Behind The Music: Dear Joe & Joey

Dear Joe and Joey,
...aka Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope!

And anybody else listening to this:
...That means you... (you're reading this)

My I have your attention for a few minutes
...4 minutes and 21 seconds to be exact

Th' BeastmasteR is my name
The North Shore Juggalo, Torleif James
...Friends and family call me TJ. I'm from Massachusetts (north of Boston).

Relax, this track has no strings attached
Compact Disc with a list of the side effects
...At the time when I wrote this, Internet viruses were fucking some shit up on my Dell.

Unless, of course, somehow it turns a profit
Then Hugh Hefner's sure to sue me for it.
...I jacked the beat from my roomate's Playboy DVD

Thoughts in my head / Needed a vehicle
Thoughts in my head / Barely conceivable
...Part from the hidden track after "The Smog" on The Terror Wheel EP.

Needles and Pins / It's all been a whirlwind.
Dont know the ending / so where do I begin?
...It's awesome the way ICP's music and mystery built impulse and affected me and so many other Juggalos in the mid '90's.
~

Circa 78 / Conceived in the blizzard
...I was born in Nov 1978. So 9 months prior, I was totally conceived while my folks were snowed in during the blizzard of 78.

As prophesized by a Norweigan Wizard
I am 100 percent Norwegian, a full-blooded Viking.

80s and 90s / So desensitizing
Seeing all these guys dropping like flies
...Violence in the media. Death in my family. Life lessons before I ever discovered the Wicked Shit!

In a blink of an eye / I felt a change inside
I'm not going to let this pass me by!
...A line from "Pass Me By" on The 4th Joker Card: The Great Milenko LP

I learn from experience
Just trying to give a little back
...I wrote this song out of love for The Dark Carnival and my Jugglo Family!

So listen up [or get bitch slapped]
...A tribute to the hidden track after "It Rains Diamonds" on The Wraith: Shangrila LP

In ninety-six when I was seven-teen
...I really was 17 years old in 1996 (Remember, I was born in '78 -do the math muthafako!)

The Brow's house Easter Sunday wrestling
...Every year my family and my best friend -Tommy Bs family celebrate holidays together. 

Tommy B. enthusiastically introduced me to a
Lil Somthin Somthin off the Riddle Box LP
...Tommy played me track 12 off of The 3rd Joker Card and I laughed my ass off. Then we started the album from the beginning.

Curiosity cracked open Carnival doors
When Milenko dropped in & out of record stores
...We were at Newbury Comics for Motley Crues new CD. It was the same day as The Great Milenkos Hollywood release. We literally grabbed our copies minutes before the rest of them were pulled off the shelf... Dope!

But this was nothing in comparison
To witnessing a clown show in person
Ninjas vision of heaven in '97
~

Paradise, that Boston venue
Had no clue what we were getting into
...Our 1st ICP concert was at The Paradise in Boston on September 3rd, 1997.

Dead center front row, with no barricade
And at the end of the show / We ended up on the stage
...The first and last time I ever saw an ICP show without a barricade. We were so close, Tommy sang into the mic during Chicken Huntin. Violent J took a stage dive into the crowd. Landed on me and I lost my ballcap and an earring. He was heavy!

And the clowns dumped Faygo all over us
..."FAYGO!" Sampled from the track, "The Jokers Wild"on The Riddle Box LP

Walked out of there feeling like a million bucks
...September in Boston after dark is cold. We were fuckin' freezing but so psyched that we didn't even care!

That adrenaline rush / You only know if you know
When you make that switch into a full-blown Juggalo
Lupos, Avalon, Tsongas, Palladium
...Rhode Island, Boston, Lowell and Worcester are the places in New England I have seen most of my Psychopathic concerts.
~

All of a sudden, I couldnt get enough of it
Had to fuckin have it / If it ran with a hatchet
...There was no HatchetGear.com back then. ICP had a snail-mail fanclub newsletter (photocopied color paper) with some merchandise available to purchase.

Every EP & Jokers Card I could get
...I ordered Tunnel Of Love (X-Rated Cover) and Psyhcopathic sent me The Witches And Warlocks cassett with it for free. 

Even hard to find tracks / Surfacing on the Internet
...I found ICP classics on Juggalo websites, like "Ask You Something", "Chicken Huntin' Super Mario Bros. Mix", "Life At Risk", and "Ghetto Zone" (before Dog Beats was rereleased those songs were rare as fuck!)

And Shocumentary was wicked ironic
Cuz we acted like it / Before we even saw it
...So true. Our jaws hit the ground when we watched the video for the first time.

Im not narrow minded / Never felt more alive
& we all surviving, chanting We dont die!
...A line from (and title of) the first single off Twiztid's Freek Show LP

Props to Twiztid, dont even get me started
...1st off: like Jamie Madrox, Batman has been my fuckin' hero since forever!

Batman raps! Thats a whole 'nother Seminar
...During the ICP Seminar in Peoria at the GOTJ 2002 (released on DVD with The Wraith) Violent J says "that's a whole 'nother seminar" about getting a 60K advance from Jive Records and being a broke muthafucker.

