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JTS rendition of Cure for Pain. Song from the second studio album by alternative east coast rock band Morphine, released through Rykodisc in September 1993. Morphine and frontman Mark Sandman were made famous when their music was included in the movie Spanking the Monkey, a 1994 American sick comedy film written and directed by David O. Russell. It was filmed in Pawling, New York, worth finding and how I first heard them. Tracks from Cure for Pain are used throughout the film, including "In Spite of Me" which plays over the end credits
Morphine was one of the best live bands to see in the 90s, especially at the Showbox in Seattle, saw them twice a few years apart, last in 1997, show live audio recording: https://youtu.be/tyAeM5qEXPo
Mark Sandman (b. September 24, 1952 – d. July 3, 1999) was an American singer, songwriter, musical instrument inventor, multi-instrumentalist and comic writer. Sandman possessed a distinctively smooth baritone voice and a mysterious demeanour. He was an indie rock icon in the Boston/Cambridge music scene and best known for Morphine. Sandman was also a member of the blues-rock band Treat Her Right and founder of Hi-n-Dry
On July 3, 1999, he suffered a heart attack on-stage during a concert in Italy and died instantly
He was highly regarded by legendary bass players for his unique "slow and murky" style, with Les Claypool, Mike Watt, and Josh Homme all citing Sandman as an influence. Bass was my first instrument and his playing style changed how I think of what a bassline is. Sanman was also responsible for he 2-string bass of Chris Ballew of the Seattle Supersonic super band TPOTU$A
Sandman was born to a Jewish American family in Newton, MA. He graduated from the University of MA and then worked a variety of blue-collar jobs, including construction, taxi driving, and commercial fishing. Sandman once noted he would often earn considerable overtime pay, which allowed him to take leave of work and travel outside of New England to places such as rural Colorado—the setting for a number of Treat Her Right and Morphine songs penned by Sandman, including "Thursday," "The Jury," and "I Think She Likes Me”
Two tragic events affected Sandman's life and would later influence his music: he was robbed and stabbed in the chest during a robbery in his cab, and his two brothers died. These events would later be recounted in the Treat Her Right song "No Reason." His mother, Guitelle Sandman, later self-published Four Minus Three: A Mother's Story, a book about the loss of her three sons
Fans have speculated that many of Sandman's songs were autobiographical, which to this day remains unconfirmed. Sandman was secretive and served as spokesman for Morphine, he avoided answering questions about his personal life or his professional experiences outside of the music business. Sandman was particularly secretive about his age, becoming angry with any reporter who expressed an interest in revealing it publicly, perhaps because he was 10 to 20 years older than most of his indie-rock contemporaries
Along with Morphine (formed in 1989) Sandman was a member of the legendary band Treat Her Right, he also formed the bands Sandman, Candy Bar, and the Hypnosonics, and The Treat Her Orange Supergroup with The Presidents of the U$A frontman Chris Ballew and the Pale Brothers. He also performed with the Boston jazz band Either/Orchestra
His instruments were altered and built himself. In Morphine, he played a 2-string slide bass electric guitar tuned to a fifth, and sometimes a unitar (named after the one-stringed instrument in American blues tradition), and a three-string slide bass with one bass and two unison strings tuned an octave higher (usually to A). He sometimes paired bass strings with one or two guitar strings, creating the "basitar" "tri-tar" and "guitbass." His alternative stringing and tuning innovations continue to inspire the next generation of rock, jazz, and blues
For Mark: https://youtu.be/Fgh-mF6xM64
JTS
- Genre
- Folk & Singer-Songwriter