THE KICKSTANDS
One of Beach Boy associate Gary Usher's many surf and hotrod-centric 1960s bands all of which consisted of the same circle of L.A. session players the Kickstands' slant on the genre was, as their name implies, aimed at motorcycle aficionados. Titles like "Devil on Wheels," "Johnny Take Care," and "Haulin' Honda" are clues to the high-octane rock & roll content, while soon-to-be music legends like the guitarist and singer Glen Campbell and the drummer Hal Blaine strut their anonymous, early '60s stuff. There was some formidable talent involved in the sole LP by the studio-only hot rod band the Kickstands, which mixed instrumentals and vocals. Gary Usher and Roger Christian, who wrote material for the Beach Boys and other notable early-'60s Southern Californian surf and hot rod acts, penned a few of the tracks. Guitarist Jerry Cole, drummer Earl Palmer, and saxophonist Steve Douglas, all top Hollywood sessionmen, played on the record. The fact is, however, that this was a hot rod exploitation album, hurriedly recorded while the fad was still on track. As Usher himself remembering: "You have to understand, these albums meant a steady income for the troops. I was trying to funnel as much money into these guys as I could -- the demand was not going to last forever." Accordingly, it's not top-notch hot rod music; it's rather formulaic, though the lyrics (and song titles, in the case of the instrumentals) have a somewhat more rebellious, more ominous streak than most of the tunes in what was usually a fun-loving genre. There's some good growling guitar playing, particularly on the closing instrumental "Scrambler". [AMG] Listen kiddos, if you dig The Hondells Hot Rod/Surfin' stuff you gonna like this. Now Dig!!!
