Worse Music Gimmick Ever?... LSD "Silent Majority"

[@jobriathboy]

Stanley was a masterclass in method acting... the band never pressed the narrative that he was "crazy" or "homeless", he was just a character... the media ran with the lunatic hobo angle... the album is solid as hell (minus, perhaps, "Guatemala"), and still sounds pretty fresh... gimmick or not, this was kind of the "missing link" between late 80's metal and early 90's alternative... the schtick was worth a shot, definitely made them stand out... hell, it hastened a bidding war between bigtime labels... so, it's kinda hard to write this off... the biggest shame of it all is they never held it together long enough to put out a second album (and perhaps a metamorphosis of the "gimmick", to something easier to sell, who knows)... they also had the absolute worst luck after the album's release... tours falling apart all over the place... there were 4 videos made for the album, so the label gave them a solid push as well... but, as often happens, things just didn't align the way they really should have, and many artists have ended up as footnotes as a result...

[@BriansFunHouse]

Yeah, wish they could have landed on an Indie label at least for a second record. Most bands that get signed to majors dont make it. Many get chewed up by the machine or many just dont appeal to the masses. They were fun and interesting but I guess it wasnt enough.

[@luvyou-rn1uq]

i love this album since i waz a kid i dont think it was 100 % a gimmick that song rise above is from the heart

[@luvyou-rn1uq]

a second album woulduv been kool but maybe it wouldve ruined it

[@cynicalidealist2301]

this is pretty close to what happened. Im Alex Kane the guitar player. We also never had delusions of mainstream success and bizarrely, time has born this out but there is a much greater appreciation of the band now than then and I believe its because you cant see the band anymore so you gotta listen and hear. Also, dig into these songs. We took tons of pride in the quality and complexity of the music, with time changes, and key changes and this that and the other. Here we are 30+ years later still talking about it

[@robertpucci5019]

Chris used to hang at my studio Metropolis because I had Matt Mercado from Mindbomb and a bunch of talented people around. I used to see you guys at The Whale…all good times Alex!!!!

[@TastyTorchTastyTorch-lq2ev]

Sir, this is a bloody work of art. Life Sex and Death? Dropped 1993 release? So many successful musicians have been quietly influenced by this band. I do agree two songs could have been dismissed. But I hear they had a place in the live show . (Which I could kill myself for not seeing) Remains difficult to describe, Cheap Trick meets Slipknot? Intelligent blokes over the pond and beyond will be listening and studying this band after so many in the mainstream will be forgotten. A cult of underground musicians and industry will always be with this group 100%. Your review is appreciated. Thank You

[@BriansFunHouse]

Thanks for your comment. I wish I would have seen these guys live. It was hard at the time for me to see how one of our local bands were impacking the national or international scene. international international

[@cynicalidealist2301]

its funny. very successful musicians will come up to me (Im Alex the guitar player) and say very flattering things and their fans will have no clue who I am.

[@BriansFunHouse]

@@cynicalidealist2301 lead singers always get the attention..the cool ones help you load in your gear though. cheers.

[@GaryCarpenter-y6k]

Corey Taylor from SLIPKNOT AND STONE SOUR just Recorded a cover of TANK. There is a growing number of followers out there. Strange, More people are into Life, Sex & Death than there ever were 30 years ago.

[@GaryCarpenter-y6k]

Corey Taylor is a Champion of LS&D

[@Q1776Q]

I'm sorry... people absolutely LOVED 'Stanley' every show sold out.... They were the talk of the town in LA for a LONG TIME. Stanly was a FANTASTIC front man the like of which the world will probably never see again. and what a GREAT voice.

[@BriansFunHouse]

Don't be sorry. It was a fun gimmick. Would have been interesting to see how long he could have kept it up. But not enough people liked them I guess for the label to want another record.

[@Q1776Q]

@@BriansFunHouse For Chris..it's wasn't a gimmick..he LIVED as Stanley. He WAS Stanley. He was not acting....as odd as that sounds.

