(Hy)Gene & Paul Webb
1st Euro gig: Hamburg, Germany
Philip w/ the mighty VENOM
(R to L)Mike King, Jim VanBebber, Philip, Scott Earnhart,
and Martin the mysterious.
Great European fans after the show
Us hanging out with Testament and Satyricon at Gods of Metal
Kicking ass in Paris, France
Inside the oldest pub in England
On the bus
The flight over
Snaked off after midnight
Philip & Layne 1991
AIC hanging out on the CFH tour
Snake & Away of Voivod
I I don’t want to skip over some of the
finer points of interest that occurred during the writing of
Over the Under.
So, I’m going to jump back and tell of
some key happenings.
Before DOWN began writing new material as a whole band, I
was 4 months out of surgery, and 2 months into physical
therapy and was asked to sing with ALICE IN CHAINS by JERRY
CANTRELL(opening up for the majestic HEART). I hadn’t been
on stage in 2 years, but I accepted immediately. It was an
honor. LAYNE STALEY(R.I.P) was a friend, and an
incredible singer. I hadn’t
sang
in a long time, and singing his songs was no easy task.
I did the gig. With my mobility still
extremely compromised, I still felt
confident. The show was spiritual.
The surprise, and response of the fans, the
tears, the symbolism/ homage to our deceased brothers, so
thick over the event, we could feel them. The band played
with tight emotion. They were amazing. All of this was
overwhelming.(AIC is in my heart). This is what I needed. A
catalyst. I was home on that stage. I
needed
it back, and I would have it.
After that incredible experience, my workouts became even
more intense, and the writing of the new DOWN began
for real.
The songs to this point were very raw,
recorded on hand held cassette recorders and jam boxes. But,
those tapes became priceless to us. We carried them
everywhere we went, and became a canvas for ideas
that consumed us all. After workouts and
practice, I would spend my time
intimately
with a pen and paper, a guitar, an old generic amp(with a
crushing tone!) and an old cassette 4 track. I wrote
insiduously.
I dug through mountains of tapes, and
found quite a large amount of jam sessions we had recorded
over the years. Everyone else also had their own private
library of jam tapes as well, and soon we were overwhelmed
with riffs and half-songs. I put them all onto 1 c.d.
From start to finish it ran over an hour. There was enough
material for 4 albums, and, they were
all
damn good parts.
Jim and I recorded some raw parts for
a few songs (just guitar and drums) at Balance Studios with
“the puma” courtesy of my partner in
adventure and the owner of the
facility Gene Joannen.
After that, we were interrupted,
pleasantly, by opportunity.
We had to switch gears completely.
I was 6 months out of surgery, and we did a 5 week tour of
Europe. Playing our own ‘Evening with DOWN’ shows, as well
as the giant, (in)famous, outdoor Summertime festivals,
including being the unannounced, special guest band to play
the main stage at Download that year. (U.K./European fans,
our homeland,
YOU,
our sisters and brothers, are incredible! THE LOYAL!!! We
shall return…soon). It was a big deal.
DOWN had never been to Europe before. Word had it that our
contingency there was insane. It would be our 1st
tour in over 5 years, and there was no better way for us to
return.
We decided to document the event to
be used as a movie (no release date yet). It was directed by
one of my best friends Jim Van Bebber (Deadbeat at Dawn/The
Manson Family), and his cinematographer, the ever cool Mike
King.
With Snake, our ever loyal, kick-ass
road crew, the film crew, and(us) the band, we all got onto
a plane for an 8 hr. flight.
We landed in Hamburg, Germany, then
piled into 2 buses.
The shows were awesome! The audiences in Europe are as hard
core as you can get. As a band, we were in no way, shape,
nor form,
any where
close to the standards we were capable of, but we pulled it
off.
The highlights of the tour are many.
Playing The Gods of Metal festival in Italy, seeing old
friends like Satyr and Frost from Satyricon(you fucking
killed!), Testament, Sodom, and many others. But one of my
greatest memories of all…
The mighty
VENOM
(hail to Cronos, Anton, and Mike!) headlined the festival,
and invited me onstage to sing ‘DIE HARD’(from the Bursting
Out/Die Hard E.P).
It made a part of my life.
Running into Voi Vod in London was an
all night blast! (much love to Snake and Away. You’ve
influenced 2 generations of heavy metal, and are one of my
favorite bands. We are friends for life! R.I.P. Piggy. I
can’t say enough about you as a person, neither your
beautifully unique guitar talent. At rest, your legacy is
forever).
The Download Festival was great for
us, and our last show in the U.K. We opened the whole show
at 11a.m. and the crowd was packed in and ready. They sang
every word. It was a fucking jam session.
We had the opportunity to watch a wide
variety of bands that day, and the crowd were fanatic
throughout.(love to Dez, Tim, and anyone I left out)!
METALLICA(gods!) headlined that year.
It was the anniversary of the
release of the massive ‘MASTER OF
PUPPETS’.
They ripped through the entire L.P.
from beginning ‘till end. They were very animated, extremely
tight, and they dominated the masses of fans, who could not
get enough.
It was as heavy as heavy gets.
Making it through that tour was a
giant re- learning experience. Being in front of an audience
again,and a great audience they are, our groove as a band
came quickly. It was clumsy here and there, but there were
more great moments than bad. It most importantly was
extremely instrumental in the re-sharpening of our chemistry
as a band, and, friends.
On a personal note, in the back of my
mind, there may have been a glimpse of doubt about the wear
on my spine at that point, but my WILL saw me through. I
knew I had a ways to go, but I’d get it. And it proved WE
were damn well ready to roll on...
Destroying the Download Festival @ 11 a.m.