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Recent Articles by John La Briola

  • Trainwreck

    Wednesday, July 26, Bender's Tavern, 303-861-7070.

  • The English Beat

    Thursday, July 20, Gothic Theatre, Englewood, 1-866-468-7621.

  • Alexi Murdoch

    Monday, July 17, Walnut Room, 303-292-1700; Tuesday, July 18, Trilogy Wine Bar, Boulder, 303-473-9463.

  • Moist Boys

    The Sound of Urchin shoots its musical wad.

  • Shaw Business

    Dieselhed's Virgil Shaw's on his own these days, and happier than ever.

National Features >

  • Houston Press

    The Passion of Victoria Osteen

    A flight attendant's smackdown with the wife of mega-preacher Joel Osteen inspires a whole new set of commandments.

    By Rich Connelly

  • City Pages

    Your Field Guide to the RNC

    Today Denver, tomorrow the Twin Cities.

    By Matt Snyders and Bradley Campbell

  • The Pitch

    Star Power

    A country musician rescues Waylon Jennings' tour bus from the scrap heap.

    By C.J. Janovy

  • Village Voice

    Serrano's Second Movement

    The provocateur who brought you "Piss Christ" pinches off a new concept.

    By Lynn Yaeger

Critic's Choice

Buckethead

By John La Briola

Published on July 03, 2003

Harnessing the spirits of all slain and martyred chickens through the inverted KFC bucket on his head, guitar virtuoso Brian Carroll still leaves fans of wank rock slackjawed. As Buckethead, Carroll's masked and mutant alter ego, the former Napa Valley, California, resident has come a long way from getting his face scratched off in Colonel Sanders's fabled hen-house disaster. Taking time off as Slash's replacement in a retooled Guns N' Roses, the ridiculously gifted guitarist holds a six-string clinic Wednesday, July 9, at the Universal Lending Pavilion with his first band, the Deli Creeps, who open for Les Claypool's Frog Brigade. An enigmatic quartet from San Francisco, the Creeps feature original vocalist Maximum Bob, bassist Tony and drummer Pinchface, who create a sound that Faith No More's Mike Patton once described as "Texas Chain Saw spoof rock." Think of an aggressive, futuristic collage of hip-hop and electro-metal beats fed off a steady diet of horror flicks and sci-fi sounds. Away from the haunted funhouse, however, Buckethead remains one of the busiest session players in the biz, having collaborated with everyone from avant-jazz luminaries Bill Laswell and John Zorn to P-Funk All-Stars Bootsy Collins and Bernie Worrell. A musical freak of nature, as comfortable playing speed metal as flamenco, the classically trained 33-year-old blends grinding rhythms, edgy chordal passages and a highly melodic style that seems to lend itself to so many side projects, including Praxis, Giant Robot, El Stew, Thanatopsis and Cobrastrike. Combining nipple-length hair with robotic stage moves, Buckethead brings the kind of inhuman, blazing chops to a live setting that can match the mighty Slash riff for riff. Or even out-Yngwie Mr. Malmsteen. The only thing missing might be coleslaw, mashed potatoes and a biscuit.



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