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s1lly-gh02tz · 1 year

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Why do you like Spamton 😭 his character is so shit and he’s annoying asf and overrated

Im glad you asked

Spamton, full name Spamton G. Spamton, is a Darkner from the Cyber World. He is initially encountered in Cyber City, where he is fought as a miniboss. He is likely based on spam emails.

If Kris helps him enter the Queen's Mansion's basement (either through the LoadedDisk or freezing Berdly), he transforms into Spamton NEO, which serves as Chapter 2's bonus boss on a normal route and the main antagonist and final boss of the Chapter 2 Snowgrave Route. As a bonus boss, he holds one of the Shadow Crystals.

Shop

After his battle, he appears as a shopkeeper in the Trash Zone. His shop is unusual in that his items are not what they appear, and their prices fluctuate rapidly while looking at them. He is also the only shopkeeper that the party cannot sell items to, with the "SELL" option being replaced with "BUYMORE!!" His wares are:

KeyGen for 0-49030 Kromer/D$

S.POISON for 50-150 Kromer/D$ (sold as "S. POTION")

Broken Sword for 50-150 Kromer/D$ (sold as "THE BIG ONE")

Frayed Bowtie for 50-150 Kromer/D$ (sold as "BSHOT BOWTIE")

Profile

Appearance

Spamton appears as a diminutive puppet and ex-Addison that wears yellow and pink glasses that sometimes change colors and a long-sleeved black V-neck shirt, with black hair that is slicked back, appearing similar to a pompadour.

After becoming Spamton NEO, Spamton assumes the form of the machine he inhabits. The body of this form looks like a disheveled Mettaton NEO with a gaudy pink and yellow color scheme, and a laser cannon mounted onto his hand. Countless green wires suspend him in the air. His pink and yellow glass colors swap places. He also grows bat wings, one side being green, lilac, and purple, the other being yellow, pink, and magenta, and has teal-green and grey thumbs.

Swatch mentions that many people have failed to imitate his look, and some people have even gone so far as to impersonate him. Spamton's slick black hair, multicolored glasses, pointy white face and black suit are noticeably similar to Swatch's outfit, and Spamton admits to it during a live Q&A during the Spamton Sweepstakes.[1]

Spamton's design seems to be based on a number of popular depictions of puppets, having the face and style of dress seen on classic ventriloquist dummies with the nose of Pinocchio. This is also hinted at in his Spamton NEO form when he refers to himself as a puppet, and with the song "A Real Boy!"

Spamton has the ability to increase the size of his head. In his NEO form, his head is constantly larger than usual.

Personality

Spamton was once a natural salesman, always willing to cut a deal. While he still bears a shadow of these traits, his deals are now often nonsensical or violent. He claims that he became a salesman not for the money, but for the freedom to make his own deals. However, he still attempts to scam Kris for money (which he refers to as "Kromer") at every opportunity. His speech patterns are similar to typical obfuscated spam email text, with many words replaced with non sequitur variants in square brackets that could imply incorrectly-applied mail merge variables or hyperlinks, or various voice glitches.

In much of his dialogue, he seems mentally confused and insane, seemingly projecting himself onto Kris, contradicting himself, and saying things which make little sense, without warning. This mental instability seems to clear up briefly after fighting him in his NEO form, as he wishes Kris success with their journey without using broken English.

Spamton consistently spells "generosity" as "genorisity," "guarantee" as "guaranttee," and "special" as "specil," with an exception for the latter at the end of the Spamton NEO battle after snapping all the wires.