[@BriansFunHouse]

@@Q1776Q I guess you never saw him outside of the gimmick then. Many did.

[@Q1776Q]

@@BriansFunHouse I knew him since Bottoms up in Chicago in the 80's. I move dto LA from Chicago with their drummer Brian Horak in 1989

[@BriansFunHouse]

@@Q1776Q Yeah,my friend worked with his mom and he would come and visit, so from him i knew ( well and the acting) that it is what it is. Again , would have been interesting to see how long he could have kept the character interesting. But we will never know. ​@Q1776Q

[@jasonrobison650]

This band ruled..stanley amazing. Killer record!

[@BriansFunHouse]

very good record for sure.

[@patrickrobberson976]

I fckn love this album

[@BriansFunHouse]

it has some killer songs on it

[@williamriggin2803]

Much love to Stanley and the band. Great album. Caught them at Hammerjacks and talked to Stanley a couple times.. great guy. He never broke character and you could smell him from the stage.

[@BriansFunHouse]

i have heard of this epic smell. My friend worked with his mom, so he would see him out of character from time to time, but he for sure was a good method actor you might say.

[@thomasnielsen6404]

Silent Majority is a hammer album.

[@cyvais]

“If you're going to be a fucking rock star go be one. People don't want to see the guy next door on stage; they want to see a being from another planet. You want to see somebody you'd never meet in ordinary life.” ― Lemmy Kilmister Homie here is a guy that doesn't get Rock n Roll... given that he tries to reason the band from a "logical" standpoint. He doesn't get it, so he dismisses it.

[@jimbalduf1202]

@@cyvais Stanley was from another planet.

[@God_Help_Us_Please]

I still have the same CD I bought in 1992 a couple of months after it came out. Almost completely worn out inoperable. A friend of mine introduced it to me one day when he said something along the lines of "There's this new band, you're going to LOVE this." I thought ok, just going to listen to it to make him happy. No idea that what I was about to listen to was going to be one of my all time favorite go to hard rock albums that I would repeatedly listen to ad nauseum over the next 30 plus years on and off, no joke or exaggeration at all. Especially during misrable college and employment situations. Pure misery. That album fits right in with GNR's AFD, Metallica's MOP and Black album, Skid Row STTG, Pantera's Vulgar, Alice in Chains "Dirt" just to name a VERY small few of the rock/metal genres. There are many concert regrets in my life of bands or solo artists that I did not see or only saw one once. LSD is one of those as I never saw them ever in concert even one time. LSD had something, some intangible quality that I secretly thank God was recorded both on audio with their Silent Majority album and of course whatever concert video exists. I sincerely apologize for the ramble. Music and especially hard rock/metal got me through things that no amount of money would be enough incentive to go back and repeat.

[@BriansFunHouse]

great comment, and really that is why bands (well most) make music. To get us through tough times, life long events. I always tell people if it wasn't for music i do not know where i would be in life. I wish I would have caught an early LSD show at the local Thirsty Whale club, but i just never got around to doing it. The record for sure still stands the test of time with many great tracks.

[@iamcase1245]

It was an exaggerated take on the grunge scene. We dont realize it now that it's written in history but those who witnessed the scene remember grunge and crust punks were physically disgusting people. Dirty clothing, smelled like garbage and cigarette smoke most of the time, normally didnt take care of themselves just nasty nasty stuff. In my city most punks and grunge/alt fans looked like homeless junkies. Not sure how it was in Chicago but in New York I remember totally thinking Stanley was some exaggerated caricature of alt bands since at any punk show you'd see at least 4 or 5 guys that were just as crusty and gross as him.

[@BriansFunHouse]

I guess that's one take on it. Our crusty punk scene was pretty much just going to hard-core shows. So Seattle type bands or pop punk bands, those crowds really wouldn't have any. Reminds me of a story..I was in a band and we picked up a very crusty punk hitchhiking after playing a show in San Fran. We drove him home and he ended up living in a very rich area outside of the city.....

