Metal Mixology for April 14th!
- Jason Hesley
- Apr 14
- 3 min read
The latest edition of Metal Mixology comes from Jesse May of Turkey Vulture!
“Whiskey In My Whisky” by The Felice Brothers – This song quite literally inspired the title track of this single, “Dead To Me.” I was sitting in the basement one Friday night learning “Whiskey In My Whiskey” to cover. After playing along with it over and over and over again for an hour or two, the chorus lyrics of “Dead To Me” popped into my head. And I started working on that!
“Jill the Ripper” by Turkey Vulture – Wait, isn’t that the B Side?? Nope, it’s the original version: an acoustic recording featuring accordion, banjo, and upright bass. (The accordion and banjo, along with guitar, were played by our engineer Steve Rodgers.) I wrote “Jill the Ripper” on upright bass way back in 2020. I love how this acoustic version came out. However, I was having a hard time translating it to a live setting playing electric guitar – so Jim and I ended up completely redoing the music for our live version. This became “Jill the Ripper (Heavy Take)” which you hear on this single. It’s the original lyrics set to a chorus from one of our old bands and the classic folk song…
“House of the Rising Sun” – I picked The Animals’ recording because it’s the first one I’d ever heard, but a quick Spotify search will show it’s been recorded by everyone from Dolly Parton to Five Finger Death Punch. The earliest recording, at least according to Wikipedia, was played by Tom Clarence Ashley in 1933.
“Far Behind” by Social Distortion – Social D is one of me and Jim’s favorite bands, and many of their songs have special significance for us. “Far Behind” is one of Jim’s favorite SD tunes and ironically (not ironically?) goes along with the theme of broken friendships in “Dead To Me.”
“Country Blues” by The Shoutbacks – This is a song and a style – I think our version of this song was inspired by a Dock Boggs recording. I’m including it because it has the friendship-gone-wrong theme and because playing with this band introduced me to many of the folk influences that weave their way into Turkey Vulture’s music.
“Prison Bound” by Social Distortion – More Social D! This is one of my favorite SD songs; Turkey Vulture covers it and I cover it when I play solo. It uses the same chord changes throughout the song, a structure I mostly use in “Dead To Me.” (Although it does have different chord changes for the bridge.) I was also inspired by the guitar leads in “Prison Bound,” especially the “Dead To Me” intro.
“Knoxville Girl” by The Louvin Brothers – I can’t say this song is an influence for “Jill the Ripper” because I first heard it in 2024. But it’s yet another song about a man killing a woman, a trope which “Jill The Ripper” seeks to upend. While the lyrics to “Jill” are meant to be humorous and no one actually gets killed, “Knoxville Girl” song details a killing blow by blow. It’s practically a true crime podcast. I don’t think I would want to perform this song or one like it – but I do want to write a rebuttal song where the Knoxville Girl comes back to torment her murderer.
“Ride With Aileen” by Owl Maker – Speaking of upending murder ballads… This song is by another one of my old bands. It’s from the perspective of serial killer Aileen Wuornos – a woman who certainly upended the trope of sex workers getting murdered by serial killers. “We’re going for the ride of your life!”
I hope you enjoyed that glimpse into the musical workings of Turkey Vulture! Sorry it’s morbid, but we are named after a bird that eats dead things soooooo…. Cheers!
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