He lived his life like he played his music: Hard. In more encounters than you and I could muster, studio engineer Nic Briscoe found Lemmy to be nowhere near his well-crafted public image. Surprised?
Hi Guys. Summer is here in Spain, it’s official, just been on our terrace putting up the sun sails… and I came in for a peak at my phone… and Wow! Firstly, thank you, Brad, as ever for all the support and encouragement. And guys, thank you for commenting. I don’t remember exactly which post of Brad’s it was, but in the comments a few of us had a debate about categories — and I agree, it matters not, one man’s category is another man’s… well I don’t know what, can’t quite finish that analogy 🤷♂️ A good song is always a good song, end of story. "Silver Machine" and "Ace Of Spades" are exceptional. I guess in my twenty-two year old post-punk head I was just being a bit territorial, although I also loved Black Sabbath and Rainbow.
About loud… I say ABOUT LOUD, yep we can talk about that, but you may need to speak up, ‘coz my hearing (especially the high frequencies) is shot!
I don’t want to get into some standoff about the loudest gigs… I just want to say (and ask anybody else who worked in studios in the 80s and 90s to corroborate this) if you never sat in the sweet spot in front full-size reference monitors, next to a producer who just had a line and says to you ‘just nudge up the main fader a tad more during this playback” well, you don’t know what loud is…
Maybe one exception to that could be standing in front of a late 70s PA stack with your head in a tweeter or bass-bin… so maybe I need to rethink and concede that assertion... 🤔
My partial hearing loss today dates all the way back to a mid-70s Aerosmith concert.
There's loud, then there's thundering, then there's absurd. I swear, Joe Perry had his Marshall stacks cranked up to "Spinal Tap" 11. My ears rang for three days and I don't know that I've been the same since.
Wow.....I smell lawsuit, Jim! Go get 'em! All the "loud"s I've attended were, generally, all-over loud, and it wasn't shriekingly painful. That T. Rex show was nothing but Marc's guitar turned all the way up with nothing but treble. Had he had another guitarist, and an "evened-out" bass, I don't think it would have been quite so painful! But, having seen Aerosmith, myself (I'd say the "Toys" or "Rocks" tour), I can imagine ear drums are no match for Perry and his Marshall Army!
One cool memory of that show was the many scarves Stephen had tied to the top of his mic stand.....20 minutes out, you could see them barely move. At ten minutes, they started to rustle slightly; 5 more minutes, more noticeably....clearly a fan was now in play, and no, not one in the front row! At the point at which, for a minute they were nearly parallel to the stage floor did the anticipation swell, until they came out for the first number....wish I could remember what it was. It was a surprisingly effective and exciting entrance, using the scarves as a portent of the excitement to come!
I'm very selective as to music venues today. We have here in Atlanta a wonderful outdoor amphitheater at Chastain Park (seats 5,500 I think), and it is so much more pleasurable than any arena I've ever been in.
Jim, I totally relate to this... 'loud' 'thundering' and 'absurd' could/should have been increments on 70's / 80s PA main fader. Like Brad said, in a comment somewhere around here, Marc Bolan's Les Paul was turned up to '48', which I think is only about "Spinal Tap" 10.5, so your Aerosmith concert wins...
Mercy. Good luck on your road back....my bro and Dad both had kidney stones, so I'm hoping that's a discomfort I can sidestep! Thanks so much, Jim, for your allegiance and support to the cause! Hydrate!😉
Good point, the acoustics. My T. Rex concert was at the Houston Music Hall, a fairly small theatre-like set-up (as opposed to the cavernous Coliseum that was right next door)...I forget the capacity. It's possible that the much larger Coliseum might've swallowed up some of the din, but, as you mentioned, in that space, it would probably just become a mix-master of a noise bowl!
You know you are "punk" when you get kicked out of a spacey drug band for doing the "wrong" type of drugs. Lest we forget, before Hawkwind, Lemmy was in Sam Gopal, who recorded their rather spectacular one-off psych album in 1968.
Sticking with Hawkwind, Joe Banks' spectacular band bio, 'Hawkwind: Days of the Underground: Radical Escapism in the Age of Paranoia' is easily one of the best music books I have read. And, I am not even a huge fan of Hawkwind (I dig a couple of their records), but it's a definite page-turner and written with a ton of love and respect.
Great scott, Michael! That's impressively deep, that Sam Gopal drop! Never heard of 'em, but I did find one pic of them, with Lemmy looking really young and, likely, pre-tat! I noticed that A) Andy Johns co-engineered, and B) their lone "Escalator" album was released (at the time....reissues, if any, notwithstanding) in virtually every country on the planet BUT the U.S.! Which explains why I have no frame of reference for them!
Take a 🎀....uh, I mean, a 🏹.....oh, just bend forward at the waste! Nicely done for excavation of the day, Michael! Let's see if anyone can dig up evidence of Lemmy taking up a piano room at the Brill Building circa '63! Thanks for the book tip, too! I know that'll be of interest to folks!
You are so right on this. Lemmy's legacy isn't just in his music but in the way he lived unapologetically true to himself. He inspired countless musicians and fans, showing us that authenticity and passion are the heart of rock 'n' roll."
