
Suffering Fools
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
Band/artist history
Fools were first Suffered in 1963, or perhaps 1964. "No one really remembers for sure," recounts the artist formerly known as Thaddeus, lead singer and front man extraordinaire. "Or cares."
Truth to tell, Th's laugh-a-minute antics and carafe-a-minute drinking probably have as much to do with the chronological lacuna as anything ... not to mention the group's frequent hiati in the years since.
There are at least three things you can only be temporarily: young, drunk and full of potential. Suffering Fools were all three on the evening of June 13, 1965 and none of them the next morning. Their disastrous performance that night on the beloved early-evening talk show "Kiki and Stevie's Chat Shack" famously brought their career to halt, as well as that of Kiki (though, strangely, not Thaddeus, who later served as an interim Under-Secretary of Stuff in the first Bush administration, and became an internationally-recognized ornithologist, spelunker and rodeo clown).
The band's early work has often been identified as a crucial link between Garage Rock and Punk by major scholars ... or perhaps minor scholars, or maybe just some guys on a message board. The guitar lines, in particular, tend to be direct and simple, though less as a matter of aesthetic choice than because they are very easy to play. The rhythmic feel may seem odd to contemporary ears: this probably arose from the prevalent "sound" of the times, or there may just be a lot of mistakes. Era or error?: at this remove it is impossible to say.
The advent of Punk in 1977, or perhaps 1976, provided Suffering Fools a long-awaited opportunity to cash in on their general incompetence. The ultimate failure of the effort attests to the shallowness of the movement's aesthetic, though the band's failure to hop on the bandwagon until 1986 may also have been a factor. By then, their name change - to "Kill Your Parents" - looked more like pandering than inspiration. The later change - to "Kill My Parents" - did little to improve the situation, particularly when a literal-minded fan did just that.
As everyone knows, the band made an inexplicable comeback in the early '90s, and mint copies of their mid-period live LP, "Rocking in E in Concert in Cleveland in Ohio" were soon fetching as much as fifty cents at yard sales throughout the upper Midwest.
The rest is history. Or maybe not.
What equipment do you use?
One should never underestimate the value of a good lawnmower. Especially when you need to mow a lawn.
Neat song. Catchy.
Is Santa faster than Bode Miller? How about Darren Rahlves? Okay, I guess that would be a tough rhyme.
Hi !
Cool music indeed !
Check out our music also and drop us a line to our messageboard when you have time. Thanks
Tomi
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sjjohnston
@sjjohnston
Very different. That is all I have to say but good. If you have some time give me a listen. Jenae www.jenaeonline.net/