[@iamcase1245]

@@BriansFunHouse Dude the SAME THING happened to me in 1997. I was a teen and would wander the streets broke and aimlessly, well one night I meet a group of "homeless" teens maybe a year or two older than me with thick southern accents who claimed to be from Georgia. Well they hang out with my group of street kid friends listening to music in music stores, eating at charities/churches, hanging out in the park - the typical broke teenage punk thing. Well at one point one of the Georgia girls gets sick of being on the street and demands to go home. We think "home" is us all helping her get a bus ticket back to Georgia. No, turns out they were all rich kids and had driven up to NYC in a BMW that was parked in a private parking lot and were staying at the Midtown Manhattan Hilton. There were larpers even back then lol

[@jaybyhop]

I found this band after getting into Loudmouth and really enjoyed this album. Its like the miasing link between hair and grunge. Still one of my favorites.

[@EvanDander]

Jawohl Asshole rules.

[@ianmusulin1285]

Seen there Chicago homecoming at the thirsty whale Chicago. Twice in one night all ages show and over 21. Great shows.

[@BriansFunHouse]

Missed those shows. Saw some good stuff at the Whale though.

[@SpressoHead]

I wore it out back in the day

[@phocksden]

I saw them in Nashville and I still have the cassette 🔥

[@mattmoss6121]

Great album! I was lucky enough to know and record with Alex when I moved to Hollywood years ago. Super nice guy, very dedicated musician and producer!

[@BriansFunHouse]

very cool. What was the project you did with Alex..i think he plays with Donnie Vie (Enuff ZNuff) these days.

[@mattmoss6121]

@@BriansFunHouse He helped me demo a bunch of my originals and some songs with a band of mine. Look up Antiproduct, his UK band! He's a hard working guy, I can vouch!

[@FungoLingo]

It was Life Sex AND Death. Not Life Sex Death. I caught them at a small club on the Silent Majority tour, and they were amazing. Sounded phenomenal. The "gimmick" was cool, if for no other reason than the level of commitment to it. The vibe was like going to a professional wrestling match - you know it's all just an act, but the level of showmanship and the actual talent poured into it is what makes it good.

[@BriansFunHouse]

Wish I could have seen them back then at the Thirsty Whale. Saw Enuff Znuff but never LS AND.. D. Great point about wrestling..you just gotta go with it and enjoy the show.

[@Sprenklefish]

Yes, so odd you keep refusing to say the ampersand. Damn, I love this record and don’t care for the usual songs, but I was cool with the character angle. We all were.

[@shanelongest9326]

Album stands the test of time like few do. Vocals are amazing. So few people have heard it also. The longer that goes on for, the more legendady it will become.

[@jimbalduf1202]

Man, I totally disagree with your review.

[@BriansFunHouse]

That's fine. No two people should ever be clones.

[@jimbalduf1202]

@@BriansFunHouse Yep.

[@estrack6575]

LSD fucking rocks saw them 4 or 5 times met Stanley twice they r a blast

[@luvyou-rn1uq]

tank kikzazz

[@BriansFunHouse]

great song!

[@keithbrandon9713]

Bought this when it came out and it was definitely ahead of its time! I would play it for people and they would trip! Still have the cassette in an air conditioned storage. Definitely need to dig my old collection out! Agree with the host about the number of songs on the album. Had four excellent songs for sure and about four more that were decent

[@BriansFunHouse]

Would have been interesting to hear a second record.

[@keithbrandon9713]

@@BriansFunHouse agreed 100% and I was really disappointed. I honestly believed they would put another one out, but it wasn’t to be

[@jessethedeliveryguy1613]

Man I still listen to this album all the time! Loved Stanley

[@REDZ28won]

LSD Silent Majority is 1 of my Favorite Albums! All the songs were GREAT!

[@BriansFunHouse]

it still sounds fresh in 2024, that's for sure.

