Little Kings

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Baby Walks By

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Released: Jan 1, 1986

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Baby Walks By
3:04
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Lost Highway
2:55
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Dead Dog Man
3:19
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Choke On It
2:14
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Dirty Pool
2:37
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Total Plays: 5,686 / Plays Today: 1See All Featured ►

General Info

Genre: Punk / Rock
Location LOS ANGELES, California, US
Profile Views: 15031
Last Login: 3/26/2012
Member Since 2/22/2008
Website <mspmb allowScriptAccess="never" src="http://lads.
Record Label Epitaph
Type of Label Indie
Bio
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ....I CONFESS.. live at the ..SCREAM.. by French TV show called ..MusicCalifornia.. ; circa 1986-1987; Ripped from a VHS, and it shows!.. .. .. .. .. .. .... DIRTY POOL.. by ..Modi Frank.. featuring the lovely ..Iris Berry.... .. .. .. .. .. ....LOST HIGHWAY, DUDES SOUNDTRACK.... .. .. .. .. .. .. html> .. .. ..The Los Angeles club scene was in lousy shape in the mid 1980’s. The original punk scene had morphed into either hardcore slamfests or moody post-punk wrist cutting. The labels had picked the scene clean of the better bands, putting them on the road or the shelf. Safe new-wave acts clogging the nightspots. Too many dance clubs like: ”The Veil”, with guys dressing like Peter Pan. Hollywood was ripe for an explosion. .. ..Out from the streets of Austin, TX, came two men. Charlie Sexton came to L.A., to find fame and fortune, and Nick Ferrari left Texas for undisclosed reasons, ending up at Disgraceland’s doorstep. .. ..They met up with Bernie Bernstein, who had been the singer for The Daggerz, at The Soundcheck, Baba’s open-mike nightclub on Sunset and Vine. Bernie’s girlfriend, Karen “Raggirl” Miller, knew Chris Bailey, who had been trolling the scene for a few years, drumming for the Iggystyle punk band “The Vidiots”, and fake-jazz bebop blues combo “Phast Phreddie and Thee Precisions”, as well as the Grand Poobah of the Loyal Order of the Water Buffalo... ..They started rehearsing at Hully-Gully, the infamous low-rent studios in Frogtown, with the original bass player, Thad. Like any new band, they played any bill they could find. Since Charlie was busy with his label deal, Chris recruited fellow Water Buffalo Gore Verbinski from Rik L. Rik’s band. Not long after, the band decided that Thad needed to go, and Gore imported Tommy Wright from San Diego. The new lineup took Hollywood by storm. In a short time, the band was headlining weekend gigs, helping to revive the live rock scene in L.A. with their loyal friend/ fan base. Their regular haunts were, in no order, Dobb’s Raji’s, Anti-Club, Beachie’s Music Machine, Dayle Gloria’s the Scream, The Roxy, The Whisky, The Palace, Brendan Mullen’s Club Lingerie, The Country Club, John Anson Ford Theatre, The Watering Hole, Belly Up, The Palamino, The Stone (Frisco), Coconut Teaser, Al's Bar, Bogart's, White Trash, etc….. ....LIVE STUFF:.. The Little Kings split bills with bands like: Charlie Sexton (of course), X, Lone Justice, Lords of the New Church, Georgia Satellites, Dave Alvin, Tex and the Horseheads, Junkyard, Little Caesar, Fishbone, Jane’s Addiction, L.A. Guns, Billy Zoom, Guns N Roses, Faster Pussycat, Lime Spiders, The late great Richard Berry, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Unforgiven, Raunch Hands, Wendy O Williams & the Plasmatics, TSOL, The Hangmen, Thelonious Monster, Lions & Ghosts, Youth Brigade, The Sea Hags, Legal Weapon, Blood on the Saddle, Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs, Screamin' Sirens, Dream Syndicate, Leaving Trains, etc... .... DISCS AND STUFF:.. ..HEADFIRST CD/LP EPITAPH RECORDS 1989.. .."HAVE LOVE WILL TRAVEL" 12"ep(45RPM) W/ STIV BATORS BOMP RECORDS 1987.. ..L.A. CONFIDENTIAL/ STIV BATORS BOMP Reissue on CD.. .."LOST HIGHWAY" DUDES SOUNDTRACK MCA RECORDS 1987.. .."LOST HIGHWAY", "DIRTY POOL", "DEAD DOG MAN" DUDES FILM SOUNDTRACK VISTA FILMS/ PENELOPE SPHEERIS 1987.... .. ..
