Archived News
All the news that was fit to print a long time ago.
2.27.05
- All Blotched Stogies pages from Orpheus Laboratories have been transferred to this new site. Like, rejoice or something.
2.14.05
5.22.04
- Two new Blotched Toothpaste albums are nearly complete, titled The Cleansing and Pop Goes the Weasel.
- The original Spilkus Records page vanished. There is still the Ben Eargle Art page, so check it out before it also vanishes due to neglect.
- Word has it that the MP3.com site will return. Spilkus says he may put the BS songs back online. (Then again, this coming from the guy who never updated his website since October 211, 2002. Yes, the 211th.)
10.13.03
- Not much happenin', just a few updates.
- Blotched Toothpaste (Spilkus & Ehlen) are working diligently on two new albums. One is tentatively
titled The Cleansing.
- Spilkus has mentioned doing an all-covers album as the next Stogies project.
- Glazed is the next CD slated for re-release.
- Sack Full O' Weasels CD is still available, and supplies are limited!
8.21.03
- IT'S HERE... Sack Full O' Weasels 5th Anniversary Compact Disc Edition! And yeah, it's about bloody time. Contact me for a copy - only SEVEN DOLLARS (includes s&h)!
- Coming in 2004: Glazed on
CD...
5.25.03
- The BS-1 5th Anniversary CD release should be ready by August, barring my extreme laziness. I promise, they will look charp.
- The Blotched Stogies Discussion Group: Join us if you dare.
- The Silent Film Stars changed their name to Same Way Back. Odin's brother Auggie is no longer their drummer, therefore they have absolutely nothing to do with the Stogies anymore... well, they never really did.
4.23.03
- Some of the projects I've been mentioning may not ever be released, completed, or even begun. Live from the Strawberry Patch and Make You Sick are available, contact Dr. Spilkus for copies. Remind him to send one to Odin, or the "frat boy" picture stays. Zardoz, Turkey Gold, Basement Tapes box and especially State of Decay have been postponed indefinitely. However...
- The Fifth Anniversary Edition CD reissue of Sack Full O' Weasels is nearly done. Contact Odin to buy one. Set for release in May, 2003, or whenever I get some money to finish printing them. Don Chaotic and Derrick Ehlen contributed special essays for the booklet!
9.21.02
- "So, what's the status, Gladys?" you may be asking after all of six months, or maybe not. Despite some preliminary mixing, the State of Decay album remains incomplete, and may quite possibly be delayed for another year.
HOWEVER...
- The Stogies outtake and rarities compilation, Make You Sick, has been finalized and is nearly ready for release. It is essentially a companion to the Basement Tape era albums and contains jewels like "Little Timmy Martlin" and "This Stink," and some nearly interminable jam sessions.
3.14.02
- Dr. Spilkus is making his debut as a live DJ! Look for him at the En Danza party, March 23rd in Columbus, Ohio. Don & Odin have made plans to be there, but not to perform. The Doctor tells me to look for more info on this event at bluelight.com, but somehow I don't think K-Mart is sponsoring raves...
- On March 24th, K-Mart will also NOT be selling copies of Live from the Strawberry Patch, set for release exactly one year after the legendary Derrick R. Ehlen Senior Thesis concert! Contact Dr. Spilkus to get a copy.
2.27.02
- While we're finishing up State of Decay, we are slapping an EP together for "Turkey Gold," which will also include "Leaded Fuel" from the new album, as well as two non-LP tracks: a Blotched Toothpaste version of "Riki-Oh" and an out-take of "Like a Tiny Chocolate Moon." It may be ready by spring, or at least before Decay is released.
10.10.01
- The Blotched boys are putting together some new
goods for the Year of the Horse, 2002:
- Live in Columbus - a recording of the opening set from the DRE Senior Thesis Show, with some ultra-rare bonus tracks.
- Slaughterhouse Rules - Blotched Toothpaste's follow-up to Monkey See, Monkey Die. Ehlen and Spilkus wreak havoc on the wildlife again, and Odin Von Zero lends a hand for a Wipers cover.
- CD reissues of Weasels, Glazed & Logz - with all the artwork from the tapes, and some new graphics (courtesy of the "Howling Rat"). They will be available seperately, or in a limited edition box set that includes the infamous Lacey Chabert EP.
- Down Under Plus - the prelude to Velvet Album, on CD with more rare bonus tracks.
- Zardoz EP - the long-promised single! Various versions of Zardoz from '96 to present, and the once-in-a-lifetime acoustic show from March 2000.
- State of Decay - working title for the new Blotched Stogies album, being written and recorded even as you read these words.
4.8.01
- Columbus Ohio got their second taste of the Stogies, as the opening act for Derrick R. Ehlen's Senior Thesis Show on March 24. For the first time ever, the Stogies used drum tracks in a live performance! The set list included songs from each album and a cover of legendary "suck rock" forefathers, Flipper. Odin joined Spilkus and Ehlen for the Blotched Toothpaste set, which featured a new song, "Henrietta," soon to be an underground hit from their upcoming second album, Slaughterhouse Rules.