Main Story

History

Some time before Kris and Susie entered the Cyber World, Spamton existed as an unsuccessful spam email Addison, overlooked by Lightners and never able to catch a break.[2] Despite his lack of success, he always proclaimed to his fellow Addisons that he would be a "big shot" one day.[3]

Desperate, Spamton began to look for any way to become more popular. Eventually, he came into contact via phone with someone who could help him, and suddenly he began to be wildly successful. From that point on, Spamton was "on the phone all the time," being aided by an unknown person.[4] His fellow Addisons became jealous of him for his sudden success, and stopped going out with him.[5] His success landed him his own room at the Queen's Mansion, and he began to brag more and more about his deals, ranging from TV commercials to cars.[6]

Then, as sudden as his success was, it came crashing down. The stranger helping Spamton vanished, and all his sales went with them.[6] Desperate, Spamton started spending all of his time "praying" in the basement, obsessed with an "artifact,"[7] presumed to be the machine he uses to become NEO. The machine was created by an unknown Lightner with the help of Swatch, digitally visualizing their hopes and dreams. However, those dreams never came to be, and the machine was abandoned in the basement with the rest of the corrupted data.[8]

With nothing left, Spamton was to be evicted from the Queen's mansion. The day of his eviction, one of the Addisons went to visit Spamton, but found he had already left. Spamton had left his phone hanging off the handle. Spamton presumably left in the middle of a conversation, as the Addison could hear someone on the other end, but after putting the phone to their ear it only made "garbage noise."[9] Likewise, Kris's Cell Phone only makes garbage noise when used in the Dark World.

Abandoned by all of his friends, Spamton was reduced to living in a dumpster in a Cyber City alleyway.[10] Despite his fall from grace, the Color Cafe in Queen's Mansion continued to sell his trademark bowtie, albeit with the brand name cut off.

At some point, someone (presumed to be Spamton) attempted to impersonate Swatch by mimicking his monochrome suit and colored glasses, in order to obtain something (presumed to be the NEO machine).[11] Additionally, somebody (presumed to be Spamton) attempted to commission Sweet Cap'n Cakes to sneak into the Queen's Mansion (presumably to grant him access to the machine), but they declined;[12] Spamton later convinces Kris to do likewise.

After asking him about friends, he brings up an individual named Mike. When talking about Mike, Spamton tells Kris not to trust what they hear on TV because "THE MAN'S A CRIMINAL."[13] Spamton also exclaims "ARE YOU GETTING ALL THIS [Mike]!?" at the end of his NEO fight if he is defeated violently, implying Mike may have recorded for Spamton in some capacity in the past.[14]

Chapter 2

Normal Route

Spamton is first encountered by Kris in Cyber City, where Kris seemingly disturbs the garbage container in which Spamton is residing. After a short interaction, Spamton engages Kris in combat as he continues attempting to convince them to accept his "deal."

Later, if Spamton was defeated through mercy, he can be seen again in a shop to the left of the Trash Zone. After Kris accepts yet another deal, he tasks Kris with bringing him an Empty Disk located in a basement in the Queen's Mansion. After purchasing a KeyGen from Spamton, Kris can retrieve the EmptyDisk from the machine in the dilapidated basement. Upon returning to Spamton's shop, Spamton proposes his final deal to Kris: transmitting Spamton through the EmptyDisk and returning it to the machine in the basement.

After Kris places the LoadedDisk back into the machine, Spamton transforms into Spamton NEO, much to his delight and excitement, but is horrified to see that his new form is held up by literal puppet strings. He attacks Kris in an attempt to obtain their SOUL, believing that it is the key to earning his "freedom." Before he can, however, Susie and Ralsei enter the room, and Susie interrupts him by using her Rude Buster spell to knock him out of the way, leading Spamton NEO to launch the three into carts, and battle the party for all of their SOULs.

Spamton NEO can be defeated either by fighting or by cutting the wires controlling him. If he is defeated by fighting, he attempts to continue the fight by turning into "Spamton EX," but his gravely damaged body explodes as he attempts to transform. If the party cuts all of his wires until one remains, Spamton NEO realizes that Kris is trying to free him in spite of his efforts to kill them. He dances gleefully and thanks them, asking them to cut the last wire, only for him to helplessly fall to the ground without any strings to hold him up.

