A ninebullets.net reader sent me this story this morning:

Police: Singer exposed himself at Christian club
Associated Press
Posted Jul 02, 2008 @ 06:00 AM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. —

Police say the lead singer of a Nashville-based rock group exposed himself to concertgoers during a show at a Christian-based club for young people.

Police have issued an arrest warrant for Joshua Wilkes of the Legendary Shack Shakers.

The arrest warrant says Wilkes was performing Friday night when he exposed his genitals to a few hundred teens and adults in the audience.

Ben Cissell, a representatives for the club, says it was the group’s first — and last — performance at Rocketown.

The group was opening for the ’90s punk rock band Rancid.

Rocketown says it screens the bands that play there to make sure they are appropriate.

A representative of the Legendary Shack Shakers was not immediately available for comment.

As I responded to the emailer, I’ve seen LSS 10 to 15 times and I’ve never seen JD pull his junk out.
Throw pubes…yup. Put his hands down his pants and stick a finger out his fly…check…but who knows. Also, Rancid? Christian club? So many things in this story don’t make any sense but it is apparently true. Here is a more detailed story complete with video (not of JD’s junk…) I guess it just ain’t rock and roll until somebodies penis is out.

The Legendary Shack Shakers - County of Graves
The Legendary Shack Shakers - Hellwater

In other news the same reader emailed me a story that made wonder if I had died and returned to the 60’s or something:

Boots Riley, guest rapper for Galactic, was arrested for saying ‘Fuck’ at a Virginia music festival.

WTF? Are you fucking serious? Did they at least, I dunno…DO A GOOGLE SEARCH prior to booking the bands? And don’t gimmie no “there were kids there” bullshit. If hearing the word Fuck is the worst thing that ever happens to them they’ll live a pretty fucking charmed life.

Galactic (feat. Boots Riley) - Hustle Up

DAMN THE MAN! FREE BOOTS!

From an LSS myspace bulletin:

Ladies and gentlemen,

As our good buddy David Lee is currently tearing up his bicycling career all over the world, please meet the NEW guitarist for the Legendary Shack Shakers: Duane Denison.

Duane first came to public notice through his work with Chicago indie rock icons The Jesus Lizard. But he has also worked with a wide variety of internationally acclaimed artists including Hank Williams III, Mike Patton/Tomahawk, Bobby Bare, the Silver Jews and Firewater.

Duane’s style is synonymous with innovation, technique and taste. His move to Nashville a few years ago has allowed him to collaberate with several local, country-fried musicians. But only now will he be allowed to push the envelope and blur the lines between both the roots and Indie Rock worlds.

Strap yourself in and get ready for the NEXT chapter of the Legendary Shack Shakers!

Mr. Lee is abandoning the music life for a shot at professional biking.
Well, best of luck to him…he will be missed on stage, I can assure you of that.

I’ll get to see this new lineup at the Deep Blues Festival in July. I’ll post a full report then.

The Legendary Shack Shakers - Where’s the Devil When You Need Him

I was wondering, as I walked into this show, what exactly was I gonna write about? I’ve seen LSS more times than I have fingers to count. I was worried that I was just gonna end up writing (or worse, copy/pasting) the same review into a new subject and moving on. There are parts of the last LSS show where a copy/paste is relevant, if not necessary:

The scene was familiar. Newbies to LSS standing up front. Veterans of Shaker shows standing out of range of snot rockets and the occasional pubic hair tossing, but with their hand covering the top of their cups just in case they underestimated J.D.’s snot launching and pube tossing prowess. The bean pole that is J.D. Wilkes preaching to the crowd with a fire and brimstone to rival any Pentecostal preacher, sometimes using old-fashioned microphones or a harmonica, all with a frenzy that surprising everyone, rookie and vets alike. All being backed by his choir, featuring the ever popular David Lee (guitarist), Mark Robertson (bass) and the new guy on drums banging out a gothic-rockabilly-polka version of southern rock/punk.

However, let’s talk about that drummer for a spell. I have no idea who he is, but he has really added a new element to the Shackshaker’s live show. Either they have really turned the volume up on the drums or this dude beats those things liked they fucked his girl last night. I am gonna vote the latter. Somehow, those bigger drums and the addition of a double bass has given the band an infusion of energy (I didn’t think it was possible, either). The end result was the best performance I have seen by the band since the Halloween show of 2005 at Skippers…and that was probably the best show I saw that year.

