Throughout the entirety of the 1990s I attended 2 - 4 shows a week (all multiple band bills), and out of all of the bands I saw one of the very best consistently were Virginia Beach's The Candy Snatchers. The first time I saw the Snatchers was one of their very first shows in New York City at the long gone Under Acme club, opening for Sweet Diesel. It was a shitty turn-out, so pretty much the only people watching the band were the other bands, the club's staff, myself, and a friend. Me and my pal stood up front as we had heard good things, and the band tore into their set as if they were playing to a packed room (Black Flag style), giving it their all, with singer Larry May even smashing a bottle on his own face for effect. We were completely blown away, and both ended up befriending the band.
After that night I saw The Candy Snatchers countless times — they played NYC all the time and quickly grew a rabid fanbase here — and in the middle of the flying bottles and fish, the blood, fire, and the feeling that everything could come crashing down at any minute, stood a true blue rock'n'roll band who had real
songs. The Snatchers put on a show that
all rock'n'roll bands should be judged against, though most fail in comparison. There's a lot of live footage of the band out there, but instead dig the video for
"Why I Drink" (shot here in NYC), which features the genius couplet: "A lot of the shit, man, that I do, it might be silly/I gotta drink — so does Willy."
Dedicated to the memory of Matthew Odietus, R.I.P.
Photograph by unknown
Words by Lee Greenfeld © 2020
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