The Goats - ProfilesArchive

About Me

**Update** Madd (Maxx) and Incognegro of the Goats are now among us!! Check out the top 8 and feel free to message them here or on their personal myspace accounts
I am but merely a fan of the Goats that created this profile for them so that maybe one day one of them will find it and see how much people enjoyed their music and perhaps even take over this profile as well. So anyways
No Goats, No Glory......
Considering the ultra-patriotic times we live in, a look back at this album is key. first off, its initial release was during George Bush, Sr.'s presidency. also, its multicultural, sociopolitical perspective of America is certainly one that most stateside residents wouldn't take kindly to in a post-9/11 U.S.A. you will NEVER see a re-release of this album
the Philly collective known as The Goats....
back then, it whipped my ass with a vengeance. The A-side was one of the most powerful and angry rap tracks I'd ever heard with the three rappers dropping lines like "the hell with Stormin' Norman, I write rhymes Black, they be political and plus they be all of that," "...now you're pounding sand for another man's sins...but when you come home in a box, green drawers, green pants, green socks..." The B-side took it over the line, with a hardcore anthem to flag-burning - "so he can exercise his right to ignite the flag."
For real, some of these lines hit me upside the head, and there's no explaining what these guys were saying: "we don't hate the people, but the government's a drag," "the Goats are staging this political protest, to make you aware of the economical unrest,"******* and of course, "Columbus killed more Indians than Hitler killed Jews, but yet on his birthday we get sales on shoes."
That's right, it was 1992, George Bush was in office and shit was wound up like Morton Downey, Jr. By the time I got to the Radio Edit of "Burn The Flag" - over three minutes of nothing but beep - I was down with these guys.
Don't get the wrong idea - this stuff was slamming hardcore hip-hop. It proved that you didn't need to tax George Clinton's drawers to make a great head-nodder in '92. It had so much of an "edge" it was virtually an subgenre in itself, but it was a total rap album. As the story goes, Oatie Kato, Madd and Swayzack met while all pushing pushcarts in Philly and got together. They hooked up with the famed Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo (in Philly, who else?) and he put them together on his Ruffhouse label.
The messed-up part was until you read the liner notes (ALL the lyrics), you didn't realize that most of these grooves were made live with live instruments and turntables.
The album simply didn't sound like a bunch of musicians - more like the Bomb Squad smoking weed.
"Tricks Of The Shade" just might be the opera of the early '90s. It's a theme record, of two characters (Chicken Little and Hangerhead) making their way through Uncle Scam's Federally Funded Welfare & Freakshow to find their mother who was jailed for attempting an illegal abortion.
They meet Manny Noriega selling drugs, Leonard Peltier locked down as the last Native American, Officers Daryl Gates and Stacey Koons who 'tattoo' their heads, Rovie Wade The Sword Swallower who has no control over her own body, and multi-ethnic shooting galleries where whoever doesn't look like you is the target.
It's a journey and each song breaks the flow of the story by taking it down another road to tell another story.
The beats are lush and funky, but dark and full of minor keys. There are eerie resonating beats, samples that just stick out in their pure oddity and repetition, and an overall air of frustration in these songs between the headlines and rolling paper. Like I said, it's got more edge than most records, but it slams more often than not, between hard, fast lyrics and harder production.
Of course, this record after-burned over most everyone's head and then buzzed the budget racks on its way to the cutout bin.
When I tried to see them on my birthday at Wetlands, Madd and I discussed the situation on press outside the club. Basically, one of Playboy's rock critics flat out loved it, and that was all. Wetlands dissed my underage ass and I missed their set with Chuck Treece, but got Maad's phone number after a great talk. I didn't actually see the Goats until the second record dropped and Oatie had already left the fold.
Oatie, the Italian kid in the group, was nice lyrically (check out "NotNotBad" for a nice assessment of Italians and Blacks), but according to Madd he flipped before the act was supposed to tour Europe with Fishbone and The Bad Brains.
Q-Tip, Special Ed, Swayzack, Oatie, & Madd Before their set at Maxwell's in Hoboken a few years later,
Madd told me that Oatie basically jetted because the rest of the act was too involved in smoking dope. This might seem dumb now, but sadly Oatie was on the right track. At the end of their mind-blowing set that night, after watching them throw down all the killers from Tricks and their ill live drummer freestyling while laying down a mean 4/4 at the same time, Madd and Swayzack literally went to sleep on the stage after all the weed they puffed. It was only a few months later that they broke up and Columbia ended a last ditch promo effort on the weaker album
No Goats, No Glory.
And now, what's left? The members have all gone different ways, and the closes thing to new material is Incognegro. But once in a while, you'll find someone who knows about how dope the Goats were. Don't believe me? Vernon Reid, someone who KNOWS about misunderstood music, drops the Goats in his piece "Hard Left: Hip Hop's Forgotten Visionaries" in The Vibe History of Hip Hop.
Need more?
Check the dollar bin.
Madd is now living in France. Oatie is teaching Biology and Physics in Manhattan. Swayzack is MIA, who knows where. Schmoove just got married December 27th 2003. Pierce and EJ play in a folk band that just completed their fifth album.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 4/18/2005
Band Website: jimmyluxury.com/thegoats.htm
Band Members: The Goats:
Joe Britt Bagby (vocals);
Rucyl Mills (vocals, scratches);
Pierce Ternay (guitars);
Mark Boyce (keyboards);
EJ Simpson (bass);
Derrick Pierce (drums);
Madd,
Swayzack,
OaTie Kato,
Love,
1 Take Willie (scratches).
introducin' Stan Stammers- new bass player
& Steve-Onpoint
with The Goats!
Additional personnel: Jay Davidson (saxophone);
Gary McKeen (trumpet);
Andy "Funky Drummer" Kravitz (percussion);
Jeff Lowy, Paul Diesel, Vinnie Angel, John Hummel, Gene "Sade" Williams, Sena SchmoovieStar (background vocals).
Recorded at Studio 4 Recording, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from April 1 to July 4, 1992.

