Killer Parties: the Ronin Rock guide to the Hold Steady part 1

Originally, this post was meant to be for Travis. I wanted him to get a small glimmer of what these guys are about before we see them in Santa Fe (July 8, Santa Fe Brewing Co- we'll be there in force). But then, it also had to be for Seany and Bex who forced this band into my life. Also, I kind of wanted it to be Dusty who doesn't think they're nearly as cool as I do. At the same time, I could never leave out Tyler, Victoria, Rob or Brooke who've all seen this band with me. Ultimately, it is a bit of a primer for anyone and everyone who's even remotely interested in enjoying this band in any way, shape or form. For old fans, hopefully it opens up fun discourse/dissent to be nerded over with likeminded music snobs. For new fans, hopefully it provides a sense of context that adds to the overall listening experience.

And away we go.

First, it has to be said that I initially didn't like this band. With no basis whatsoever, I took one look at them and arbitrarily decided they had nothing to offer me. And by arbitrarily, I mean I took one look at their photo and said to myself, "Look at those guys. What could they possibly know about rocking?"

The first photo above is the second one of theirs I ever saw. Let's break it down for a quick moment. First, there's guitarist Tad Kubler. On a simple sartorial basis, his dress sense is embarassingly reminiscent of every middle aged father white America has ever produced. Of course, most of them dress like that, it's just Kubler's yellow tinted glasses that seal it for me. Bassist Galen Polivka and drummer Bobby Drake actually look like pretty normal guys. You'd be hard pressed not to imagine them more at home in line at Home Depot than melting faces on a stage. Keyboard player Franz Nicolay wears a handlebar mustache. Handlebar for pete's sake! And then there's singer/guitarist Craig Finn, receding hairline in place and possessed of the fashion sense of your high school shop teacher.

I won't even get into the first picture I ever saw of them. We'll just note that I saw it in Q's "Bands to Watch This Year" feature and the picture made them look even schlubbier. What's worse, it made them look like Parisian buskers. Picture me- not impressed.

I mean, who the hell are these guys and what could they possibly know of rocking out? This, I thought to myself, is what rock and roll has come to? Pass. Passpasspass. I'll hang out with my Clash records, thank you very much. Suffice to say, I was about to have my little world rocked.

Flash forward a few months. It was the annual Double Matt Birthday Bash. I was eagerly unwrapping a package just handed to me by Seany and Bex. It was a copy of Boys and Girls in America, the Hold Steady's third and most critically acclaimed album yet. I could never tell Seany and Bex that I'd already written off this band (I mean, a handlebar mustache! And male pattern baldness!). Mostly because, if they were giving me this record, it had to worth exploring. At the very least. More likely, it was going to be incredible (Seany- we were banking on your credity here more than anything else. Sorry, Bex).

Travis and I played it on the drive home. Mostly, I remember it sounded like it was recorded underwater. This was undoubtedly due to my incredibly inebriated state. But I came back around to it within a week or two. I found a song I liked. Then two. Then five. Then the whole damn album. Hence, your first two lessons:

1.Thou shalt not judge thy band by their mediocre sartorial sense. Unless they're Japanese or want to be Japanese, because let's face it, those guys are all ridiculous.

2.Some albums are slow burners. They may take a while to hit, but when they do, they do so a tsunami. see Enter the Wu-Tang, Black Love, Rain Dogs, Disintegration.

Having had a little time to take in the Hold Steady now, I was familiar with their rep, their mythology, their lore. The basic rap sheet?

1.They've kindasorta got a Springsteen thing goin'.

Yes. But I always think of them as more of an amalgamation of Bruce Springsteen's and Elvis Costello's drunken nephews who never quite got over punk. Sure, they've got that sweaty all American epic rock feel to their sound. It all comes down to the instrumentation- two guitars, bass, drums and keyboards to fill out the sound. Occasionally, there's even a sax solo. But don't forget, they grew up in the time and place of the Replacements and Husker Du, so punk is still going to figure in. No more so than Craig Finn's vox/guitars.

2.Their audience will kill you for them without thinking twice.

Also, yes. But they'd rather not. Everybody there is just there to enjoy some music, some beer and some friendship. Still, they are a slavishly devoted crowd that knows all the right times to sing along and you should too (see Party Pit, Constructive Summer, Stay Positive).

3.They write about drinking. A lot.

Guilty as charged. I saw them play at the Mohawk in Austin. Bassist Polivka blew out the amp head on his bass cabinet. When he finally got it replaced with another one, he placed his Lone Star tallboy on it on a sign that read "DO NOT PLACE DRINKS HERE!!!" I may have pictures. Also, I think Nicolay drank a whole bottle of red wine by himself.

4.They write about drugs. A lot.

Also guilty. Bruce wrote about the hard working American dream crashing into reality. Elvis wrote about, well, whatever Elvis wrote about. These guys spend a lot of time writing about Post Meth America.

5.There's also a lot of writing about awkward sex between really young people.
Where there's smoke, there's fire. Consider that when you reread numbers 3 & 4. It's also worth noting that most people have really awkward sex. Except everybody here, of course.

6.But there's also a lot of religious symbolism- what gives?

Like there's ever been a better dramatic backdrop for Post Meth America? Craig Finn does use a lot of biblical imagery. It makes a great contrast for all the messed up stuff that surrounds the inhabitents of his songs. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction.

7.Really, though, it's mostly all about being young and stupid, right?

Sex, drugs and rock & roll, right? While their music has never actually been that simple or that narrow in scape, Finn certainly uses indiscretionate youth as the context from which he spins most of his stories. This is fairly true to life, however, when you realize that the majority of people's stories are survival tales from their own teenage wastelands. Most of our simple complexities come from being young in America while you sort yourself out. Accordingly, some of Finn's characters figure it out and some don't. When asked about, do as Finn says and say something vague.

Also, the characters that survive often return in numerous songs over the span of many albums. Their reflections on their past lives reveal subtle beauties and truths that only become apparent to us in light of the past. The album Stay Positive, in particular, is great about this.

Ultimately, this music is a heady mix of biblical imagery and sexual buffoonery set against the back drop of post Meth America. And while you don't have to be a reformed dealer/skinhead/skank to appreciate, you will smile if you're young enough to remember but old enough to know better.

*the second picture posted is one I took at the Mohawk in Austin. of special note should be Tad Kubler who somewhere along the way turned into a lean mass of rock monster. which is the second reason why I don't feel bad about bashing this band on their appearances. i was so obviously wrong, its embarassing.