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

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Dwight Twilley

Dwight TwilleySongwriter Interviews

Since his debut single "I'm On Fire" in 1975, Dwight has been providing Spinal-Tap moments and misadventure.

Leslie West of Mountain

Leslie West of MountainSongwriter Interviews

From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.