Editorial Reviews:

Rolling Stone (2/18/93, p.60) - 3.5 Stars - Very Good - "...the Goats' outlook--free of misogyny and white devils, flavored with Black-Italian unity, heavy with hatred for the AmeriKKKan ruse--is as welcome in hip-hop as the Hendrix-like buzz that flutters throughout `TV Cops'..."

NME (3/27/93, p.30) - 9 - Excellent Plus - "...a captivating mix of the Goats' East Coast rap roots and West Coast hip-hop....this is rap without a safety net, and the tightrope's on fire..."

NME (12/25/93, p.66) - Ranked ..12 in New Musical Express' list of `The Top 50 LPs Of 1993' - "...A hard-nosed satire of the American way..."

Melody Maker (4/3/93, p.31) - "...in a word, unique....one of the most original and provocative musical journeys you're likely to take this year..."
Influences:

by RareHeintz Thu Oct 03 2002 at 23:20:38 ***
Overview*** The Goats were (and, contrary to popular belief, still are) a ground-breaking rap group from Philadelphia. The things that set this group apart (apart from their talent, of which they had plenty) are numerous and eye-catching: To wit, they were one of the few multi-racial rap groups of their time, used a live band for musical backing, and had a cogent political edge that went beyond the simple expressions of rage that characterize the music of angry young men.
They were the first group signed to Ruffhouse Records (who later nailed a distribution deal with Sony), and one of the earliest acts produced by well-known rap and hip-hop incubator Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo. They were, unfortunately, also a short-lived act. Though there were a number of EP's and singles, only two LP's - the concept album "Tricks of the Shade" (1992) and the more mainstream-friendly "No Goats, No Glory" (1994) - were made. Early on, Oatie Kato (one of the three core members, along with Madd and Swayzack) left to escape what he saw as the band's over-the-top offstage antics.
Since then, Oatie went on to produce acts such as Jimmy Luxury and the Tommy Rome Orchestra, Madd formed Incognegro, and members of the band have been travelling and living in Brazil.

