Thrasher Magazine

A disgusting mess. A horrific clanging. Ugly, ugly music made by hideous goblins from the most disgusting basements of Detroit. Timmy’s Organism, the descendent of the great Human Eye and the Clone Defects, play mutant glam rock for submoron imbeciles—any self-hating human being should love it. A real tight rock unit from post-apocalyptic Detroit, Timmy’s Organism have a new one out on Jack White’s Third Man Records called Heartless Heathen. Get it if you hate yourself. Interview: Brace Belden | Photo: Jordan Joseffer

What, you guys quit your jobs to do this? Do people in Michigan have jobs?
Blake Hill, drums/backups: Everyone’s unemployed anyways. We didn’t technically have to quit them.
Timmy Vulgar, guitar/vocals: Rent’s so cheap I just take back cans to pay it.

Isn’t there a house-fire epidemic there? People setting houses on fire?
B: It used to be bad, but it’s not so bad anymore.
T: The night before Halloween, every year, people burn shit down and TP everything, egg houses and fucking go crazy. It’s called Devil’s Night.
B: Our record is actually called Devil’s Night Live. You can get it on record.

Let’s talk about the new record. What do we got here?
B: Heartless Heathen! That’s what it’s called. Rip your fucking skull open.
T: If you try and go down a handrail or something—but yeah, it’s our new record, October 30th was the release date. Did a tour for it in November and we’re doing a tour for it now. On the cover I have a real goat’s heart that I found at the Middle Eastern market in Hamtramck. I cut it open; it’s got glitter shooting out of it. It’s a weird, fucked-up album about loss and gain and things that make blues and rock ‘n’ roll happen. It’s a fun record. Consistent record.
I think everyone that reads Thrasher magazine should stop what they’re doing and what they’re listening to and buy it!

That’s the market with this?
T: Yeah! Lots of skateboarders love psychedelic rock: Black Sabbath kind of shit from the early ‘70s or straight-up hip-hop. It’s usually just any kind of cool underground music.
B: Sick music in all the vids.
Jeff the Giant, bass/backup vocals: Thrasher video magazine when I was younger—I would just listen to all that shit.
B: Fuck. Tony Hawk Pro Skater soundtrack? Fuck.
T: Did you skate, Blake?
B: Yeah! I think we all skateboarded.
T: I can do a pressure flip.
B: Timmy thrashes. Put that on the record.

So! New direction on this record, huh? Less experimental! More rock music!
B: This is fucking Timmy’s Organism, man. It’s fucking—
T: Well, the first double 45 and album was just me by myself. The band is a bit different—
B: A bit bonehead.
T: I mean, we don’t wanna give away all our secrets! With Clone Defects, every rock song we would write, I would wanna have a weird song too. I was really into Cleveland, Electric Eels, Pere Ubu, Peter Laughner, The Mirrors. I wanted to do stuff like that, but I wanted to do shit that was straight up Berlin Brats and the Stones. I mean, rock ‘n’ roll has been around for so long, and there’s so many different offshoots, that, I mean—it’s like looking at a Mexican menu. I wanna eat everything, wanna order everything, want to eat all of it and try all of it just like I do with playing music. I want to try all of it and do all of it.
B: Next record’s gonna be even wilder.

What, just drums and snoring?
T: I snore. It sounds like you’re cutting down a redwood.
B: We’ve been on the road for, like, four weeks.

What? Why!
B: We’re unemployed. We talked about this!

I figured that auto bailout would’ve really saved you, turned your guys’ lives around.
B: Gotta be on the road! We’re going to South by Southwest. Obama’s headlining!
T: He’s MCing our show. He’s gonna introduce us.
B: He’s got a sick custom Gibson.

Man, I saw Jimmy from Annihilation Time take a shit on stage there, and now Obama’s gonna talk. Have you retired your squid act?
T: Oh, man, you can’t do the same shit over and over. What, you like seafood?
B: I just thought it was a neat trick!
T: It wasn’t even a squid. It was an octopus. Octopus got longer tentacles—they both got beaks.

I hate that anything underwater has a beak. Let’s talk about being on the road. What is bad?
T: Tallahasee—four people there.
B: Days are a blur, but we get to play rock ‘n’ roll in all these different cities. Love blowing people’s minds every night.

You like these rock gigs, I take it? How is Detroit? Any rock gigs in Detroit?
J: There’s really great hip-hop in Detroit, a lot of great electronic. There’s this stuff, neo-soul, that’s going on that’s really badass. It’s like techno, but old soul music. It’s pretty awesome. There’s tons of great fucking music there if you look for it. You can go out and see whatever you want any day of
the week.
T: Detroit is—different. The only time I got depressed on this whole tour is when we had to play Detroit. Not because of the show, not because of our friends that were there that loved it and it was packed and awesome, but it was the worst weather. Fucking slush storm. Had to get my van and start it with a screwdriver. None of the windows work and none of the doors work. Get back to my apartment, it’s a total mess: tiny little place with a shower in the kitchen. I get back to my lifestyle for one day, one night, and I just thought, “Whoa! I’m so glad I’m on the fucking road,” because we got back on the road, got to Chicago and then—you know—see my lady. But Detroit? I don’t know, man. It’s a weird place. It keeps you going musically. It inspires you, because if you’ve got a strong mind and are a creative person you’re gonna use Detroit and the depression and the sadness and the fucked upedness of Detroit for the better.

It’s that fucked up, huh?
J: No one should go there. You’ll get shot and then get eaten by wild dogs. You’ll get burned down in a building by accident. You stop at a stoplight and someone will throw gas on your car and light you on fire.

Well, shit. Any hot rock units coming out of there?
T: I like John Krautner from the Go! Outrageous Cherry. Craig Brown Band is kinda this country thing that’s real good. Anguish is pretty good.

Okay, guys, we don’t gotta do this all night.
T: Deadly Vipers. All girl band, super fucking killer. Sound like Black Sabbath/Stooges guitar rock, all, like, 19. Some good shit.
J: Yemeni food is good.
B: Should we talk about skateboarding?

No.
T: I shit my pants and my buddy did a disaster slide. I broke my ankle doing a fucking frontside big spin and I got grounded because I was supposed to be at work.

What’s some gross shit that’s happened to you?
B: I’ve barfed all over.

How many times you think in your life?
B: I think at least 100 times.

That’s it? I’ve done at least a cool 1,000. What about you, Timmy?
T: I got bad gas.
B: Listen, we’re fucked up outside, fucked up inside. I think that’s just how it is.