Pre-Grunge Seattle Band Malfunkshun Reforms
DaytimeDilemma
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From Billboard.com:
Although it never recorded a full-length album or toured outside Washington state, Seattle band Malfunkshun is often cited as an important band amid the grunge family tree. Now, 16 years after the death of singer Andy Wood, Malfunkshun is reactivating.
An anomaly amid bands playing back-to-basics rock'n'roll, Malfunkshun featured the white makeup-faced Wood alongside his guitarist brother Kevin, who shredded like Yngwie Malmsteen, creating a punk/speed metal hybrid. To craft new Malfunkshun music, Kevin and fellow surviving member Regan Hagar have pacted with singer Shawn Smith (Satchel, Brad) and bassist Cory Kane.
"I have a stack of Andy's lyrics that I've been hanging onto for the past 15 years or so, since he died -- I never gave them up," Wood tells Billboard.com. "And they're all from the early '80s, when Andy was about 14 through 16. I always wanted to make songs out of them."
After Wood and Hagar initially decided to work together on the project, Wood reached out to Smith. "I called Shawn the day before the session, and he said, 'I'll do it.' He told me he had a dream about Andy right before I had emailed him to come in," he says. "The whole thing is like a gift from Andy - and Shawn did such good interpretations of these lyrics."
An album's worth of tunes was recorded, mixing new versions of vintage Malfunkshun songs such as "Love Child" and "My Love" with freshly penned cuts like "Another You," "Friendship Ring" and "He's a Mover." Also featured is a rearrangement of "Man of Golden Words" by Mother Love Bone, which Andy Wood formed post-Malfunkshun with future Pearl Jam members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament.
Although the recording is completed, the group is in search of a label to put out the album, which also goes by title of "Friendship Ring." Once the album is released, the quartet plans to launch a supporting tour. "We definitely want to tour and support it as much as possible. Me, Shawn, Regan and Cory are going to go out as a four-piece," Wood says.
Wood also assures that the group's original over-the-top approach remains intact on the new recordings, and that his brother would have approved. "Malfunkshun was always into the fast, shredding guitars," he says. "It's true-to-form as far as Malfunkshun goes -- it's a continuation of that same vibe. I miss Andy being there, but I feel that his presence is there. I know his approval was there."
Full article here:
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003286745
Although it never recorded a full-length album or toured outside Washington state, Seattle band Malfunkshun is often cited as an important band amid the grunge family tree. Now, 16 years after the death of singer Andy Wood, Malfunkshun is reactivating.
An anomaly amid bands playing back-to-basics rock'n'roll, Malfunkshun featured the white makeup-faced Wood alongside his guitarist brother Kevin, who shredded like Yngwie Malmsteen, creating a punk/speed metal hybrid. To craft new Malfunkshun music, Kevin and fellow surviving member Regan Hagar have pacted with singer Shawn Smith (Satchel, Brad) and bassist Cory Kane.
"I have a stack of Andy's lyrics that I've been hanging onto for the past 15 years or so, since he died -- I never gave them up," Wood tells Billboard.com. "And they're all from the early '80s, when Andy was about 14 through 16. I always wanted to make songs out of them."
After Wood and Hagar initially decided to work together on the project, Wood reached out to Smith. "I called Shawn the day before the session, and he said, 'I'll do it.' He told me he had a dream about Andy right before I had emailed him to come in," he says. "The whole thing is like a gift from Andy - and Shawn did such good interpretations of these lyrics."
An album's worth of tunes was recorded, mixing new versions of vintage Malfunkshun songs such as "Love Child" and "My Love" with freshly penned cuts like "Another You," "Friendship Ring" and "He's a Mover." Also featured is a rearrangement of "Man of Golden Words" by Mother Love Bone, which Andy Wood formed post-Malfunkshun with future Pearl Jam members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament.
Although the recording is completed, the group is in search of a label to put out the album, which also goes by title of "Friendship Ring." Once the album is released, the quartet plans to launch a supporting tour. "We definitely want to tour and support it as much as possible. Me, Shawn, Regan and Cory are going to go out as a four-piece," Wood says.
Wood also assures that the group's original over-the-top approach remains intact on the new recordings, and that his brother would have approved. "Malfunkshun was always into the fast, shredding guitars," he says. "It's true-to-form as far as Malfunkshun goes -- it's a continuation of that same vibe. I miss Andy being there, but I feel that his presence is there. I know his approval was there."
Full article here:
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003286745
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Here's a blurb from Brad's website (http://www.bradcorporation.com):
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Profound...
http://www.myspace.com/thelastreel http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19604327965
i thought so.
i'm just tired of bands reforming like this. it's like thin lizzy without phil lynott. i don't think so. the doors without morrison. come on people. and yes, alice without layne. i know i tend to be in the minority with this view but it's just how i feel.
sure use andy's music if you have to, but don't call the band malfunkshun. think up another name.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Have you never changed your mind over something? Have you never considered it possible that you COULD feel a different way about something? Sometimes looking at something in a different way can give you a completely fresh perspective. As much as you can argue otherwise, the singer of a band is not 100% what defines that band. Having seen the new incarnation of AIC, it has in no way affected my view of the band or Layne's memory, I will always hold him up there as one of my favourite singers. It was just great to hear those songs live, sung by someone who is not only a huge fan, but he actually 'gets it', the way i feel like I 'get' their music.
I'll certainly be interested in checking this out.
The malfunksion stuff in my opinion was no where near as good as MLB, but there were a couple cool songs on the malfunksion album i have. I'm excited about this.
Charlotte 03
Asheville 04
Atlanta 12
Greenville 16, Columbia 16
Seattle 18
Nashville 22
i didn't say it was logical. it's just how i feel is all.
but i can tell you i am not as big a fan of brian johnson AC/DC as i am of AC/DC circa bon scott.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Fair enough, but ultimately we choose how we feel about things......
Andy had a very rough edgy sound where as Shawn sounds very defined and smooth.
There is probably days where I would rather listen to MLB over Satchel or Brad though.;)
why does the singer get such special status? how come a band's guitar player can die and not a peep from folks like you? how come it was ok for the who to continue playing and recording afte keith moon died? after john entwhistle? aic had several bassists, why weren't you screaming bloody murder then? are they all just "session musicians" to back up the profound powers of layne, while adding no unique contributions themselves?
if ed left to go solo, would stone and jeff be denied the right to keep the band THEY created going? just becos you're slavishly devoted to the singer? are you saying the singer is more important and mike, jeff, and stone's contributions to pearl jam don't really matter?
i can not stomach sammy hagar van halen. i'd much rather see david lee roth doing his thing in front of VH. but as i said, it's not my call. i just don't listen.
if eddie left pearl jam and for whatever reason stone and jeff felt the need to continue on without him, then personally i would stop listening. it is eddie's voice i identify with. much the same as i can not separate alice in chains from layne staley. to me layne's voice was an integral part of alice's sound.
and no i am not saying the singer is more important than the rest of the band. but when it is such a distinctive voice or personality then that's just the way it is with me.
remember this is only my opinion. this is not carved in stone anywhere.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
how have you heard this? if you know people on the inside is there word on release dates? touring the uk?
http://www.myspace.com/thelastreel http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19604327965
Heard the songs through a band member. No idea about a release date or label as yet and I suspect any tour would be a localised (i.e. West Coast). It's all good though. A very worthy project!
Localized tour works for me! I very excited to hear and see this project.
that is disapointing... well if you see that bandmember again please beg them to do at least one show in london. :(
http://www.myspace.com/thelastreel http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19604327965