Kid inside of me / Sick of reality
Individual with a Juggalo family
Tommy B holding down the Florida scene
...Juggalo Tommy moved to Sarasota FL in 98. Reppin the hatchet with the Wood Street Crew... St. Pete's and Gandy Beach!

With the Cut Rate Crew, Rippa, know what I mean?
...DJ Ripper is the producer who helped me make this track (Thanks again, mayne!)

Distance is nothing. Unity means strength
...Quoting Violent J from Jumpsteady's Mad Mad World, The Chaos Theory EP

Our Carnival lifeline of infinite length
...Life after death. That's the idea, right?
~

In the mean time, we all just enjoin' the ride
Till we twist and spin to the other side
...line from "Nothings Left" on The 5th Joker Card, The Amazing Jeckel Bros. LP

All riled up / Anticipating the 6th
...I think I speak for all real Juggalos here.

Trying our best to avoid pissing contests
...I can only speak for myself here.

The amount of Hatchet Gear you own is irrelevant
...It's irrelevant, but I gotta admit I got a lot of it!

All you really need is Clown Love to represent
...I gotta lotta Clown Luv too!

Remember this at the merchandise booth
You only got one life and your death is proof
...What I mean by this is: Do what makes YOU happy. Don't waste time and money tryin' to impress other people. Live life without doubts or regrets!
~

I-C-P / Thank you / For the Joker Cards
Lotus Pod & for this family of ours
...I think this is self-explainatory

We drop everything for our Gatherings
No exaggerating / Theyre fresher than anything
...Again, need I say more

For the shows going down / Rain or shine
...It rules that ICP tour as much as they do.

Its always raining Faygo inside
...FAYGO SHOWERS! It's addictive.

We roll with yall because we believe
The Dark Carnival is forever
Like you said in Seventeen
Were in this together!
...A line from track 17, "Thy Unveiling" on The Wraith: Shangrila LP.
~
The carnival gets me high like Marijuana
Ecstasy, beautiful like Riana
...Riana is the name of a girl I had a crush on in college.

Diamonds all up in a piata
Hit it up if you want/ quick/ Before youre a goner
...Another play on words in tribute to the "Diamonds Raining" Era.

You think you got a shine?
...In response to Violent J's "My Shine" free internet track.

Take a look at the lives you changed
With this carnival surprise
...Refering to "Thy Unveiling" on TheWraith: Shangrila LP.

Hell, I got a shine. Equally Bright
Swear to God, Im not lying / My shines damn blinding

>>Just a matter of TIME, man!<<
...In refrence to meeting our Maker.

Hear Thy Unveiling /straight up/ gave us goose bumps
And brother, I promise you didn't trick us!
...In refrence to the line "We're not sorry if we tricked you. We don't care what happens now." from track 17 on The Wraith: Shangrila LP.

It's justified, ten years in one song
Inside I know I knew it all along
...In refrence to the line "Truth is we follow God. We've always been behind Him. The Carnival is God and may all Juggalos find Him!" from "Thy Unveiling" on The Wraith: Shangrila LP.

In this complex matrix of technology
Don't need my Joker Cards spelled out for me
..."During the ICP Seminar at the GOTJ in Peoria 2002, Violent J says, "I'm not going to sit up here and explain what every Jokers Card is and what it means, cuz you guys already know that. And by me sittin' up here at the Juggalo Gathering and trying to do that would be like insultin' y'all. If there's somebody in the room that don't know what it means, you in the wrong fuckin' place." right before Shaggy shows up from the Mystery Seminar.

It's time we told you how great you are
...In response to ICP's "It's Time" from Psychopathic's Hatchet History compilation CD.

Our Carnival unity always be TOP priority!
...Its great to know that there are other like me (Juggalos) who feel this shit!

I'm a be down, I'm a be down!
Down with the clown, till I'm dead in the ground!
...A line from "Down With The Clown" on The Great Milenko LP. 

Look in my crystal ball it's all right
Sit back you've all been on a long ride
...The correct line from "Crystal Ball" on The Bizzar LP.

I'm chillin' I'm illin'
with my guts all over the ceilin'
...A line from "Guts On The Ceiling" on The Carnival Of Carnage LP. 

Home to the monsters roaming the land
I wanna come home but you don't understand
...A line from "I'm Coming Home" on The Riddle Box LP.

Why do we do the things that we do?
Wicked Rhymes Wicked Times, You Too
...A line from "Who Asked You" on The Ringmaster LP.

Damn I wish I could be a Ninja, Ninja
Damn I wish I could be a Ninja, Ninja
...A line from "Ninja" on The Tunnel Of Love EP. 

How many souls will fall from the sky?
How many souls burn wondering why?
...A line from "Jake & Jack Jeckel" on The Amazing Jeckel Bros. LP.

We know you hate who we are
But even in Shangri-La…
...A line from "Get Ya Wicked On" on The Wraith: Shangrila LP.

[A wicked clown's gotta get their Wicked On/Wicked On]