We are not young men-
the Death Valley Strays
Though we be good men
on our very best of days
Madhouses and jails
have a few of us known
On addictions and devils
were our salad days blown
The self-induced executions
were granted limited stays
Through the minefield at last-
come the Death Valley Strays.
J. Roulette
Jan. 11, 2007
we have just completed work on several new demos. Holiday, descenso con queso, the hate inside (Beasts of Bourbon), simple kiss (written w/ the late Will Platt), deliverance: a love song, Fang's An Invitation, etc. are coming soon to a Death Valley Strays annex near you. In fact, four of them are already up at Death Valley Strays II.
You are now marked on my profile visitor map!
chapter I
Johnny Roulette (Transgressors; Thompson Roulette; Heldorado; the Morons; Family Smack Off; author of Holy Bull: hymns from an Ambien summer, poetry & prose) and Mark Bishop (Thompson Roulette; Methusala; Bad Karma Prophets; Joe South; the High Street Blades; Crazy Mary) met at the end of the 1980's through a mutual friend, Ingrid Skanchy. Through Ingrid & Terry Banks, the two kept up a sporadic friendship for the next 4-5 years.
In 1994 Mark ran into Roulette at Grant Central Station, where Roulette was washing dishes, doing food prep, and gradually disintegrating because of some poorly chosen extracurricular activities that would have been familiar to William Burroughs, Sid Vicious, Will Shatter, Rob Graves, Dimwit and several million others throughout history. Bishop was doing much the same, minus the dishes and food prep.It seemed they had yet another common interest. Mark invited Johnny & his albatross to move in with him at his house on Vickers St. in Grant Park (Atlanta). They The two discussed starting a band in the midst of their descent.
Mark had expressed his frustration at not being able to find people that wanted to play the same kind of music as the kind he enjoyed. Roulette was having the same problem. Johnny told Mark that his ideal band would be a blend of Beasts of Bourbon, Sisters of Mercy, Green on Red, Fang, Social Distortion & the Rolling Stones. Turned out Mark was wanting the same thing. They talked and talked and got distracted by mistake after mistake. Nothing happened...for the next six years.
Mark & Johnny began realizing their musical vision in side sessions while the two played in a band called Thompson Roulette [no one but Thompson cared for the name]. That part of the story and some of their music can be found at http://www.myspace.com/thompsonroulette. No point retelling what was told well enough at that site
chapter II
[has been written and appears at http://www.myspace.com/deathvalleystrays2
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