the Asskickers

Had you wandered into Duffy's Thursday night, you might have thought you'd entered a David Lynch movie. Punk rockers, hippies, middle-aged people and varying other hipsters were all dancing to what seemed, at first glance, to be a traditional redneck country band. Then you started to hear what the bolo tie sportin' frontman was crooning about: doing LSD in Venice Beach, the Jerry Springer Show and Internet porn. But, no, Lynch hadn't been filming in Chico on Thursday; it was just The Asskickers playing their CD release show.
Duffy's was already near packed when The Asskickers started off around 10 PM. The band was an interesting looking bunch on stage. In their usual attire, Pressman sported a loose bow tie, the young Alan Wood sang backups and played bass in his country wear and Steve Bragg pounded away on drums beneath the picture of Jesus at the plate. Frontman Bob Howard looks like a goddamned movie star, the perfect frontman for this band of outlaws.
They kicked off with two slower numbers, "One Horse Town" and "Porno Queen," a song about the feelings you might experience if you found out the woman you've been dating is a porno star. Howard admonished the crowd after that song, "What are you guys laughin' for? That's a sad song."
What's great about The Asskickers is that for the most part, their lyrics are delivered with straight faces. The very charismatic Howard will occasionally smile when people in the audience laugh at his lyrics (or when he gets popped in the mouth by his microphone due to an overly enthusiastic dancer near the stage), à la Johnny Cash, but for the most part he sings his songs straight.
Two songs in the band's first set were rocking numbers that made me think of Howard as a more relevant Bruce Springsteen, a working man's hero. "I Cut Down Trees," a song about getting the government off your back and out of your business even had the flower children in attendance dancing, and "Lottery," the closing number of their first set, is one of the best anti-nine-to-five anthems ever written, much better than "Take This Job and Shove It."
Scott Pressman's solos put the kick in The Asskickers' set. Never gratuitous, his solos weaved their way into the songs. "Grandpap's Trip," a traditional song about the War of 1812, featured a beautiful and eerie solo by John LaPado on slide guitar.
The crowd won over most of those in attendance, though the crowd seemed a bit less rambunctious during the second set. Still, many in attendance were shouting out the words to The Asskickers' songs up to their last original, a song whose chorus probably shouldn't be printed in a family paper. You'll have to catch them the next time they play a show.

– Brian Brophy
– Photos by D.C. Ramirez

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