Wacky World of The Ominous Ninja Izzy Stradlin and NO! Gang

[kkferro72]

3 minutes ago, TheKillerQueen said:

Ummm... ok, my bad. Should we move to the 117º then?

I'll still try to make a compilation of everything that he said about the Ju Ju albums. Like a key post with everything

I don't know. I don't want to be responsible for make the decision. Lol

Coincidentally just yesterday I was organizing some old magazines and stuff about GNR and Izzy solo work that I have collected since the late 80's (of course I had a rhinitis crisis lol) and bumped into some papers that have the full description to the Ju Ju Hounds songs, by Izzy. I can scan it and post here if you like. But I can only do it tomorrow because I'm at work right now and don't have a scanner at home.

[cindy1985]

 @kkferro72yesssss!!! i love old magazines!do it!!!it would be very intersting, Retro years! 

Edited November 22, 2017 by cindy1985

[TheKillerQueen]

10 minutes ago, kkferro72 said:

I don't know. I don't want to be responsible for make the decision. Lol

Coincidentally just yesterday I was organizing some old magazines and stuff about GNR and Izzy solo work that I have collected since the late 80's (of course I had a rhinitis crisis lol) and bumped into some papers that have the full description to the Ju Ju Hounds songs, by Izzy. I can scan it and post here if you like. But I can only do it tomorrow because I'm at work right now and don't have a scanner at home.

That would be amazing! And don't worry, whenever you can

How about this: since the Ju Ju's era is the best docummented of all of the Izzy's solo eras we leave it in the blank for now and I'll try to work on a big post recollecting everything.

And for now we could move to 117º, and we are free to speculate all we want with that one 

[kkferro72]

@cindy1985, actually the songs descriptions are not inside a magazine. They are white papers I received from the record company because I must have written to them and asked for it (don't remember). By that time I used to do it a lot. There were no internet so I used to write to the addresses that came on the albums back covers, the index of magazines, etc. I have lots of things received by mail. Even a GNR fan club Conspiracy Incorporated membership card. I'll take a look at it again tonight.

@TheKillerQueen, I agree! 

Edited November 22, 2017 by kkferro72

[cindy1985]

23 minutes ago, kkferro72 said:

@cindy1985, actually the songs descriptions are not inside a magazine. They are white papers I received from the record company because I must have written to them and asked for it (don't remember). By that time I used to do it a lot. There were no internet so I used to write to the addresses that came on the albums back covers, the index of magazines, etc. I have lots of things received by mail. Even a GNR fan club Conspiracy Incorporated membership card. I'll take a look at it again tonight.

@TheKillerQueen, I agree! 

omg!conspiracy incorporated,the first fan club of Guns n roses!so lucky!

[Tori72]

1 hour ago, kkferro72 said:

Yes! I guess that's the purpose of this lyrics thing since the beginning. By the time of Ju Ju Hounds Izzy still used to give interviews so he did explained the meanings of all songs, including the ones that are not on the record like Been a Fix and Came Unglued. 

 

 

1 hour ago, TheKillerQueen said:

Ummm... ok, my bad. Should we move to the 117º then?

I'll still try to make a compilation of everything that he said about the Ju Ju albums. Like a key post with everything

That would be lovely, @TheKillerQueen. Apart from "Somebody knockin" I don't know too much about what he said. I meant to come back and look again at Somebody Knocking. But as he said what it meant, no other interpretation makes really sense.  

Edited November 22, 2017 by Tori72

[Boogs]

2 hours ago, kkferro72 said:

@cindy1985, actually the songs descriptions are not inside a magazine. They are white papers I received from the record company because I must have written to them and asked for it (don't remember). By that time I used to do it a lot. There were no internet so I used to write to the addresses that came on the albums back covers, the index of magazines, etc. I have lots of things received by mail. Even a GNR fan club Conspiracy Incorporated membership card. I'll take a look at it again tonight.

