Album: Ire Works (2007)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This was the song that Dillinger Escape Plan used to audition drummers when Chris Pennie left to join Coheed and Cumbria. They chose "Lurch" as it was the most difficult track on Ire Works to play drum-wise. Frontman Greg Puciato recalled to TeamRock: "We sent [the song] to all these drummers and they sent back these really hack versions of it. I won't name any names, but there were some drummers who are really high profile who sent us back versions of 'Lurch' that weren't even f---ing close. And we really started to believe that we were never going to be able to be a band without Chris Pennie because he was such a phenom."

    Finally, Puciato got a call from Stolen Babies drummer Gil Sharone. "It was two in the morning my time, because I lived on the East Coast at that point and I was like 'Who is this California number calling me?' and I answered it and it was Gil," he recalled. "He said, 'I got your number from Chris Hornbrook [Poison The Well at the time, currently Big Black Delta] and I can play this "Lurch" song – I heard it this morning'. And I just said, 'Well, let me know when you think you can send something in' and he said 'I'm just going to put you on speakerphone, sit down at the drums and play it. Right now.' He put the phone down and just f--king blazed through it. He just murdered it. So I was like 'Hey, man, can you hang on a second?' and I put him on hold and called Ben (Weinman, guitar) on three-way and got Gil to play it again – and that was it."

    The band recruited Sharone to play on Ire Works on the basis of hearing that one song being played through the speaker phone and he successfully handled drum duties for the album.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Annie Haslam of Renaissance

Annie Haslam of RenaissanceSongwriter Interviews

The 5-octave voice of the classical rock band Renaissance, Annie is big on creative expression. In this talk, she covers Roy Wood, the history of the band, and where all the money went in the '70s.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A Timeline

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A TimelineSong Writing

Untangling the events that led to the "Stairway To Heaven" lawsuit.

Carl Sturken

Carl SturkenSongwriter Interviews

Hitmaker Carl Sturken on writing and producing for Rihanna, 'N Sync, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Donny Osmond, Shakira and Karyn White.

Tom Waits Lyrics Quiz

Tom Waits Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Pool balls, magpies and thorns without roses - how well do you know your Tom Waits lyrics?

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.