photo courtesy of Kyle Wyatt
The abject raw punk ferocity of "Lost Connection" by Kansas City, Missouri's Red Kate feels 100% real and while that might seem like an odd thing to say, believe me, when I tell you that some music doesn't. This kind of real heavy subversions (for an old dog like me) feels systemic to 80's / 90's alt rock / post punk that were seeded from 60's /70's blues, psych rock, proto-punk or similar such influences. Artists / bands I loved to listen to and see back in the 'proverbial' day. Somehow a lot of those studio records sounded beautifully raw, essentially live. In my mind I thought of Concrete Blonde or Love and Rockets or Killing Joke or The Dirtbombs.
"You've replaced the human voice
With tiny dots on a screen
I seem to have lost connection
To the feeling of what you mean"
RED KATE's thoughts about "Lost Connection" from their current album "Exit Strategy".
"What is the promise of the digital world? We're more connected than ever yet more alone than ever. We communicate digitally through modified or adopted personas, carefully crafting our appearance to the rest of the world. But is anyone actually who they say they really are? Do we have relationships with actual people anymore? Is the "virtual" now as real as reality, only a more hollowed out version? We have not evolved for this..."
I am digging the massive throttling of sound that you want to hear in a dense dark venue turned up loud. The slamming drum beat (that in another realm could be a funk charged Sam and Dave soul song) unifies the absolutely jammy nature of Detroit rock meets English Punk inspired Americana punk (or something like that) and the snaking guitar lines that may or may not hint at Andalusian shapes with a snarling vox against guitar feedback that might hint at Fugazi-esque bruises (and VHS static) is all so beautifully evocative.
"We tell ourselves it's freedom
To live our lives in full
How do we break the chains that bind
When the wires are invisible?
We can only be happy for so long
It's hard to be happy when its gone
Illuminated by the ego
The mirror's placed deep inside
Reflecting insecurities until there's
Nothing left to hide"
How do we break the chains that bind
When the wires are invisible?
We can only be happy for so long
It's hard to be happy when its gone
Illuminated by the ego
The mirror's placed deep inside
Reflecting insecurities until there's
Nothing left to hide"
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://redkate.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/redkatekc
https://www.facebook.com/RedKateKC
https://twitter.com/RedKateKC
Red Kate is a no bullshit, class conscious punk rock & roll band from Kansas City, MO. For more than a decade the band has expressed its DIY ethic through multiple LP and 7” releases and by touring across the Midwest, going so far as to create a not-for-profit record label cooperative, Black Site, to help other bands produce vinyl records. With authoritarian narcissists, white supremacy and plain ol’ hate and prejudice again on the rise worldwide, Red Kate’s hard, fast and angry polemics on our current state of affairs are, as the “only band that ever mattered” once put it, a public service announcement…with guitars!
While Red Kate’s lyrical themes may be serious, the band has always believed a message is best received while having a good time. Singer/bassist L. Ron Drunkard and drummer Andrew Whelan lay down solid, danceable grooves and catchy hooks, while guitarists Shaun Hamontree on rhythm and newest member Mike Campbell on lead maintain that classic fierce tube-driven tone that tips a cap to the beer soaked barroom floors of 70s British Pub-Rock, Australian proto-punk and modern post-punk noise that has since taken root in Midwest dive bars and basements. Hard working both on and off the stage, the band’s locale has lent its perspective in sound, lyric, and work ethic. Straight off the factory line, Red Kate hearkens back to a time when musicians played hard, stayed up late, and carried a union card.
“Shut It Down”, the first single off the band’s upcoming third album, Exit Strategy, is a blistering, no-holds-barred call to action for the oppressed, marginalized and working class. Written by the band’s former guitar player, Desmond Poirier, “Shut It Down” reminds us that when push comes to shove, the one power the powerless still have is to SHUT! IT! DOWN!
Red Kate released its debut LP, When the Troubles Come, in 2013 on Replay Records in Lawrence, KS. A mix of ‘70s political punk and sardonic “love” songs, the red vinyl pressing with hand-printed and letter-pressed cover art designed by muralist Dave Loewenstein put the band on the map. While recording the album, original lead guitarist, Scot Sperry, left the band and Desmond Poirier stepped into the role. Fan favorites, “Pink Sweater”, “Sooner or Later” and “Union Voice” still frequently make it into the band’s set and are sure to get asses shakin’ on the dance floor.
When the Troubles Come was quickly followed up with a 7” split EP with fellow KC punks The Bad Ideas in 2014. The “wall of fuzz” single “On My Mind”, which would appear on the next album, was sidled up next to a cover of the Naked Raygun classic, “New Dreams”, featuring original guitarist, Scot Sperry, on slide guitar.
In 2016, Red Kate released the critically acclaimed sophomore LP, unamerican activities, the first on its nascent cooperative label, Black Site. The album (and label) name, plus the “redacted” artwork theme by as-yet-to-be guitarist Shaun Hamontree, reflects how daring to question the authority of the social, economic or political hegemony can be considered unpatriotic and disloyal to God and country (and even the corporation). Kicking off with the defiant “You Don’t Speak for Me”, songs from the album ranging from the Pub Rock stylings of “Better” and Nick Lowe’s “Heart of the City” to the old-school hardcore of “I Want You” and “Waited” formed the mainstay of the touring set for years. “You Ought to Know” (about the police killing of Michael Brown) and “Take It Back” (inspired by the story of Mouseland) became the go-to closers to bring the house down.
A 2017 split 7” with Lawrence, KS punks, Stiff Middle Fingers, saw the band push new speed and rhythmic boundaries with the hardcore “Urban Church” and post-punk “Hole”. Later that year, original rhythm guitarist Brad Huhmann departed for greener pastures (seriously, he has goats) and Shaun Hamontree was lured out of musical retirement to take his place.
Shortly thereafter, in 2018, Red Kate issued its last release until now, an old-school 45 rpm ripper, on Kansas City label Too Much Rock. The seventh in the Singles Series paired “Iraqi Girl”, a grinding statement on American foreign policy, with a cover of TSOL’s “American Zone” – a frank indictment of how we treat those sent off to impose that policy. It’s as relevant today as it was in 1984.
After surviving the pandemic and yet another lineup change (Chris Kinsley stepping in for Desmond Poirier), Red Kate returned to the studio to finalize what had now become a years-long project, a new album. Recorded at the band’s mainstay studio, Weights and Measure Soundlab, engineer Duane Trower pulled together tracks recorded over several years, multiple guitar players and two studio locations into the band’s best, most adventurous outing to date.
Barring any further collapse of society (or uprising of AI chat bots), Exit Strategy will be released in the Fall of 2023 on Black Site.
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