Jim Sullivan Drove Into the Desert and Disappeared

Jim Sullivan Drove Into the Desert and Disappeared

A struggling musician drives into the New Mexico desert with a guitar, a trunk full of records, and dreams of making it in Nashville. He is never seen again. This week on Tape Spaghetti, Scott and Blake dive into the bizarre true story of Jim Sullivan, a gifted songwriter whose cult-classic album U.F.O. became even more intriguing after he seemingly vanished off the face of the Earth in 1975. Along the way, they explore Sullivan’s connections to the California music scene, near-misses with fame, and the heartbreaking frustration of creating incredible music that nobody seemed to hear. From there the mystery only deepens. Abandoned hotel rooms, a cryptic final phone call, and a deserted Volkswagen discovered many miles from nowhere. With music that's worth celebrating and a disappearance worth investigating, this is how Jim Sullivan went from unheralded songwriter to unsolved mystery.

The FBI vs. The Fugs

How obscene does your band need to be for the FBI to get involved? In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott and Blake dig into the band that found out the hard way: The Fugs. A chaotic 1960s underground band comprised of poets, pranksters, activists, and, well, absolute weirdos, The Fugs tackled topics such as sex, politics, drugs, and social rebellion in songs with titles so outrageous they got the attention of the federal authorities. The Fugs were pre-punk, but their music was provocative enough to spark a full-blown moral panic, with crackdowns, censorship, and J. Edgar Hoover's paranoia-driven bureau taking a keen interest. This one's got art, politics, '60s counterculture, and well... You'll just have to find out.

Gram Parsons’ Friends Stole His Body and Burned It

There are a good many outlaw country artists. But Gram Parsons might be the only one whose outlaw status followed him to the grave...and then back out of it. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott & Blake dig up the unbelievable life and afterlife of Gram Parsons, a country-rock visionary who pushed musical boundaries while battling self-destructive habits exacerbated by the intensity of fame. Parsons dropped out of Harvard and landed in the chaotic chaos of the Laurel Canyon scene, bouncing between The Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and collaborations with a litany of country music legends. A true vanguard, he even outdid the 27 Club by, tragically, fatally overdosing at just 26 years old. Unbelievably, his story doesn't end there. What followed was a coffin hijacking, LOTS of tequila, and an outlaw cremation under the stars of Joshua Tree. Here's how country's greatest wild child continued to build his legend from beyond the grave.

The Beach Boys Made a Rap Song… And That’s Not the Worst Part

The Beach Boys undoubtedly changed pop music forever. But they also cut an album so strange that it's basically been erased from music history. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott & Blake take a look at Summer in Paradise, the Beach Boys' bizarre attempt at reclaiming their throne with a "modern" summer soundtrack. With Brian Wilson out of the picture, the Mike Love-led Beach Boys wanted to see if they could get lightning to strike twice after the unlikely success of "Kokomo." The result was a fully digital, Pro Tools-powered sound experiment packed with synthetic everything, recycled ideas, and... a Beach Boys rap?? Here's how a band once at the forefront of pop innovation chased its own past to the tune of album so bad it hurts.

Waylon Jennings, Cocaine, and a DEA Raid Gone Wrong

Waylon Jennings didn't just sing songs about being an outlaw. He genuinely became one. In this week's Tape Spaghetti, Scott & Blake discuss the life and legend of Waylon Jennings, who went from small-town disc-jockey to Buddy Holly's bandmate to one of country's greatest rebels. Back when Nashville was a highly polished music machine, Jennings forged his own gritty sound... and even grittier lifestyle. It all culminated in a raid of his recording studio by DEA agents in search a suspicious package, which vanished in just about the most absurd way possible. Here's the story of Waylon Jennings as a myth-making outlaw country star, the tension between artists and Nashville overlords, and a dash of true crime that seems too crazy to be true.