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The Ladybird Unition - "Benjamin"
From Imago Mortis (1996)
One of the best bands from the Tri-Cities, bar none. From the style, to the moves, to the music, these guys had it all. They inspired a lot of people, myself included. The guitar in this song inparticular is simply crushing, and the Jon's vocals are the Tri-Cities best-kept secret in rock'n'roll. This band was, and remains, very important to a lot of people. Visit Ladybird on myspace: www.myspace.com/theladybirdunition.
LBU was one of the most influencial bands for me as a musician as well as the entire Tri Cities music scene in the 90's. Sadly I moved away in '96 but I took a little peice of it with me.
Perfectly said Billy. You can take 4 people who love one band and have 4 completely different opinions on "what made that band great". ESPECIALLY when you are dealing with a band where all the members are such stand outs in what they do. Yeah, Jon stood out to me as a singer and an amazing poet/lyric writer... that was totally what I was into. But yes... I remember every one of my friends who played drums... they wanted to play like Dodd. All of my friends who played guitar... they all worked out and tried to rip off Greg's parts. And it was just a given about the bass... I sold 3 Musicman basses to guys based solely on the fact that it was "the Ladybird bass".
To me it's kind of like that Led Zeppelin phenomenon in the way LBU appealed to musicians around here. Each member was looked up to as a master of their craft. How damn incredible that this area even got to experience a band like that. I certainly hope nobody took my long winded bantor as selling short anyone in that band. I'm a professional windbag anyways. ;)
Posted By Brett | 2006-03-14 04:26:53
Hey, all.
Don't read too far into my post. I am so glad that Ladybird positively affected people. If Savage Sun or anyone else has an opinion on how they were affected by this band, they are certainly entitled to it. My only point was that it was the chemistry of four individuals. For a vocalist to take more away from Jon then Greg or myself is a natural thing. I took more from Nate watching Diddly Squat that I did from Mike or Eric. But Diddly Squat was all of those guys. Four guys that get together everyday after work or school to bust their ass at their craft. Its a beautiful thing.
Like a rose petal.
Please ignore what I wrote before because I don't know what the hell I'm talking about anyway, and by the way, Billy is right and I stand corrected. I unintentionally discounted the talent of the other artists when I absentmindedly posted the previous comment. I was too quick and careless in my choice of words and much my respect is lost in translation. I've always admired each of these guys and turned countless people onto the music. It is also a well known fact that Billy is among (if not the)greatest bassists to ever come out of this area. My appologies. PEace
Nobody in their right mind would take any one of them out of the picture and expect to have the same band… the ingredients that made-up that sound were very specific to each individual.
But I absolutely know the angle Savage Sun comes from. “It†was Jon. “It†being that magic x-factor that you just can’t seem to nail down but immediately recognize in all of the “greatsâ€, whatever art form you are talking about. That guy OWNED a stage and when you saw them live you knew damn well where the core of that ball of energy was. Jon was a figure that, through some unknown, unseen force, grabbed your attention and didn’t let go.
In fact, that guy ALWAYS did that, as far back as I can remember (and that’s quite a ways back). Even when he was known for more for skateboarding, every one of my friends into skating constantly talked about him….“Jon does this trick†or “Jon does that trick†or “Jon drew this on the bottom of my skateboardâ€. I even remember him from elementary school growing up. How? Why? Who the fuck knows. That’s my point. There are certain people who just radiate a certain energy… some sort of weird gift given at birth to certain creative people
When Ladybird happened I think you saw a certain “aligning of the planetsâ€â€¦ where all of the elements needed were in place to let one individuals pure artistic soul shine through unimpeded. I saw every one of his earlier projects, but LBU to me seemed like the one where everything just clicked and he could - for that moment in time – present his art in pure form. And that to me is beautiful, because most of us rarely if ever have that happen in our lives.
It was inspiring to me. That’s what I got out of The Ladybird Unition.
Posted By Brett Bradford | 2006-03-12 05:45:24
Really, it was the creative energy of four individuals and their energies, coupled with the mastery of their respective instruments that made Ladybird great. Each benefited from the other and it could not be re-created if you substituted any one of them.
Absolutely one in a million band especially because of the vision and mood that Jon brought through via his gifted vocals, brilliant lyricism, and dark style. Not taking away anthing from the rest of the band considering the "unified" effort, but from my vantage point, it was Jon that made this phenomenon what it was and what it remains today.
