From Carrie Rapaport :
I was introduced to the whole Kiss or Kill scene by my then-drummer, Mista John Montgomery. John would come back into the studio on Wednesdays, reeling from nights at the Echo. He'd marvel at the great bands that were there, the cool vibe and the fact that it wasn't the "typical" LA scenesters. After weeks of hearing him describe the goings-on, I decided to accompany him. To Punk Rock Prom, no less. Vahe played acoustically that night...The Randies...and I was introduced during that show to the musical awesomeness that is the one-and-only Porterville.
As I stood there and watched for the first time, unable to keep still for more than a few seconds at most, I looked around to see everyone else dancing crazily, as well. "WOW! No one is self-conscious here!" I thought. "No one is putting up a front of being 'too cool'!"
And what was this?!?!? An entire crowd of people shoving and pushing and dancing onstage with Bang Sugar Bang??? "In Heaven, there is no beeeeer...." No pretention. No "I'm afraid I'll look dumb"...I lost myself to the music, met some great people, and made it a point to start coming back.
OK. No more Echo.
Time for Safari Sam's. WOW! What a kickass venue THAT was! Many evenings I could be found at KoK, rocking out to great bands, and having the time of my life as I shared the stage with so many other fantastic acts.
Here is the most CLASSIC example of what Kiss or Kill was about. And I don't mean the whole "come early/stay late" thing, although that's wonderful.
I'm talking about the INTEGRITY of musicians and music lovers...I remember playing the Sunset Junction show at El Cid. Gaby Godhead had his guitars stolen by some jerkoff who decided to sneak in through the back door. We were in a panic, as Cakecutter was going to be onstage in about an hour. Matt Southwell of Bang Sugar Bang PROMPTLY, without a moment's hesitation, offered use of his Telecaster to Gaby, knowing FULLY WELL that, within a period of the 40-minute set, drool, sweat, face makeup, and God-knows-what-else would be SMEARED across that thing. The show went off without a hitch, I remember rocking out on Joe Dana's very capable shoulders, singing and screaming and yelling as he carted me through the El Cid dining room...everyone smacking my ass as I passed by. Good times, indeed. It turned catastrophe into something SPECIAL.
About 2 weeks later, everyone came together, and Johnny and Siria organized a fundraiser to attempt to replace Gaby's stolen guitars. You know, the money wasn't even the thing. It, again, was about musicians (and, more importantly, FRIENDS) coming together in tough times. Come on, we're all MUSICIANS. Who hasn't been through issues in the past? Just showed, again, that musicians, though we may be dirty, poor, sometimes unemployed, tired and embittered, can also be the embodiment of TRUE CLASS.
Awesome-ist moments:
1. Watching the Chicago-based She's Your Sister was amazingly pivotal for me, because they appeared to do everything so EFFORTLESSLY and were STILL smiling and singing along to their own lyrics.
2. Pu$$yCow? ALWAYS a fantabulous time. Seeing the back of Colin Dana's head bouncing around always made me smile...and Mike Schnee's (oops...I mean Chissum Worthington) videos on MySpace were some of the best examples of fantastic band promotion I could ever think of.
3. Jason Pancake giving his solemn 2 cents about some of the better bands...
4. Siria ALWAYS smiling and willing to engage in some "girl talk"
5. Andy making the thinnest Santa ever, but STILL giving great Ho-Ho-Hugs.
6. Standing outside between bands, laughing, smiling, and hugging everyone.
All-in-all, it was a scene to be remembered.
Thank you Kiss or Kill. You made me smile.
Carrie Rapaport
singer, Cakecutter
I was introduced to the whole Kiss or Kill scene by my then-drummer, Mista John Montgomery. John would come back into the studio on Wednesdays, reeling from nights at the Echo. He'd marvel at the great bands that were there, the cool vibe and the fact that it wasn't the "typical" LA scenesters. After weeks of hearing him describe the goings-on, I decided to accompany him. To Punk Rock Prom, no less. Vahe played acoustically that night...The Randies...and I was introduced during that show to the musical awesomeness that is the one-and-only Porterville.
As I stood there and watched for the first time, unable to keep still for more than a few seconds at most, I looked around to see everyone else dancing crazily, as well. "WOW! No one is self-conscious here!" I thought. "No one is putting up a front of being 'too cool'!"
And what was this?!?!? An entire crowd of people shoving and pushing and dancing onstage with Bang Sugar Bang??? "In Heaven, there is no beeeeer...." No pretention. No "I'm afraid I'll look dumb"...I lost myself to the music, met some great people, and made it a point to start coming back.
OK. No more Echo.
Time for Safari Sam's. WOW! What a kickass venue THAT was! Many evenings I could be found at KoK, rocking out to great bands, and having the time of my life as I shared the stage with so many other fantastic acts.
Here is the most CLASSIC example of what Kiss or Kill was about. And I don't mean the whole "come early/stay late" thing, although that's wonderful.
I'm talking about the INTEGRITY of musicians and music lovers...I remember playing the Sunset Junction show at El Cid. Gaby Godhead had his guitars stolen by some jerkoff who decided to sneak in through the back door. We were in a panic, as Cakecutter was going to be onstage in about an hour. Matt Southwell of Bang Sugar Bang PROMPTLY, without a moment's hesitation, offered use of his Telecaster to Gaby, knowing FULLY WELL that, within a period of the 40-minute set, drool, sweat, face makeup, and God-knows-what-else would be SMEARED across that thing. The show went off without a hitch, I remember rocking out on Joe Dana's very capable shoulders, singing and screaming and yelling as he carted me through the El Cid dining room...everyone smacking my ass as I passed by. Good times, indeed. It turned catastrophe into something SPECIAL.
About 2 weeks later, everyone came together, and Johnny and Siria organized a fundraiser to attempt to replace Gaby's stolen guitars. You know, the money wasn't even the thing. It, again, was about musicians (and, more importantly, FRIENDS) coming together in tough times. Come on, we're all MUSICIANS. Who hasn't been through issues in the past? Just showed, again, that musicians, though we may be dirty, poor, sometimes unemployed, tired and embittered, can also be the embodiment of TRUE CLASS.
Awesome-ist moments:
1. Watching the Chicago-based She's Your Sister was amazingly pivotal for me, because they appeared to do everything so EFFORTLESSLY and were STILL smiling and singing along to their own lyrics.
2. Pu$$yCow? ALWAYS a fantabulous time. Seeing the back of Colin Dana's head bouncing around always made me smile...and Mike Schnee's (oops...I mean Chissum Worthington) videos on MySpace were some of the best examples of fantastic band promotion I could ever think of.
3. Jason Pancake giving his solemn 2 cents about some of the better bands...
4. Siria ALWAYS smiling and willing to engage in some "girl talk"
5. Andy making the thinnest Santa ever, but STILL giving great Ho-Ho-Hugs.
6. Standing outside between bands, laughing, smiling, and hugging everyone.
All-in-all, it was a scene to be remembered.
Thank you Kiss or Kill. You made me smile.
Carrie Rapaport
singer, Cakecutter
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