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“That was Josh’s idea,” guitarist Matt Davis says of the title track on Showbread’s new album, Age of Reptiles, equating reptiles to humanity. “He’s a lizard, he was just talking about his pals.” Since it was vocalist and lyricist Josh Dies’ idea, he commented, “I thought of the name of the album first, then decided how applicable it could be as a metaphor for humanity today, the cold bloodedness being the connection between reptiles and humans.” With a CD title like that and song names such as, “Pachycephalosaurus,” “The Jesus Lizard,” and “Dinosaur Bones,” it is rather easy to notice that this theme runs throughout the entire ten songs on the new album. Fears may spring to mind of whether or not the usual dose of Showbread weirdness and wit will be present on an album devoted to reptiles. Well, unless you know what emetophobia or a Pachycephalosaurus is, the satire will be a little harder to notice on Age of Reptiles. Emetophobia is the irrational fear of vomiting, a rather common phobia, complete with its own online support groups, and Davis assures everyone that blowing chunks is “mentioned in pretty much every song.” As if that isn’t enough of the standard Showbread, Josh Dies continues, “There are a handful of love songs. There is a tribute to George A. Romero’s Living Dead quadrilogy in the song ‘George Romero Will Be At Our Wedding.’ It’s actually a love song that takes place within the four movies. There are a few angry songs, like ‘Centipede Sisters’ and ‘Pachycephalosaurus’ that kind of utilize the cruel, finger-pointing satire that is more typical of Showbread lyrics. The song about the shallow attention starved girls is called ‘Pachycephalosaurus,’ which is a dinosaur with a thick skull that they use to ram into one another to settle mating and territorial disputes.”
ics that can also drive home important messages, digging deep into even the most leathered skinned humans. Dies says that the references to vomit in every song serve “as a reminder of the disgust in reaction to the issues brought up.” Don’t take it the wrong way, though; Showbread isn’t trying to be too profound. Matt Davis tells me, “We try to just put on the best show we can and take kids to a place that’s not too serious and fun. People are too serious about music and everything these days. Have fun. It’s music.” With stories about being abducted by aliens, people turning into lizards, running out of hot sauce, and performing in venues filled with mirrors that make you see yourself getting crunk and that in turn making you sick, it was easy for me to discern that having fun is definitely one of Showbread’s passions.
These explanations and lyrics are pretty ingenious for a fellow who can just as easily get immersed in an old school zombie movie. I take that back; zombie movies are probably what facilitate Josh Dies in writing crazy lyr-
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I say “one of,” because Showbread’s other, more important, passion is the one that influenced the reptile-to-humanity metaphor, and is just as easily perceived along the course of the album, not by the song titles, but by the lyrics. Amidst the reptilian and retching symbols, are lyrics that show the insides of Dies’ heart, most evident at the end of the ten-minute long title track, “Age of Reptiles,” where Josh covers the first verse of the song “I Love You, Lord.” “I feel God has called me to be in this band, that’s why I’m in [it],” Dies states. Matt Davis expands, “We play music because we love it and we feel like God’s given us this outlet or this platform to show kids love and to just have a good time and hopefully they’ll see Christ. That’s exciting to us. It’s why we do everything we do.”
7/31/2006 3:39:03 PM