Not long after the break up of Kansas City legends The Get Up Kids, frontman Jim Suptic began writing songs that would end up becoming the bulk of the material on Blackpool Lights debut album, This Town’s Disaster. He immediately enlisted friends Thom Hoskins (Guitar-vocals), Brian Everard (Bass), and Billy Brimblecom (Drums), and the foursome began recording Disaster.
After one gig though, real disaster struck the band. Brimblecom was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a form of cancer that developed in a crucial area for the drummer—his knee. He nailed his drum parts for the record in two days knowing that he’d be too weak from chemotherapy to record them afterward. News got worse when the band realized it would either be a funeral for his leg or a funeral for him, so the doctor had to amputate to stop the spread. Now cancer-free, he has been fitted with a modern, computer-chip enhanced prosthetic that has enabled him to continue playing with the band at a superior level.
The songs are pure, unpretentious rock ‘n’ roll songs. There are no gimmicks and no over the top antics to be found. “Empty Tank,” as well as the title track stand out among great songs, and “Blue Skies” sounds primed for alternative rock radio. If there’s one knock it’s that the album might to be too straight ahead, too unpretentious. Without any over-indulgence’s here, nothing super definitive stands out.
But as Brimblecom says, “After what we’ve been through to make sure these songs get heard, everything is alright. I guess you just have to hang in there and think positively. It’s amazing, but stuff does work out.”
