Minnesota rock in it’s purest form is what Kung Fu Hippies are aiming at – and on today’s song ‘Days Gone By‘ they certainly achieve it. An infectious number, likely to spark thoughts of bands like Love through the chunky rhythms and the displaced thoughts and actions captured in the lyrics – where we find Brad Ray singing “had some breakfast for dinner / dinner for lunch / really ate nothing at all.” What’s causing this mixed up confusion which also finds him surprised that he “washed all my food.” Hey, man, we were all doing that just a few years ago…but what’s really causing the distress is that you – yes you – have treated him badly, and you know what? He’d never have done that to you. Something to think about as Frank Leonovich leads into his mid-song guitar solo.
As shown in the photo above the band are (from left to right) Brad Ray, Buzz Chopper, Geofford Prettner, Mark ‘Munchie’ Collins, Chad Whittaker and Frank Leonovich. The new album from Kung Fu Hippies, ‘North‘, is out tomorrow and sees the band picking up the pace again after five years which included such issues as cancer battles, motorcycle accidents, addiction rehab and that pandemic. ‘North‘ also acts as something to mark the band’s silver anniversary of existence – no mean feet in itself.
Here is the first original single release of 2021 from the Minneapolis-based Kung Fu Hippies. Their homegrown brand of Americana rock is infectious, with a rhythmic acoustic strum and strong percussion and bass lines driving the song on. The self-styled 'Spaghetti Northern' is designed to bring a little happiness and…
Original Outlaw Country era survivor revisits songs written on the global hippy trail. The story of Daniel Antopolsky’s friendship with Townes Van Zandt and his brief but formative time at the emergence of what became known as Outlaw Country has already been featured in AUK. These days Antopolsky lives a…
Rachel Sermanni's latest album on navigator Records is called 'Dreamer Awake' and it was released last Friday. 'Big Desire', from that album, is the most recent single and comes via an unusual route being written after a Yoga Nidra (a meditation derived from ancient practices). The inspiration for the track…
Sure, I could climb high in a tree, or go to Skye on my holiday. I could be happy. All I really want is the excitement of first hearing The Byrds, the amazement of decades of Dylan's music, or the thrill of seeing a band like The Long Ryders live. That's not much to ask, is it?
