No More Hot Dogs

April 28, 2005 5:58 PM

Hasil Adkins passes. Farewell to this wonderfully bonkers rockabilly legend.
posted by jonmc (23 comments total)

Oh my. oh my. My friend Jason, a Hasil nut who was the first I heard sing those songs, drove far into the night to hang out with him after gigs. How sad to think that Hasil ain't going to eat no more hot dogs.
posted by LeLiLo at 6:07 PM on April 28, 2005

Adkins was awesome. As someone in the thread said, they heard the Cramps' version first and then realized that Adkins was just as crazy. I had much the same experience - his music was a great find.

RIP.
posted by invitapriore at 6:11 PM on April 28, 2005

The Cramps' version of She Said.*

This is a bad day.
posted by invitapriore at 6:14 PM on April 28, 2005

I had much the same experience - his music was a great find.

My first Hasil encounter was similar. When I was around 16, I was big cowpunk fan, so I used to listen to this college radio show called "Backroads." One nIght I heard them play "No More Hot Dogs," and it was one of those rare "What the fuck was that?" experiences. In a world where cultural heroes cultivate quirks, the Haze (like Tiny Tim, Kevin Coyne, and Harry Partch) didn't have to bother. He simply was.

Rest in peace, you beautiful freak.
posted by jonmc at 6:17 PM on April 28, 2005

I've always preferred the Adkins diet to that lame shitty Atkins one where you don't get any buns!

RIP - unfortunate news, but that's quite a band in heaven, Adkins, Feathers, Orbison ... damn, get gone! I love all of you.

thanks for posting jon.
posted by Peter H at 6:39 PM on April 28, 2005

A sad day indeed.

RIP.
posted by ursus_comiter at 6:56 PM on April 28, 2005

Possibly apocryphal:

A friend of a friend was providing Adkins a place to crash on a tour stop. Said FOAF had a can of Cambell's tomato soup, signed by Andy Warhol, prominently displayed in his living room. Middle of the night, Adkins gets hungry, opens the artwork, eats the soup, and tosses the can in the trash.

There's something very right about that.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 7:23 PM on April 28, 2005

When he and Southern Culture were touring together, he disappeared after the Atlanta show. They found him outside, sitting on the curb, drinking peppermint schnapps from the bottle and eating raw hamburger.

So long, Haze.
posted by donpardo at 7:52 PM on April 28, 2005

I saw him in Huntington about 14 years ago. My Louisville perspective saw him as a one man Bodeco. So long, Hazil.
posted by ae4rv at 8:25 PM on April 28, 2005

did that movie I heard someone was working on ever get released? I believe it was a documentary on the hunchin' one.
posted by mwhybark at 9:40 PM on April 28, 2005

This is a major, major loss. The man was one-of-a-kind.

Peanut Butter rock 'n' roll forever!
posted by Dr. Wu at 10:38 PM on April 28, 2005

So sad. Ditto everything everybody else has said. Heard it here 1st, jon. Time now to play his records hunchin' LOUD!
posted by omnidrew at 11:59 PM on April 28, 2005

jonmc

I like Adkins but why the swipe at Kevin Coyne? What has he got to do with Adkins and how are years of alcholism, nervous breakdown and various stays in mental institutions cultivated quirks?
posted by johnny novak at 1:28 AM on April 29, 2005

Goddam. This is sad news. I know his early stuff gets a lot of attention, but if you haven't heard his later works (my favorite is What the Hell Was I Thinking) you really should. It's raw, pure, emotional stuff. "Beautiful Hills" is one of my all-time favorites.
posted by Otis at 6:09 AM on April 29, 2005

johnny novak: Try reading more carefully. There was no swipe at Coyne; jonmc said that like Hasil, he "didn't have to bother" cultivating quirks.

jonmc: Thanks for the post!
posted by languagehat at 6:28 AM on April 29, 2005

I like Adkins but why the swipe at Kevin Coyne?

What languagehat said. Kevin was another one who didn't have to work at cultivating quirks, he was quirky enough on his own. Now be a GOOD BOYgood boyWELL DONEgood boy...:>
posted by jonmc at 6:31 AM on April 29, 2005

*mourns, does the hunch*
posted by mediareport at 7:08 AM on April 29, 2005

pinkstainlesstail: I heard that story first-hand from Billy Miller of Norton records. I'd love to believe (and suspect that) it's true.
another wild man done gone. ooh! ee! ah-ah!
posted by chandy72 at 8:14 AM on April 29, 2005

Sorry, should clarify: The can was in Billy & Miriam's kitchen and I think they said they made the (in hindsight) mistake of leaving him alone in their apartment.
posted by chandy72 at 8:16 AM on April 29, 2005

sorry, read too quickly
posted by johnny novak at 8:23 AM on April 29, 2005

aw man. I first found Adkins on the jukebox at Tuman's Alcohol Abuse Center ... the cd was Poultry in Motion, his collection of chicken songs through the years ... we would sit there after soccer games and drink and drink and put on chicken song after chicken song.
posted by joe_murphy at 12:04 AM on April 30, 2005

Shit shit shit. Bad.

.
posted by bdave at 2:35 AM on April 30, 2005

oh man...
posted by jann at 2:01 PM on April 30, 2005