'Rielly. When we got tickets we had to go to Sound Warehouse at 6am to get in line for the...I want to say TicketMaster but I am not sure if it was TicketMaster selling them back then...TicketMaster counter to open. Our seats were on the side directly overlooking the stage. I remember King's X singer/bassist Dug Pinnick had a giant mohawk. Good look!

They were one of the many bands I found through MTVs Headbangers Ball. I think it was on Saturday nights and I would sit and watch metal videos all night talking on the phone with friend John, whom I have no idea where he is anymore.

I saw King's X again my freshmen year at American U in Washington DC. My buddy Doug and I took the bus down to Georgetown to see them at The Bayou. My memory is convinced this was the first concert I ever saw in DC, but that would be 1991 and that can't be right because I am pretty sure they were touring behind Dogman which came out in 1994 and Doug had a Dogman t-shirt. Frak it, I don't remember.

I saw them a third time at Jaxx in Springfield VA. Ha! Jaxx! What a dump. I actually live 15 minutes away from that place. I am surprised it hasn't burned down yet. They were on a bill with 4 other bands. I think one of them might have been a band called Protein and I am pretty sure one was The Galactic Cowboys.  Doug was there again and our other buddy Clay was with us. That must have been around 1998 or 1999. Jeez!

I think those are the only times I have seen them. I don't remember if I saw them at someplace like the 930 Club. Maybe Clay or Doug remember. I did see Dug Pinnick and his side-band Tres Mts at the Black Cat last year. That was a very cool show, one of only 5 they did. Tres Mts features the drummer from The Fastbacks (whose name I am too lazy to look up) and two guys named Jeff Ament and Mike McCready from a little band I like to call Pearl Jam. The club was half empty. WTF!?!

Anyway, back to the point, help Jerry Gaskill out and get a rocking download to go with it.

2 comments:

  1. I was at that AC/DC + King's X show with Steve O'Donnell, sitting in the same area. I think I remember turning around and waving to you a couple rows back. We were right on the side of the stage, closest to Malcolm.

    I remember loving Gretchen goes to Nebraska at the time but I haven't really kept up with them.

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    1. That's where we were. I think I was too busy banging my head! GGtN is a great record. FHL is probably my favorite, though they don't really have a bad album (though Please Come Home Mr Bulbous is close!).

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