AUSTIN CHRONICLE'S CRITIC'S CHOICE, BEST OF 2006
Best Reason to Pawn Your Karaoke Machine: The K-Tel Hit Machine
That K-Tel Hit Machine is one of the most beloved bands in originality obsessed Austin should be no surprise to anyone who's seen them do "Hot Legs." Or packed into Antone's for their ELO tribute. Or salivated over their looming "Eighties explosion." What started as a goof among friends has certainly grown – have them quote their fee sometime – but hasn't really changed; it's still a bunch of friends, who happen to be some of Austin's most talented musicians, getting together to jam on songs they all grew up on. The songs may be other people's, but what makes K-Tel so delicious is that they do them with a style all their own.
SKYROCKET! (formerly the K-TEL HIT MACHINE) plays AM gold from the 1970's, mixed with a few edgy album rock favorites from the 80's. This seven-piece band (six male, one female) takes its name from the series of compilation albums advertised on TV in the 70's, and much of the band's repertoire appeared on those records. If you're thinking "classic rock", think again. SKYROCKET! steers virtually clear of typical rock and dance standards driven into the ground by radio and karaoke, and breathes new life into old hits that made you smirk back then and make you howl today. If Jack Black and Jimmy Fallon formed a cover band, this would be it.
What makes SKYROCKET! unique is the fact that its members have all been firmly entrenched in Austin’s original music scene for years. The result is not just a cover act going through the motions, but a professional, street-wise band honoring their craft and heritage and having a ball while they’re at it. Their enthusiasm is infectious.
THE SONGS
ALL OUT OF LOVE – Air Supply
AMERICAN GIRL – Tom Petty
ANY WAY YOU WANT IT – Journey
BABY COME BACK – Player
BAD TIME (to be in love) – Grand Funk Railroad
BOOGIE FEVER – The Sylvers
CALL ME - Blondie
CAN'T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD – ELO
COOL FOR CATS - Squeeze
COULDN'T GET IT RIGHT – Climax Blues Band
COUNT ON ME – Jefferson Starship
DANCING QUEEN -- Abba
DEVIL WOMAN – Cliff Richard
DON'T BRING ME DOWN – ELO
DON'T YOU (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
DO YA -- ELO
DO YA THINK I'M SEXY – Rod Stewart
DO YA WANNA TOUCH ME – Joan Jett
EBONY EYES – Bob Welch
EMOTIONAL RESCUE – Rolling Stones
EVERYBODY WANTS YOU – Billy Squier
EVERYONE'S A WINNER – Hot Chocolate
FAME – David Bowie
FOOLED AROUND & FELL IN LOVE – Elvin Bishop
FOX ON THE RUN – Sweet
GIRLS ON FILM – Duran Duran
GO YOUR OWN WAY – Fleetwood Mac
HEAD OVER HEELS - Tears For Fears
HEARTACHE TONIGHT -- Eagles
HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU – Olivia Newton-John
HOT CHILD IN THE CITY -- Nick Gilder
HOT LEGS – Rod Stewart
I LOVE YOU – Climax Blues Band
I WANNA KISS YOU ALL OVER – Exile
I WANNA ROCK & ROLL ALL NIGHT - Kiss
I WOKE UP IN LOVE – Partridge Family
IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW – Chicago
IT'S A HEARTACHE – Bonnie Tyler
IT'S SO EASY – Linda Ronstadt
IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD (as we know it) - REM
JACKIE BLUE – Ozark Mountain Daredevils
JET – Paul McCartney & Wings
JUST LIKE HEAVEN – the Cure
KING TUT – Steve Martin
KISS - Prince
KNOCK ON WOOD – Aimee Stewart
LIDO SHUFFLE – Boz Scaggs
LOVE IS LIKE A ROCK – Donnie Iris
LOVE IS LIKE OXYGEN – Sweet
MAGIC - Pilot
MAGNET AND STEEL –W. Egan
MISS YOU – The Rolling Stones
MR. BLUE SKY – ELO
NIGHTS ON BROADWAY – The Bee Gees
ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER – The Fixx
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER - Blondie
PHOTOGRAPH – Ringo Starr
PRETTY IN PINK – Psychedelic Furs
RIGHT BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED FROM - Maxine Nightingale
RIGHT DOWN THE LINE – Gerry Rafferty