No matter the method, once he is defeated, Spamton returns to his normal form and becomes calm and lucid. He laments how he could not become anything more than a puppet, but compliments the party's strength and wishes them well. He then offers himself to the party, transforming into either a Dealmaker (when defeated by cutting his wires) or a Puppet Scarf (when defeated by fighting). Kris also receives a Shadow Crystal.

#this is like half of his wiki #not even #I just think he’s silly #he fuels my non existent autism

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wildbeautifuldamned · 3 months

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Rare Beautiful Antique Addison Sun Colored Lilac Window Bird Tile! 8” X 4” ebay loveoldglass

#tile #stained glass #bird

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peridotglimmer · 7 months

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My brain wouldn't let me continue working on we'll drive away (where no one can find us) until I got this out of my system, so, enjoy the angst? Once again I am putting Addison through Hell. (Sorry Addie.) (Not sorry.)

When Addison makes that first physical contact, suddenly colour begins to spread across Meredith’s chest and Addison’s hand and forearm; lilac and purple swirls wrapping around her wrist and creeping up her arm.

Angst with a happy ending, soulmate AU, rated T. Chapter 1 of 3: "black"

#belle writes #grey's anatomy #meddison #meradd #meredith grey #addison montgomery #grey's anatomy fanfic #grey's anatomy fanfiction #soulmate au

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equinoxartz · 1 year

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Made some addison ocs!

Lilac is the first one, teckie is the second one.

Lilac sells stuff like plushies, little frog enamel pins, pillows, blankets, etc.

Teckie sells smartproducts like those overpriced advanced toasters, smartfridges, vr headsets, etc.

#addison #addisons #deltarune addisons #addison deltarune #addisons deltarune #addison oc #addisons oc #deltarune #deltarune oc #deltarune chapter 2 #digital art #art

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theblurbwitchproject · 10 months

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Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Published: August 28, 2007 Publisher: Bantam Books

The Author

Born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Sarah Addison Allen brings the full flavor of her southern upbringing to bear on her fiction; a captivating blend of magical realism, heartwarming romance, and small-town sensibility. Her big break occurred in 2007 with the publication of her first mainstream novel, Garden Spells. The novel became a Barnes & Noble Recommends selection, and then a New York Times Bestseller. Allen continues to serve heaping helpings of the fantastic and the familiar in fiction she describes as "Southern-fried magic realism."

˗ˏˋ ´ˎ˗

The Story

In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit. The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures.

˗ˏˋ ´ˎ˗

The Vibe: kitchen witchery, magical family line, sisterly relationship, rebuilding relationships, plant magic, LGBTQ+ subplot, spiritual successor to Practical Magic

The Style: character driven, multiple POVs, magical realism

Trigger Warnings: domestic abuse, spousal rape, entrapment by pregnancy, fatal car accident, shooting injury

˗ˏˋ ´ˎ˗

The Review

You know how I’m always looking for the next book that gives me that Practical Magic feeling? This was the one. I don’t think it’s possible to get any closer. That’s not to say that this book is a copy-cat; the vibe is just so similar I really felt like I was being told another story in Alice Hoffman’s universe. From the first page I was so excited- I knew I’d found what I’d been looking for. Garden Spells is beautifully written; easy-going with lovely everyday magic and a sisterly relationship that I really enjoyed. I feel like the lead character, Claire, would have been friends with Sally Owens, while her sister Sydney would have definitely partied with Gillian.

