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LORDS OF ACID EXPAND YOUR HEAD
Rx: Take 2. Swallow and gargle in the morning.
While it seems implausible, Lords of Acid have not always been the
mega-cool super cult we know and love. Yes, there was a time where they
were not the bulwark of sex, substance, style, and nether-darkness.
There were simpler, more innocent times ...
Back in the primitive days of yore - somewhat after the waterwheel was
brought to Europe, a uniquely gifted group of somehow different, yet
fated, individuals were brought forth onto The Continent - as they called
it then - by an unknowing group of parents.
Maurice Engelen, whom we all know better as Praga Khan, was born to a
father who was a Noble winning mathematician and astrophysicist, with a
penchant for absinthe, along with strange, skunky cigarettes. Yes, Mom was
there, too! And what a mom! Praga's mother was a rebel for her times and
worked to support the family as a migrant construction worker.
Praga's fascination with industrial sounds and rhythm laid its entwined
roots in his early childhood while strapped to his mother's back as she
performed her welding work in buildings towering high above the earth,
echoing with the sounds of jackhammers, big trucks burrowing, and the
soulful singing of the workers. Its harkening thought today still brings
tears to his eyes.
His father passed to his son his fascination with numbers and alternate
realities. Praga notes being to many different worlds during his travels.
He understands his music, when he can be coaxed into an explanation, to
explore varied perceptions of the mathematical impossibility of two objects
being in the same time, place, and dimension. He attributes a correct
comprehension of the harmonic convergences implied in their musical themata,
to be a key in the explanation of the freak and random disappearance of a
number of noted Lords enthusiasts. (The suits being pressed have been
settled, though. It was Marilyn Manson, not the Lords. And they were
nowhere near Colorado.)
Nikkie Van Lierop, as everyone knows, "Darling Nikkie" - or "Nikkie
Darling" in Japan, came from a family decanted from the glory days of the
Imperial Russian court. It is believed that her father was the
illegitimate offspring of the scourge of Moscow - perhaps all Russia,
Rasputin. Her mother was one of the foremost followers of Helena Petrovna
Blavatsky. It is felt that Nikkie's unusual powers of persuasion and
animal magnetism derived from that genetic matter imbued with the superhuman
abilities manifested by Rasputin, and that her mother provided the insight
and experience in guiding her development.
Following what was recounted to her as being a slight matter of family, her
family quietly, but hurriedly, slipped out of Mother Russia in the very
tender years of her infancy, so she remembers little of its regal flame.
She grew up amidst the Belgian countryside, learning its language and
customs. As she entered her early teens she became increasingly headstrong,
and equally obsessed with the sexual darkness that was - Mick Jagger.
Following a major brouhaha with her family and the sound of her heart, she
set off to London in search of him. Unfortunately, Mick had found Bianca
and was in the midst of their big American tour. This was how Nikkie
ultimately found herself a regular of King's Road and became one of the
reigning queens of the punk scene. If you can name them - she was with
them. Yes. All of them. She took up music, forming several high profile,
glorious, but ultimately failed bands, X-Rated Specs, The Sex Pistils,
and The Talking Head. As Punk turned to New Wave, enchantment turned to
disgust and she found herself returning home to Belgium to start her own
scene and do further bands.
Oliver Adams, whom we all know as Oliver Adams, is the heir to the Stella
fortune. Stella, being Belgium's premium connoisseur brew, has been
exported throughout the world. So has Oliver. Oliver's childhood, too,
was an unusual one. His parents, ever vigilant against the perils of war,
took up residence beneath the earth. They seized upon a project of
burrowing deep into the earth's bowels and, using layers of aging tanks
for their beer, built an airtight underworld infrastructure, the inside of
which they inhabited during most of his younger years. His mother was a
master pianist and their hutch regularly resonated with the eerie sounds of
her piano or clavinet echoing throughout the long empty metal halls. His
father, Lorre Adams, because of his profile and note as a world traveler,
was sought out by the Belgian ruling council to act as a surreptitious
examiner of foreign evils - in short a spy on behalf of the Belgian King.
Due to his family's prominence and his father's not so covert activities,
Oliver and his twin brother Ferdy, were abducted several times during
Oliver's rise to young adulthood. When Mother, as he so lovingly
nicknamed her, began losing the battle with age, Oliver determined it was
best to sprout wings and leave the roost so as not to be a source of
leverage against his wearied family. Following many narrow escapes with
death and a bout with an unmentionable disease acquired abroad, Oliver
discarded his family crest and went out into the world to establish a new
identity of his own.
