Hipshot Killer All The Hell In The World B/W Sky Flying By Too Much Rock 2016

Hipshot Killer All The Hell In The World B/W Sky Flying By Too Much Rock 2016 CAT #No 005

Hipshot Killer is a three piece punk band drawing heavily from the dirtier side of late-70's power-pop. The band has been performing since 2009, but LONG before that band members Mike Alexander and Chris Wagner were in the The Revolvers together, In addition, Wagner and a one-time Hipshot Killer drummer were in The Breakups.  These guys are old now and probably have kids and stuff. Those bands were 20 years ago. But, to their credit, the years look good on them, they've gotten a wiser, they've grown out of simplicity of old Descendants records and stretched out musically. They still wear Chuck Taylors, though. Seriously, drop that, you'll be confused for a Kelly Clarkson fan.

Even in their Chucks, they're a bit tougher and got some power-pop hooks to go along with their punk rock chords. They've released a full length and this new 7" represents the 5th in a series of singles put out by Too Much Rock. As stated previously, Sid at Too Much Rock puts out the singles provided the band does a song of his choosing. The band gets all benefits and the records, Sid just helps out local music. For this release, Hipshot Killer was given the early 90's proto-emo song, Sky Flying By" by Samiam. For Hipshot Killer, it's an easy task and they remain true to the original track which was likely a song that influenced the Breakups way back when.

The original tune by the band, "All The Hell in the World," wins the award for best song title of the year. It's got 90's teenage angst, but finds adulthood in the end. The track builds up with guitars until it blows up into a singalong, but the lyrics have a lot more in common with a Bruce Springsteen song than the typical 'damn the man' punk-rock anthem.

The single will be released 10/21 at local record stores. The band will be performing live 10/22 at Mills Records and again on 10/25 at Davey's Uptown. A Lawrence show is in the works. If you search you can find a stream of "All The Hell in the World", but the B-side is off limits unless you happen upon on it on the radio or buy the single.

https://hipshotkiller.bandcamp.com/
Check out the A-Side

Breakups/Sex Offenders Split 7" Wound Up Records 1995

Breakups/Sex Offenders Split 7" Wound Up Records 1995 No Cat#

This is some mid-90's teen punk from the Kansas City area put out by Wound Up Records. The bands, The Sex Offenders and the Breakups, by appearance appear virtually identical, they took a photo in the same place, they kind of look the same, and they recorded at the same place (Red House Studios).

They do manage to separate themselves from each other with their respective sound. For one, the Sex Offenders feature a female singer that can swear with the best of them. The first track on their side, "40oz", manages to drop the F-bomb over a dozen times in what must be less than a minute long track. The Sex Offenders also take a more hardcore approach to their punk rock than the Breakups. They fall somewhere between the 80's suburban punk scene and DC, they'd probably like to be more DC, but they weren't good enough players.

The Breakups take a much more traditional punk approach, almost falling back on a really early Social Distortion sound. They're certainly punk damaged, but the underlying sound is still basic rock n' roll, just speed up and simplified. They aren't trying to break down the walls like the Sex Offenders.

NH band on Wound Up, the Tunnel Rats

But, the key to both bands is that they represent an honest attempt at punk rock. There were two teenage scenes in KC; the snotty suburban kids that took their cues from popular acts like Green Day and the short lived ska-revival and on the opposite side, the suburban kids that desperately wanted to be gutter punks that found Bad Religion and went backwards in time to get to the good stuff. They waved the DIY flag and had their parents never bought them a Honda, they would've liked Crass more. These kids represented that better side. In fact, the Sex Offenders were so punk rock, they went out of their way to give some, "No Thanx To" on their side of the lyric sheet by calling out the lamest teen punk bands in the 90s KC scene, the Gadgets.

The label, Wound Up Records, attempted to make a go at it in the mid-90's releasing multiple 7"s and a
cassette comp. They even attempted to get a roster with out-of-towners (featured to the side, but not discussed, because they're not local...).

The Sex Offenders 

The Get Up Kids Woodson B/W Second Place Doghouse 1997

The Get Up Kids Woodson B/W Second Place Doghouse CAT #DOG-045

The fans now refer to this early release as 'All Stars' or the 'Woodson EP', however I believe it's just a self-titled 7". The artwork appears on a CD EP that also featured two extra tracks that are found on the 'Love Teller' 7".

On CD is the way the tunes first came to me. I had the early 7", but was in my senior year of high school when this was released. This was a big deal, the band's first release for a record label that wasn't their own. Friends of the band had been waiting forever for the real-deal. I remember the day it came out, I was working at Schnucks on Murlen in Olathe, Kansas, as an after school job. My friend Donald busted into the backroom with it screaming at me, "It's here! I got your copy!"

As soon as we could, Donald and I ran out to a car to put it in the CD player. It was so fucking great... There wasn't any pre-conceived notions of what emo should sound like, what the Get Up Kids were or should be, there was no expectations other than we wanted to hear what our friends had done.

It didn't disappoint. And I still won't take my blinders off for it. It's still fucking great. I could listen to it everyday for the rest of my life. It's that good.

Second Place

Revolvers She's Out Of Your Life Locket Love 1996

Revolvers She's Out Of Your Life Locket Love 1997 CAT# 001

When the SST band, the Descendants, started singing about girls, I don't think they could have predicted the pile of turd pop-punk bands that would take their formula to the Vans Warped Tour and radio by the 1990s. And despite those bands nods to the repetitiveness and speed of the Ramones, they almost all sucked and whined about high school too much despite the fact they were clearly out of it and had dropped out of college by the time their first album was released.

However, despite the MXPXs and NOFXs all around, a solid form of the genre existed all over in teenage garages. Kansas City's Revolvers were that type of band. Despite their obvious moves, when it's recorded in someone's house and done by kids still in their teenage years, it's some of the most honest music out there. The obvious sing-along chorus' carry weight and meaning. The repetitive guitar lines are exhilarating. The songs about teenage heartbreak make you want to cry. And most importantly, the tunes meant something to everyone of their friends and fans attending the shows in shit places like Gee Coffee and someone's basement. The kids were living the experiences with the band. This band meant something to a lot of kids. So despite it's obvious flaws, it's great music and it's a shame this record is almost all but forgotten.

Revolvers Live
Riot on the Plaza Write Up