专辑简介

Who can stop The Deadliness? This has been one of the most on-mind questions in America since 1985, when Who Knew? ventured into the dark underground world of the Pink Dale Sauly Saloon, located in Hell City, Utah. At the time, the Pink Dale was known as the most dangerous club in the lower 48. Dominated by the frightening rotation of house bands, notably the infamous Satanic death metal outfit, Livved, and the even more notorious suicide cult group, The Maggots, the place was a real magnet for derelicts on the fringes of society. The joint was not for the faint of heart. Even the most hardened criminal had serious trepidations about stepping inside its doors. Murders, suicides, and torture were as common as pick up lines, pool, and video crack. Who Knew? just had to check this sh*t out! On this particular occasion, The Maggots' front man, Yodre, was hosting an open-mic. Amid the chaos, an old man happened to shuffle his way onto the stage. He played a tune that brought a tear to even the roughest of the Pink Dale regulars. The song was called Grampa, and the artist went by the name of Rustic Joe. Who Knew? was so moved that they were led on a subsequent search for the entire Rustic Joe catalog of recorded material. They discovered a wealth of recordings that not only revealed much about the song writer, but also the rich traditions of American folk music itself. Amazingly, Rustic Joe accomplished this through the vehicle of just one song - Grampa, the very same song he performed at the Pink Dale that night in 1985. His entire discography consisted of various versions of this seminal work, and can now be found, digitally remastered, on the Who Knew CD you have just purchased. But, back to the Pink Dale - something else happened to Who Knew? that night that would change their lives forever. They met a mysterious man named Jack O. Mundo. Mundo cryptically described to them the tenets of a local Hell City movement of which he was the brain child, a movement that's fundamental principals were strikingly congruous with the messages of Yodre, the strange humanoid creature who was the leader of The Maggots and, as was mentioned earlier, was hosting the open mic that night. Riding a line between maniacal laughter and sheer, total insanity, Mundo went on for hours explaining his movement with a gleam in his eye that made the two Who Knew? partners both disturbed and amused. Little did Who Knew? know at the time, but this soliloquy was the kernel of what eventually became one of the most prominent underground philosophical movements of the late 20th century - The Deadliness. In late 1986, when the FBI closed the doors of the Pink Dale forever, they may have been able to shut down the place that it was born, but The Deadliness itself could not be stopped. It poisoned the minds of young people in Utah, and then spread across the entire nation like "wildfire", whatever the f**k that is. Yodre went into hiding, but continued to exert his influence through such Deadliness luminaries such as Jack O. Mundo, O'Duff, and Ken Court; as well as releasing solo musical efforts in the popular styles of the day, all to spread the message of The Deadliness. In the year 2000, Yodre and The Maggots came out of hiding and went on a 3 month "Bridge Reunion Tour", where they performed on bridges across the US. Full concerts were rare, as the FBI was usually on their trail and kept them on the run. This tour, as well as the now annual "Deadliest Man of the Year" award ceremony, is proof that The Deadliness is not going away in the new millenium. On the contrary, it is stronger than ever. Which begs the now familiar question, Who Can Stop It?

- Bill "B-Man" Banaceiwicz

July 10, 2003