For the Bill Hicks fans....

[Merkaba]

They're finally releasing the first Hicks dvd! Here's a link to the info:



http://www.rykodisc.com/Catalog/dump/rykoalbums_1446.asp

[HairlessBluetick]

Ooooh.... spiffy.... I want .....

[Arioch]

Drat, I was going to say how crass I thought he was but he's dead and one shouldn't speak ill of the dead. Pity.

[candela]

The only thing I know about Bill Hicks is from a Tool cd.

[sbw]

me too candela--I could likely be missing out--hey experts, any info / opinions?

Scott

[Spartan26]

By no means an expert, but I saw him perform a few times over the years. Some friends of mine knew him better. I basically only met him once, hanging out in the bar after I showcased at a club one night when he was headlining. Seemed like a decent guy. An early night for both of us, so no stories to tell.

He was from Texas. One of the Outlaw Comics that worked out of Houston. Sam Kinison, Ron Shock, Jimmy Schubert, who's had small parts in films like the idiot Bouncer in Go, and a few other guys with brilliant comedy minds whose names escape me now.

Most of the Outlaws were heavy users. Jimmy, in fact, was the first comic I ever heard do a bit about getting high off of licking South American tree frogs. Bill was really funny at an early age, only like Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Eddie Murphy were headlining clubs that young while still being complete unknowns. Bill's drug use really cost him. He started falling out of favor with club owners and network people at about the time he would've been set to launch.

Five or six years later was when a few people were starting to discover him. He was putting out albums by the time he was 27. On the inside sleeve of one of his cd's, he actually includes a letter by a lady who who complained about his act and his material. Coincidentally, I was actually at that club that night! Even confirming it with the manager later on, no one left early, no one complained and no one looked particularly upset leaving but she clearly peeved. Some of the stuff she wrote about I'd say wasn't his best material and written down describing the bits made them sound a lot worse than the actual jokes were.

I thought a lot of his dick jokes were just dick jokes. In general, I find that type of material to be rather blah. He did much better with social commentary. I know he'd contribute to The Nation, but I never read any of his articles. His edge made him a concern for networks. You may've heard that his last appearence on Letterman got cut out for being too controversal. From what I remember, it didn't seem that bad, (on a sliding scale of his material, certainly not) even for the time. I mean you can see Justify My Love video now on TV in the middle of the day but back in '89 when I saw it after being banned I thought, "Ya know, Madonna, you really don't have a case here."

One thing I remember from his act was talking about how drugs weren't as bad as the government was trying to make people believe - no arrests, not violent, still had a sharp mind. But when he got sick, he sure went down in a hurry. Don't know if he had any regrets over it, but it certainly didn't help him long term.

[Merkaba]

That's a pretty good summary spartan. If anyone wants more info just go to billhicks.com and check out the bio & info there.

Yeah his Letterman performance was cut for making fun of pro-lifers. Go figure one of the commercials airing that night was a pro-life ad.