Fat Wreck Chords Release Rich Kids On LSD “Live In A Dive”

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The tenth installment of Fat Wreck Chord‘s Live In A Dive series takes us back over 30 years to Eindhoven, Holland. The date is the 12th May 1989, not too long before Montecito, CA punks RKL (Rich Kids On LSD) will call it quits, for the first time, anyway. In fact, at this point, the wheels are wobbly and are starting to fall off the band. Their time in Europe is surrounded by hash smoke, booze, drugs, and debauchery that is only exacerbated by their youthful, carefree abandon. The 17 song set, a good chunk of which is culled from 1987’s album Rock ‘n Roll Nightmare, was recorded at famed Eindhoven squat-turned-venue De Effenaar, and is beautifully ragged and raw. In fact, it sounds like the band members are having the time of their lives. Probably because, despite everything going on behind the scenes, when they were onstage they were having the time of their lives!

“This definitely brings back the excitement of those days. Even the rough times, which were harsh, were still exciting, I have to admit. Having to deal with the musical direction change that Bomer was adamant about was definitely a bummer, as we all loved the sound of Rock N Roll Nightmare and wanted to pursue that sound for new songs. Which I think is kinda ironic, because Bomer was the one that wrote most of all the music on that album! But that’s just how he was, always progressing. Dealing with the escalation of heavy drug use was not fun and taking a toll on the members not participating. But listening to this album also brings back all of the wonderful memories of the fun we had on the road, touring in a van with [Destiny Records founder] Dave Pollack. We were all really young and just living life and going for it. We were in our teens and early twenties, and we were literally having the best time of our lives together, you know? It was like live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse!” (bassist Joe Raposo)

Even if there’s no puking at this gig, all of that is nevertheless clear, even 30-something years later and on record. But RKL‘s Live in a Dive album, which features artwork by longtime RKL cover artist Dan Sites, isn’t just a pure representation of the band in all its twisted, untamed glory. It’s not just the sound of a band about to fall off the cliff edge. It also serves as a bittersweet tribute to both drummer Richard ‘Bomer’ Manzullo & vocalist Jason Sears who died in 2005 and 2006 respectively. These songs capture both members in their element, onstage, doing what they love, surrounded by people who love what they do.

Live In A Dive is now available via Fat Wreck Chords