Claire is the Waverley sister who remained in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina, taking care of the beautiful Queen Anne style family home and maintaining the magical garden that surrounds their renowned apple tree, which according to local legend “would tell you what the biggest event in your life would be” if you ate its fruit. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Sydney never wanted to stay in Bascom; she never felt connected to the house or the magic that Claire and their grandmother shared. As the story opens, the sisters have not seen one another in ten years and are both experiencing incredibly lonely, albeit incredibly different, lifestyles. Claire enjoys her self-imposed isolation; she doesn’t want to share her life with anyone besides her elderly relative Evanelle and is afraid of forging connections with people who will inevitably leave. She enjoys running her own business creating beautiful culinary concoctions using flowers and plants from her garden and being left alone. On the other hand, Sydney has lived an exciting and itinerant life, which has unfortunately culminated in her being trapped in an abusive relationship with a man who controls her every step (and by extension those of their young daughter Bay). With the help of a wonderful lady, Sydney escapes this situation with Bay and returns home to Bascom, rekindling her relationship with Claire and changing all their lives forever.

“All the locals knew that dishes made from the flowers that grew around the apple tree in the Waverley garden could affect the eater in curious ways. The biscuits with lilac jelly, the lavender tea cookies, and the tea cakes made with nasturtium mayonnaise the Ladies Aid ordered for their meetings once a month gave them the ability to keep secrets. The fried dandelion buds over marigold-petal rice, stuffed pumpkin blossoms, and rose-hip soup ensured that your company would notice only the beauty of your home and never the flaws. Honeysuckle wine served on the Fourth of July gave you the ability to see in the dark and the salads made with chicory and mint had you believing that something good was about to happen, whether it was true or not.”

Claire’s business in kitchen witchery allows for some gorgeous descriptions of magical food concoctions, I mean just read the above quote and tell me that you don’t want to sample some of those dishes? For me, the absolute best aspect of this book is the various descriptions of magic, from the kitchen and plant witchery to the special skills that each member of the Waverley family has. Evanelle in particular has a magical talent that I found super creative: the gift of Anticipation. She knows what people will need before they need it and gives them whatever it is, carrying a tote bag around town passing items out to people that will inevitably come in handy for them in future. Evanelle is such a fabulous character; an eccentric old lady who is well known in the town (and is hilariously very butt-focused, like an old Tina Belcher). I want to be her when I grow up. Sydney’s young daughter Bay has the gift of knowing where things belong without being told, which encompasses everything from kitchen utensils to people. Each family member appears to have their own skill like this, and Allen’s creativity in devising these magical concepts was a joy to read.

The garden of the Waverley house itself is even brimming with magic, with portents growing and spreading at various points in the story which I found myself becoming engrossed by (in fact, I got so into this aspect of the story that when “tiny vines of thorns started to sprout along the edge of the garden” I had a genuine “oh no!” moment). The legendary apple tree that sits at the centre of the garden is also much more of a character than you would expect. With its own moods and aims, it manipulates the people around it in order to advance the plot as it likes (and is super petulant when it wants to be too, which was really fun). Scents also evoke certain feelings within the story; Sydney is haunted by various smells, from the flowers in the Waverley garden pulling her back home, to the smell of her ex that follows her as she tries to reconcile with the past. Garden Spells contains the exact representation of magic that I love; it all feels very natural and real.

“Sydney, Bay, and Claire sat on the porch that Sunday, eating extra cinnamon buns that Claire had made from her regular Sunday order to the Coffee House. It was hot and things were out of whack. Doorknobs that everyone swore were on the right side of the doors were actually on the left. Butter melted in the refrigerator. Things weren’t being said and were left to stew in the air.”

There is some lovely LGBTQ+ representation in one subplot, which focuses on Evanelle helping a local man named Fred to accept and move past a broken relationship with his long-term partner James. Their friendship is really lovely and somewhat melancholic, as Fred waits for Evanelle’s gift to provide him with The Answer to fixing his broken relationship. Honestly, the side characters in this story were pretty much all super enjoyable (besides matriarch of the Clark family, she was a real piece of work). I often find that child characters are slightly too twee for my liking, but Bay’s scenes were all truly enjoyable. She’s a very realistic kid; her wants and worries are so well written and understandable without being over simplified or silly. Her arc of trying to recreate a dream of the moment she realizes that her life is perfect is truly lovely; she just wants her family to be happy and it’s so sweet.

