Are “Smoking Umbrellas” “Stuck on You?” Failure Drummer Kellii Scott Can Help

Having seen Failure live a month or so ago, I can testify that there’s no greater joy than seeing a band perform when you have all but given up on the possibility of such an occurrence manifesting its way through the labyrinthine corridors of happenstance. Well, maybe hunting down and killing the man who murdered your father could top that in terms of satisfaction, but it’s a close race. Failure were out of commission for just about 20 years, and founding members Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards didn’t seem to be communicating much in the interim, despite the Anglo-similarity of their names.

I mean, seriously, they sound like aliases. So what did two guys with last names for first names do when they needed a drummer for their final album (at least until the long-awaited new one is released) Fantastic Planet? Obviously they got someone with a name to fit the pattern: Kellii Scott. Mr. Scott returns in this reunion lineup (and they tellingly don’t still perform with live 2nd guitarist and guy with an actual last name, Troy Van Leeuwen), big thudding beats and all. Here he is stomping through “Smoking Umbrellas” and “Stuck On You” in Nashville, TN a month ago.