The Music Their first album, "Tricks of the Shade" was a story-driven concept album about the quest of two orphans of the welfare state to find their "Uncle Scam", a through-the-looking-glass anti-avatar of America.

In the end, the duo's capers are merely a vehicle to take The Goats to the political territory they want to visit. The well-crafted raps on this album score political points on issues from abortion to welfare to gun violence to flag burning to the War on Some Drugs, and detail the trio's vision of all the ways in which the American deck is stacked against you if you're not wealthy, white, and male.
Their follow-up, "No Goats, No Glory", covers more familiar turf within the rap genre - while by no means apolitical, not every song is issue-driven, and the group has some fun with light-hearted themes such as drug use and violence. This album produced two of their more popular tracks, "Wake 'N' Bake" and "Rumblefish".

Both albums are characterized by excellent instrumental work (not just sample loops and drum machines!) and an aggressive MCing style that ranks up there with anything Public Enemy or Body Count ever did. Listeners who prefer some politics with their music (instead of the other way around) will not be disappointed.

For more information, try the band's official web site at http://jimmyluxury.com/thegoats.htm. They have info, MP3's, and a mailing list you can join.
Sounds Like: Its like a twist of Beastie Boys Meets Cypress Hill with a HUGE Political edge ---"Columbus killed more Indians than Hitler killed Jews, but yet on his birthday we get sales on shoes." ---
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Notes 4 The Goats!

Over the past several years,We’ve recieved tons of interesting, sometimes personal messages for The Goats here. So I’ve decided to make a collection of the messages for everyone to r...
Posted by The Goats on Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:42:00 PST

The Goats: From Wikipedia

Heres's what Wikipedia Says about The Goats. I stoked to see someone put the link for this page there.anyways.The Goats were an alternative hip-hop quartet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United Stat...
Posted by The Goats on Sun, 08 Apr 2007 04:57:00 PST

Updates on The Black Landlord aka Maxx Page! Fresh new cuts!

Check out the freshly updatedBlack Landlord (aka Madd) page! His current solo projectPosted two new tracks that are FRESH from the studio!! Check the top 8 friends for the link!!Thanks,MAxx...
Posted by The Goats on Sat, 03 Mar 2007 09:37:00 PST

Do The Digs Dug Video!!! ^_^

Big ups to JimBob 4 finding this one!EzNo Goats, No Glory...
Posted by The Goats on Tue, 16 Jan 2007 02:50:00 PST

Introducing Stan Stammers as new bass player with the Goats!

Stan has joined legendary Philly Hip Hop band The Goats, who will be going out with some live shows at the end of the year and the beginning of 2007. There is also talk of a new studio album too, so w...
Posted by The Goats on Mon, 13 Nov 2006 07:42:00 PST

Typical American Video!!! ^_^

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Posted by The Goats on Thu, 26 Oct 2006 07:40:00 PST

ALL TEXAS MASSIVE! PLEASE READ!!

There is only 5 days left to register to vote. The Deadline is October the 10th.Click on the below to go to the State of Texas voters registration site. Print out an application and get that sucker tu...
Posted by The Goats on Fri, 06 Oct 2006 04:18:00 PST

Paris Underworld Video Pod

Juan Carlos Medina joins urban tribes who illegally venture in the network of mines under the streets of Paris, looking for a place without laws. ...
Posted by The Goats on Fri, 15 Sep 2006 09:56:00 PST

Texas lost somone important today =(

Ann Richards dead @ 73 =(Texas lost somone important today.Former Texas Governor DeadWith all the corrupt politicans out there, I truely believe she was one on the legit ones.She appointed the first ...
Posted by The Goats on Thu, 14 Sep 2006 08:21:00 PST

Khyber sept. 25th

Monday, September 25, 2006 A Very Special Screening of: THE BAD BRAINS - LIVE AT CBGB 1982 The first ever Bad Brians film Bad Brains Live CBGB 1982 displays why Bad Brains became one of the most impor...
Posted by The Goats on Sat, 09 Sep 2006 11:52:00 PST