Typical of this genre, there is an element of romance in the story. Personally, I’m not massively into romance literature, but Garden Spells thankfully doesn’t overdo it. The love interests are nicely developed and things happen slowly enough that it doesn’t feel like the book is All About Them. Personally, I found the sister’s relationship more rewarding, but there were nice elements like the men who are romantically attracted to the Waverleys emitting a gentle purple glow that I found cute and ethereal. A nice final touch is the inclusion of a glossary “From the Waverley Kitchen Journal” at the end of the novel which details some additional plants and their magical properties. It really solidifies the magical realism vibe of the book and leaves you wanting more.

“She had lived thirty-four years keeping everything inside, and now she was letting everything go, like butterflies released from a box. They didn’t burst forth, glad to be free, they simply flew away, softly, gradually, so she could watch them go. Good memories of her mother and grandmother were still there, butterflies that stayed, a little too old to go anywhere. That was okay. She would keep those.”

Garden Spells is a very readable story; you can cover ten pages and it feels like you’ve only read two. If you like gentle magical realism, sisterly bonds and a little bit of romance sprinkled in then I can guarantee that you’ll enjoy this book. I’m super intrigued to read the sequel, First Frost, which revisits the Waverleys, but this time with an Autumnal vibe. I feel like their story isn’t quite over and would be happy to read more about the sisters and their apple tree.

Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

[Goodreads]

#book review #bookblr #reading #books #witch fiction #fiction #witches #witchy #witchblr #Garden Spells #Sarah Addison Allen #witchy books #witchcore #witchy vibes #witch #witch books

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addisongallo · 17 days

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In Character:

Full Name: Addison Gallo

Faceclaim: Monica Barbaro

Pronouns/Gender: she/her

Age & Birthday: 34, January 5th, 1990

Birth Place: Alexandria, Virginia

How long have they been in town?: 2 years

Living Situation: Apartment above Lilac Lane

Occupation: Gallerist at Artful Aura

Family: Mother in Alexandria, father in New Bellevoux, and three older brothers

Biography:

Addison was born in Alexandria, the youngest of four siblings. With three older brothers, Addison was the unexpected girl her father never saw coming. He was a military man, a general and someone important in Washington D.C. With three boys before her, he had been planning the dynasty of Gallo leading military men. And then Addison was born. He wasn't interested in a babbling little girl, so he left her to her mother's care. She spent her whole life trying to impress her dad, to gain his attention and approval. Instead of always pushing her aside to whatever womanly pursuits he imagined she got up to. So she learned how to fight. She learned to play sports. How to hunt. All of the same things that her brothers learned. Addison entered the military after school. She went to West Point and started on the process to become a pilot. But after six years when her father finally visited her, after she graduated from West Point, and after well on her way to fly fighter jets it all ended. Addison fought with her father and she learned the hard truth: he would never approve of her. She would never be good enough for him. So, Addison stopped caring. She left the air force that day. She quit the military and anything her father would have expected as a Gallo child. Withdrawing all the money from her trust fund that she had never touched, Addison left and moved to London. She got into college and studied art. When she left she got a job in an art gallery and started selling. Addison even lived in Paris for two years. All those years wasted trying to mold herself into the person she thought her father would approve of for nothing. Addison was angry, and only in the art world did she find some solace. Though that bitterness and anger still stuck with her. Two years ago, it all changed again. Her father had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's a year earlier but it had been kept under wraps. However, he was getting worse. He had finally retired from the military but he could no longer stay in D.C. by himself. Her parents had gotten divorced ten years before and her mother had her own new family still in the D.C. area. Her three brothers all had their own military careers. So, she was the only one left. They moved her father back to his hometown of New Bellevoux away from everything in Washington and the high stress that came with his name. Addison had to move to New Bellevoux Louisiana to look after him and be there for him. Ironic that maybe if he wasn't losing his memory he might have finally given his approval for her actions. But it never came. She has been working at Artful Aura for two years now, visiting her father at the home when she can and rages against herself for being the little girl bending to her father's will once more.

