Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds
Dracula Boots
2009 – In The Red Records
At first glance you may not recognize the name Kid Congo Powers, but go back deep into your collection and check your vinyl by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Cramps, and The Gun Club. You will find his name. He has played with those bands as well as Congo Norvell, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, and Mark Eitzel of American Music Club (to name just a few). Born and raised Brian Tristan in El Monte, California he was rechristened “Kid Congo” by The Cramps lead singer Lux Interior when he joined that band in 1980. Kid Congo and his guitar have been entertaining the flocking masses of punkybirds for over 25 years. Which brings us to his most recent work “Dracula Boots” released under his latest incarnation Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds. Dracula Boots is eleven tracks of psychedelic, surf, swamp, garage, punk, funk, rock, and blues, mashed up into a musical genre/beast that can only be called Kid Congo music. The guitars are fuzzy, twangy and washed in reverb – the rhythm section is incredibly tight and funky – the organs are vintage and distorted. Combine all of those ingredients with a Theremin and the tongue-in-cheek story telling of Kid Congo and you have a CD that will turn your grandma’s tea party into a go-go dancing extravaganza – or morph your boring commute into a high speed adventure through the seedy, back-alley underworld of the deep, dark city. It’s hard not to love a CD where the “squeak, squeak” of a kick drum pedal in need of lubrication is part of the rhythm of every song (it is, and I LOVE it!) or the guitar is out of tune ever so slightly – just enough to add another dimension to the twang. The true beauty of an album like Dracula Boots is found in its warts. And they are glorious.
Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds are currently on a world tour to support Dracula Boots. Buy the CD and catch their killer live show. You won’t be disappointed.
http://kidcongopowers.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment