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924 Gilman Street has made history for several reasons. It is the home of of California punk scene, it is the location of the first Green Day show, but most importantly it is the location of the first show of metal titans The Nimrods. But they didn't always play metal. The original music of The Nimrods was a mix of chaotic and raw garage rock with the aggressiveness and speed of hardcore.The best comparison would be if The Stooges, Black Flag, and hints of psychedelic acts such as The Doors had an orgy. The music was vast, powerful, and contained extended instrumental sections. The Nimrods' best asset however was the enigma that is frontman Jimmy Him. His performances were notable for involving fights, drug use, and extensive self mutilation. In short, for a 17 year old Jimmy had issues. Fueled by drugs, sex, and the power of youth, The Nimrods became popular openers. Several bands did not want to be opened for by The Nimrods because the reaction from the audience was always in favor of them. However, with high demand The Nimrods were playing a few songs every night. Finally one fateful day in 2003 The Nimrods got their big break, headlining their very first show. Considered by some the best show they ever did, on par with their last performance at the Staples Center, the show was full of passion, energy, and emotion. This is that show.The club reeked of sweat, beer, and marijuana. The previous band had played a great set that got the crowd riled up and ready for more music. Backstage, The Nimrods Jimmy,Davey, and Kit were passing around a joint around and speaking to each other in rapid Finnish. The crowd was getting more and more anxious for the headliners, shouting loud chants of the bands name. Finally after drinking a beer each, The band took the stage. Though they weren't the best looking people their look made quite an impression. They played music closer to punk than metal in a punk club but they looked like metalheads. Davey was an almost anorexic like skinny, long haired, extremely tall boy playing a five string bass. Jimmy was even shorter then at only 5'1 with equally long hair playing a Jackson Rhoads guitar which is made for metal. Kit looked relatively the same, taller than Jimmy, Shorter than Davey, and with slightly shorter hair. Each member was shirtless (in the distant future they wouldn't wear anything) another sort of 'metal' thing to do. In short, in a punk club they really stuck out in comparison to the other musicians playing. Even though they looked like unexperienced kids there was one thing they had that stuck out and that was that they reeked confidence. Jimmy cockily swaggered up to the mic and with his slight Scandinavian accent and a smirk on his face said to the crowd "I'm sorry are late? Sorry I was busy getting high" the audience applauded, they expected the cockiness, the youthful rebelliousness, they were in the palm of Jimmy's hand and the show had just started. His sheer personality made people want to listen to him. After the cheering stopped once again spoke with his slightly high pitched and raspy voice "We're The Nimrods from Berkeley, we like smoking weed, fucking, and playing music and if you're lucky you might see all three in one show". Once again the audience cheered and all Jimmy could do was stare with his wide eyed gaze. Finally he announced the first song "Let's heat things up with The Fire, shall we?" The audience cheered once again. This instrumental became one of the band's signature songs. The song started with a lengthy bass solo that varied in style each show. The song then turned into an extended jam and culminated with a classic rock styled solo from Jimmy. What was spectacular about the song was the drumming from Kit with different techniques from Kit reminiscent of John Bonham or Keith Moon mixing wild fills and complex and energetic beats. The song ended with continuous long notes from Davey while Jimmy soloed with plenty of feedback via Hendrix and Kit abused the cymbals. Finally they played one last note together whilst jumping in the air and the audience erupted into applause.
"Now that things are warmed up and whatnot, I'm actually kind of bored" Jimmy said with a sarcastic yawn. "We're bored too!" Davey and Kit said simultaneously. This was the first single ever released and is a tribute to Iggy Pop's song "I'm Bored" the song features an almost funky guitar line as well as a funk bassline. Jimmy's singing mixes his natural speaking voice with James Brown like shouts. After a jam session for a few minutes Jimmy handed his guitar to his tech to play the rest of the song. This is where Jimmy's later-abandoned persona truly emerged. Jimmy's frontman prowess was something rarely exposed but was one of the greatest never used talents in music. Jimmy strutted around stage like a Mick Jagger clone, sang on his back, jumped around as if he was on an invisible pogo stick, it was more to entertain himself than the audience but the audience ate it up. During the 80s sleaze rock style solo Jimmy hit cymbals with his mic and beat his chest with the mic, anything to get a rouse. Jimmy wanted attention, he was an addict and the audience were enablers. After the song ended for a moment all Jimmy did was sit and pant, finally he approached the mic once again.
"This next one is an older number, nothin' but hardcore. So if you don't like that you can fucking leave, but you should like it, I mean it's me we're talking about" he was sarcastic in saying this though some people actually got upset and left. Others just thought of it as another joke between him and the crowd. Jimmy made it his mission to have a relationship with the crowd. Those who didn't get it were offended but those who did gave him nothing but love and he gave it back. Before Jimmy could announce the name of the song, a non-Nimrod (they called their fans Nimrods) screamed at Jimmy "Fuck you, cocky prick!" Jimmy ignored him and was about to announce the song name before he heard the same heckler say "You guys fucking suck and everyone knows that bass player is a fag!" This made Jimmy snap. Not only was Davey his best friend but homophobia wasn't tolerated by him or post people at Gilman Street. Jimmy quickly hopped into the audience and tackled the heckler who was a clear foot taller than him. The fans and security tried to pull Jimmy off of the guy but Jimmy angry was as aggressive as a hungry Pitbull. Finally the heckler managed to crawl away but not before being insulted on the microphone by Davey and Kit who were laughing the entire time. Jimmy got back on stage with quite a bit of the heckler's blood on him, looking like a wild man and finally announced the song. "This one's called Government Cheese" Jimmy said angrily. The song was truly hardcore mentioning the struggles of the working class as well as immigrants. The song was only composed of Davey's overdriven bass and Kit's skillful and quick drumming. This gave Jimmy a chance to strut his stuff once again, dancing around, thrashing about, and headbanging as well. Jimmy was almost screaming his lungs out and looked mad and slightly insane, dropping to his knees to deliver the ending refrain of the words "Even rats wont eat government cheese, fuck conservative pigs" with a groovy rhythm to the phrase. The audience erupted in applause and as they did Davey and Kit began to play the last fast riff again as Jimmy jumped into the crowd, being embrace by his few hundred fans. Jimmy would mention later in interview that he enjoyed small clubs the best because of the personal level he had with the fans. All of the most devoted fans knew Jimmy on a somewhat personal level and it was common to see him talking and smoking with fans, joking and laughing.
Finally Jimmy managed to get back on the stage to speak once again, by now he was seen as an idol to the audience. Some people had never even heard of The Nimrods before, including the several unknown executives in the back of the club who would later fight over the band. But by now everyone loved them, the people who left early had missed out because nobody had anything negative to say after the previous performances. The owners realized they should have made The Nimrods headliners earlier but because of the wait the band became near perfect at what they did and were definitely ready. The next song was a rather odd one but a fan favorite called "Party at Your Place" it was one of the first in the band's punk-garage style but was rather unique. The first have had funky almost sexy riffs and a basic thumping beat with Jimmy strutting around singing to the few ladies in the club, several near him attempting to touch him. Jimmy wasn't even very attractive but his attitude and style drew women toward him which at 17 was the greatest thing ever. The second half of the song kept the party theme but sped up greatly and was more aggressive with Jimmy jumping up and down and Davey and Kit playing more aggressively. There is also a short bass solo in it which was played with Davey back-to-back with Jimmy. At the end of the song Jimmy and Davey stared at each other for a moment and then started kissing to the audiences surprise with several cheers from the women and even a few men at the club. After their brief moment all Jimmy and Davey could do was laugh along with Kit who was watching with a beer in his hand. Once he managed to stop laughing Jimmy managed to announce the next song.
"I seem like an arrogant person who likes to have a good time and nothing else," he said to himself. "but really sometimes I fucking hate myself. People I might hurt, people I half hurt, girls I've broken up with, teachers I've fucked with. Sometimes I just wish they'd beat the shit out of me for what I've done." The song which was entitled 'Beat the Shit Outta Me' was the heaviest song The nimrods had at the time. Though still catchy with an almost 80s sounding chorus, the lyrics were self loathing, hateful, and of course masochistic. During a very heavy instrumental break, which started slow and gradually increased pace, Jimmy chugged two beers which he then threw on the ground causing them to shatter. He then grabbed an empty bottle and broke it in half slicing part of his arm before dropping onto the glass on the floor and rolling on the ground. This was fueled by drunken self loathing which Jimmy held inside frequently. The stage was his way to get rid of it and though shocked at first, the fans loved it. Jimmy stood up afterwords covered in blood and stared at the crowd with an odd gaze before diving in once again screaming for them to hit him. A few bold fans would have done anything for Jimmy and did hit him. He got up, thanked them, and got back on stage. He stared blankly again as if contemplating what he did and then got back to business.