- During their stay, Don, Spilk and Odin recorded their voices for the new Deadly Toothpaste project, The Strawberry Patch. They are the "Bad Berries," a rotten bunch indeed. A live costumed (well, pantomimed if you will!) play was presented at the Thesis show. On stage, Odin had the role of Grandmama.
1.25.00
-
Greetings for the new Lunar Year. We're still awaiting the release of the Velvet Album - it has been pushed back again. However, five Velvet songs (and a bonus Down Under cut) are available at mp3.com.
- Blotched Toothpaste are recording the follow-up to Monkey, tentatively titled Slaughterhouse Rules. OVZ makes an appearance on the track, "Rhino Horn." Check back for more news on BS projects!
9.10.00
- - - Special Message of Hype and Hope from
Derrick R. Ehlen of Deadly Records - -
"With their third full-length LP The Velvet Album, I truly feel that The Blotched Stogies have finally achieved the real beginning of the fulfillment of their spiritual purpose in this world.
That is not to say the new album is a departure- it retains the entire suck rock theme that they have always strived for... but this time, instead of making really good Suck Rock, they have managed to make Suck Rock really good. They have brought all of their ideas to a new level of completion and created what at this point I would say is the perfect Blotched Stogies product (which is why I am proud to finally carry and promote them through Deadly Records). Certainly I do not intend to overstate the importance of my involvement with the album, because it is all them, but I am quite honored to have been given the opportunity to make the primary mix of The Velvet Album with Dr. Spilkus.
The entire thing is amazing- first on its own, and secondarily considering that plenty of bands which are somewhat like Blotched Stogies start up all the time, and they get bored really quick and fizzle out. I think that Blotched Stogies, like Deadly Toothpaste, is a band that started the same way as so many other bands, and for some mystical reason managed to carry what they were doing all the way out, and make something that means a whole lot more to everyone involved than fucking around with a boom box and making stupid songs. The Velvet Album, to me, is an announcement of The Blotched Stogies' success. I hope they continue to make music together like this. I hope it means something to them. It means a lot to me."
-Derrick R. Ehlen
- Users of Napster can get a touch of Velvet - look for "Blotched Stogies" and download it from Dr. Spilkus. [Ed. note: this was valid when Napster existed.]
7.3.00
- Down Under sessions complete, to be released about July 11th. Click here for song list and cover art! It is an EP for the new Stogies song "Down Under" and will feature remakes of Weasels favorites, as well as other surprises. Also, those who buy the tape can choose between two different covers.
- Sessions continue on Velvet Album. The Stogies are negotiating with Ohio-based Deadly Records for a CD release.
- Speaking of Deadly Records, another Blotched Toothpaste project looms on the horizon. Hide your pets NOW....
6.14.00
- Finally, Dr. Spilkus has come back to Knox Vegas for the summer. The Down Under and Velvet Album projects are taking different directions than the Blotched 'uns first mapped out. Changes are as follows:
- Down Under will be released as a full album. Stogies recently re-recorded "Ice Cream Man" and "Hey Yo." Alternate artwork is being discussed.
- The Velvet Album, an epic inspired by Viking-themed romance novels, is in the writing stage and will be recorded alongside Down Under sessions. Spilkus has produced new illustrations depicting the "Blotched Warriors" for this project.
3.26.00
- Don Chaotic's original Blotched Stogies page is back! [Ed. note: well, WAS back...] for the official Blotched Stogies history.
- The latest Blotched mini-performance took place March 18th, with Spilkus playing acoustic guitar. The set included a slower "Zardoz" version and the new "January."
- Spilkus and Odin completed a new song, "Flypaper," for the upcoming Velvet Album.
3.5.00
- Blotched Toothpaste's (featuring Dr. Spilkus and Derrick Ehlen) album Monkey See Monkey Die is scheduled to be released March 14th on CD! A complete list of tracks is listed on the MSMD page, click here. They will play a show at Botticelli's in Columbus Thursday, March 8.
3.1.00
- Down/Under EP update: Currently, the Stogies are negotiating with Deadly Toothpaste's Derrick R. Ehlen to mix the new tracks. Seeing as he's the most popular record producer since Steve Albini, this could take some begging. However, the artwork by Dr. Spilkus is complete. Stay tuned.
2.19.00
- Blotched Stogies have been invited to open for Deadly Toothpaste again! They'll be on the bill with other bands on the Deadly Records roster for Derrick R. Ehlen's 21st Birthday Party in mid-April. Keep your eyes on the news for more details.
- Don and Odin played a mini-concert for a small party after the WWF house show in Knoxville. Odin showed off his new distortion bass sound for "Hey Yeah" and Willie Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger." They previewed a new arrangement of "Only In America" from their mysteriously unnamed project.
2.8.00
- The next Stogies tape is set to be released in the Spring of 2000, titled Down/Under. It will contain new compositions and remakes of two Sack Full standards. Down/Under is said to be the next obvious step for the Blotched ones - unlike the basement tapes before, the new songs are recorded on four-track.
- Dr. Spilkus set up his own page, with a "tight" new logo! Check it out here!
- El Redundo metamorphed into a new personality. Recording demos at his home last week, ER received an accidental electrical jolt, during which he claims Ozzy (or a reasonable imitator) appeared in a vision to inform him of his new name: Odin von Zero!
- Melvin, however, is still Melvin.