THIS IS A 12 SONG ALBUM

"It's like finding an alien version of ancient Athens."

This is a quote about the sound of our band Doc Tahri from Ivan Dragotin Grguric, the band’s original drummer and a co-founding member. We used this quote on initial press releases for Doc Tahri to get gigs, along with other 'fictional' quotes we pulled pieces of from various publications to make it look like we were both well known and well liked. Ha! To this day, that quote of Ivan’s sums up the nature of the band in that it makes no sense—and perfect sense!—at the same time. Since our humble beginnings in 1985 recording onto a Fostex 4-track cassette recorder, Doc Tahri released three records, and played live sporadically through 2002 in several different configurations of extremely talented musicians.

I'm so excited now in 2024 to be able to offer the band's fourth and final release, "The Sharp Side of the Spoon," on the 25th anniversary of its recording back in 1999. Sadly, this record was never made available to the public back then, apart from a few hundred advance promo copies that somehow got out there. To that point, in 2018 on Amazon, a random consumer, ChristopherCall, had apparently possessed one of those promo copies of Sharp Side, albeit all scratched up, and while reviewing DT's previous release, "Einstein Was A Bullfighter," he wrote:

"I've seen comparisons to Primus, and while that can be accurate, it is hard not to hear Hendrix in the pure shredding talent of the opening tracks. It's a wonder why music of this elite caliber could be so lost that even finding information on the artists is tricky. This is not their only work. I did many years ago get a signed copy of 'The Sharp Side of the Spoon', the follow up from Doc Tahri lead man Bret Helm to this album. Sadly, the disk was scratched beyond repair and now there is no record of its existence that i can find. I did feel at the time that it was the superior record to this masterpiece.

If you have any passing interest in the above mentioned artists, or just hearing some true musical talent, you need to get a copy of this album. Then go and try to find the rest of his music if you can, but it is all far more exceptionally rare than it should be." — FIVE STARS on Amazon - March 4, 2018

I'm RIGHT HERE!! Come find me!! Ha!

"The Sharp Side of the Spoon" contains over 55 minutes of slamming music, created by the core band plus 15 more amazing musicians we scrounged up (see the long list of credits!). In current times, when many people can barely listen to one song in its entirety, I challenge you to block off an hour of time and listen to this record from start to finish, loudly, over quality speakers. This is the way it was intended to be heard. I am quite proud and happy to offer this album to you, and I would love to hear your feedback and to know your favorite song(s) [pop me off a note by clicking that little "Contact SMUG +" link over there to the right!].

True to form, there are multiple genres on this record. From insanely funky tracks like the opener "Feel Like Talkin' Smack" and "Freak Show Mama," complete with P-Funk style horns, to the sledgehammer-to-your-face grungy guitar wall-of-sound on "You Can't Reach Me," alongside the Zappa-meets-Captain Beefheart attack of "Pain In The Ass," up to the raw, live 8-minute+ nod to Funkadelic on "Maggot Rain”—complete with a mystery guitarist (hey, if you’re out there, please let me know who you are!)—well, let's just say that in this audio meal, all the food groups are well represented (except chicken, cuz we weren't afraid of no damn thing!). Happy listening!

I'll leave off here with what several critics have said about Doc Tahri over the years:

"Completely twisted therefore immediately accessible...a must of creative originality." - Guitarist Magazine (France)

"A cornucopia of attitude that grabs from a variety of influences.'' - Cash Box Magazine

"Talented people creating a manic blend of silliness, sarcasm, social commentary and blatant insanity." - Music Connection

"Doc Tahri specializes in music that defies categorization." - Los Angeles Times

"Former P.i.L. bassist Bret Helm is definitely the man here and he's made a terrific well produced album complete with monstrous bass grooves, snarling guitars and a heavy mad scientist vibe. Doc Tahri is one to watch." - Bass Player Magazine

"Jumping from an airplane without a parachute is a visual analogy for the sound of Doc Tahri's third album." - Seattle Post Intelligencer