[@flap0000]

"worse" and "ever" just don't go together. That's the same as saying, "better ever", instead of "best ever".

[@BriansFunHouse]

but how about super duper?

[@flap0000]

@@BriansFunHouse You're not getting it.

[@BriansFunHouse]

i got it good . real good oh so good. @@flap0000

[@flap0000]

Ok, man. Whatever you say.

[@jimbalduf1202]

STANLEY!

[@GaryCarpenter-y6k]

Not for the pop outer-skin lovers. If you really dig into the lyrics, it brings a deep hopeful darkness to those few that understand.. What would you expect, Stanley was raised the haunted victorian mansion just a block from ERNEST Hemingway.

[@RocknDanger]

Love this album! Great video.

[@djspyd2000]

Dude I love your Screeching weasel shirt!! ❤❤

[@BriansFunHouse]

thanks.. been seeing them since 1990, through their 5,000 line up changes :)

[@SilverSurfer918]

One of my favorite bands to see live back in the day. LSD and Kix were awesome. Saw them both numerous times. Stanley smelled really, really bad.

[@toothpicvic8695]

Review more of the Chicago bands from back then . Tribe of none, Shock box, Sgt roxx, War monger, Loan sharks,

[@BriansFunHouse]

i want to do a few episodes on the Chicago scene 80's 90's etc.. so many bands. I just bought a stack of old Chicago Rocker magazines..filled with show ads for all those bands you named etc..Cutlass, Cherri Rocket, No Romeo..good god, some were good and others..well sucked.

[@Curbjaw]

I have always wondered how big they could have been if it hadn't been for the gimmick. I totally agree with the whole how some songs were just too juvenile... Like I think if Some Fucking Shit Ass had been retitled, and redone, the rest of that song is super strong... Schools for fools, and I think Rise Above out of character would have been a pretty big hit with the power ballad scene of the day. A lot of talent, I loved that album.

[@BriansFunHouse]

Excellent point. It was at a time where if they had been seen as an alternative band, they might have gotten bigger without the gimmick. But with the hair flips and all that, they got lumped into the glam- hair scene I think. And if that's so, very little would have helped them

[@toothpicvic8695]

Oh my God I remember being at the vic theater and the Stanley had puke in his hair and his coat. He was a joke.

[@BriansFunHouse]

The Vic is probably my favorite club to see a show. There and The Metro.

[@patrickrobberson976]

I don't doubt it. Solid band though

[@colincampbell7126]

Good band though

[@BriansFunHouse]

some very good songs.. would have been interesting to get a second full length out of them.

[@colincampbell7126]

I agree, " Silent " could have been one if those "lightning in a bottle " things, but I sure wanted to hear more from these characters..

[@krustyassninja666]

I was told back in the day, and not exactly word for word. But that Stanley was found next to the recording studio. So they hired a drunk homeless mentally challenged man to cut the vocals. Supposably he wore the same suit the entire time. And I think it was recorded coincidentally in Tulsa Oklahoma. And I'm like yep there's a bunch of homeless drunks there. I thought they were an interesting band. Gimmicks add to the art.

[@PotatoChipPicker]

Great album

[@bojackharkness1971]

All Time Greats

[@adamdusenberry6455]

They were the best I have ever seen live.

[@peterjpalmer4441]

When you ran down the song list, you gave a meh to F***** S*** Ass and Rise Above. Give them another listen please. Those songs rule!

[@BriansFunHouse]

I will. Gonna pull out the record within the next few days to play it all the way through.

[@NoCoverCharge]

It’s a great album and they should get back together

[@luvyou-rn1uq]

he is right tho i did veiw some of it as ehh.. until recently i kinda rediscovereed it

[@kevincastle649]

This was brilliant and unique. Esp at a time you could still get away with doing a gimmick like this. Record was cool & fun. Live shows were awesome. Tank is the best song on the reord. Saw them couple times here in northeast. Long live Stanley!