So, November gave me the best Shack*Shaker album in a few years, coupled with the best Shack*Shaker show in a few years. Coincidence? Who cares, it kicks ass!

The Legendary Shack*Shakers - Blood on the Bluegrass
The Legendary Shack*Shakers - Where’s the Devil When You Need Him
The Legendary Shack*Shakers - No Such Thing
The Legendary Shack*Shakers - Old Spur Line

Note: I took pictures but being the idiot I am I forgot to upload them last night. I’ll put them up when I get home tonight and post the link here.

Who: Legendary ShackShakers
Where: Orpheum
When: Sunday, November 18

Damn it man. This show is exactly what the doctor ordered for your ol’ Autopsy IV. I work in the engineering field and over the past two weeks I have been under the gun and haven’t even had time for lunch or dinner much less blogging. Hence the sporatic posting around here. Well, the wave finally broke yesterday, life has calmed down and I am in the mood to blow off some steam. So, put on your special underwear, bring your drinkers stomach and let’s have a little fun. Because:

Those Legendary Shack*Shakers are coming to town! Snot rockets will be launched, pubes will be thrown, beers will be drank and howdy’s will get doodied. You may hate the music but you’ll love the show and I guarantee it. Jello Biafra called the good Colonel J.D. Wilkes “the last great rock and roll front man” and I ain’t yet to see someone prove him wrong. It’s Iggy Pop fronting Southern Culture on the Skids….the southern gothic, rock and roll version of the Sex Pistols but with more talent…

From my review of their last show here in town:

Look, have you ever tried to tell someone a really funny story and when you were finished they just looked at you, so you drop the “you had to be there” gimmick? That’s what trying to explain a Shackshaker show is like. You should have been there. An LSS show is part rock show, part circus side show and part tent revival and, for those lucky enough to witness them, they are never forgotten. This show was no different.

Next time, be there.

This is next time…Three tracks from their new cd Swampblood:

The Legendary Shack Shakers - Old Spur Line
The Legendary Shack Shakers - Swampblood
The Legendary Shack Shakers - Hellwater

Lock up your daughters and cover up your wives! Those Legendary ShackShakers are crawling out of the swamp with their third and final installment in their “Tentshow Trilogy” series. A final installment that might be the best album they have ever released. Inspired by the good Colonel J.D. Wilkes’ new home somewhere in West Kentucky, Swampblood embraces a toned down more-blues/less-polka sound for much of the album. Longtime fans need not worry, there is still plenty dirty harmonica-fied, amped to 11, dixie-core there to appease you, however, this album seems to show just how talented these four guys really are. The first time my wife listened to the cd she said, “It’s like they finally decided to be great instead of just awesome.” That’s as good a way to put it as any. From the opening banjo of “Dawn” that gives way to the thump of Mark Robertson’s stand-up bass, spiced with that harmonica of “Old Spur Line,” you can tell things, while familiar, are just a little different this time around. Lyrically, well…I’ll just quote J.D. on that one:

Lyrically speaking, Swampblood lures you into a whole new realm of southern gothic goings-on. It is a cruel place, populated by three-legged dogs, lynch mobs and fallen forests…lustful angels, bloodthirsty hill-folk, and the bloated bodies of beached bovines.

Waterlogged corpses bob in the flooded streets of yore…crossed-eyed grannies pluck tuneless banjers…pigs run around with no clothes on.

Oddly enough, much of the lyrical reportage of Swampblood is based in truth. That’s the scary part. The local legends I was told as a troubled kid are passed on like some weird mix of classic oral tradition and primal scream therapy…The Brothers Grimm meet Sigmund Freud.

And it is that very penchant for words that you see above that makes his songs so god damned much fun…

So, you’ve heard of the Shack Shakers and you’ve read about the glorious pandemonium that is a Shack Shaker show, but you’ve never actually *heard* the Shack Shakers? Well, this is as good a time as any to jump into the greasy cesspool that is THE Legendary Shack Shakers. Not only are you gonna hear what might be their best album to date….you may be listening to the best album of 2007.

The Legendary Shack Shakers - Old Spur Line
The Legendary Shack Shakers - Swampblood
The Legendary Shack Shakers - Hellwater

The Legendary Shack Shakers Official Site, LSS on myspace, Buy Swampblood

As a side note: J.D. Wilke’s film Seven Signs has officially wrapped and is set to head out on the festival circuit. You can bet your willy that there will ba a review of the movie posted on this here site the day after I get to see it…Which will be….I dunno….one day, I suppose. Here is the trailer: