Page the Village Idiot Gives Sublime's "What I Got" the Death Metal Treatment

By Melissa Fossum Thu., Jun. 14 2012 at 5:00 AM

Categories: Take Cover, Video

Melissa Fossum

Yeah, that's a "cancer" visor.

For this week's installment of Take Cover, a singer-songwriter covers Sublime. Tempe-based musician Page Davis picked up his acoustic guitar, puka shells, and visor to jam "What I've Got."

"What I like about this song is its rebellious nature. I think it's so punk rock -- he actually says in the song 'I don't mind if my dog runs away.' I've lived in Tempe for a while, and I've seen a lot of missing-pet signs. People usually do mind if their dog runs away. That, my friends, is punk rock," says Davis, who performs under the name Page the Village Idiot.

Page the Village Idiot performs every Wednesday night at Long Wong's at the Firehouse.

"I think this is going to be the one cover version of his song that he [Bradley Nowell] doesn't mind. I think the rest of everybody needs to stop playing it, including Sublime," says Davis, who believes he has the best version of "What I've Got."

"What I like about my improved version is I think this one is going to be a little more difficult for frat boys to date rape to . . . I should also mention that I did change one note in this song. I tried to keep it tried and true to the original, but instead of doing the fourth, I do the flatted fifth, so it gives it a bit of what they call a devil's tri-tone, but I don't think a lot of people even notice."

Page the Village Idiot's version is a little heavier than the original thanks to a drum machine, an acoustic guitar, and a shout-out to Steve Vai.

If you play in a local band and would like to have a cover featured on our blog, please e-mail us at music@newtimes.com.

See our Take Cover archives for more Arizona bands taking on national songs.

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