ROCK AND ROLL ALL NIGHT - KISS
ROCK THE CASBAH - The Clash
S-A-TUR-DAY NIGHT – Bay City Rollers
SAVE IT FOR LATER - The English Beat
SEVEN YEAR ACHE – Rosanne Cash
SHADOW DANCING – Andy Gibb
SHATTERED – Rolling Stones
SHE'S A LADY – Tom Jones
SISTER GOLDEN HAIR - America
SUFFRAGETTE CITY – David Bowie
SURRENDER – Cheap Trick
THE AIR THAT I BREATHE – The Hollies
THE LONG RUN – Eagles
THE MIGHTY QUINN (Quinn the Eskimo) – Manfred Mann
THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED – Paper Lace
THE ONE THING --INXS
THIS IS SPINAL TAP – Selections from the motion picture soundtrack
TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS - Styx
TRAIN IN VAIN – The Clash
TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE – Eddie Money
WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN – The Carpenters
WOMAN – John Lennon
WOULD I LIE TO YOU - Eurythmics
YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE DANCING – Leo Sayer
YOU MAKE MY DREAMS – Hall & Oates
YOUNG AMERICAN -- David Bowie
YOU SHOULD BE DANCING – The Bee Gees
YOU'RE ALL I'VE GOT TONIGHT – The Cars
YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND -- Queen
YOU'RE NO GOOD – Linda Ronstadt
YOU'RE SO VAIN – Carly Simon
YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT – "Grease" the Soundtrack
Last night was SO MUCH FUN! Thanks so much you all! pls keep coming on down to houston often, and speaking of "down" What in the world was everyone doing sqautting on the entire dancefloor? looked like a big love in, hehe! and that Hodgkiss sure did give us "A WHOOOLE LOTTA love!" thought that tangent was gonna kill his vocals--amazing! Can't wait to the next show :)
thank you SOOOOOO much for ending with Tom Petty. i actually came out from behind the bar to shake my ass to it. you guys are fabulous. we haven't see a crowd like that at the Street in awhile! :) looking forward to the next show.
"And it's a teenage sadness everyone has got to taste..."
Ooo, did THAT bring back memories! What's scary is, I remembered every word. (Yeah, I had that LP.)
Another blast from the past was the official Life During Wartime dance. (Here's where I get to say: I was at that Stop Making Sense concert where they all trickled out onstage one by one. I was right in front of the stage and I almost got crushed there when they went into "Burning Down The House" and everybody pushed forward. I had to be lifted out of the crowd by onstage security and I got these bruises on my ribs blah blah blah....) Yeah I'm a frikkin' geezer. But I digress.
ANYway, Saturday night was fabulous, and just the diversion I needed. It was great to hear y'all again and I'll be back in August for sure... (It'll be my birthday celebration, so things could get scary...)
Great show! So much fun! "Brandy" is one of my alltime fave songs and isn't even on your songlist so that was a very pleasant surprise! It was so nice meeting everyone and please come to Houston more often :)
hey everyone!!! tune in tomorrow night for..... Thursday Night @ 9PM PST/Midnight EST May 22, 2008 - Sex, Lust & Rock n' Roll: A Very Special Guest Appearance by Johnny Goudie Johnny Goudie joins LesaMay on ThisIsDeadAir for an intimate conversation that could lead just about anywhere. Don't miss it! http://www. ustream. tv/channel/thisisdeadair
Caught you guys at Cedar street last week. Very impressive. Your attention to detail is scary, and the talent...man, it doesn't get any better. You have a hell of a lineup. Looking forward to more shows. John (Buzzfuel)
Oh how I missed you guys last night! We took your advice and checked out Merkaba Lounge. Bands were great but wow, the audience just wasn't into it at all. It just makes me appreciate you all,and the energy that all us crazy Skyrocket "groupies" bring to the shows. See you at Deutchenfest!