#about

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ananinidraws · 2 years

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I should’ve posted these a long time ago, but oh well better late than never lmao

An assortment of Deltarune OCs!

They are, in order: Vaue (a personification of the incognito mode), Frigg (a virus), Otto (an otamatone), Nico (a porcelain doll), Ponka (a plugboy), Ringo (a singing voice program, ala vocaloid), Lilac (an addison/viro viro kun hybrid), Vela (a homebrew species created by my friend @berylanisoptera, the sengine buoy), Faezel (a fae lightner) and Whisper (a TV head robot)

All of these characters are on my Art Fight page, along with their in-depth descriptions! ^v^

#deltarune #deltarune oc #plugboy #werewire #addison oc #lightner oc #ni's ocs #ni draws stuff #these guys have sorta became their own thing beyond deltarun tbh lol

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stylecouncil · 1 month

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“My friend Jim Ellison committed suicide last Thursday. He was thirty-two. His mom had called the police to check on him after not hearing from him for a few days. They found him on top of his moped, next to his car, a note at his side, dead from fumes.

Many knew Ellison as the lead singer and guitarist of the Chicago pop group Material Issue, and as the writer of the band’s hits and near-hits, “Diane,” “Valerie Loves Me,” “What Girls Want,” “Going Through Your Purse” and “The Very First Lie.” On stage, Jim had a trademark posture: He’d put his foot on the monitor and make ridiculous, almost obscene faces at the audience. His skinny arms held a Gretsch guitar and his skeletal frame would contort to match the poses of his many rock ’n’ roll heroes—Sweet, the Beatles, the Shoes, even Green.

Material Issue’s career—and thus Jim’s career, for he was the heart, soul and brains of the band—followed a well-worn pattern. The band put out an indie EP and single, got picked up by a major label, made some noise with their debut. Those were the good days, with MTV playing “Diane” and “Valerie,” and “Very First Lie” appearing in a Drew Barrymore movie. But Material Issue’s second album sold less than its first and its third less than its second, and The Ish was dropped by its label.

Plenty of people relished Material Issue’s fall from grace. With his refusal to pretend not to enjoy his success, Jim sometimes could be hard to take. He’d boast about his band’s accomplishments and bought a ‘67 Volvo, about which he’d hiss in his oft-imitated nasally giggle, “Looks just like the car in ‘Man from U.N.C.L.E.’” His collection of vintage guitars and custom-made leather jackets flew in the face of Chicago’s simpleton “work clothes = rock ’n’ roll authenticity” calculus. And he had horrible taste in company, hanging out almost exclusively with assholes and selecting girlfriends who were uniformly moronic.

That’s the side of Ellison that everybody saw, the side that worked the door at Batteries, booked Gaspar’s, drank at Cubby Bear, slummed at Phyllis’. The seedy scenester with the goofy bravado, the would-be impresario who, it was joked, had already written a thousand follow-ups to “The Very First Lie.” That’s half of who he was, and to deny it is to cheat him of what he probably would have called his better half.

But it’s only half. The other half was the kid who grew up in Addison, Illinois, the ultimate nowheresville suburb, and dared to dream his way out.

Jim was the most generous guy I know. When we’d work on cars together he’d beg me to let him pitch in to buy me something better than my rustbucket. When I did get a new car, he taught me to drive a stick. At the peak of his fame, he wasn’t above getting under the hood, and he was an accomplished enough mechanic to attain that profession’s ultimate skill: smoking while working on the engine.

Those were good times, working on our cars at his Addison homestead, where he still lived with his parents and addressed his mom and sister with a tenderness one never would expect from the doorman at Exit. I’d give him a hard time about living at home, but he was proud of the fact that he was getting a college degree and building his guitar collection.

