On a very hot summer day in 1987 (one of those Tucson days that it gets to be 110 degrees before noon) I walked into the band practice space at the Dude Ranch and Dr. Blood handed me a microphone and said, “Sing lyrics to this will yah!” Little did I know at the time that this would be the start of U.P.S.’s first ever punk rock opera.

“The Chicken Saga” is a magical tale about a very bad chicken who goes to the slaughterhouse to die and is sent to hell for his evil deeds. Satan returns him back to earth as ‘the undead’ leading a devilish army of zombie chickens bent on killing all of humankind. On his march across the killing fields he falls in love with a special hen, but she is then killed by the genetically modified government chickens sent to stop the zombie chicken horde. In his sorrow he goes into hiding in total despair and gets strung out on Satan’s drug, ‘el Dust.’ After hitting rock bottom he then feels the need for revenge, throws out all of the ‘el Dust,’ gets clean and straightens out. He helps the government stop the crazed chickens that they created which saves the world. Upon completing this task his sins are finally washed away and he is accepted into chicken heaven.

Over the course of one of the hottest summers in Tucson’s records, Dr. Blood, Dumpy Pieces, Rat Shit, and myself spent our summer days making “The Chicken Saga.” At the time our recording methods were primitive to say the least and several 2 track cassette players gave their lives for the cause. Each day we would work out an act and then perform and record it. We listened to “The Chicken Saga” regularly and shared it with a few friends but never released it to the public.

After all of those years have past, I’m proud to finally release “The Chicken Saga” to the public. I think it’s still unique and relevant today. It’s a joy to release this after 27 years.

Slug Useless - Disillusion Music Label