- ORANGE HAT, with whom KH played Vox organ for many many many years
- LINDSAY SMITH, whose last CD Kenny produced and played lots o' guitar on
- ZOMBIE BIRDHOUSE, with whom KH did some gigging and touring way back when
- CASPER and the COOKIES - KH was a founding member!
Influences
British Invasion, Garage, Power Pop, ’80s pop. The Who, Cheap Trick, The Beatles, etc. You know what I mean.
Some reviews:
"Kenny Howes’ Lady Friend contains some of the finest tunes the guitar ace has ever committed to tape." - John Borack, Amplifier magazine
"The new Kenny Howes album Lady Friend totally rocks."
- kErrY kOMpOsT, kompost.blogspot.com
"Lady Friend is no-frills pop-rock with traces of glam, indie and garage thrown into the mix...impossible to ignore."
- Kevin Mathews, Going Underground
"Kenny Howes...is an indie power pop classic who straps on his 12-string Rickenbacker and rips up the power pop genre."
- Not Lame Recordings
"Some people get their hands on a Rickenbacker and they start making these really wussy, twangy sounds. Howes puts it through a cranked up class-A amp, hot to a 2" 16 track board...the man first caught my attention at The Troubadour in L.A. a few years ago when he tore the place up on a scorching version of The Who’s "The Seeker" with Pat DiNizio from The Smithereens and an absolutely bashing Clem Burke from Blondie. That’s where he’s coming from...this is SO my cup of tea."
- Corin Ashley, The Big Takeover (Issue 52), July 2003
"Kenny is a star with real panache and an exhilarating live presence."
- Robin Wills, UK magazine Bucketful of Brains (Issue 63), Jan 2003
"Howes digs his old Who and Big Star records and channels that enthusiasm into rousing, unpretentious rock ’n’ roll with a pronounced ’60s and ’70s bounce."
- Steve Dollar, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Although I’d never heard of Kenny Howes until I got [his] compilation of remixed and remastered songs from his first 3 CD’s (all originally on AAJ Records and now out of print); one trip through The Right Idea and I was heading to eBay to try to find the originals...hopefully someone out there will have sense enough to reissue the originals, because this stuff needs to be heard."
- Geoff Melton, In Music We Trust, June 2001
"Weaned on the masters of power pop, Howes’ sound evokes classic artists like The Beatles and The Who while retaining his own identity."
- Bill Holmes, Cosmik.com
"Kenny Howes is my hero. Why? Because he consistently creates music that is evocative of the pop spirit born in the likes of The Beatles and early Who and Kinks while often charging things up with the raucousness of Cheap Trick - and often with reverence for all points in-between...with a past like this, the future can only be bright."
- Claudio Sossi, Shake It Up! , June 2000
"The songs are smart and just the slightest bit familiar, even if you have never heard them before."
- babysue magazine, June 2000 issue
"It’s no wonder this guy has become a favorite among pop music reviewers across the country. I can’t figure out why a record company has not signed this fellow, as his material is eons better than most of the pop slop that comes into this office..."
- babysue magazine, September 1998 issue
"Rickenbacker-wielding pop star Kenny Howes is a talent deserving your ear time. "
- Bill Holmes, Consumable
"...an innocent and delightful tribute to an age when pop meant popular, and choruses were meant for singing along to."
- Hal Horowitz, Atlanta Press
"When Howes hits his mark, i.e. a bullseye on the perfect pop target, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be selling as many records as Evan Dando or Matthew Sweet."
- FOCUS magazine, June 1995
"These songs are honest and memorable."
- MOON magazine, May 1995
"Howes offers personal glimpses with a simple delivery and refined songwriting talent...infectious progressions that are both meaningful and frivolous, in a variety of sonic settings."
- JAM magazine, April 1995
"Howes is good at what he does, and it’s obviously a labor of love."
- JAM, March 1996
Kenny Howes writes songs, makes and produces records, and jumps and kicks on stage. He’s from the South, but now he’s in the West. He fully embraces his influences yet constantly redefines his own musical guidelines. He continues to carry the torch for traditional power-pop and rock-n-roll while eschewing the trappings of the form. Reverent, yes. Copycat? No!!!
He just wants to rock.
Like what you’ve heard here? You can buy Kenny Howes CDs at CD Baby, you know.
Seems like your Rickenbacker fetish is as pronounced as mine. I play a Stratocaster and a Rickenbacker twelve-string in the video below, but on the record, the six-string is a Rickenbacker. I just wasn't about to take it out on the streets.
Cheers Kenny, like your stuff. Watched a couple of the youtube vids with Charles Bronson on bass..:). I spoke to you on the phone last year on another matter, yer a gentleman, regards DP
I just heard you were playing the Knitting Factory from a guy I dont know sitting next to me at Carroll St.I topld him to tell you something awfull,in jest,nbow I regret it....perhaps he wont.Or maybe not....hmmmm.....have great fun at the gig.Sounds great. hope all is well-Jim
Hey Kenny! I just picked up the beautiful new Church CD, "Untitled # 23" and I was very happy to see them give you a shout-out! Marty is my fave guitarist. Keep kicking ass & stay in good health!
Hey Kenny Thanks for getting back to us, sad your not going to be at Glastonbury. Maybe catch you, if we get famous and play in the States. Keep in touch. Have a good weekend
Been listening to US lately...goddamn dude, you KILLED in that band, guitar and vocally. I love that section of "Harmless Sex" -- after the little bass-solo breaks -- where we all locked into some stupid-deep rawk groove.
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