his new dvd americian - the bill hicks story is coming out at the end of this month...seems the 2 disc dvd will have five hours of extras....for me ...this is a must buy...we miss you bill.....

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[img:$uid]http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae100/blackboab2004/BillHicks.jpg[/img:$uid]

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Without doubt, Bill Hicks was one of the most influential modern day comedians. Passionate about truth and honesty, driven to distraction by Republicans, pro-drugs, anti-manufactured pop, his rants were always thought provoking as well as hilarious.

American: The Bill Hicks Story, released on DVD on September 23rd, is a feature-length documentary which combines live action with a stunning new animation technique manipulating 1,000s of photographs to uniquely immerse the audiences in his world, all told from the point-of-view of the people who knew Bill best.

The film contains all original interviews, edited during a 7 month process, to create a seamless narrative track. The Hicks estate granted full access to their archive of Bill’s video performances and photographs, and along with Bill’s friends and colleagues, agreed to talk and lay bare their memories of their son, brother and friend. From the outset, the aim was to move beyond a film for the Hicks fan base and bring the story to a wide audience and reveal a strong personal sense of who Bill Hicks was directly from the people who knew him.

The 2 disc set, released by BBC DVD has a amazing list of additional material, which makes it a must purchase for any of Bill’s “goat children”:

[Edited 9/11/10 3:33am]

Yeah..been a fan for over 10 years.

Had some emails exchanges with his best friend too.

Pryor,Lenny Bruce Bill and Dick Gregory are my favs.

cool. i was lucky enough to see him in a small venue before be died. brilliant stuff

I think he was often funny and on target but there was also a lot of darkness in his rants that weighed too heavy on the comedy. For a similar style but more pure laughs I prefer the slightly lighter copycat Dennis Leary.

unique said:

cool. i was lucky enough to see him in a small venue before be died. brilliant stuff

edinburgh festival?...

retina said:

I think he was often funny and on target but there was also a lot of darkness in his rants that weighed too heavy on the comedy. For a similar style but more pure laughs I prefer the slightly lighter copycat Dennis Leary.

cant stomach dennis..the original is always far better imo.....his darkness was always thought provoking and usually painfully true.....he was more than a comedian....did you see bills rant about a female hecker ?...think its on youtube.....he just loses it and its soo funny.. ...

[Edited 9/11/10 4:13am]

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''...go and watch f**king madonna.....ive got a c**t and that gives me carte blanche....i want you to go and find a f**king soullll ''

[Edited 9/11/10 4:18am]

blackbob said:

retina said:

I think he was often funny and on target but there was also a lot of darkness in his rants that weighed too heavy on the comedy. For a similar style but more pure laughs I prefer the slightly lighter copycat Dennis Leary.

cant stomach dennis..the original is always far better imo.....his darkness was always thought provoking and usually painfully true.....he was more than a comedian....did you see bills rant about a female hecker ?...think its on youtube.....he just loses it and its soo funny.. ...

[Edited 9/11/10 4:13am]

Yeah, I think you're right that he was more than a comedian but that's where it gets a bit problematic for me. When I turn to comedy it's usually because I'm craving the lighter side of life, and then the darker undertones become a distraction. Interestingly though I don't mind my drama with a touch of comedy, but comedy with too much drama? Not really. It smothers the laughs.

Either way I do understand the appeal of Bill Hicks and sometimes I'm perfectly in the mood for his style.

blackbob said:

unique said:

cool. i was lucky enough to see him in a small venue before be died. brilliant stuff

edinburgh festival?...

i can't remember. maybe not actually. i think this is the show i went to, but the video below is supposed to be edinburgh festival 1991. apparently he played there a few times

[img:$uid]http://www.edinburghgigarchive.com/userimages/hicksqueens92.JPG[/img:$uid]

Thanks for posting. I am looking forward to seeing this. I did not know who Bill Hicks was until my favorite band TOOL mentioned him in the liner notes of their 1996 album Aenema. They even used the line," See you down in Arizona Bay" in the title track which won a grammy that year.

rmartin70 said:

Thanks for posting. I am looking forward to seeing this. I did not know who Bill Hicks was until my favorite band TOOL mentioned him in the liner notes of their 1996 album Aenema. They even used the line," See you down in Arizona Bay" in the title track which won a grammy that year.

Hey rmartin70. Bill Hicks and Tool are both awesome. Maynard himself is quite the social commentator. Loving his latest band Puscifer. But check the Aenima album out more closely, they sample some of Hick's stand-up set before Third Eye as well as in Aenima. Also, the album is dedicated to Bill Hicks and there is a picture of him as a doctor in the album artwork.

If I remember right he died a month or so before Cobain, was a sad couple of months. I often wonder how they'd both be commentating on today's events... there's been no-one quite like either of them since.

However, I do recommend Doug Stanhope. Forget Denis 'the thief' Leary and check out Stanhope. He has his own inimitable style and outlook on life. Again dark, but ferociously thought-provoking and funny in his own right.

ScottRob said:

rmartin70 said:

Thanks for posting. I am looking forward to seeing this. I did not know who Bill Hicks was until my favorite band TOOL mentioned him in the liner notes of their 1996 album Aenema. They even used the line," See you down in Arizona Bay" in the title track which won a grammy that year.

Hey rmartin70. Bill Hicks and Tool are both awesome. Maynard himself is quite the social commentator. Loving his latest band Puscifer. But check the Aenima album out more closely, they sample some of Hick's stand-up set before Third Eye as well as in Aenima. Also, the album is dedicated to Bill Hicks and there is a picture of him as a doctor in the album artwork.

If I remember right he died a month or so before Cobain, was a sad couple of months. I often wonder how they'd both be commentating on today's events... there's been no-one quite like either of them since.

However, I do recommend Doug Stanhope. Forget Denis 'the thief' Leary and check out Stanhope. He has his own inimitable style and outlook on life. Again dark, but ferociously thought-provoking and funny in his own right.

I love the intro to Third Eye, it is so true. I saw TOOL twice this year and they opened with Third Eye both nights. I also caught Puscifer twice last year and they were great. I only got to see A Perfect Circle once, but they were a great band also. I think everything Maynard does is incredible. Have you seen his movie Blood Into Wine? It is worth checking out if you like Maynard.

I will have to check out Doug Stanhope.

Number23 said:

A beautiful man. I loved and still do love him like a friend.

you are indeed a man of impeccable taste my friend ....

blackbob said:

Number23 said:

blackbob said:

you are indeed a man of impeccable taste my friend ....

You got a bevvy in ye, boab?

...no chance...my spelling would be far worse than that

Truth telling and hilarious at the same time. Killer combination.

Bill Hicks is without doubt my favourite comedian. I loved his style, I loved the fact that to him tackling serious issues was not just important, but that he viewed his natural comedic ability as a vehicle to sharing his ideas on those issues.

I only discovered him shortly before he died so unfortunately I never got to see him live.

I did unfortunately get to see Dennis Leary live in the Olympia in Dublin. If memory serves the show was called No Cure For Cancer. I made it to the end of the first half, but I was sick of him constanly ripping off Hicks lines and routines (at times he was quoting Hicks word for word). I'd thought about standing up and having a go at him for stealing Hicks' material, but fortunately good sense prevailed - it might've been interesting to see what sort of response I'd get, but I figured I didn't need to be further insulted - I was already insulted enough at having paid good money to see this twat rip off Hicks. That's the only time I have ever walked out of a (supposed) comedy gig.