We went to Memphis last weekend to visit family AND to see Unknown Hinson at the Hitone friday night.
I first discovered Unknown a year or two ago when I heard a song that tickled my funnybone called 'Venus Bound' in which a man sings of visiting Venus since the women there are far superior to his current brand. 'I'm gonna build me a rocket ship/ to go where wormens don't give no lip/ I'm a-blastin' off/ Honey, I'm Venus Bound. ' The songs are truly clever-campy and sophomoric-but really clever and his image as a Rockabilly Vampire tickles me too. His fake sideburns, blackened eybrows and coffin guitar cases coupled w/ his hilarious and off-kilter interviews also made me a fan, I'll admit. Anyway, I guess I had him kind of pegged as a 'novelty' act based on the songs I heard so when I recommended his music to friends, it was usually in homage to his humor.
However, Friday night I was blown away by his guitar ability. He's one of the best guitarists I've ever seen, live. And I realized that the image, lyrics, and hillbilly vocals are just his tongue in cheek way of not taking himself too seriously. If any of you have an oppurtunity to see this guy's act, do yourself a favor and give him a shot. The hilarity of his songs will pale in comparison to the solid musicianship he showcases.
But, until then, why not give 'I'm Not Afraid of Your Husband Baby', 'Polly Urethane', 'Rock n Roll is Straight from Hell', 'Man to Man' (a fuuuuuny kind of 'love song' to an exwife w/ a sex change) or any of 'the king's chart-toppin' hits' a listen? You KNOW you want to.
4 comments:
Rockabilly Vampire? 'Rock and Roll is Straight from Hell"? Sign me up! I haven't seen a good rockabilly concert since I saw The Chop Tops and Reverend Horton Heat at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz, CA back in 2001 or thereabouts.
I'll look this guy up. Of course, the HiTone is in my area. I didn't know they had cool stuff like that. it's what I get for being a West Coast transplant. Still finding my way around.
If you had to miss the party, at least you got a fun concert out of it!
Glad to oblige, my friend. Like I said, most of the stuff on his albums could be termed 'country western swing' with a few Rockabilly pieces thrown in. The show, however, seemed to be enitrely a tribute to his great playing and I almost forgot how much I wanted to hear 'Man to Man' because I was so distracted by his skill.
You gotta see these clips on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2JzN8VQpsk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNdIAbfdQUI
This stuff sounds like it would be hilarious. Where can I hear it? I went to the sites that you listed but I can't really hear what the lyrics are.
Yeah, the clips I listed are an example of his guitar playing and an interview. The interview is hilarious...'kids, avoid the interstate (internet)...' LOL
I am a little ill because I can't find a site that posts his lyrics. However, you can hear clips of the songs on amazon when you type in UNknown Hinson and click on the album "the Future is Unknown".
Also, his myspace page is www.myspace.com/unknownhinson and he's got a website that you can google. I think it's just UnknownHinson.com
p.s. If you watch the undeniably adult cartoon on CartoonNetwork (adult swim) called 'Squidbillies', Unknown is the lead squid, Early. But please don't tell anybody I sent you...(ahem)
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