Stallion Alert! - Joey Santiago

I always wondered how Joey Santiago came up with all his sweet parts for Pixies songs. Like, did Black Francis have ideas and he told Joey what to play, or was it all him? In reading a book about the Pixies and listening to Black Francis on the Sound Opinions podcast that I linked to earlier, I found out the answer: It was all him.

Francis said Joey would take a tape of the songs the band was working on (one at a time, I think), go into a room by himself, strap headphones on, and just play along until he came up with something he liked. Apparently it would take him hours sometimes. That is awesome, because that is always how I pictured it. And I'm glad it's true.

Of course, we wouldn't be talking about it if those parts he came up with weren't so damn great. All of the members of the Pixies contributed a ton to the band (even though Black Francis wrote 99% of the songs), but it was really Santiago that brought the songs to the next level. The dude's never been given enough credit for his guitar playing. Maybe this Pixies resurgence will bring some of that.

Joey, you are a stallion.

That about does it for the Pixies. I covered the majority of their output, but there a few more songs that I wanted to mention before we move on.

"Born in Chicago" - This is a Paul Butterfield Blues Band song that the Pixies covered for the Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary comp that was put out in 1990. I had this on some random cassette that a friend's sister made for me in 1991, and loved the shit out of it. Still do.

"Boom Chickaboom" (sometimes spelled "Boom Chick A Boom") - An early Pixies song that never saw official release (though there is the solo acoustic demo on Frank Black Francis), but this version seems to be the best one out there. Sweet.

"I Can't Forget" - This is a Leonard Cohen cover from the I'm Your Fan tribute that was released in 1991. Cool tune.

"Bam Thwok" - The only new Pixies song to yet be released. Kim wrote it. It sounds like The Breeders. Kind of. I liked it way more than I thought I would.

"Ain't That Pretty At All" - A Waren Zevon cover from the Enjoy Every Sandwich tribute released in 2004. Nice one.

I think that covers the most notable studio versions of random Pixies tracks. There's also a ton of bootlegs of demos and other weird shit floating around the web, so if you're into that sort of thing, you can go nuts.

There's been word that the Pixies will be going into the studio this year to record new material. I remain cautiously optimistic.

Stallion Alert! - Krist Novoselic

It somehow always seemed perfect that the bass player for the biggest band in the world was a six-and-a-half foot tall goofball with a constant grin on his face. While Kurt Cobain was diminutive, quiet when he wasn't screaming his songs, and often overly serious, Novoselic seemed to be the exact opposite. He was tall, slightly mouthy, and he really just seemed happy to be along for the ride.

I still love the story of Novoselic getting black-out drunk, stumbling over to Jonathan Poneman's (or was it Pavitt's?) house, and demanding that Nirvana be given a written contract from Sub Pop. This was after he was belligerent at their initial meeting with the label, almost screwing up the deal. He ended up doing Sub Pop a favor: when it came time for Nirvana to jump to a major, they still owed an album to their current label. DGC had to cut Sub Pop in for profits on the new shit, and it's been said that that drunken contract saved the label.

Anyway, not trying to get off on a tangent here. It's just a funny story. And Krist always struck me as a funny guy, and a genuinely nice one, too. And while you won't often hear him praised for being a superb bass player, go back and listen to the bass lines in tracks like "Lounge Act" and "On A Plain." They're doing a lot more than you think.

He should also be commended for maintaining Nirvana's legacy (to the best of his abilities) and involving himself in social issues when he could just as easily lay back and wait for the next Nirvana retrospective. The list could go on and on. The guy's a stallion. I know it and you know it.

He currently blogs for Seattle Weekly, and you should check that shit out.

Stallion.

Stallion Alert! - Pete Krebs

As if my feelings on the man's music weren't abundantly clear. Figured I'd punctuate it thusly because we've already covered Hazel and his solo stuff, and I'm pretty sure I don't have a proper copy of the Thrillhammer record (though I should...).

He's a great musician, a tragically underrated songwriter, and he was always really nice to me when I would request songs and nerd out to him at the solo gigs he played.

For further Pete Krebs info, I suggest this five-part interview he did with the Willamette Week's Local Cut a few years back:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five

It's a long series of interviews, but really well done and incredibly informative. There's an annoying absence of Krebs-related material on the web, so this is a damn fine resource to have.

I also just remembered that one night in 1999 or 2000, my friend Aimee and I – while sitting and watching Pete play – made up a Pete Krebs drinking game. I think we might have called it "Shy Town" or something like that. These are the rules, and probably won't make a lot of sense unless you know his music. This game works for both Hazel and his solo stuff, but maybe better for his solo works.

When listening to/watching Pete Krebs play, take a drink every time he mentions:

- Telephones. In any capacity. Them ringing, someone calling someone, etc.
- The highway. Or any long stretch of road.
- Alcohol or smoking cigarettes.
- Driving a car. Or the dashboard of a car.
- Hearts or valentines.