Members
..Bernie Bernstein, Vocals.. Gore Verbinski, Guitar.. Nick Ferrari, Guitar.. Tommy Wright, Bass.. Chris Bailey, Drums..
Influences
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Sounds Like
.. ....Amazon.com CD review.. .. SOMEBODY REISSUE THIS DAMMIT!, December 31, 2007 By Shlomo Sinatra (Alaska) -.... ..The Little Kings LP was one I listened to CONSTANTLY back in '89, and '90. As years went by I felt some of the lyrics dumb, but now I feel I was mistaken; sure there are lines in I Wanna Die Like Elvis Did that aren't exactly words to live by, but what to expect from the title?.. .. I recently realized what I've been missing out on for ages here; a great rock 'n' roll band, closer to punk (for those who wanted to label them "metal', that's not only absurd, but Bernie Bernstein (WHAT a NAME!!) said in Bam magazine in Nov. '89 that Social Distortion and The Cramps were their heroes (oddly, he said "were" back Then). .. ..So, with roots steeped in punk (dig the Pistols-copped opening to the fantasic, brutal "I Confess"). High energy is the name of the game here, except for the dreadful bum note on here, the sole dud, "Creep", which oddly was apparently their set closer! It was considered a highlight by some of their fans; I can't see why, I guess you had to be there. Great layered guitars on this well-produced album, with TONS of backing and harmony vocals. Reminds me of...nobody in particular, is the odd thing. Something about Bernie reminds me of the Dead Boys, but the sound really ain't there. .. ..The guitar leads are very tasteful, which is appropriate for a band basing their sound on punk, even if this ain't what would be considered a Punk sound. The songs might sound different if they had the sound that say, Dirty Pool had in the movie "Dudes". Really fantastic and addictive tunes. Also REALLY vicious! .. ..I Confess, In Cold Blood, and best of all, Hard To Tell are all really aginst that woman who is going to get a comeuppence of sorts, with murder fantasies prevalent in the latter two; not to take serious, but the songs' violent sounds are a nice release indeed!;.. .. the Stones-like guitar in Hard To Tell, with lines like "let me wipe the tears from your eys and look as if I care". And lyrics that well, let's just say Goodbye to yer teenage dream for ONCE and FOR ALL, she was and IS no good anyway, now WAS she? No.... FORGET HER FOREVER. .. ..In Cold Blood? "no-one can love you...anymore!" I Confess is about stepping out on a real 'witch', great-- "it's a whole damn nation reday for seduction", "know all the girls around", ha ha! The final line in it is simply "the icing on the cake" for those who feel f---ed around by some worthless tease. .. ..The type of chick celebrated in Dirty Pool! A real sl--. (Funny, the biggest fan of these guys I knew was this really cool chick, we both had all, ALL the lyrics memorized to the Gun Club's Fire Of Love LP, which may have been an influence here, yes, especially in the lyrics being unafraid to address the type of fantasies most wouldn't touch for fear of retribution from critics etc., for how dare think such things--but EVERYBODY does at some time or other. Even real saints walking around feel this way sometimes. .. ..Get Your Gun is a tale of a Really unhinged individual -- the noises in the old house are getting to this guy, yknow? :"I hope they don't try to get me" (!!?); "well if they try to get some of it--they're gonna get it ALL!" Ha ha, BRILLIANT! Very clever lyrics abound on this disc. .. ..I Wanna Die Like Elvis Did has some choice lines too -- "I want my own army, don't wanna talk to no-one"; "I lock myself in room; I got no problems at all", great! Perfect for us anti-social people. (It's also quite aware of the truth that Elvis did have OH, some problems...) .. ..There's a couple of decent fast-paced numbers on here, Choke On It, and the title track, but this band seemed to excel when at a slower pace, although there is something charming about "I HOPE YA CHOKE ON IT!" C'mon, who Hasn't felt that way! Excellent album, in DIRE need of being re-issued, and remastered too would be nice, but hell, just