Illinois Entertainer December 2013 | Page 26

PART III special? "And it's never the girls on the cards," he guffaws. "You never get the girl that you see in those pictures. Vegas looks glamorous, but there's this whole other side that people don't really think about. Unless you've been there and experienced it yourself. Unless you've had a three-day bender and you leave with your dreams just dashed into the desert, like buried out in the desert. It is so brutal. Some times you come away a winner. But most times, you come away losing something, which means that you probably lost a lot of shit. Luckily, I was never a gambler." In some ways, Urie is ahead of the game. Most rockers go through their carnal phase for most of their 20s, and only gradually enter their spiritual phase in their early, post-partying 30s. But he's already jettisoned most of his baser urges from his system, he reckons. "I've always kind of considered myself to be a spiritual person – I've always looked for deeper meaning in everything I've done," he self-assesses. Usually, when Panic is on tour, he just goes back to his hotel room after a gig and watches movies. Every once in a while, though, he'll wind up going out. And every time, he gets taught a harsh life lesson. "There was one time in Vegas where I went to an after party," Urie recollects. "But I got so ripping drunk, it was terrible. But I definitely learned from that one – I ended Continued from page 18 Mississippi Delta. Pullman porters on IC trains to Mississippi often delivered copies of the African-American newspaper, the Chicago Defender, which organized "migrant clubs" and arranged group discounts for train fare northward. The first wave of the "Great Migration" began with World War I, and between 1910 and 1920 the number of black Chicagoans who were born in Mississippi increased from 4,612 to 19,485. The rise of the blues recording industry in Chicago attracted many musicians, and during the 1930s, blues artists here who claimed Mississippi roots included Willie Dixon, Memphis Minnie, Lil Green, and Big Bill Broonzy. During World War II the need for factory labor helped fuel a larger wave of migration, and between 1940 and 1950 some 150,000 Mississippians moved here. Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Reed, Sunnyland Slim, Emore James, Sonny Boy Williamson, No. 2 (Rice Miller), Otis Rush, and Magic Sam were among the many who arrived in the 1940s and '50s and found recording opportunities with Chess, Vee- 26 illinoisentertainer.com december 2013 up puking in a corner, and my friend and some random other guy ended up carrying me up to a hotel room and just throwing me on the bed and going 'Alright – sleep it off!' And I woke up 12 hours later, thinking 'What the hell did I do last night?' I felt like such an asshole. So that didn't ever happen again." Hence the metaphors the composer employed on Too Weird, where – in the song "Nicotine" – a dangerous cigarette substance comes to represent an equally dangerous femme fatale. "Because anything can be seen as addicting," he declares. "I've been addicted to video games, I've been addicted to girls, addicted to playing music – which I still am, luckily. But being addicted F???W"76????2V?F??FV?????'W@?7F???( 2WfW'?F???r????FW&F????'WBF?Bw0?&V???&B?W76??F??V&?( 2?F?????Bw0?V6?W"F?vWB6Vv?BW??F?RFV6FV?6R?`??FF?7F???? ?2&V6V?F?2?V"?B??bv??F?P?6??vW"6??W26?V???Rv2??F?Rw&?2?b?7G&?vR&?GV??WfW'?F???R6?2?$?v?V?@??W7Bv?RW?vWB??v???B??f?FV??v?W2??BF?V??vBv??WBF???fP?v&FV??6??R&6???B????&Rf?FV??v?W2???F??"&R??fRv&FV?'&VG7F?6?2?F?V??W&?Rw2?FW7BG'Vr?b6???6S??P??Vv?2?$????v?B( 2F?W?&R6?v??B ??R6??6?VFW2?6?fW"??v?VB?%F?Bw2?W7@???R??&Rf?&??bFV6FV?6R??B??F???p?6?&RFW7G'V7F?fR?b??Rw&RF???r?GF?P?F???V6??b?B?'WB???fRF??6R'&VG7F?6?2??VWvV?6???r ?V&??r"?BF?R&v??&??&???????6??f?V?FVB'??76?76???F?fP?f?f??6'FW"?&V6?&G2?6?'&??B?F?W ??&V?2?&?VW26?V'2&??fW&FVB??F?P?6?WF??BvW7B6?FW2??B6??6v?w2?'vfW2?6?F?????F?v????P??76?76??f?f?"??&?w&?2??7FVB'??W'f?27???bud???B?&V?6????bttU2?v??V&?VBF?R????&'?F?F?P?$???"?b'&???Wf???R"2F?R6?WF?6?FRw0???7B?V?"W'6???G?????6??&V?2FV??&??BFW7F?V?@?&Vv?&V6?&F??r&?VW2?'V?2??6??6v??f?"?WrvV?W&F?????b?7FV?W'2??F?P??c2?f??rF?Rv??f?"?F?W"6????W0?7V6?2??vF?"?@?V'v?r??'V?2'???76?76???&?&??&?VW6?V?&?r??P?v????2???????Fv???2?6&W?&V???????W?&??VGv&G2??&?rv?FW"??'F????VFG??6?V'vFW"??VFF?R6?r??v?0?VFG?6?V'vFW"?BVFF?R2??6?&V??BF?R#?FVF?6F???6????fV?F???&?&??6???VFF?R2??6?&V????B??V?@?F?rF???"'&?Vv?@?F?V?"?W6?2F?v?&?B?v?FRGFV?F?????f?&V?v?F?W&?7G2?FR6??6v??W6?6?FW7F??F?????BF?R??6?&?VW2VF?V?6RF?FVB%7vVWB???R6??6v?"0??G2F?V?R6??r2F?R&?VW2W??FVBF??F?R??'F?6?FR?F?R7V'W&'2?B?W&RF??w&?B&??v?W&RF?Rv?&?B?&V??v?V@?6??6v?&?VW2fW7F?f?FV'WFVB????B??