@kkferro72, were you referring to the 1992 Geffen Press Kit? I'm pasting it all in here in case it saves you having to scan it all (even though we'd love to see what the papers looked like too). Incidentally, there was a similar song-by-song description for 117*, when we get to that album, we can post it in too. Text below was copied from here: 
https://web.archive.org/web/20101225140542/http://www.chopaway.com/viewtopic.php?id=512

 

IZZY STRADLIN AND THE JU JU HOUNDS

THE HISTORY

"The best thing about this is, it's not a complicated thing. It was fun."

That's how Izzy Stradlin describes Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds -- a band and a debut album, launched October 13, 1992 on Geffen Records worldwide.

Recorded in Chicago and Los Angeles and co-produced by Stradlin and Eddie Ashworth with mixes done in Copenhagen, the album is influenced by some of the musical styles Stradlin heard growing up, from the Keith Richards-style riff which opens "Somebody Knockin'" to the Beatlesque psychedelia of "How Will It Go" to the sinewy reggae skiffle of "How Much" and the country-blues of "Time Gone By". There's also a duet between Izzy and Ronnie Wood on a cover of the latter's "Take A Look At The Guy." The lead track, "Shuffle It All," has a Lou Reed-meets-Rolling Stones attitude, something of a "tumble on the wild side."

The album was preceded in Europe on September 14 by a four-cut EP, Pressure Drop, which includes "Been A Fix," "Came Unglued" and "Can't Hear 'Em," plus a revved-up cover of Toots & the Maytal's reggae classic, "Pressure Drop," the only track also included on the album.

It's been 13 years since Stradlin packed his drums in the back of his Chevy Impala and left his hometown of Lafayette, Indiana bound for Hollywood. He hooked up with high school buddy Axl Rose and became a founding member, rhythm guitarist and a songwriter of Guns N' Roses. Stradlin was the primary songwriter of such G N'R classics as "Patience" and "Mr. Brownstone," as well as the writer or co-writer of 12 songs on Use Your Illusion I & II, including the solo-credited "Double Talkin' Jive," "Pretty Tied Up" and "You Ain't The First."

Tell Stradlin it took a lot of courage to talk away from one of the biggest bands in the world in November of 1991 and he laughs. "It was a pretty tough thing," he acknowledges. "I was pushed and pulled in any number of directions. It just wasn't working out for me on any level and I couldn't seem to communicate my side of it, y'know. I couldn't really get through to anybody. I've known Axl a long time and I still have a lot of feelings for those guys. But I had to leave to get sane and somewhat normal. To get back to reality, I guess you could say. I'm happy. I don't know what the future holds or anything, but what the Ju Ju Hounds have done is good. I'm pleased with it, and if other people dig it, that will just be icing on the cake."

When Stradlin flrst left G N'R he returned to Lafayette and decompressed by riding trials motorcycles over obstacle courses. "I wasn't interested in music after all I'd been through," he says. "But when wintertime came to Indiana, I was sitting in a room with a guitar in the comer and it was the only thing that seemed to make sense." I began writing songs and recording them on eight-track until I had an entire demo album."

He called his friend Jimmy Ashhurst, who had played bass for Broken Homes, and the two began working on the material. But they didn't want to record with just the two of them and the process took on a momentum of its own when Ashhurst opened up his little black book and began bringing in musicians like former Georgia Satellite guitarist Rick Richards and ex-Cruzado/Bob Dylan drummer/percussionist Charlie Quintana to round out the core band. They represent a U.S. melting pot of references: a west coast bassist, southwestern drummer, and deep south guitarist to complement the midwestem frontman.

As the project progressed more guest stars showed up, like legendary keyboardist Nicky Hopkins and one-time Face lan McLagan, Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, reggae vocalist Mikey Dread, guitarist Jah-T and more.

Stradlin was sensitized by the simplicity of his music and new life.

"During the recording we had the LA floods, earthquakes, the riots and the studio even got hit by lightening while I had headphones on. But it was great. Those are the kind of things I'd never noticed before back when I was doing drugs and stuff," Stradlin recalled. "Concentrating on playing music is what gets me off. I wanted to do a cover for the single sleeve with me in a pair of headphones and dark glasses, just listening to my music. I don't hear the bullshit."