Fascinating read, and I loved how you crafted the narrative. Nic’s experiences are pure gold, and I love how you are “re-imagining” them. Look forward to more!
Thank you, Andy! Nic came to the project a little reticent, but when I mentioned (and insisted) that his stories would resonate with readers, he was full in, and I'm loving how he's sharing his feelings and emotions with it all, which I hadn't quite expected!
And, I'm humbled and appreciative that he's trusting me to give that fascinating part of his life a little FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE spotlight! Thanks, Nic!
I've never been much of a punk guy, but I love metal (and was especially into it in my youth), so that's how I always classified Motorhead. But it doesn't really matter how I or Nic or Brad or even Lemmy himself categorize them, they rocked. That's what counts. Thanks for the look behind the curtains at Lemmy.
I'm sure I've told everyone on Substack by now, but BY FAR the loudest concert I ever attended was Motorhead in DC. I'm still not sure how I can hear today.
WHAT?!?! I’m pretty sure I heard some Hawkwind in the day, and, of course, could never imagine one of them (with the improbable name of Kilmister!) would eventually lead a ground-breaking (and ear-shattering) hard rock band!
And, no one in MY orbit, Andrew, believes me when I assert that the loudest concert I ever experienced was T. Rex in October 1972! Marc had his Paul cranked up, not only to what had to be 48 (forget 10….or even 11!), AND very little to zero bass response…..treble turned all the way up!
Lest you doubt, I’ve seen Led Zep in ‘70, several Black Sabbath and Deep Purple shows, The Who, The Ramones well over 2 dozen times….so, I know loud! I say, I KNOW LOUD!!!😁
Ohhhh yeah, I bet T-Rex was super duper loud. They were one of those proto-metal bands that insisted on being loud as part of their identity, and I think that was pretty new in the early 70s.. so speaker systems could be dangerously loud. I'm sure very few among us were thinking about ear damage and safety back then!
Hi Guys. Summer is here in Spain, it’s official, just been on our terrace putting up the sun sails… and I came in for a peak at my phone… and Wow! Firstly, thank you, Brad, as ever for all the support and encouragement. And guys, thank you for commenting. I don’t remember exactly which post of Brad’s it was, but in the comments a few of us had a debate about categories — and I agree, it matters not, one man’s category is another man’s… well I don’t know what, can’t quite finish that analogy 🤷♂️ A good song is always a good song, end of story. "Silver Machine" and "Ace Of Spades" are exceptional. I guess in my twenty-two year old post-punk head I was just being a bit territorial, although I also loved Black Sabbath and Rainbow.
About loud… I say ABOUT LOUD, yep we can talk about that, but you may need to speak up, ‘coz my hearing (especially the high frequencies) is shot!
I don’t want to get into some standoff about the loudest gigs… I just want to say (and ask anybody else who worked in studios in the 80s and 90s to corroborate this) if you never sat in the sweet spot in front full-size reference monitors, next to a producer who just had a line and says to you ‘just nudge up the main fader a tad more during this playback” well, you don’t know what loud is…
Maybe one exception to that could be standing in front of a late 70s PA stack with your head in a tweeter or bass-bin… so maybe I need to rethink and concede that assertion... 🤔
Thanks again for the comments.
A genuinely interesting person. Motorhead was all I listened to for quite a while there. I had to stop when he passed away.
Agreed 👍🏻
We agree, John! Thanks for stopping by and commenting! You're always welcome FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE!😁👍
My partial hearing loss today dates all the way back to a mid-70s Aerosmith concert.
There's loud, then there's thundering, then there's absurd. I swear, Joe Perry had his Marshall stacks cranked up to "Spinal Tap" 11. My ears rang for three days and I don't know that I've been the same since.
Wow.....I smell lawsuit, Jim! Go get 'em! All the "loud"s I've attended were, generally, all-over loud, and it wasn't shriekingly painful. That T. Rex show was nothing but Marc's guitar turned all the way up with nothing but treble. Had he had another guitarist, and an "evened-out" bass, I don't think it would have been quite so painful! But, having seen Aerosmith, myself (I'd say the "Toys" or "Rocks" tour), I can imagine ear drums are no match for Perry and his Marshall Army!
One cool memory of that show was the many scarves Stephen had tied to the top of his mic stand.....20 minutes out, you could see them barely move. At ten minutes, they started to rustle slightly; 5 more minutes, more noticeably....clearly a fan was now in play, and no, not one in the front row! At the point at which, for a minute they were nearly parallel to the stage floor did the anticipation swell, until they came out for the first number....wish I could remember what it was. It was a surprisingly effective and exciting entrance, using the scarves as a portent of the excitement to come!
I'm very selective as to music venues today. We have here in Atlanta a wonderful outdoor amphitheater at Chastain Park (seats 5,500 I think), and it is so much more pleasurable than any arena I've ever been in.
That amphitheater sounds like a great place to hear music!
Jim, I totally relate to this... 'loud' 'thundering' and 'absurd' could/should have been increments on 70's / 80s PA main fader. Like Brad said, in a comment somewhere around here, Marc Bolan's Les Paul was turned up to '48', which I think is only about "Spinal Tap" 10.5, so your Aerosmith concert wins...