Also drink every time he does ba-ba-da-da type vocal part.

Now put on Sweet Ona Rose and have yourself a good time.

Stallion Alert! - Brendan Canty

I realized about halfway through my dissection of Fugazi's records that I wasn't mentioning their drummer nearly enough. While this is at once a meager attempt to make up for that, Canty is a purebred stallion anyway, so it may have been inevitable.

It's hard to fully explain Brendan Canty's contributions to Fugazi, because I'm not sure we're completely aware of them. While he is an incredible drummer and owed just as much credit for the band's unique sound as any of the other three members, I've always been under the impression that he had a lot of input in the songwriting, too. Maybe we'll never know the whole story on that front, but I do know this: watching the man behind his drum kit was always one of the best parts of any Fugazi show. He's incredible at replicating the intricate rhythms of the songs as they were laid down on the albums, and then taking them a step further while making them twice as good. If that makes sense.

So yes, he's an insane drummer. He always seemed like he was a really nice guy, too, and managed to smile more than the other members of the group, all while beating the shit out of his drums and ringing his bell.

Looks like we've got ourselves a stallion.

"Birthday Pony" with Brendan assaulting the skins.

Stallion Alert! - Billy Gould

As the bass player for Faith No More, Billy Gould may have been the one responsible for all that "funk metal" talk that surrounded the band in the early days. It was his hands that were always slapping away at those bass strings as his head rolled around in rhythm. Of course, you never heard him actually call the band that, did you? In fact, if you watch this video, you'll hear Mr. Gould trying to steer the conversation away from such nonsense. You know why? Because he's better than labels, especially trivial ones that attempt to make a blanket statement about a band that is far too diverse to warrant that sort of treatment.

The point being, I always felt like Billy Gould was the brains behind Faith No More. He seemed continuously focused, always played his ass off, and also just seemed like a really nice guy. And if you check for his name in the song credits, you'll find it's there quite a bit. He was the workhorse behind Faith No More, the most "normal" looking member of the group, and a guy who wasn't ever trying to weasel his way into the spotlight. But every time you saw him, there he was: banging away at the bass, never lacking in intensity, and always locked in, whether he was walking in circles or firmly planted.

If you can find footage of this guy half-assing it, I'd like to see it.

It goes without saying: Billy Gould is pure stallion.

Stallion Alert! - Paul Rothchild

Not a big enough picture, but what can you do. Paul Rothchild's on the left, there, taking a break from recording and hanging with Jim Morrison.

Rothchild, while mentioned quite a bit in conversations that really dissect the music of The Doors, doesn't, in my opinion, get quite enough credit. He produced all of their records, aside from LA Woman (Which he walked away from), and was really the fifth member of the band. The man initially reigned in the musicians, eventually (and quite quickly) crafted The Doors' sound, and made their records much better than they ever would have been without him. And this was in the days of four track recording.

Best of all, when he felt the band was losing it, he told them to eat it, and hit the road. A bold move.

He passed away in 1995, but if you look real close you can catch him in The Doors film, and you can read a super informative (Doors nerds get ready!) interview with him from 1981 here.

Stallion Alert! - Greg Hawkes

I think it's safe to say Greg Hawkes achieved Stallion status with this photo alone. But he did so much more.

There are a handful of groups who have a clear leader, usually the sole songwriter, and often the lead vocalist. Sometimes there is a member of that group who, though not often appropriately recognized as such, is the right-hand man of that leader and adds considerably to the distinct sound of the group. David Byrne had Jerry Harrison, Black Francis had Joey Santiago, and Ric Ocasek had Greg Hawkes.

It's hard to hear it now because the things Hawkes was doing sound a bit less remarkable thirty years later, but in 1978, there weren't a lot of guys who really knew their way around a synthesizer. Watching Hawkes in any early Cars footage, it's clear the dude's rig was bigger and badder than most of the tinkerers out there. And he knew how to play it.

He anchored some of the group's biggest hits (it's a beautiful moment when that Moogy thing kicks in during the second verse of "Good Times Roll"), but also managed to push the envelope on songs that were wonderfully not radio-ready. He goes crazy on Panorama, having a huge hand in some of the Cars' most creative and bold music.

When you're writing songs that are straightforward, yet complex enough to leave room for some textural fiddling in the background, you've got to have a guy who's not afraid to try some weird shit, while also knowing exactly what he's doing. Greg Hawkes was that guy; the curious little wild card in The Cars that made them a much better band than they would have been without him.

For that (and for the white suspenders), he is nothing short of a stallion.

Here he is playing "You Might Think" on the ukulele.