The Ju Ju Hounds play more for the feel than to be analytical about what they're saying. A lot of the Iyrics aren't intended to be understood. It was such a groove Iyric, slurred in the backing vocal on a demo recording that sounded like "ju ju hound" that gave the band it's moniker.

Stradlin has been stabbing handfuls of pushpins into a world map to mark the places the band will hit on its maiden tour. They'll start with a club tour of Europe and the U.K., plus a short foray to Japan before they begin touring the U.S. early in 1993. "On the road I always wanted to get out and see the people and places around town," enthused Stradlin. "I'm really looking forward to playing again."

THE ALBUM

Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds was recorded in Chicago and Los Angeles, with mixes done in Copenhagen and was co-produced by Izzy and Eddie Ashworth. Stradlin discussed the making of the record and offered the following track-by-track comments:

"Somebody Knockin" (Stradlin/Ashhurst): "Most of these songs are pretty vague and abstract because, when I write, I end up throwing together a bunch of thoughts that don't really blend together in a story. This one started as a guitar rhythm. It's probably a flashback on all the different visitors I've had over the last seven years since the success of G N'R."

"Pressure Drop" (Frederick Hibbert): "That's one of my favorite reggae songs ever. Originally we were going to cover it reggae style, but it was just too good. I figued we'd just fuck it up, so we just turned it completely around. But to give people an idea of where it came from, we put a little bit of the original version at the end."

"Time Gone By" (Stradlin/Richards): "We found ourselves going back to the music we were brought up on. This is a root-ish song I co-wrote with Rick Richards. He popped that riff, Charlie had a real cool drum thing he was doing. I wrote some lyrics and we put it all together. This one came real easy. A collaboration I was really happy with."

"Bucket O' Trouble" (Stradlin): "That's a real slammer."

"Got Away" (Stradlin/Ashhurst): "It's just a mood; not about anything in particular, more like a collection of thoughts. Which doesn't make this any easier for you, does it? It's one of the first collaborations I've ever done with someone outside Guns N' Roses. Since '85 and that band started, I hadn't done anything with any other group or artist as far as songwriteing goes. It was a little weird at first. Once we bagan recording the material I came out with, new stuff kept coming up."

"Train Tracks" (Stradlin): "That's the only song which is really autobiographical in a nutshell. Where I grew up in Indiana, we used to live by the realroad. That's where we hung out and smoked pot. If you weren't in school or working, that's where you were...down by the train track."

"How Will It Go" (Stradlin): "Definitely a song about change that you feel. I listen to so many different types of music, I guess it just rubs off on me. This was another song written in one sitting. Originally, I was going to record it with just me and an acoustic guitar. After I played it in the studio, we added keyboards and drums."

"Cuttin' A Rug" (Stradlin): "We had a real good time recording this. When we went to Chicago, the hotel we stayed at would have live music every night and all these people would be there, laughing, buzzing and dancing. When we went out, we'd pass all these reggae, rock, thrash, punk and jazz clubs on Clark street where people were just having a good time. Being in L.A. I'd forgotten how it was in some towns where the music scene thrives seven days a week and people are cuttin' a rug. This is just a fun song about loosening up."

"Take A Look At The Guy" (Wood): "That's from Ronnie Wood's solo album, I've Got My Own Album To Do. We collared him when he was having a listening party for his new album over at A&M; Studios. Ian McLagan knew him from the Faces days. We went out to dinner and I asked if he wanted to do a duet on the song. It took a couple of days, but we got it together. We took turns singing. That's his guitar solo at the end. Four in the morning..."

"Come On Now Inside" (Stradlin): "That's a really soft, moody song with piano. It's the slowest tune on the record. It's about winter in Indiana, which is both dark and cold."

