Motorhead’s Lemmy loves Speedball, and you should too. The reference should be lost on no one too. Like the ‘head, Speedball played hard and heavy, gnarly, metal-tinged rock ’n’ roll complimented by whisky-gargling vocals.
What a band they were too (and are, when they play the occasional reunion show). Former Seduce drummer Chuck Burns played guitar and sang. Meanwhile, there was local working musos Bill Kozy on guitar, Jeff King on bass, and Mike Alonso on drums.
Gashole is my personal fave. It’s pure filth, with songs like “Team Blowout”, “Murder Car” and “Tight Black Pants” giving away exactly where this band is coming from. The focus was on the low brow. Muscle cars, girls and booze.
Much like the MC5 before them, this is the natural progression of Detroit blues and rock ’n’ roll. Burns is singing about the things that were affected DE-troit dudes in ’99, and it all still maintains its relevance today.
There will be people who haven’t heard this record, or any of Speedball’s albums. If you are one of them, put that right this week.
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