My brother used to electrocute fish during the summers. Well, he’d shock them so they’d float to the surface. His boss and he would take samples and they’d make a report on how many got chewed up in the turbines of Hoover Dam. The guy he worked for was a DJ at the local community radio station who had a bluegrass program. Because he was a friend of my brother’s and a nice guy, I’d listen to the show, even though I considered myself a budding punk rocker. Like any sort of genre you listen to from the outside, in the beginning, it all sounded pretty much the same, like it was one band playing the variation of one song for a couple of hours. But I liked to listen to it every couple of months. Fast musical instruments—no matter what they are—tend to keep my interest. After a while, I developed a taste for my favorite types of songs and players, and the music opened up a bit. And so it follows with the Can Kickers. They’re not a band I’ll visit every day; however, a 7” is a perfect length for keeping my full attention—a CD only if I’m fully in the mood. Yet, they sure hit the spot when I want to listen to something where someone’s not yelling at me. Real pleasant, blazingly fast bluegrass and folk played razor-sharp in a way that’s both respectful to those who came before, but lively and full of vim to remind us that all forms of music regardless of how long they’ve been around, if played with heart, is reason enough to keep playing and listening to it.
–todd (Dark Molly, Arkam / Live at Lavazone, Fistolo)