The Kissers

[usualdog]

Big fans of Shane. Anyone heard them?

http://www.secondsupper.com/Music/Artic ... icleID=247

for those too lazy to read the whole thing here's the bit about Shane . . .

SS: I know you guys were very heavily influenced by the Pogues and Shane McGowan. Who else do you look for as influence, or who do you idolize?
K: Well, collectively there’s not going to be any single band. The Pogues are the most obvious collective influence. It’s going to be a wide range of things. If you ask any band member, you’re going to get a different answer. I’ll try to represent everybody’s taste: The Pixies, Nick Cave, to straight-up rock like Tom Petty. We like a lot of the newer bands that have those middle-eastern sounds like Devushka, The Decemberists, to various bands from the funk and hip-hop genre which you don’t really hear in our music very much. But for some people, that’s kind of where they’re coming from, and that may present itself a little bit more in the future I think.

SS: So I think it’s a miracle that Shane McGowan is still even alive.
K: Yeah, he was supposed to be dead fifteen years ago.

SS: I have a picture of him in my wallet. When do you think he’ll drink himself to death?
K: I don’t deem to speculate on the lifespan of Shane McGowan because so many people have come up wrong when he was supposed to die every year that they said he was supposed to die. He is a musical genius. Lyrically and musically, he’s pretty much a pioneer as far as melding the two genres of rock and Irish music. I would essentially credit the entire modern “Irish rock” scene to Shane McGowan and The Pogues. As far as a lifestyle goes, he’s not a model. What can we say?

SS: It’s really kind of sad, have you seen his DVD, “If I Should Fall From Grace”? It’s sad to see how deteriorated he is as a person, physically not mentally.
K: I agree, but I do question mentally. Because granted he’s 50 now, but as far as I know, he hasn’t put out any new music in at least five years if not more. And his two albums with The Popes I thought were pretty good. They weren’t at the level of The Pogues, but he was almost cutting back and simplifying, especially in his last album “Crock of Gold.” But to me that’s the main tragedy, because obviously I don’t know him personally, I met him and I of course wish him a long life and good health, but I really like his music.

[Captain Kelly's Bollocks]

I'm familiar with the band. I had downloaded their two older albums Fire in the Belly and On A Monday Night. I bought the later album Good Fight! off of itunes. They are definitely a cool band.

[Eric V]

They tour like mad. Always on teh road, and ALL over the USA and probably a bit of Canada. They play regular bars and very small music venues. I like that.

[neilinseattle]

I used to see them regularly when I was in law school in Madison. I also caught them twice in Seattle over the past couple of years.

I recently saw from their myspace site that they just had a change in membership, losing their accordian/keyboard player of the last 5 years or so. I highly recommend them if they are coming your way.

Waylan Nate Paylan is a riot. I especially like his track "West Pacific" from Fire in the Belly. My son rocks out to that song.

[MacRua]

The Kissers say 'Farewell for Now' to Madison in goodbye show at High Noon
The Daily Page
Erica Pelzek
08 June 2008
Much like the inevitable, difficult end of a happy love affair, the farewell performance by The Kissers left its lovers -- an enthusiastic and loyal local fan base -- exhausted, exhilarated and sad. Appropriately enough, the Irish rock band made their goodbyes at the High Noon Saloon, the successor to the original O'Cayz Corral, where they originally made their name with their Pogues covers on Monday nights ten years ago.

Ken Fitzsimmons, singer, bassist, and the only current member from the original iteration of the group, wrote an open letter in early May explaining the decision to call it a decade.

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