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Them Damned Young Livers enjoy their KC Tea just like everyone else.
As frontman Jody Hendrix puts it, his KC rockabilly crew
Them Damned Young Livers sings about "booze, weed, domestic violence, Jesus, DUIs, and dirty sex."
Those themes are not entirely out of step with the ones explored by rapper
Tech N9ne and the other artists on his
wildly successful independent label Strange Music. Which is why, the band tells Wayward, they have instigated a bizarre social media campaign to get Tech's attention.
See their Facebook page for evidence. This smells like part publicity stunt for sure, but there does seem to be a sincere admiration for Strange Music behind it. Here's what Hendrix and drummer Bob Lyons had to say:
So you guys are big Tech fans?
Lyons: We're most certainly Tech fans. He's become a staple of our too-hungover-and-tired-to-drive road trip gigs. His music keeps your mind sharp and energy high. Everything you could ask for while rolling in a 70 mph rock n' roll coffin.
Give me your pitch about why you should be signed to Strange Music.
Lyons: Strange Music seems to fully support artists that push the bounds of what is generally accepted within their given genres. Tech's made records about being broke, sad, battling crazy gals, and being at war with your record label. These aren't your typical hip-hop topics. Not to mention the absolute brilliance of his live show spectacles. We feel we meld well with that level of counterintuitive intelligence in a sometimes over-simplified musical market. We're out there singing about being too broke to live, losing women, self-medicating, and sometimes just failing at the pathetic game of life within a genre that is notorious for tunes about fast cars and bubblegum angst. This is mixed with an absolutely insane live show, complete with some of the most ridiculous stage antics possible. So do we think there's massive potential for crossover appeal? Shit yes we do.
Hendrix: We flirt with elements of hip-hop in our live show, and considering the strange lineup of eclectic artists they have, we think we'd fit in just right. Not to mention the fact that we're 100 percent independent, as is Tech N9ne. We need label support to take this to the next level. Why not hit up the most successful DIY fella in KC?
So you're thinking crossover appeal? Collabs?
Lyons: I don't know that a collaboration is exactly what we're looking for or that it's something anyone at Strange would actually be interested in but god damn we'd love to take a crack at it if the opportunity arose. That's the beauty of the game we're all playing. Push it all over the line that's been drawn in the sand by big industry assembly-line music and see if people can handle it.
So there it is. Your move, Tech.
