The Kicks 'Hello Hong Kong' album

Little Rock, Arkansas has given us former President Bill Clinton and one of rock music's legendary groupies.

Now Little Rock adds another entry among its Contributions to Pop Culture with powerhouse rock band, The Kicks. Coming to the table with the anthemic rock of Cheap Trick, Fountains of Wayne's quirky power-pop, The Cars' signature keyboard hooks and the raw passion of the Foo Fighters, The Kicks have cast an aural monument to the Gods of Rock. Now hear that sound on The Kicks TVT Records debut, Hello Hong Kong.

The Kicks formed in 2000 in order to bring their mission of rock to the people. "I knew I wanted to start my own band when I heard TSOL's album, Change Today?" says Scott. "One of my fondest memories is how that record mixed punk rock and Goth. My reaction was, `Oh my god, this is just amazing!' Everybody was listening to Poison and Ratt, but I was into Black Flag, The Cars, The Replacements and The Pixies. People may compare The Kicks to other currently popular bands, but we take our influences from a lot of different places."

Hello Hong Kong was recorded at both Little Rock's Poynters Palace studio and Butch Vig's Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, where the band enlisted the production assistance of Doug "Mr. Colson" Olson (Dwarves, L7, Remy Zero). The result of their efforts is a collection of twelve songs so extremely catchy, you'll have to be put on medication just to get them out of your head. An addictive blend of bright tones, buoyant harmonies, adhesive hooks and raw energy, Hello Hong Kong highlights the band's humorous approach to thoughtful subjects on songs like the oddly-entitled, "The Exorcist" (about the woes of having an irrationally jealous girlfriend), the nostalgic romp, "Satellite" and "MIR," featuring Jaren's Dave Grohl-inspired drumming and an irresistible chorus that's made it an audience favorite. Scott explains, "`MIR' is about dreams I had as a kid of being an astronaut and just wanting to float in space. Some kids want to be firemen, but I wanted to be an astronaut!"

Live, The Kicks are a Very Tight Rock Unit, having played with bands as varied as The Donnas, Nada Surf, The Get Up Kids, Dashboard Confessional, Local H and even 80's Metal heroes, Motley Crue. From years spent rocking out on the road, the explosive energy and tight chemistry of The Kicks' live performance cannot be fully captured on a recording. Says Scott, "On stage, we really play off of each other and the crowd. Once I'm into a song, I just go into my own little world, and I think all of us do that to a certain extent. I'm a big fan of bands that put on a great, fun show and sound better live than what's on their record. Our show is the best 30 or 45 minutes of the day!"

With Hello Hong Kong ready to impact rock radio, Scott, Josh, Jesse and Jaren are fueling up to take their high energy rock action back on the road, debut the new songs and win over legions of new fans. "We want to make a living at this," says Scott, "but the main reason we're all in this band is to play live shows and to rock people as hard as we can!"

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Tracklisting

The Kicks - Hello Hong Kong