Friday, February 4, 2011

1 THIS WEEKEND: Lemmy and Motörhead Invade Seattle


The first Motorhead record I ever bought was the live album, "No Sleep Til Hammersmith". I was a teenager and obsessed with Metallica and Slayer. Both bands had name checked Motorhead in interviews as an influence and specifically mentioned that record. Over time I became a bit obsessed with Lemmy, Motorhead's vocalist. In my senior high art class we were asked to draw someone and I chose Lemmy. The next year, in my freshman college English class, we were asked to write about someone who had made an impact on our lives and, while a couple people wrote about their dad and a half dozen wrote about Jesus, I wrote about Lemmy and his collection of Nazi memorabilia. My professor wasn't as stoked about that as I was and he wrote a disparaging comment on my paper wondering why this guy had an impact on my life. I wish I'd held on to that.

Motorhead has been around for almost 40 years now and Lemmy and the band are still touring and releasing records. Thinking back on that painting I did in high school 20+ years ago, Lemmy looks basically the same today as he did then. He's one of those iconic figures that's maintained a steadfast adherence to doing what he does well. Motorhead's music hasn't really changed and their biggest hits were made decades ago but when you listen to Motorhead you're listening to a legend who's influenced generations of bands. Motorhead is an original.

Motorhead, along with Clutch and Valient Thorr, will be headlining an already sold out show at the Showbox SoDo Friday night. The band's promoting a new record, "The World is Yours", that comes out next week. Like nearly every Motorhead record, it's solid and it's Motorhead. Consistency is the name of their game. Coincidentally, a documentary made about the band makes a limited run this week in Seattle as well. The eponymous film, simple called "Lemmy", debuted at SxSW last year to rave reviews. I haven't seen it yet but I will this weekend at the NW Film Forum at 1515 12th Ave. At nearly 70, Lemmy is a man who's given is life to rock and roll. I'm looking forward to seeing him on stage and the screen!


Words by Roy Culver

1 Comments:

  1. I haven't seen Motorhead live since the Orgasmatron tour, but Lemmy doesn't seem to have aged a day in 25+ years. I thought smoking and drinking were supposed to be bad for your appearance.

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