A few weeks ago members of Death Grips were spotted at LowBau on Le Twist Tuesday, being cagey and disengaged, but the group is also known to frequent Burgers and Brew, and Old Soul at the Weatherstone. So whose napkin was it? If the origin of the napkin is discovered, will that establishment see a hike in patronage?
These are the burning questions to ponder while we process the band’s break up, which comes on the inconvenient eve of the group’s tour with Soundgarden and Nine Inch Nails. (The guest list for the Sleep Train Amphitheater show on September 27 just shrank considerably.)
In their break up napkin (a picture of which was posted on the band’s Facebook page–see also at left), the group declared all future live performances to be canceled. That means no tour, no Pitchfork Festival (Chicago has the worst luck after the Lollapalooza “suicide note” art installation last year, see also: gag), no Time Festival in Toronto, no FYF Festival in Los Angeles, and no Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin. Let’s hope TBD Festival wasn’t in pursuit. If so, they lucked into keeping that one off the record.
The napkin, a far more poetic writing surface than Zach Hill’s erect penis, also reports that Death Grips plans to honor the full release of the powers that b, its double album slated for later this year on Harvest/Third Worlds Records.
In its four years of existence, the experimental rap group has kept Sacramento on the national music map, a small victory for the city, since the group did few favors in the way of performing within the district. They made controversy their forte, effectively screwing major labels, A&Rs, promoters, booking agents, and festival organizers out of thousands of dollars, possibly even millions of dollars in the name of art. In their break up note Death Grips wrote “We are now at our best” as a reason for dissolving the band, which is yet another controversial claim to make considering the Metacritic rating for the recently released Niggas On The Moon album is simmering at a tame 69—the group’s lowest rating in the oeuvre.
Fair thee well, Death Grips.
In related news: my tweet about Death Grips has gotten more favorites than any of my previous 3,402 tweets. I am now at my best and @BusyGillespie is over. All currently scheduled future tweets are canceled. To my truest Twitter followers, stay legend.