It was several years later that found Oliver working as the DJ at the
notoriously hip but sexy fetische club- cum-donut shop called der Schwingle.
As we all know, this was the center of the cultural world in Europe at the
time. It was Belgium, it was punk, and the rest is as they say -
history. Amidst the milling throngs - socialites, homeless, and
orphaned infants hobnobbed and otherwise performed all other manners of
eccentric behavior with royalty, infantry, and members of the world's
other oldest profession. In short - every night was an adventure. And, it
was one such night that found our heroes thrown into the spin cycle of life
and being hung out to dry on the line en masse.
Nikkie, who had swelled to the rank of defining diva of the European Court
of Clubs, was holding court with several dozen of her inner circle whom had
come to see a band called "Channel X" fully in the belief that there would
be some interesting music and substances to be had. They were disappointed
on neither count. Even more so, as the crowd picked their jaws up off the
floor from the set's first number, she noted with a sly grin that the
leader of the band, one Praga Khan, was packing. The evening flew by in
a whirl of music and ecstasy. Smiles, laughs, grins, and hugs. And
then the lights went down. The music stopped. And the show was over. The
encores had been had, but the crowd was not having it. They would not be
denied more. However, the band had played their set, done their encores
and had nothing more to give. A chanting rose from the audience - at first
desirous, then demanding, and ultimately surly. The band stumbled
offstage. Someone screamed something that translates to sort of, "If
they're not going to get us more fucked up, then let's fuck them up!" or
something of a similar twist. (I told you it was cultural...) Bottles were
hurled, tables were turned, and not just a brawl, but a melee ensued.
(And you know that the word "melee" is of Belgian origin, of course. And,
with not without good reason!) Tens ugly minutes later, Praga and Nikkie
found themselves side by side with Oliver huddled beneath the protection of
the DJ booth ducking a hail of broken glasses, liquids, and body parts (if
there are any boxers in need of ear parts, baby, this was your kinda
club!) . As the gendarmes broke in and began to break up the evenings fun,
Oliver, while knowing neither of his two booth amigos personally, was kind
enough to vouch for both of them as being friends and having nothing to do
with the matter at hand. Due to his being the DJ and a close family friend
of the Chief of Police, they were subsequently escorted out of the premises
and into Oliver's limousine. While cruising back to Antwerp accompanied by
the rising colors of the dawn, behind tinted windows, drinking champagne
out of Nikkie's pocketbook, they discovered they had a lot in common. That
lot eventually became the Lords.
Cut to many years, and almost 1,500,000 albums later. Lust - the band's
tribute to sheer animal passion, Voodoo-U - their testament to Crowleyian
sex-magic, and Our Little Secret - the album putting forth the secret of
immortality, have all come and gone. Rough Sex, too, has come and gone.
The Crablouse has scratched itself off. Rubber Doll has been deflated and
put away. Pussy has closed up and been done with. For some...
Lords of Acid's new record, "Expand Your Head", is a testament to the
band's continuing vision and impact in our world. The many fans among us
refuse to let them stop for even a moment, and continue, along with the
band, to re-invent them anew on their own. There is life here, and joy,
and fun, AND PERHAPS THE BEST LORDS RECORD EVER!!! This record contains
personal interpretations of many of the Lords favorite artists' impressions
of their favorite Lords gems. It is a dark and raucous ride not to be
missed. Four new Lords tracks highlight the sparkle on this blue diamond of
a disc. "Am I Sexy?" is even featured in the trailer for the new Austin
Powers film, "The Spy Who Shagged Me". Groovy. But of course... The
Lords are with you now and forever. Wear it in your tiara, baby.
The Lords have always been pioneers in their selection of artists to rework
their music. They continue to be among the first to highlight exciting new
talent. That tradition is followed here. Re-interpretations found on the
record come from KMFDM, Rob Swift, Tipsy, Joey Beltram, Frankie Bones,
Richie Hawtin, Critter, Robbie Hardkiss, Chris Vrenna, Luc Van Acker,
Jamie Myerson, God Lives Underwater, and Carl S. Johansen. The sounds
run the gamut of aural experience. Plug in. Turn on. Get off. Expand
Your Head is about just that. Lots of fun -no one dies! Swell!
The band has completed six tours of America. They have headlined to over
280,000 fans during those tours. They have been our ambassadors of sexual
curiosity, hilarity, and pranks. They have brought freedom and fun to our
shores. They will once again tour in the fall. Do not miss it.
Ride the web at: www.lordsofacid.com
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