Black Salad

Amatuers of Reality (Curve of the Earth)
by Joe Hacking

Local production company Curve of the Earth continues to bring us some of the most creative and talented bands in the area. And some of the most fun bands as well. Try this one on for size: A “supergroup” Sabbath tribute parody that call themselves Black Salad. Members include drummer Bob Daley (Chloe), bassist John Queenan (454 Big Block), guitarist Jeff Turlick (Stompbox) and, doing his best Ozzy impression, ex-Strip Mind bassist Tim Catz on vocals. “This is a band born out of boredom and a mutual love for Sabbath,” Tim tells me. “Me and Jeff were both just signed and hanging around, waiting to go out on tour. We started jamming on some old Sabbath covers, and it just came together.”

Not only are the four covers on the A side of this cassette uncanny replications of the originals, but in true psychedelic form, side B is the A program backwards (how groovy can you get?)! The film sound bytes on the tape come from an underground Manson movie that Tim grabbed in Canada, and the dialogue is absolutely eerie. The live show is said to be one of the most hilariously entertaining in Boston. The band dresses up in full period costuming, complete with spandex, sequins and bell-bottoms, while candle-bearing hooded figures perform black rituals on the stage amidst clouds of dry ice fog. I guess this must have been the way they envisioned it on the three day acid trip they took prior to the beginning of the project.

For the present, Jeff is still on tour with Stompbox and Tim is busy with his new band Roadsaw, but he promises to have a live Black Salad performance (mass?) on Halloween night, probably at the Rat. Guess where I’ll be that night?

“Acid is groovy. Kill the pigs.”