Stomp and Shout - Kenny Daniel and Richard Parker

 

The similarity (exactly) to the title of the book on the Northwest Garage scene that I just read brought this tome to my attention and I was intrigued by the thought of a book on a fairly obscure Texan garage band, Kenny and the Kasuals. Of course, I know their terrific garage/psych raver, "Journey To Tyme", and I know that I have a full LP of theirs that I haven't listened to in a while, but I know I enjoyed (and reviewed it and dug it once again). In any case, this seemed like an interesting read and it was inexpensive so I grabbed it.

Kenny co-authors the book and as he explains in the intro, this will be an exploration into garage bands in general along with his in particular. He starts with an overview, natch, and goes into the beginnings of his musical endeavors. His writing style is very casual - again, I wouldn't be surprised if he was simply talking and reminiscing and Parker transcribed and organized it all - and this self-published (small press?) book has some repetition throughout, but has a lot of fun stories. Daniel talks about all of the dances that his school (second largest in Texas, apparently) would put on near-constantly (way more than anything I ever heard about, including before classes in the morning!) and the various groups that would supply the entertainment. His combos joined in on the fun early on and became a local fave along the way.

A minor annoyance is that they do not list song titles consistently - sometimes the title is just written out, sometimes italicized, sometimes in quotations (the standard way) - so the reading can be a bit confusing. Kenny also gives an unnecessary (but brief) history of the Beatles, and also makes lots of lists of local bands playing around at the times. Yes, it's good to know that there was a lot happening, but, again, it's kind of unnecessary.

After a lot of local success and some high hopes in NYC, the band came home, Kenny was drafted, there was a name change that didn’t help matters, Kenny came home and then tried West Coast Country, that failed (a little too late, apparently), another return home to dry out and do a Kasuals reunion. The newly form Kasuals were a bit more punky (per Kenny's description) and played with a truly impressive list of punk/new wave stars, from the Boomtown Rats to Patti Smith, and dozens in between.

There's lots of cool stories of a rising garage combo poised for national success - the ALMOST opened for the Beatles - only to return to the origins and split due to the usual reasons - draft, musical differences, scool, jobs, family and all the rest. But, Kenny persevered and while he did take on a "straight" job, he kept the Kasuals going over the decades. 

This story could have used a little more tightening up, although that would have shortened the book, but still, there's plenty of tales of the trials, tribulations, and fun times of a 60's garage group! Not amazing, but worth checking out if ya dig the genre.