RC: Is "Nellie Bell" from an actual obituary? What led you to do that song?
JD: It IS an actual obituary. I was randomly attracted to her name, but saddened to see she only had a postage stamp-size obit to show for all her 90-plus years on earth. I didn't know Nellie Bell personally, but it seems she (and everyone else on this earth, for that matter) deserved more than that in the end. So we wrote an huge, frigging opus for her, whoever she was.
RC: And is "The Ballad Of Speedy Atkins" about a real person?
JD: Yes. A real "live" mummy preserved for years in the closet of a Paducah, KY funeral home... displayed as an example of the power of their embalming fluids. He was on several TV shows many, many times in the scores of years he sat there in his little chair. He was finally buried a few years ago...buried as a celebrity, far more famous than when he was alive.
RC: Religion is also a recurring theme in your music, but it's a darker side of it. Where do these themes come from? What's your message?
JD: I tend to write cautionary tales with a sort of musical "caveat" at the end of the last verse. That's the tradition of the "murder ballads"...dark tales of lust and evil that end in a warning to the listener. This is what heavy metal lacks, due to its nihilism. But Country music (my kind of music) usually includes a Aesopian moral in the last verse. It's corny but effective.
RC: How does this all come together for a live show? What are Th' Legendary Shack*Shakers like live?
JD: Energetic, wild, and far, FAR less repressed and prudish than how I've described it so far. The musicianship is solid, too. Come out and see for yourself.
RC: What was it like working with Jello Biafra and The Reverend Horton Heat on Pandelirium?
JD: Great! They stuck around and perfected their parts until they were satisfied with the results. They gave far, FAR more than we were even asking for! That's a great testament to them, not only as musicians, but as true friends.
RC: What's in the future for Th' Legendary Shack*Shakers?
JD: A new DVD is due out later this year (Legendary Shack*Shakers Live in HELL). There's also talk of a tour with RANCID, the American punk band. All this exciting buzz in Europe will probably bring us back here sooner than later. So watch for that too.
RC: Any closing thoughts?
JD: ?Por que las sombres crecen mas largo?
