A Shout Out to Two Bands and a Friend and Musician. . .

I just wanted to give a nod to two bands that I have been following over the years. Both recently had some success. I am talking bout KillCode and Jane Lee Hooker and their recent signings with a record label or agency.

I first  saw Jane Lee Hooker back in 2011. They are basically playing a lot of classic blues in a very loud fashion. they have been at it for four years now. They just released their first album back in September, which was very cool. The record is good but their shows throughout this time have just been amazing. They just have the musicianship of the band at large, the dual guitars of Hightop and T-Bone, and Dana Danger on vocals, who is simply one of the most expressive singers I have seen or heard. Plus all those blues classics to work with. . .

So it was very cool to hear that they have signed with Ruf Records and that they will record their first album for the label in 2016. Further Ruf will be working with them on additional tours both in and outside the US. All very cool!

Killcode has likewise has signed with Coallier Entertainment. Unlike Jane Lee Hooker though, Killcode is a serious metal / rock act with a dash of southern hospitality. I remember seeing them in like 2009, and playing their first EP for my son, a serious metal head. It must have been as the Haunt in Yonkers was winding down. Again they do know how to command a stage. And Killcode, like JLH, features some amazing guitar work coming from Chaz and DC Gonzales. And they too have a solid frontman and singer in Tom Morrisey.

A bit about Coallier Entertainment. I have run into them a few times over the years. My fav of these was when they brought Thin Lizzy to the US in like 2003 or 2004. This was back when John Sykes was still in the band along with Scott Gorham. I grabbed my son, Phil, and we checked out the boys up at the Chance Theater in Poughkeepsie. I still remember Scott Gorham smiling at the fact that there was a kid and his dad rocking out to Lizzy. At least that was my read of it. . . That was a cool night and Phil and I both enjoyed. And it was very sweet that Lizzy popped up again the next week in Yonkers in some venue I never heard of before or after. It was down in the Irish part of town. Both were very good nights.

Coalier of course has routinely worked with Dee Snider, Twisted Sister, and the related group. . . Bent Brother. They have even signed Guy McCoy Torme (GMT), though they have yet to get that act over to the US. They work with a lot of established acts, which makes this more interesting in that KillCode is a newer act or band for them. Further, we know Killcode here in NYC, but audiences elsewhere not really, not yet. So Coalier has some work to do, and I cannot think of a better act for Coalier to work with, considering their focus on rock and metal.

I went back and forth about posting this. I just rarely see acts get signed by any labels today. Before this I kind of knew that the Sex Slaves were signed with Radical Records, and of course there have been a handful of acts that have come from NYC who I did not know about until they were signed. It just seems very rare these days that bands sign with a label and it perhaps is not celebrated like it was. I recall venues and others posting full-page ads in the Aquarian when Twister Sister was signed way back in the day. It is an achievement to sign a contract relating to one’s artistic achievements and future works. It should be recognized.

Lastly, I just wanted to wish Karen Curios a Happy Birthday. I believe it is today. Great singer and songwriter, who if you have the chance to see, you should check out. Interestingly, she posted yesterday that she has finally arrived at the conclusion that her latest album “doesn’t suck at all. . .” To which I respond, it is about time. A bit poppy – perhaps, sucky – no. I do not believe she has signed with a label, but still I will happily go see her perform any day anytime. I do wish I could get an mp3 of her current band, the Glorious Revolution doing her tune, the Rising Sun.