Jim chose the name of my band The Lilacs and produced our first record. He negotiated a great rate for us, then drove us out to Zion and recorded over old Ish demos to save money on tape. He played a little guitar and sang one harmony part and forever after took full credit for the record’s small success.

One time, we were adjusting the clutch cable on my Datsun and took a break to go to Taco Bell. Counting his change as we pulled away from the drive-through, Ellison exclaimed, “Hey, that lady Jewed me.” Mortified as he realized what he’d said and who he’d said it to, Jim apologized over and over, until it was embarrassing for both of us.

Material Issue’s rise to late-night TV appearances and buzz-bin videos wasn’t as easy as the guys tried to make it appear. Ellison crafted the band’s career in shrewd detail. After chewing up a dozen rhythm sections, Ellison found the perfect combo in Ted Ansani and Mike Zelenko, who shared in the Ish’s International Pop Overthrow for a decade. In January 1988, he set up a Green/Ish tour of dive Midwestern bars. Fourteen nights, Ellison and company played the exact same songs in the exact same order while Green—the band I was playing in—dipped into its dozens-strong collection and carefully crafted a new set list each night. By the end of the tour, Green still played shitty and The Ish sounded better than ever. Outside the Gallery in Normal, Jim fell down a set of icy stairs, his HiWatt amp tumbling on top of him. We ran out to check on him, and his reply rings in my ear now that I’ll never hear his giggle again. Brushing off his skintight pants, he smiled and said, “Thin as a rail, tough as a nail.”

Something I learned from Ellison is the magic of unfounded confidence. Ellison believed he was a star long before he actually was. Pretty soon, people started to accept his impression of himself and by the time he was a little bit of a star, he already knew how to act. This was a well-planned attitude, something he’d thought up and worked on. Years later, at the peak of his career, we went to the Cubby Bear to see a Beatles soundalike band. Between sets we were saying that they were pretty good for that sort of thing. Then the John stand-in emerged from the bathroom and Ellison said, “That’s why they’ll never be big. Rock ’n’ rollers don’t want to believe that their heroes take a piss in the same place as their fans.”

Ellison once brought one of our heroes, master bubblegummer Mike Chapman, to see my band, the Lilacs. Drunk and nervous, I tried to lead a reluctant and decidedly non-jamming band in a version of “Blockbuster.” Everyone hated it, including Chapman. Ellison loved it. “Dude, let me do the falsetto,” came the hilarious hiss.

With even Rolling Stone finally acknowledging that, duh, drugs are a serious problem within the rock world, everyone will probably wonder if they played a role in this tragedy. They didn’t. Material Issue’s bassist was so famous for growing copious amounts of marijuana that “Tedweed” became the generic for bad pot. On one tour my band did with Ellison’s, most members of both acts inhaled with near hourly frequency—but Jim didn’t take a single puff. And though he drank like anyone else, I can’t remember ever seeing him really drunk.

All of God’s creatures come equipped with a life-preserving instinct. You can’t drown yourself or fight the reflex that pulls your hand from a flame. The inner pain that allows someone to overcome that instinct is unimaginable to those who don’t feel it. And it’s come as a surprise to many that Ellison, a relentless cheerleader and jovial companion, was experiencing the kind of torment usually associated with brooders and crybabies.

I’m haunted by the notion that the hard times Material Issue has fallen on recently may have played a role in this. I know that no one, not even a born rock star like Jim, cares enough about pop music to end his life because of it. There’s a lot more to it than that. But Jim’s life consisted of simple pleasures, a world of good guys and pretty girls. His best lyrics—“I don’t need a girlfriend, I need an accomplice,” “I want love, I want drugs, I want sex and affection,” “Maybe just once pretend to be somebody’s better half”—share a worldview that reduces life to those things that really are nice and sweet and good. The tragedy is that those things are sometimes not enough.”

— obituary for Jim Ellison written by Ken Kurson, Published on June 27, 1996

#jim ellison #material issue

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