515 Crew

Pentagram
With: The Gates of Slumber
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Vaudeville Mews, 212 Fourth St.
Cost: $20 in advance, $25 day of show.
Info: Go to iowatix.com.

Some bands are more notable for the acts they inspire than for the number of records they sell.

The Velvet Underground, Neutral Milk Hotel and Nick Drake are artists whose albums seemed to launch new bands with every spin. Doom metal pioneer Pentagram, performing Tuesday at Vaudeville Mews, is that kind of musician.

Frontman Bobby Liebling is a contemporary of bands like Black Sabbath, and although Pentagram never had a breakout hit, the group counts Metallica among its acolytes. Liam Gallagher of Oasis recently named Pentagram's "Forever My Queen" as one of his favorite songs of all time, and Jack White released that song as a single with his group The Dead Weather.

So why haven't you heard of Pentagram? Probably because despite nearly 40 years in existence, the band never went on tour until last year. Liebling is brutally honest about the cause of the band's problems.

"I think it was a lot of personal demons I had, a lot of conflicts and a lot of drug problems," the 56-year-old Liebling said from his apartment in Philadelphia. "I never made any bones about that fact that I was an active drug addict for 40 years."

His narcotics resume reads like every William S. Burroughs novel rolled into one: 30 years of 100 milligrams of methadone daily; 40-plus years of shooting heroin; a $500-a-day, 27-year crack habit. He said the money spent on drugs didn't come from music, but from running drugs out of South America. Liebling said he spent millions on drugs for himself, making it look like he was living the rock-and-roll lifestyle without touring or selling many records.

Three years ago he walked away from that life. He fell in love with a fan (23-year-old Hallie, whom he married last fall) and wanted to get clean.

"I just walked away from the clinic and said, I want this woman to be mine for life, and I want to show her how much," he said.

Sobriety also rekindled Liebling's creative fires. He's been writing and recording new material, and a documentary about his experiences. "Last Rites: The Fall and Rise of Bobby Liebling," is due out this year.

Pentagram's touring has taken the band to Europe for the first time, exposing Liebling to a continent's worth of previously unrequited love. He saw burly Norwegians break down in tears over songs when they headlined the Hole in the Sky Festival.

"It's not like I'm in the twilight on my career, it's like God gave me two lives. Literally," Liebling said. And Liebling, who said he was a member of the Church of Satan when he started the band, has found strength in a higher power. "I'm not born again, I'm not a Jesus freak. I am very much most certain I'm going to heaven, I'm doing the right thing, and there are a few good people left in the world."

If you want to talk about with Liebling on Tuesday night, he's an approachable guy and likes to hang out, meet his fans and sign everything put in front of him.

"Every night I cry when I walk off stage," Liebling said. "Just for the appreciation that there are people out there who know who I am. 2009 was a fucking freaky hell of a year. I've never had so many hugs and kisses."

TooManyHumyns wrote:drinking myself silly and starting fights with homebums...

Joe wrote:So, wait, is Reeferseed going to this or not?

-Joe.

inx515xhell wrote:this was one of the best nights of my life. srsly guys, i love you....but i hate this fuckin city.