For good measure, Stradlin also commented on the rest of the Pressure Drop EP tracks:

"Been A Fix" (Stradlin): "That was sort of an angst song. I thing I was reflecting back to when I was first taking a look around after the success of G N'R and what a fuckin' mess it felt like I was living in. We left Hollywood dirtbags and we came back heroes. What a fuckin' trip. Originally, the track was called 'Sure Been A Trip.' Then I changed it to 'Sure Been A Bitch,' then we mixed it up so some of the vocals are 'been a trip' and some are 'been a fix,' as in jam, like you're in a fix."

"Came Unglued" (Stradlin): "That's the fastest song I've ever written in my entire life. I'd just gotten off the phone with somebody and I went back into my bedroom and recorded this in one take with my guitar and a little miniature buzz amp at full distortion. Then I went back and wrote down what I played, divided it into verse and shoruses and wrote the lyrics the next day. It's sort of fragmented, but it's about coming apart completely. Because that's how I felt at the time. Like I was coming unglued. Then I wrote the song and I felt just fine."

"Can't Hear 'Em" (Stradlin/Ashhurst): "I like reggae because you can listen to it anytime, anyplace, anywhere. When ever I get a little wound-up, I put on a reggae tape and I can just kick back. Whenever we'd finish up a song in the studio, we'd go straight into a 15-20 minute reggae jam. Of course, our version of reggae doesn't sound like the stuff from Jamaica. It's kind of like our version of it."

[kkferro72]

@Boogs, from what I see that's exactly what I have. Thanks for saving me of another sneeze section tonight!  The press kit is very simple, white pages written in black. If it had some special texture or pictures in it, I would scan it. 

[Boogs]

Not sure if this would help move along the discussion about the song lyrics, but here are a couple more bits of info about the Ju Ju Hounds album (from Wikipedia, sorry):

- the album peaked at no. 102 on the US album chart, and at no. 42 in Australia

- 'Shuffle it all', 'Pressure Drop' and 'Somebody Knockin' were all released as singles. Shuffle it all got to no. 6 on the US rock chart, and Somebody Knockin' to no. 13

So those last two are probably the best-known Izzy solo songs. Since Shuffle it all actually also had a promotional video made, that one helped fans to understand where Izzy was coming from at that point in time.

[Boogs]

5 minutes ago, kkferro72 said:

@Boogs, from what I see that's exactly what I have. Thanks for saving me of another sneeze section tonight!  The press kit is very simple, white pages written in black. If it had some special texture or pictures in it, I would scan it. 

Actually, what I copied and pasted in above didn't mention anything at all about the "Shuffle it all" song meaning, so what you posted under the song lyrics yesterday seems to be all we have.

[kkferro72]

12 minutes ago, Boogs said:

Actually, what I copied and pasted in above didn't mention anything at all about the "Shuffle it all" song meaning, so what you posted under the song lyrics yesterday seems to be all we have.

Thanks (only not!). That was actually @TheKillerQueen who posted. 

[Boogs]

21 minutes ago, kkferro72 said:

Thanks (only not!). That was actually @TheKillerQueen who posted. 

Ooops. Thanks. 

[Tori72]

 

Thanks, @Boogs, for posting this. I did remember reading a few of those already but never all together. Intersting. BUT. Whatever Izzy says, sometimes he might think he's way cooler than he actually is. BECAUSE! Some of his songs are far more emotional and sentimental than he wants to admit. 

Can't Hear 'EM is about Guns n fucking roses and it's something like a fuck you song for a revenge or something. Like he is so happy and worked into his own stuff that he can't hear 'em. Right? Right. 

Never heard "Come unglued", must search for it. If he wrote the fastest song ever and was with "somebody on the phone", who could that possibly be, huh? Right after he got away from his old band? I'll leave you hanging on that one.

Come on now inside must be about someone he really really likes because he wants this someone to warm him up. Must have been Annika by the time. Or Axl of course. (kidding)

How will it go - same thing. Maybe Annika had to go to Sweden for a while? Or something. Or about Axl.  

Bucket O Trouble being a real slammer. Yeah. Sure. About noone in particular that is a bucket of trouble and a real slammer. Don't know who he's talking about at all. 

