I AM A FAN OF WARREN ZEVON

and it is time go to to L.A.

Jan 05, 2025

I was really in to torrenting music in the mid 2000’s. i’d download full discographies and load them on to my ipod and try and sift through it all. one day I decided to download the discography of Warren Zevon.

The files sat on my computer for quite some time. years. and when I would dip in to the Zevon library I’d have difficulty getting in to it. the arrangements were too razor sharp. the band was too good. i didn’t get it.

This is in my bathroom. Enjoy every sandwich foo

then one day it hit me when I finally took in the song that is Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner.

I listened to it over and over hundreds of times. i became obsessed. the catchiness and the absurdity of it all. the over-the-top lyrics of war and gore just made it more surreal. this was a singular song from a singular artist. and I love Piano Rock!

I got in to the Excitable Boy album big time. the crisp band arrangements that were once too slick for me started to make sense. Zevon’s strange sense of humor. the punk rock fuck-it-all attitude. the hooks on hooks. it all just slammed in to my psyche for good.

Here i am at the San Antonio stock show in my Zevon shirt with my old friend John Baumann. 2013. I probably played Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner.

so i started digging in to more and more of the Zevon discography and the rest is history. these days I will listen to any Zevon album, any time. even the kinda not so good ones (The Envoy?!). If i’m in a good mood - Zevon. If i’m in a bad mood - Zevon. I love the whole journey.

I wish I had seen him live. I like to ask people in San Antonio if they went to his solo performance at Sneakers in ‘96 (his only SA performance ever).

So back to Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner. I was so obsessed with that song that I started hearing a doom metal version of it in my head. after a few years of ruminating on this idea I finally made a recording of it in 2018. it turned out pretty good. check it out below. I uploaded it to youtube after it was done and the Zevon cult continues to comment on it. Shooter Jennings has been playing it on his radio show as of late.