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The Touchdowns and Velvet Freeze
Preview by Danny Alexander
Hobson's Choice may be the headliner, but there are at least two good
reasons to hit the April 5th Zone Monday show early, probably 9:00.
The first is the Velvet Freeze CD release party. This KCMO band's debut
release is a rich, hour-long 15 song cd, *Nectarine*--eclectic enough to
move from funk to retro-soul balladry to hard rock balladry and
psychedelia, musically accomplished enough to make each transition
convincing. I'm eager to put a face with this band and see how well the
mix gels live.
But the other great reason to hit the show early is to check out the Iola,
Kansas high school band, the Touchdowns. Their EP, recorded and mixed by
Ed Rose, is an intriguing blend of haunted, spare rock with surreal, edgy
lyrical imagery. Standing for either Iola High School or the lyric "I hate
school" (or, most likely both) the album's most direct lyric, "I.H.S."
throws the rest of the record into relief. It describes teenagers who are
discouraged from thinking for themselves, prey to racist thugs and too
smart to stand the daily hypocrisy of their prison. "My own principal
likes guns/He likes guns . . . I hate guns!" cries the singer before a
huge, wall of guitar fights back.
And what small town highschooler can't get behind the refrain? "No, we
don't use profanity/No, we don't wear offensive clothing/But we can keep a
gun in our car/ Hell, yeah!"
--Danny Alexander
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