Shuffle it All clearly is about leaving Guns and that part of his life and starting somewhere new, packing up his life again.

Time Gone by - sentimental song about how much has changed. He himself, his face, obviously friendships and relationships. Wonder who wrote the letter from oversees. Annika? We know so little about him. His face did change a lot even from shortly after he got sober until the Ju Ju Hounds days. We were discussing this before here. He looks really haggard and worn out in his Ju Ju days and not happy at all. Poor thing. The line "Do you remember when time was all we had" strings a special chord in me. It makes me really sad and sentimental. Like those times in your youth you didn't think were special when you were in them. Maybe because they were poor, maybe because they were bored teens. But when you're stressed out and fallen out with people, having legal suits and stuff, time is such a luxury. I can understand why Izzy wants this really simple and non-complicated life. 

 

 

Edited November 22, 2017 by Tori72

[kkferro72]

4 minutes ago, Tori72 said:

Can't Hear 'EM is about Guns n fucking roses and it's something like a fuck you song for a revenge or something. Like he is so happy and worked into his own stuff that he can't hear 'em. Right? Right. 

Never heard "Come unglued", must search for it. If he wrote the fastest song ever and was with "somebody on the phone", who could that possibly be, huh? Right after he got away from his old band? I'll leave you hanging on that one.

Totally agree about Can't Hear 'Em. It's definitely a 'fuck you song'. 

Came Unglued is awesome! Fast rock'n'roll the way I like it most. You have to get it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that song!

And I think the same about the other songs too. 

[cindy1985]

Shuffle it all is surely a song about a new beginning..and i believe that refers to guns n roses too. You can see it in his face in that interview he looked very relieved.

[Tori72]

3 minutes ago, cindy1985 said:

Shuffle it all is surely a song about a new beginning..and i believe that refers to guns n roses too. You can see it in his face in that interview he looked very relieved.

Did he? He looked bored and annoyed with the interview situation but restrained-friendly to me. 

I'm sure he was relieved though. It only makes sense.

Edited November 22, 2017 by Tori72

[Boogs]

So many of Izzy’s songs, if they are not clear love songs, they are like “throwing words” for Axl or the Guns N’ Roses he left behind. It must have hurt him deeply that things went the way they did. Thankfully he continued to write songs and create music as an outlet for all the emotion.

Edited November 22, 2017 by Boogs

[Tori72]

25 minutes ago, Boogs said:

So many of Izzy’s songs, if they are not clear love songs, they are like “throwing words” for Axl or the Guns N’ Roses he left behind. Sometimes I wonder if he was going through PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), or something like that, after leaving the band. Thankfully he continued to write songs and create music as an outlet for all the emotion.

PTSD would make so much sense. (EDIT: I'm not a doctor. Call it whatever. Something post GnR and post kicking drugs stress situation he had to process. ok?) 

Just imagine this ride named GnR, with insane Axl, with the shit all of them did before they got famous and rich, with all those drugs, the women, the violence, loosing power and not having a say in the band he started together with his friends, all those things... He was also freaked out about those lawsuits. The withdrawl and getting clean for sure were not a picknick as he said he was "addicted to everything". It is so amazing he got clean and it must have been so fucking hard. I wonder if he was in therapy, I hope for him he was. He looks so fucking miserable, unhappy and unhealthy on those Ju Ju Hounds days on fotos and in interviews. He was cute and young and all but his haggard look and this sad, exhausted vibe he's sending out to me will forever freak me out. He looks happier on stage than he did with GnR since 87 or so.

So somehow PTSD (EDIT: or however you wanna call it) would makes sense. Also because he is said to be such a paranoid character. 

 

Edited November 23, 2017 by Tori72

[Boogs]

You think so, @Tori72? I actually just came back to edit that bit out because I don’t have experience with PTSD, and I didn’t know if my post sounded too trivial. 

[Tori72]

Just now, Boogs said:

You think so, @Tori72? I actually just came back to edit that bit out because I don’t have experience with PTSD, and I didn’t know if my post sounded too trivial. 

I'm not an expert on PTSD and I'm not saying he acutally had a medical condition like PTSD. But in a more trivial note it seems very likely to me that he had something like a post GnR, post getting clean stress situation that he had to process and work through, mentally. It's not a diagnosis, it's just speculation of course. I cannot know. In my mind it would make sense. 

[Boogs]

Definitely his unhappiest faces were the Ju Ju Hounds days. Whatever he did after that, whether or not it included some therapy, certainly helped. 

[TheKillerQueen]

I was having a very shitty day and I decided to skip working for a little while to check what was going on here, and I'm not lying when I say it made me feel much better. LOVING the discussion and the info that's been added. Thanks @Boogs for that interview, I completely forgot about it! And to @Tori72 for being always soo sweet.

Anyway, when I was looking at the Ju Ju's songs I decided to look into the cover's lyrics ("Take a look at the guy" and "Pressure Drop").

TLTG actually make me sad, because it's clear is about his past self, and this line:

It wasn't too long ago he ran away from home
When he... ran away from you

 

It feels soo sad...

 

And then...  Pressure Drop, I look into it and the songwritter said is a "revenge song":

It’s a song about revenge, but in the form of karma: if you do bad things to innocent people, then bad things will happen to you. The title was a phrase I used to say. If someone done me wrong, rather than fight them like a warrior, I’d say: “The pressure’s going to drop on you.”.

— Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert, The Guardian

 

And all I could think was "Oh my god, Izzy was sending double meaning dagger covers to Axl long before twitter!!!!" 

[Tori72]

1 hour ago, TheKillerQueen said:

I was having a very shitty day and I decided to skip working for a little while to check what was going on here, and I'm not lying when I say it made me feel much better. LOVING the discussion and the info that's been added. Thanks @Boogs for that interview, I completely forgot about it! And to @Tori72 for being always soo sweet.

Anyway, when I was looking at the Ju Ju's songs I decided to look into the cover's lyrics ("Take a look at the guy" and "Pressure Drop").

TLTG actually make me sad, because it's clear is about his past self, and this line:

It wasn't too long ago he ran away from home
When he... ran away from you

 

It feels soo sad...

 

And then...  Pressure Drop, I look into it and the songwritter said is a "revenge song":

It’s a song about revenge, but in the form of karma: if you do bad things to innocent people, then bad things will happen to you. The title was a phrase I used to say. If someone done me wrong, rather than fight them like a warrior, I’d say: “The pressure’s going to drop on you.”.

— Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert, The Guardian

 

And all I could think was "Oh my god, Izzy was sending double meaning dagger covers to Axl long before twitter!!!!" 

Awww, thanks for calling me sweet. Needed that today 

Excellent! Didn't know that about pressure drop. Now the vibe of the song Izzy put into it makes so much more sense. I love Izzy's version of it and the energy that is boasting out.

Take a look at the guy - if that isn't a song about Axl as well.  

Does he look like the same guy, the same guy, the same guy
Who used to sing songs to you?

 

So, what do you make of "Came Unglued"?

CAME UNGLUED 

Out of your head
guess it came unglued
Jumping at the rest
pressure dropped again

it came unglued
came unglued
came unglued

Wound up and left
Friction near your head
Who has flipped his lid
through the roof again


came unglued
came unglued
too bad

Hanging by a string
last thread holds you in
nerves are thraid and worn
hear them as they singe

came unglued
came unglued
came unglued
too bad
too bad
too bad
too bad
for you
(for you)
(for you)

 

Edited November 23, 2017 by Tori72

[Boogs]

1 hour ago, Tori72 said:

So, what do you make of "Came Unglued"?

It’s hard not to think of lyrics like these meaning “the band became unglued”, or “my life became unglued”.

By the time we get to the end of these lyrics discussions, we could try to group Izzy’s songs into themes e.g. love, revenge/regrets, weather, home life, driving, etc.

[Tori72]

There he goes...

 

What is he fumbling out of his back there? A knife? A gun?