Fu Manchu

In the 90’s I spent a lot of time working in kitchens. Specifically the kitchen of the Vertigo Diner in Raleigh, NC where the kitchen boombox was ruled by bands like Fu Manchu. King of the Road had just been released and was played daily if not multiple times a day in the kitchen and behind the bar. That CD was owned by every single person working in that restaurant, it was always on hand and everyone was always down to turn it up. Kitchen staff, bartenders, wait staff, customers, everyone loved that album beginning to end. We proudly hung that little promotional Fu Manchu license plate over the kitchen exit, we were a house of Fu with fuzz imitating from the back door while we slung Sunday brunch. The song that always really got me was Blue Tile Fever. I was a skateboard kid and had seen those early photos of backyard pool skating and remember running my feet along the transitions of our apartment complex pool thinking “yeah you could skate this”…It’s all brand new just like I told you.

Nothing beats that rush of skating with friends, being in the heat of the moment where everyone is on the same page but it all seems like chaos. Thats what it was like when that song was playing and the restaurant was running on all cylinders, it flowed like a Dave Hackett slash grind. It was chaos but it was smooth. It flowed. And that is what Fu Manchu will always remind me of, adventures with friends, getting down with a smooth style and taking care of business. -Jer Warren