release it again! The prices this runs now are INSANE! This should be easily available, for except the closer, this is ONE HELL of an album! I wonder what happened to all the songs recorded for 'Dudes'...and the demos they were supposedly working on much later than this album... .. ..Great guitars (Nick Ferrari, ha ha ha! --that's a joke folks! That was Latka's alter-ego on Taxi! A real lady-killer swinger!) (the names here hint that these guys and this album ain't exactly preoccupied with realism!) Gregor Verbinski can't be a real name, can it? And Bernie Bernstein --the KING! (of what, I have NO idea...) Fantastic, really. Completely addictive. I love this album. .... ..http://www.amazon.com/review/R1ISS6YH5WK8HM/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm.. ......The Little Kings rant n rave review.... ..It is easy to think of the music scene in LA in the 80’s only in terms of the dreadful, talentless hair metal bands that rec’d all of the press at the time. But there was an amazing, exciting, and thriving underground scene that was packed with incredible bands all throughout that decade... ..Besides some of the best 60’s influenced bands in the country (Unclaimed, Untold Fables, Beguiled, Miracle Workers, etc), there were tons of fantastic r’n’r bands – Redd Kross, Celebrity Skin, Tex and the Horseheads, Screamin’ Sirens, Blood on the Saddle, X, the Blasters, Hangmen and many more, including this group, the Little Kings.The Little Kings The Little Kings .. ..It is easy to think of the music scene in LA in the 80’s only in terms of the dreadful, talentless hair metal bands that rec’d all of the press at the time. But there was an amazing, exciting, and thriving underground scene that was packed with incredible bands all throughout that decade... ..Besides some of the best 60’s influenced bands in the country (Unclaimed, Untold Fables, Beguiled, Miracle Workers, etc), there were tons of fantastic r’n’r bands – Redd Kross, Celebrity Skin, Tex and the Horseheads, Screamin’ Sirens, Blood on the Saddle, X, the Blasters, Hangmen and many more, including this group, the Little Kings... ..These cats popped out of nowhere, blazed their way through LA, recorded an album for Sympathy and then disappeared! I know that the drummer also played with – the also excellent, though very different – Phast Phreddie and Thee Precisions, but otherwise, I don’t believe that I ever saw anyone from this band before or after... ..And that is a shame, because this is one red-hot rockin’ slab of vinyl (and yes, it is just vinyl – this was before the CD revolution)! They leap out of the starting gate with “Head First”, which tells you immediately what this band is all about – machine-gun drums, loud guitar riffs, great leads, and songs about the proverbial sex, drugs, and r’n’r. This sound would be right at home with the current punk’n’roll crowd, tho the Kings leaned a little more on the “roll” than the “punk”, I’d say. Bernie, the singer, was seriously one of the oddest leaders of a r’n’r band ever. Goofy-looking, wearing big plastic-framed glasses, super tall and so skinny that I honestly wondered how he was able to get all the tattoos that he had on his arms – they looked so thin that it seems like the tat needles would go right through them!.. ..But they could write real songs! Great sing-a-long/chant-a-long tunes with titles like “Dirty Pool”, “Choke on It” and “I Wanna Die Like Elvis Did” (“don’t wanna be a bald old man, wanna live as fast as I can, I wanna die like elvis did, with my face on the floor and a girl in my bed”), and they weren’t afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves, as with the Sex Pistols steals in “I Confess”... ..I tend to think of these guys are a consummate LA band of the time - hedonistic r’n’r with style! Most of the real r’n’r scene was made up of people who dressed like rockers (in one fashion or another), partied together, often lived together, sometimes slept together. We were all just hanging on, living in crappy neighborhoods, and surviving just for the music. This album basically sounds like the best and the worst of the times!.... ..http://rnrrantsnraves.blogspot.com/2006/06/little-kings.html..