Birds Stealing Bread
Birds of Prey are currently holed up at Sniper Studio in Moyock, NC to record their second LP Sulfur and Semen. In addition to the expected subject matter (”Overfucked and Underaged,” “Murder the Homeless/Burn the Upperclass”) there’s a song written by Sam Beam, who records acoustic folk under the name Iron and Wine. Other than the lethal applications of iron and the liver-destroying properties of wine, it didn’t add up. So we asked guitarist Erik Larson what the hell is going on:
“The short answer is that both Bo and I are big longtime fans of Iron and Wine, and we wanted to do a song that might expose Birds of Prey fans to a really great artist. The longer answer is this: Iron and Wine is the moniker that my longtime friend Sam Beam writes and performs music under. Sam and I went to college together. He and Bryan Cox (Alabama Thunderpussy drummer) were really tight back then and played in a band together. Sam is actually the reason Alabama Thunderpussy got it’s name; he was a film student and told Bryan about this character he saw in a obscure B porn movie, named the Alabama Thunderpussy. We even asked Sam to be in ATP originally, but he turned us down. Thank goodness he did, because now the world can enjoy his music. But I digress. Bo and I decided to do a song Sam wrote, so we chose a song from his first batch of demos, some of which he used to get signed to Sub Pop, and some have never been released to the public. We chose a song that, to my knowledge, has never been released called “Show Him the Ground”. I called Sam up and asked him for the lyrics and if he was cool with us doing it. He said of course, but had no idea what song I was talking about since it had been so long since he’d thought about those demos. I sent him an mp3 of the song and he sent me the lyrics, adding that he would never have found that song in his four track tapes from memory. Bo reworked the arrangement, we added some solos and double bass drumming, and I think we have a really great tribute to an incredible artist. I know Sam’s gonna chuckle when he hears it. I hope it brings some metal fans into Sam’s world if even for just a bit.”
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Dave Witte
June 30th, 2007 at 4:10 am
That last album, The singer seriously sounded like he was coughing up blood. The booklet credits were hilarious. I know the singer was on like 20+ beers or something it mentioned. Such a great band hardly anyone sees to know exists. Giving props to Iron and Wine is ok by me. Even if that song did blow up because of a commercial…sometimes great music that deserves to be heard actually is showcased.