Illinois Entertainer June 2024 | Page 22

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By Tom Lanham

photo by Nicole Frobusch

ot dead YET . That - for better or worse - has become my patented gallows-humored , post-pandemic response to anyone who casually inquires how I ’ m doing . Based on the hilarious Monty Python Death Cart scene in The Holy Grail , I ’ ve found it to be a good way of underscoring the gravity of COVID-19 that we have all just endured with a little – few times , courtesy of a recent Parkinson ’ s diagnosis , even before the lockdown of March 2020 coiled around us , giving me the idea back then that I probably would not survive much longer . Every day was an uphill Sisyphus-taxing slog , and sometimes it was just too daunting , and - in my sixties with a wild four-decades-plus rock journalism career behind me - I wasn ’ t looking to hitch a ride on that fateful Death Cart . But I ’ d bought my ticket , just in case . I was steeled and ready .

And this serendipitously brings me to Kula Shaker . I hadn ’ t planned on returning to rock journalism - I ’ d pretty much considered my race as run , and I was tired of trying to figure out who my often fair-weather friends were from month to month . But I agreed to interview Crispian Mills once when a true-blue publicist friend pitched him and his group ’ s great new full-length Natural Magick , plus a new double-A-side single “ Rational Man ”/“ Bringing it All Back Home ,” especially since my August 1996 night in London with him and his group celebrating Kula Shaker ’ s exotic debut disc K was one of the craziest , most unbelievable evenings I ’ ve ever experienced .

And as a songwriter , you have no idea when you ’ re starting out how long you ’ ll last or remain relevant years into the future , which was the appeal of talking to Kula Shaker again after all these years . After many fluctuations , its original lineup is back together again in 2024 , firing on all six throughout Natural Magick and the latest standalone single , dubbed “ Peace Wheel .” Mills ’ material is more mystical , his lyrics more sagelike , his psychedelic motifs more ethereal , his vocals more urgent , and his guitar lines much nastier , almost

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junkyard-dog mean . Consistent , sharp-hooked cuts like “ Gaslighting ,” “ Kalifornia Blues ,” “ Happy Birthday ,” “ Something Dangerous ,” “ Indian Record Player ,” and “ Idon ’ twannapaymytaxes ,” Kula Shaker feels totally rejuvenated , as vital as ever , with a thematic through line boomeranging straight back to K , a cultural anomaly that had more to do with exotic Indian raga scales and Vedic texts than typical Britpop bombast . Although Mills spun off in 2002 into a more straightforward rock combo called The Jeevas , he never lost sight of the Kula Shaker sound and identity and , in his current interview , is even wiser and more astute than he was for our first 1996 chat .

IE : When we first met in London , I ’ d never seen so many celebrities hanging out , playing pool , and just getting along with no egos involved . It was quite the peaceable kingdom . CRISPIAN MILLS : And that ’ s when you realize you have an entourage - you realize you have an entourage , but I don ’ t know any of these people . But I went on tour once with Robbie Williams by accident . And so I spent a bit of time with him - I think it was around the year 2000 . So I went on tour , just me and a band , and I went on tour by accident . He had an American band that had pulled out ; they had a problem , and the room next to this band couldn ’ t do it , and I was rehearsing in the room next to his band and Guy Chambers - because I knew the support band - said , “ Can you guys do it ?” And I said , “ Yeah . I guess .” And we went on , and we did it , and it was Robbie at his absolute peak - mean , he was doing a week in one city at 15,000-seat venues . So he would do a week and play to 100,000 people , and then he would do a week in Glasgow , then another week in Manchester , then a week in London . So it was interesting to kind of go up to that heady height , where you get as big as you can , being in one country .

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says . “ I think I had one left I had to make up in the recording studio , but I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted it to be . In mixing them up , there would be ones that I knew I had leftover from ** Repentless , so I kept those . I gave Demmel the ones that ( Gary ) Holt was going to do , the ones that I thought he would be better at than me .”

CAN ’ T STOP THIS RAGE

Lyrically , it ’ s not too hard to recognize that these are Kerry King songs , consisting of various anti-religious topics , atrocities of war , corrupt political leaders , and general strife facing the world . King ’ s ammunition for the crafting of the lyrics was fed by simply observing the world today . “ With the pandemic , I spent a lot more time watching the news than I ever had

Slayer circa 1983

in the past ,” King admits . “ First and foremost , I was more knowledgeable about the topics of the day and topics of the month . More about the Ukraine War when it came out , more about American politics than I ever knew before because that ' s all you did . You sit home and binge-watch some new show , and when you get up in the morning , watch the news and see what ’ s crazy happening in the day . So it ' s easy for that to sneak into my lyrics .”

The album was tracked at Hollywood ' s renowned Henson Studios by producer Josh Wilbur ( Korn , Lamb Of God , Avenged Sevenfold , Bad Religion ) in a little over two weeks . The overall sound the veteran knob twirler achieved is monumental , bringing out the classic Slayer / King guitar tone while showcasing Bostaph ’ s blistering drumming skills and also capturing the volatile aggression of Osegueda ’ s vocals . “ I ’ m just looking for somebody that clicks ,” King says . “ When I met him , I just wanted to make sure we hit it off because

I need to take direction ; I get lazy in the studio like anybody else does . I need somebody in there that if he tells me to play it for the 25th time , I say , ‘ Yes , sir .’ I ' m happy to do it again , and I need that . I think he did two or three mixes of masters . This last one that we ended up using captures the live guitar sound closest to anybody who ever has ( tried to capture it ). It ' s really difficult to capture how the mic hears it and how the mic transfers to electronics . But at the end of the day , this one has that big girthy sound of my life sound . So , I ' m pretty happy with it .”

IGNITE THE FIRE

On the live front , Kerry King ’ s band has only played three gigs so far , including Reggies Rock Club , Welcome To Rockville festival

in Daytona Beach , Fla ., and Sonic Temple Festival in Columbus , OH . And if you were one of the lucky ones who turned up at Reggies ' on May 7 to witness the band ’ s first-ever live show , you already know that this band absolutely crushes it on stage . King ’ s 17-song setlist in the South Loop included six Kingpenned Slayer tracks , as well as 11 of the 13 songs that appear on From Hell I Rise . Although King has performed in Chicago many times over the decades , he has never played Reggies before . “ My big memories from Chicago are all the Aragon shows ,” King reflects . “ I ’ ll never forget those forever . It ' s always crazy . It ' s always incredibly vocal and responsive . The Chicago crowd is very cool . I can ' t wait to come back and play somewhere where a lot more people can come . We ' re coming back . Don ' t worry about it . Reggies was super intimate . I knew it was going to be a small place , and we wanted it to be intimate ; we wanted it to be small . We didn ' t want to be