Phil Hamelton

Line Up Phil Hamelton – Horn, Flute, Piano, Vocals Klaus Budhol – Ginkophone, Guitar, Chord Organ, Vibraphone, Clarinet Meatyard – Electric Guitar Styles - Drums Dirtweed – Electric Bass Guest Appearances over the Years: Nils Seldom – Guitar Flank Steak – Drums Flugelhorn – Drums Nosmoquing – Drums The Colonel – Corn Shucking Caveat Emptor! Giles Silkhaus (Manager, Nils Seldom, Courtesy of Decca Records, London) London, England, July 2013   When I was asked to write a review for the re-issue of Phil Hamelton’s Jugs of Life’s Out of the Loop, into the Poop, my heart swooned, mind raced, and my flight/fight response went into overdrive. After some deep soul searching, I feel compelled to take on the challenge.  The first time that I encountered Phil was in a dark, sweaty rooftop of a Chinese laundry in the mid-80s. He had just been invited to participate with three young men, who were ordained by God to be in a garage band. The outfit, "The Crawling Pegs", proved to be a volatile, energetic, plaid wearing experience that took the independent rock scene by storm in downtown Augusta. Over the next two years, Phil honed his skills and tuned his minds eye on the rock world. Immediately after the Pegs, Phil called his old friend Klaus Budhol, who was in a monastery in Belgium. Upon his arrival in America, Phil and Klaus took a wrong turn at the airport and ended up in Mississippi and stumbled upon Dirtweed, who was a tobacco farmer. As it turns out, Dirtweed had a hidden talent on the bass guitar. They packed him into the Dodge Colt (with denim roof!) and moseyed back to Augusta. Thereupon, they immediately formed Phil Hamelton's Bob Project and did a limited release on the classic Yardbirds’ cover, "For Your Love". Unfortunately, Phil became disgruntled with his loading dock day job and took his wares off to the big city of Atlanta and worked the graveyard shift at a local hospital. During that time, he crafted the seminal "Wood Sanding", that would prove to be the opus that would propel him to every open mic night in East Central Georgia. The Bob Project reunited in Athens in 1991, for the famous "Where's My Face" sessions, resulting in the cassette release of "The Superbowl of Rock and Roll". Tragedy would befall those around him in short order. While on vacation in him homeland, Klaus was involved in a deep fryer fire accident that occurred when the funnel cake machine at a local fair in Berlin exploded. From that day forth, he was forced into a ski mask for the rest of his natural life. Phil and Dirtweed pulled themselves together and recruited a local drummer and bar owner, Nosmoquing, into the band, forming Phil Hamelton's Collective Mind. In fact, one of my clients, on loan from Decca in London, Nils Seldom, played some riffs during this period. The Collective Mind took a turn for the more disciplined and serious side of Phil, and propelled him back into the mainstream of the Augusta scene. Then, as if scripted, shortly thereafter, Phil was involved in a horrible bridge accident and was missing for over one year. But, every tragic story has its silver lining and the Phil saga would be no different. As it turns out, Phil had been swept down the river during the accident. He was picked up about 60 miles downstream, by Meatyard, a cagey veteran of the 80's Augusta rock scene, who took Phil into his riverside hut that he had inhabited some years ago. Over the next two years, they drank Kool Aid and wrote music. And then they wrote more music. When they had tapped out of supplies and got evicted, Meatyard and Phil made it back upstream. Phil made arrangements for Klaus to be transported back to the United States from his sanatorium in Berlin. Meanwhile, Dirtweed was pulled off his lawn mower, a bass guitar was put back in his hands and recording equipment at his fingertips. Phil Hamelton's Jugs of Life was back in action.  The last piece of the puzzle serendipitously came together during a fence pulling session and Phil recruited Styles, drummer and closet techno/rave disciple. Out of the Loop, into the Poop represents the best and worst of Phil Hamelton's Jugs of Life. The anthology, if listened to appropriately, won't break your heart, it will crush it (regards to Rollins). This 17-song barrage of sound and music is all over the map, but at the end of the day, there only one word to describe its contents – Phun! A quick overview of the tracks follows: Meatyard Introduction The epitome of the Jugs. Chug A Lug. Busch powered. Weezy. Lawrence Welk goes to the playground. Bongos. Vague memories of the fair and corndogs. Kirt. Music is dead. Crushed Heart. A complete system failure. Senorita. A trip south of the border, gone badly. Pill Freak. Description of a problem. Story of O, Reprise. A lullaby for all ex-wives. Amy Grant. A song about one’s woman’s struggle between satanic secularism and dogmatic spiritualism. Interstellar Meatyard. One kick butt rocking instrumental. Carrot. Some call it blasphemy, Phil calls it Carrot. Lobster Boy. Go behind the screen. Men in Tights. An anthem for boys all over the world. Bogus. Hey hipsters, you should tune in. Killer Clowns. Elbo meets Dahmer.  Story of O. Earl Brewer does the Raco. Listen, enjoy, and write often! Giles Silkhaus (Manager, Nils Seldom, Courtesy of Decca Records, London) London England July 2013