Kid Congo Powers
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Kid Congo Powers | |
---|---|
Birth name | Brian Tristan |
Born | La Puente, California, United States |
March 27, 1959
Genres | Post-punk, alternative rock, garage rock |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, |
Instruments | Guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals |
Years active | 1979–present |
Labels | Mute |
Associated acts | The Gun Club, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Cramps, The Divine Horsemen, Congo Norvell, Kid Congo Powers and the Pink Monkey Birds |
Website | Official website |
Notable instruments | |
Squier guitar[1] |
Kid Congo Powers is the stage name of Brian Tristan (born March 27, 1959),[2] an American rock guitarist and singer, best known as a member of The Gun Club, The Cramps and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He has also played with The Divine Horsemen, The Angels of Light and Die Haut.[3]
As of January 2015, Powers' primary musical project is the band The Pink Monkey Birds,[4]
Contents
Early life
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Born in La Puente, California, Powers is a second generation Mexican American. In 1976, he was president of The Ramones fan club, then ran a fanzine for The Screamers.
Music
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1979–1987: The Gun Club and The Cramps
After traveling to London and New York City he returned to L.A. and in 1979 met Jeffrey Lee Pierce.[5] Pierce taught him to play guitar using open tuning, and they formed The Creeping Ritual, which became The Gun Club.[2] Powers left that group before their recording debut, instead joining New York-based band The Cramps in December 1980.[2][6]
Powers rejoined the Gun Club briefly in 1983,[7] touring with Pierce's band in Australia the following year,[8] and then again between 1985 and 1988.[9]
1988–1996: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Powers joined Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in Berlin, Germany, around 1988 for several albums and corresponding tours.[2] Powers recorded the Tender Prey and The Good Son albums with Cave and his band, and he said in early 2015 that he "loved" the "primaeval element of rock'n'roll" that they had a firm grasp of.[8]
1997–2009: JLP tribute albums, The Pink Monkey Birds and Dracula Boots
For his next project, The Pink Monkey Birds, Powers initially collaborated with New York City guitarist Jack Martin,[4] who he has also collaborated with for the Congo Norvell and Knoxville Girls projects.[10][11] Then, in 2009, Powers recruited Kiki Solis on bass, Ron Miller on drums, and Jesse Roberts on guitar and keyboards. The band moved to In The Red Records and released the much acclaimed debut studio album, Dracula Boots,[12] which was called a "return to form."[13]
Dracula Boots was coproduced by Jason Ward and recorded in a former high school gymnasium in Harveyville, Kansas, which is now an artists' retreat called "The Harveyville Project." Dracula Boots consists of numerous genres, including southern soul, 60s Chicano rock, and psychedelic imagery. British magazine N.M.E. wrote: "In short, on Dracula Boots Kid Congo Powers has once again found the juicy jugular of soul-fired, funked-up rock’n’roll. You’d be foolish not to take a bite."[citation needed]
2010–present: Gorilla Rose
In 2011, Kid Congo and The Pink Monkey Birds released their sophomore album, Gorilla Rose, which was also on the In The Red Records label. Eamon Carr of The Dublin Evening Herald said of Gorilla Rose, "Having a working band is paying off. Gorilla Rose elevates seedy go-go weirdness to the level of high art."[citation needed]
Powers returned to Australia for the first time in 25 years—when he toured with Cave's Bad Seeds project—at the end of January 2015. The band played at Melbourne's "Summersalt Festival" and the Sydney Festival.[8] In a promotional interview for the Australian shows, Powers spoke in regard to his new band:
I think the Pink Monkey Birds conjures up all the best aspects of primal rock'n'roll ... Lyrically, I'm speaking in images, and from a very skewed viewpoint, whatever the subject may be. I still have the passion and the incentive to make music that's different, but still within the confines of a punk rock language people will know and understand.[8]
Selected discography
- 1981 The Cramps - Psychedelic Jungle
- 1984 The Cramps - Smell of Female
- 1984 The Gun Club - The Las Vegas Story
- 1987 The Gun Club - Mother Juno
- 1990 The Gun Club - Pastoral Hide and Seek
- 1991 The Gun Club - Divinity EP
- 1985 The Fur Bible EP
- 1988 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Tender Prey
- 1990 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Good Son
- 1988 Barry Adamson - Moss Side Story
- 1998 Mark Eitzel - Caught in a Trap and I Can't Back Out 'Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby
- 2005 Kid Congo Powers - Solo Cholo
- 2006 Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds - Philosophy and Underwear
- 2006 Madrugada - Live at Oslo Spektrum [DVD]
- 2009 Kid Congo and The Pink Monkey Birds - Dracula Boots
- 2011 Kid Congo and The Pink Monkey Birds - Gorilla Rose
- 2013 Kid Congo and The Pink Monkey Birds - Haunted Head
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 25, 41, 359
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Marszalek, Julian (2009) "Kid Congo Powers Pays Tribute to Mentors", Spinner, 30 November 2009, retrieved 2010-01-30
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
- Articles with hCards
- Articles using small message boxes
- Articles with unsourced statements from February 2015
- American indie rock musicians
- American blues guitarists
- American rock guitarists
- Punk blues musicians
- The Cramps members
- 1961 births
- Living people
- American musicians of Mexican descent
- Musicians from Los Angeles County, California
- People from La Puente, California
- 20th-century American musicians
- 21st-century American musicians
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds members