3DD Showcase: Dexateens - Destroy Me

[Smitty]

soon to be released jointly on Corneilus Chapel Records & This is American Music.

[Van]

Nice write up Smitty! I was lucky enough to get a copy of this when the Dexateens opened for the DBT in Harrisburg,Pa in May 08.

[Duke Silver]

Great writeup, Smitty. Makes me wanna dust off my Portastudio this weekend.

[cortez the killer]

Makes me wanna dust off my Portastudio this weekend.

Let's do this, like Brutus.

Nice work Smitty.

[WoodDuck]

Great writeup, Smitty. Makes me wanna dust off my Portastudio this weekend.

I was thinking the same thing. Love that little Tascam.

And yeah, definitely check out Destroy Me if you haven't heard it. Raw.

[dime in the gutter]

all hail smitty.

this lp slays me.

often overlooked about dexateens.....elliott can write like a mother fucker.

read some comments by him, about his guitar picking in general, but specifically this lp......wrong note....right feel.

left hand never in the right place.....

in my kingdom...guitar players are a dime a dozen.

dedicated to the smith bothers....jeb and john. i think they are bros, anyway.

fucking love this record.

great post.

[Smitty]

just got this from Elliott:

we are about to release it (Destroy Me) as a co-release with cornelius chapel records and this is american music. all this just came together. working on a follow up too.

Hell yes.

[one belt loop]

Where's your write-up?

[bovine knievel]

Where's your write-up?

moderated

[one belt loop]

Where's your write-up?

moderated

FREE SMITTY!

[olwiggum]

I'm not exactly sure what happened here, but I almost contacted Smitty myself this weekend to ask that the songs be taken down when I got word that it's getting an actual release. I'm sure everybody understands. I hope so, at least.

[blackwll]

When is it being released? For that matter, what about the Live at the Nick DVD?

[olwiggum]

Not sure about either one. Haven't heard anything about the DVD in a while. I'd love to see it. No details on "Destroy Me" just yet. Still working on the particulars as far as I know.

[Smitty]

Where's your write-up?

moderated

Actually noone asked me to take it down, but once I found out it was going to be released, I figured I'd take it down until then...

I'll throw it back up when it's released.

[Jonicont]

Where's your write-up?

moderated

Actually noone asked me to take it down, but once I found out it was going to be released, I figured I'd take it down until then...

I'll throw it back up when it's released.

Class act

[one belt loop]

Actually noone asked me to take it down, but once I found out it was going to be released, I figured I'd take it down until then...

I'll throw it back up when it's released.

Class act

<3 Smitty

[olwiggum]

You're a good man, Smitty.

[Van]

When is it being released? For that matter, what about the Live at the Nick DVD?

Not to mention all all the other tracks they have recorded.

[Smitty]

While we're waiting, patchndent has put up the Dexateens' set at the Freshworks Festival in Birmingham last month.

setlist:

1. Cardboard Hearts
2. Settle Down
3. Pine Belt Blues
4. Annalee
5. Coal Mine Lung
6. Take Me To The Speedway
7. Hard Lovin
8. Grandaddy’s Mouth
9. Makers Mound
10. Rockaway Beach
11. Naked Ground
12. Down In The Valley
13. Madeline

[Smitty]

^^ Lee Bains III blisters on Take Me to the Speedway

[Smitty]

Sonuvabitch I wish I had saved that writeup.

[cortez the killer]

I'm assuming it was never officially released. I know the album cover (dude swinging an axe or something) used to show up in the "Listening" thread, but I haven't seen it in years. Anyone have a copy? If so, would love to hear it, if possible.

[Smitty]

I got you.

[Smitty]

I revisited this one the past few weeks and I’ve been (re)obsessed. It’s so goddamn brilliant. I spoke to Elliott about the record back then about it, the contents of which were in the original write up which now seems lost in the ether, but IIRC he recorded it over a couple week period in his living room on a tascam recorder and that’s why you hear the sounds of his kids in the background in many songs, which unintentional or not is perfect considering the themes covered and the ambience really adds to the sparse, lo-fi late night vibe that emanates from the record.

So yeah, sonically it has a spook in the Killers & Stars/Nebraska vein that makes it ideal 3 AM driving music (which I’m a sucker for) but the brilliance lies in the concept. Elliott grew up in a strict Christian household and rock n’roll records weren’t allowed in the house, and naturally the forbidden fruit aspect only added to the attraction. He was most fascinated by KISS, particularly the Destroyer record, which at it’s core is about what it was like to be a member of KISS in 1976. So thirty years later, using Destroyer as a template, he revisited the concept only about what it was like to be in the Dexateens in 2006 and called it Destroy Me. Obviously there was a big gulf between being an arena rocker in the seventies and a cult indie band in the aughts (particularly in Alabama), so it’s almost unrecognizable from it’s original inspiration and stands on it’s own merit (actually imho it vastly supersedes it). If you listen close it gives clues as to why the Dexateens never quite reached the stature that they deserved/had potential for; in “Boys”, E’s reimagining of “Beth”, E solves Peter Criss’s dilemma (“oh Beth what can I do”) by simply telling the boys who are calling him to come play “no” and staying at home with his family (“ain’t no jody gonna raise my kids/how can she stand by her man if he’s not at home”). It’s a sentiment I’m not sure I’ve heard expressed in any other rock n roll song, and states exactly where Elliott’s priorities lie, even if the temptation is pretty damn strong (“love won’t let me out”).
Anyways, it’s a damned shame that this work of art has never had a proper release; hell its even unclear whether it’s a Dexateens record or an Elliott solo; if it’s the former, it certainly stands way over to the side in their canon. Regardless, it’s my favorite Dexa-related album and I hope one day it’s available for the “masses” in one form or another.

“the devil’s favorite weapon, an idle man with a good excuse, and I hate, I hate I ain’t afraid of the dark no more
oceans and diamonds, they gonna sparkle with light
and a man in darkness can’t hide from the thunder at night”

[cortez the killer]

I got you.

[BigTom]

Nice write up Smitty! I was lucky enough to get a copy of this when the Dexateens opened for the DBT in Harrisburg,Pa in May 08.

That show is where I got my copy too. The Dragonfly Club, I recorded the show. The DBT set is up on the archive https://archive.org/details/dbt2008-05-08.4022s.flac16 and I think the Dexateens set is on a hard drive somewhere. Gonna see if I can find it tonight.