updated 28 Feb 95
artist: Butthole Surfers
title: The Hole Truth...And Nothing Butt
label: Trance Syndicate Records
format: CD
catno: TR35CD
Track Listing:
demo tracks -
butthole surfer a something 3:10 ('83 demo)
something 5:00 ('83 demo)
live tracks -
(the cameo club, San Antonio, '85)
moving to florida 4:02
hurdy gurdy man 2:43
come together :52
Cherub 6:08
(mabuhay Gardens, San Francisco, '86)
graveyard 3:03
ussa 4:46
lady sniff 3:32
(the i-bean, san francisco, '88)
john e. smoke 7:09
1401 2:43
(lollopalooza, irvine, ca '91)
bon song 3:15
(castaic lake, ca '93)
the wooden song 3:32
pittsburgh to lebanon 3:26
the shah sleeps in lee harvey's grave 6:09
(WNYU Radio Interview, New York, '87)
WNYU Interview 5:28
This release appeared last year as a high-priced bootleg put out by fans of the band who traded tapes to come up with this "best of the boots" collection. Liking this compilation, Los Buttholes del Apocalypse gave permission to Trance Syndicate to officially release this puppy. We remastered the disc (making it sound better), but kept the original artwork the same: unfortunate album title, name misspellings, hysterical liner notes and all. One thing we DID change was to make this cd available at a standard list price for the teaming masses ("we're just doing it for the kids, man" one sarcastic Trancester was heard saying as he was scrubbing the office bathroom)
It's a chronological beast that serves as a great introduction for those who never saw the band that single-handedly caused the cancer spot on Reagan's butt in the '80s. For those lucky enough to have witnessed their live assault, it is a gruesome reminder and a refresher course in English of '80s-type themes the Buttholes ranted about in their songs: US/Soviet relations ("USSA"), urban flight ("Moving To Florida"), dead people in the streets ("Cherub") and beach transvestites ("Butthole Surfer").
This collection of (mostly) live recordings is different than the band-sanctioned Double Live bootleg from a few years back in that the track listing is meticulously annotated instead of a being a mystery and the recordings are remastered analog wonders instead of digital dead ducks. The inclusion of an interview warrants mention as well, since the band thoroughly hates press and radio. Finally, this is the only official collection of Butthole Surfers live recordings and demos currently in print.
Oh yeah, it comes with a full color booklet of vintage pictures and fliers, plus a Butthole Surfers logo sticker and Trance Syndicate sticker for your skateboard.
The Buttholes are currently consulting with NASA on being the first band to do a space walk and go in to the studio this spring to do an album not on Trance Syndicate.
-- Trance Syndicate Records