I Shot the Band - Kenny Howes at the WOW! at the EARL
It's sorta crazy to think that all though the years I've seen Kenny play in bands since sometime in the early 90s. He was a fixture in the Florida music scene for a while based mostly out of Tallahassee, but with frequent visits down to Tampa Bay where he kicked out some great power-pop records over the years before relocating to Atlanta for a bit where he started a band called, Kenny Howes and the YEAH! with folks like Jason NeSmith (of Orange Hat, later of Casper and the Cookies) and bassist Kyle Harris (later of The Diamond Center).
A few year later as I moved to Atlanta, Kenny headed out to LA and performed as a member of San Diego garage-pop band The Shambles and at times with Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens. As I got settled into the music scene here in AtlantaI would become friends with all the folks in the scene he just left. Small world.
Fast forward a few years, and Kenny is back in Atlanta and kicking out the power-pop again. A few months ago he played a exhaustive, 8-man band, 2-hour plus set at the Star Bar to celebrate the release of his new album, Tornadoes Here & Past, where Pat DiNizio and The Church's Marty Willson-Piper appear as special guests on the record.
Tonight's show at the EARL featured the 8-man, 4-horn lineup from that Star Bar show, and it was non-stop high kicks and power pop from start to finish. Incredibly good times.