Stallion Alert! - Eric Drew Feldman

I actually know very little about Eric Drew Feldman. I always thought he was one of the main guys in Pere Ubu. He wasn't. But I do know one thing: when he teamed up with Frank Black, they made some great music together.

And for that, he is a stallion.

Some people might remember him as the hirsute dude who's not a member of the Pixies but is in their video for "Alec Eiffel." I'll always remember him as the trollish looking guy who manned the keyboards the first time I saw Frank Black live. He stood in the back like this mad scientist (I have a memory of him using computer discs, though that could be apocryphal), barely visible above his stack of machines. I realized that while FB was certainly heading into some new territory, branching out on his own, it was this guy who was responsible for a good part of his "new sound."

The Pixies sound different on Trompe Le Monde, their last album, and it's the keys. It's Eric Drew Feldman. Then, he went on to play on and co-produce Frank's first two (and best) solo records. If I really needed to explain to anyone why Teenager of the Year is FB's best solo work, not to mention my favorite record of all time, I would certainly say the songs. But I'm not sure if the songs would have been as good without the keyboards, the synths, and the arrangements. That's gotta be EDF, because he left, and Frank immediately lost something.

He came back, and Frank got better. It can't be a coincidence. I'll always like Frank Black when he's doing the straightforward guitar rock thing, because he does it as well as anyone. But I've realized that my favorite music he's ever made has been the stuff that's laced with those sweet keys.

So here's to you, Eric Drew Feldman. You are a stallion, and one of my favorite names to see jumping out at me in liner notes.

Stallion Alert! - Scoob Lover

He was Big Daddy Kane's right-hand man for most of his career, a cat whose tall-ass flattop almost overshadowed the fact that he was a multifaceted performer. Though he was often thought of as simply one half of Scoob & Scrap, the backup dancers that flanked Kane during a lot of his early performances, he also traded verses with the Big Daddy on the majority of his albums, as well as administering haircuts to the whole crew.

He's Scoob Lover aka Big Scoob, and he's a stallion.

Scoob first showed up on "On The Bugged Tip" from Long Live The Kane, doing a back-and-forth sort of laid back rhyme with Kane, but it's this sing-songy intro to the raps that has probably left the most lasting impression:

"You like the stylish clothes we wear,
and you like our flattop style of hair.
It's just those bugged out things we do
that make the girlies wanna stare"

Yeah, Scoob. He next appeared on the follow-up, It's A Big Daddy Thing, on the sex-rhyme fest that was "Pimpin' Ain't Easy." Scoob's still confident, and it's still thanks to his flattop:

"Tip-tip-toein', Scoob Lover's out ho-in'
Braggin' to the fellas how my flattop was growin'"

He hits the mic again, sandwiched between Kane and Scrap Lover on the fantastic "On The Move." Flattops anyone? Of course. This chant starts the cut:

"Well, here we are,
United just for you.
Our flattop cuts are new
Because we're on the move"

Yeah you are. He gets plenty of shout-outs throughout the rest of the record, even when he's not actually on the songs, and we learn from the liner notes that his zodiac sign is Sagittarius, and his code name is "Strong Nose." Solid.

Scoob keeps getting better and better, gaining confidence on the mic as his verses grow longer and more intricate. On Taste of Chocolate, he brings it big time on the posse cut "Down The Line." He gets in a few lines about his hair ("Let me see I’m slim, my hair is well trimmed") and stands out amongst the other guest MCs on the track. After being conspicuously absent on Prince of Darkness, Scoob comes back bigger than ever on Looks Like A Job For.... Kicking off the hyper-than-hype "Chocolate City," it's clear that he's been in the lab polishing his skills:

"A mic, a stage, a crowd, and I won't stop
I set it off and get live like an alarm clock
People thought Scoob and Scrap was just a nickname
Now that we rap, we sell more records than cocaine
Aw, shucks, now I'm back from the down-low
Here comes Scoob with the curly afro"

And it wouldn't be a Scoob verse without an update on his hair. He shows up again with Scrap and Kane, kicking it heavy on "Here Comes Kane, Scoob and Scrap." It's clear some of Kane's style when approaching the mic has rubbed off on him when he starts spitting some slick and witty similes: "I can get funky like a high school locker room."

By the time Daddy's Home rolled around, Scoob had changed his handle to Big Scoob and adopted a nasally style of speak that sounds like a more calm and calculated B-Real. It threw me off at first, but I learned to like it quite a bit, as it offsets Kane's deep voice and he was a good enough rapper at this point that it didn't matter. He's all over this one, playing big parts in four of the tracks on the album, and delivering on every one.

Scoob has put out some singles over the years, and it looks like he's still doing the damn thing:Here's to you, Scoob. You're a stallion of the purest form.

Check out Scoob's MySpace here.

Check out the all-Scoob Lover Stallion Alert Muxtape here.