"This next one's a tribute to my hero Mr. Iggy Pop" this announcement caused the audience to erupt once again. "This one's called 'I wanna be your dog!" Jimmy shouted. As the first riff began playing, a dominatrix looking punk girl came on stage dressed in leather wit ha whip and a dog collar. She put the collar on Jimmy's neck and Jimmy sang the song to her on his knees while she held onto the leash. During an extended jam she then began to whip Jimmy who began singing whilst being whipped without showing sings of pain though the more he was hit the more aggressive he sounded. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and tackled the woman, singing the refrain of the song in her face before getting off of her smirking and being cheered on. Jimmy ended the song with a loud scream before falling to his knees from apparent exhaustion. He managed to get up though and grab his guitar while walking over to the microphone.
"We can only play two more" he said sounding a bit sad. "But don't worry I'll make it worthwhile for you guys." The crowd cheered albeit a little less enthusiastically. "This one's called human Garbage" this song was unknown to the crowd and has never actually been recorded. The song had a slightly grungy sound with the main riff similar to 'Teenage Whore' by Hole. Jimmy's soon signature rasp was used for most of the song and though he was not on heroin at the, the way he sang made it seem like it with his words laced with the conviction of a junkie which he would soon become. During the mid-tempo break Jimmy once again interacted with the audience by getting them to clap in sync with the music, a commonly used live tactic but still astounding to see a 17 year old make several hundred people do. At the end of the song Jimmy abused the whammy bar on his guitar causing it to go out of tune and make odd noises which sounded rather trippy to the audience and added a strange atmosphere awaiting the final song.
As Jimmy approached the mic for the final song, appearing to be holding back tears, he gave the audience one last smile, still covered in blood but absolutely loving what he was doing. "This one's call 'Well OK'" Jimmy said. "It's the last song we'll be play so I want to thank all of you for coming to our first real show I hope it stays in yours hearts as each and everyone one of you are in ours". Jimmy finally dropped his ego, pretentiousness, and everything that made him Jimmy him, and opened up. He said what he felt and though he never knew it, that's what the audience loved. The song the band played was a classic off of their first album. It is indeed more poppy but definitely still a great song, slightly similar to the verse of "Salvation" by The Cranberries. At the end of the song the band destroyed their instruments, putting on a show like they were at Madison Square Garden and ended it via crowd surfing one last time before the roadies cleaned up their mess and they left the building. Jimmy's dazed glare  A Wild man  Bloodied and Confident  The Bass maestro himself  Kit himself OOC:I think this may be the best RP I've ever done,, perhaps worthy of a posthumous Birdie lol, please read/comment/etc Edited by user 06 April 2011 00:59:14(UTC)
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The Nimrods (Progressive Death Metal,Progressive Metal,Progressive Rock.Think Opeth/Dream Theater/Tool/Pink Floyd) Jimmy Him- Lead Guitar,Vocals,Primary Songwriter Davey Matlock- Bass,Guitars,Vocals,Primary Songwriter Kit Saunders- Drums,additional percussion Jaska Latvala- Rhythm Guitar,Vocals,Primary Songwriter Jack Burton- Keyboards,Keytar Satyr in the Frost(Melodic Black Metal,think Satyricon/Mayhem/Early Dimmu Borgir/Immortal) Sigmund-Vocals and Rhythm guitar Celt-Drums Saxon-Lead Guitar Sauron-Keyboard Gris-Bass Rincewind wrote:The Nimrods wrote:I knew you'd be back! *cries* now now, *hugs and steals wallet* xNightsidex wrote:Oops I stumbled over and hit the "extend ban" button.  Gildermershina wrote:The Nimrods wrote:xNightsidex wrote:Sooo...
What's everyone else do in the real world? Sell pot and jerk off JK, or am i? At the same time? Rincewind wrote:Synxhard wrote:I don't believe in jeans... well your shit out of luck because they believe in you..... |