I suppose the acoustics of any particular venue matters, too.
If the sound is bouncing off circular walls as in a typical arena, then all tonality turns into a mishmash of sonic dissonance.
I think my rock and roll days contributed to my 24/7 case of Tinnitus. (But damn, I still love it).
Tinnitus — always dreaming of silence
What do I have in common with Rick Beato, Van Gogh, and Homer Simpson?
https://nicbriscoe.substack.com/publish/post/67014329
Good read. At the end of the day, there's no real cure for Tinnitus. I've learned to live with it.
Now, the kidney stone I had removed yesterday ... a whole other matter. Yeeish!
Mercy. Good luck on your road back....my bro and Dad both had kidney stones, so I'm hoping that's a discomfort I can sidestep! Thanks so much, Jim, for your allegiance and support to the cause! Hydrate!😉
Good point, the acoustics. My T. Rex concert was at the Houston Music Hall, a fairly small theatre-like set-up (as opposed to the cavernous Coliseum that was right next door)...I forget the capacity. It's possible that the much larger Coliseum might've swallowed up some of the din, but, as you mentioned, in that space, it would probably just become a mix-master of a noise bowl!
You know you are "punk" when you get kicked out of a spacey drug band for doing the "wrong" type of drugs. Lest we forget, before Hawkwind, Lemmy was in Sam Gopal, who recorded their rather spectacular one-off psych album in 1968.
Sticking with Hawkwind, Joe Banks' spectacular band bio, 'Hawkwind: Days of the Underground: Radical Escapism in the Age of Paranoia' is easily one of the best music books I have read. And, I am not even a huge fan of Hawkwind (I dig a couple of their records), but it's a definite page-turner and written with a ton of love and respect.
Joe Banks’ book title is v cool. It’s now on my reading list. Thank you for the tip.
Great scott, Michael! That's impressively deep, that Sam Gopal drop! Never heard of 'em, but I did find one pic of them, with Lemmy looking really young and, likely, pre-tat! I noticed that A) Andy Johns co-engineered, and B) their lone "Escalator" album was released (at the time....reissues, if any, notwithstanding) in virtually every country on the planet BUT the U.S.! Which explains why I have no frame of reference for them!
Take a 🎀....uh, I mean, a 🏹.....oh, just bend forward at the waste! Nicely done for excavation of the day, Michael! Let's see if anyone can dig up evidence of Lemmy taking up a piano room at the Brill Building circa '63! Thanks for the book tip, too! I know that'll be of interest to folks!
You are so right on this. Lemmy's legacy isn't just in his music but in the way he lived unapologetically true to himself. He inspired countless musicians and fans, showing us that authenticity and passion are the heart of rock 'n' roll."
Fascinating read, and I loved how you crafted the narrative. Nic’s experiences are pure gold, and I love how you are “re-imagining” them. Look forward to more!
Thank you, Andy! Nic came to the project a little reticent, but when I mentioned (and insisted) that his stories would resonate with readers, he was full in, and I'm loving how he's sharing his feelings and emotions with it all, which I hadn't quite expected!
And, I'm humbled and appreciative that he's trusting me to give that fascinating part of his life a little FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE spotlight! Thanks, Nic!
You both did a great job 🎼💪🏻👏🏻
Thanks, Andy! I dig your emojis! Where did you find one of Nic's arm?!
In or around Trident Studios 😝
😂✅
I've never been much of a punk guy, but I love metal (and was especially into it in my youth), so that's how I always classified Motorhead. But it doesn't really matter how I or Nic or Brad or even Lemmy himself categorize them, they rocked. That's what counts. Thanks for the look behind the curtains at Lemmy.
Thanks, Patrick! This is all Nic! He's the musician layin' down the basic tracks. I'm the producer giving it all a warm, comfortable home!
Nice! I am listening to Hawkwind today as I work.
I'm sure I've told everyone on Substack by now, but BY FAR the loudest concert I ever attended was Motorhead in DC. I'm still not sure how I can hear today.
WHAT?!?! I’m pretty sure I heard some Hawkwind in the day, and, of course, could never imagine one of them (with the improbable name of Kilmister!) would eventually lead a ground-breaking (and ear-shattering) hard rock band!
And, no one in MY orbit, Andrew, believes me when I assert that the loudest concert I ever experienced was T. Rex in October 1972! Marc had his Paul cranked up, not only to what had to be 48 (forget 10….or even 11!), AND very little to zero bass response…..treble turned all the way up!
Lest you doubt, I’ve seen Led Zep in ‘70, several Black Sabbath and Deep Purple shows, The Who, The Ramones well over 2 dozen times….so, I know loud! I say, I KNOW LOUD!!!😁
Good topic for a thread sometime!
Ohhhh yeah, I bet T-Rex was super duper loud. They were one of those proto-metal bands that insisted on being loud as part of their identity, and I think that was pretty new in the early 70s.. so speaker systems could be dangerously loud. I'm sure very few among us were thinking about ear damage and safety back then!