COULDN'T GET HIGH
Official Press Release
"The Figgs Couldn't Get High" is the eleven year old band's fourth LP released since 1994. First rate production on the part of Andy Shernoff of the Dictators aids the band in saying it's okay to get older and stay loud and snotty. Songs like "The Noose Was Tight" and "Wait on Your Shoulders" will tear your ears to shreds, while "The Cat" and the emotional "Blinked My Eyes" will ease the pain. Despite these songs stylistic polarities (and four songwriters to boot), The Figgs distinctive pop sound focuses the album with a driving intensity.
Avid record collectors, The Figgs have named their new album after a raucous song by fellow New Yorkers, The Fuggs, (name connection is wholly coincidental) whose electric sound was recorded thirty years ago. The song, though unrecorded by The Figgs is a favorite encore when devoted, perspiring fans won't let them off the stage. Among those devoted fans is the legendary Graham Parker, who was so intrigued by the band's energy and love for music that he took them along on a national tour as his backing band. The Figgs took to the job immediately, leaving a whole new generation of fans thinking they had just warped back to 1977, a time when music mattered. The Parker gig also garnered The Figgs national attention in People Magazine and on TV's Comedy Central after Parker's label (Razor and Tie) released a live CD of the show entitled "The Last Rock n Roll Tour".
Above all else gained from the Graham Parker experience was the ability to lay down fatback soul grooves on Parker's choice of Prince and Ann Peebles covers. This influence is evident on songs like "Said Enough" which uses a Jackson Five-like guitar line to complement a classic Motown beat.
Parker has been the target of dozens of major label droppings throughout his career and perhaps his influence extended a bit too far when The Figgs returned from tour to find themselves no longer associated with Capitol Records. Most bands upon hearing such news would pack it in, but The Figgs beer-stained work ethic never let them call it quits. This professional attitude largely accounts for their enthusiastic, high octane live performances, and makes them, as Trouser Press once stated "tighter than army buddies".
Unlike its namesake, "The Figgs Couldn't Get High" may not be a reference to partying, more a play at their industry chart status. Maintaining the fight against obscurity while refusing to bend over backwards for the suits and ties is a tough position to take, but it creates a fire and passion for the music that is evident on every track of "The Figgs Couldn't Get High".
Check it out..... you'll be glad you did.
Avid record collectors, The Figgs have named their new album after a raucous song by fellow New Yorkers, The Fuggs, (name connection is wholly coincidental) whose electric sound was recorded thirty years ago. The song, though unrecorded by The Figgs is a favorite encore when devoted, perspiring fans won't let them off the stage. Among those devoted fans is the legendary Graham Parker, who was so intrigued by the band's energy and love for music that he took them along on a national tour as his backing band. The Figgs took to the job immediately, leaving a whole new generation of fans thinking they had just warped back to 1977, a time when music mattered. The Parker gig also garnered The Figgs national attention in People Magazine and on TV's Comedy Central after Parker's label (Razor and Tie) released a live CD of the show entitled "The Last Rock n Roll Tour".
Above all else gained from the Graham Parker experience was the ability to lay down fatback soul grooves on Parker's choice of Prince and Ann Peebles covers. This influence is evident on songs like "Said Enough" which uses a Jackson Five-like guitar line to complement a classic Motown beat.
Parker has been the target of dozens of major label droppings throughout his career and perhaps his influence extended a bit too far when The Figgs returned from tour to find themselves no longer associated with Capitol Records. Most bands upon hearing such news would pack it in, but The Figgs beer-stained work ethic never let them call it quits. This professional attitude largely accounts for their enthusiastic, high octane live performances, and makes them, as Trouser Press once stated "tighter than army buddies".
Unlike its namesake, "The Figgs Couldn't Get High" may not be a reference to partying, more a play at their industry chart status. Maintaining the fight against obscurity while refusing to bend over backwards for the suits and ties is a tough position to take, but it creates a fire and passion for the music that is evident on every track of "The Figgs Couldn't Get High".
Check it out..... you'll be glad you did.