FIELD NOTE // Hickoids & White Line Nightmares Bring Cowpunk to KC

FIELD NOTE // WHEN THE CORN WAS REAL

Hickoids, White Line Nightmares, and a Lesson in Whimsy

Soundbite Social at Warehouse on Broadway | Kansas City, Missouri

By Alethea F. Mehdipour | Slightly Feral Media

THE FIRST COWPUNK

The raccoon had never encountered cowpunk before.  Naturally, field research began long before arriving at Soundbite Social inside Warehouse on Broadway. The available evidence suggested a collision of country, punk rock, garage rock, and rockabilly. This immediately raised an important scientific question. Who looked at those genres and decided, “Yes. Those belong together”?

Further investigation produced another unexpected discovery. The Hickoids appeared to perform behind a drum kit decorated with corn. The raccoon concluded there were only two possible outcomes.

Either the evening would be gloriously ridiculous or ridiculously glorious.

Both outcomes justified field research.

SMALL ROOMS REVEAL LARGER TRUTHS

One reason the raccoon keeps returning to Soundbite Social is simple. 

Small rooms don’t allow culture to hide. 

Everyone becomes part of the habitat. Musicians. Photographers. Bartenders. Humans seeing one another for the first time. Humans greeting one another like family. The conversations before the first note are just as important as the songs that follow. 

Small rooms preserve evidence.

WHITE LINE NIGHTMARES UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT

Before the Hickoids arrived, Lawrence’s own White Line Nightmares quietly accomplished one of live music’s most underappreciated tasks. They changed the room. Opening bands don’t simply begin the evening. They transform scattered conversations into collective attention.

White Line Nightmares describe themselves simply as a loud, garagey punk rock ’n’ roll band from Lawrence, Kansas. The raccoon appreciates that kind of confidence. No elaborate mission statement. No complicated explanation. Just enough information to suggest that hearing them would answer more questions than reading about them ever could.

The current lineup includes John Cutler on bass and vocals, P.K. and Jimmy Kegin on guitars and vocals, and Jason Meier on drums and vocals. Their catalog includes “Ha Ha Ha,” “I’m in Hell,” “Keep It Simple,” and “Slash N’ Burn,” which became the subject of the band’s first music video. [2][3]

The humans inside White Line Nightmares also arrived with histories of their own. P.K. previously played with the Throttlers. John Cutler brought experience from Tenderloin, Parlay, and the Mad Kings. Jason Meier played drums with mi6. [3]

The raccoon quickly observed that White Line Nightmares share a trait that seems increasingly characteristic of Lawrence musicians. They don’t appear especially concerned with genre boundaries. The Lawrence scene itself seems to operate that way. Punk bands share stages with Americana bands. Metal musicians support indie bands. Garage-rock musicians show up simply because another local band asked.

And somewhere in there is probably a drag queen or two.

White Line Nightmares fit comfortably inside that ecosystem.

The raccoon has also developed a completely predictable fondness for confident female front people. 

By the end of their set, the room was ready.

THE CORN WASN’T AN ACCIDENT

Then the Hickoids took the stage.

The raccoon is pleased to report that the corn was, in fact, real. At first, the raccoon assumed it was simply an excellent visual gag. Field research later revealed something more interesting.

The Hickoids have apparently been committed to corn for decades. Their first album, released in 1985, was called We’re in It for the Corn. That was followed by Hard Corn. The two recordings were later combined and reissued as Corn Demon. Their catalog also contains songs called “Corntaminated” and “Corn Foo Fighting.” [4] Then there is the Austin Corn Lover’s Fiesta, the band’s own considerably smaller and stranger answer to the other Austin festival using the initials ACL. [5]

Albums. Songs. Festivals. Merchandise. The corn has been allowed to spread through nearly every part of the Hickoids’ operating system.

This was not decoration selected for the tour.

It was not an impulse purchase from a Kansas City grocery store. It was not a seasonal decision. The corn had history. The corn was not decoration.

The corn was canon.

The raccoon finds this level of long-term commitment deeply respectable. It takes remarkable discipline to sustain a joke for forty years. Especially when the joke happens to be accompanied by exceptional musicianship.

The wardrobe deserved equal attention. Patterns. Boots. Western shirts. Punk attitude. Articles of clothing that conventional fashion would strongly recommend introducing one at a time. Instead, everything coexisted peacefully.

The raccoon began to suspect this wasn’t merely fashion. It was philosophy.

FORTY YEARS OF IGNORING BOUNDARIES

The Hickoids have spent more than four decades refusing to choose between country and punk. Or humor and musicianship. Or tradition and irreverence.

The band began in Austin, Texas, in 1984, founded by singer Jeff Smith and guitarist Davy Jones. The name reportedly came from Jones’ description of a cowboy-hatted human digging through a dumpster outside his apartment. Field observations suggest the name fit. Their 1985 debut, We’re in It for the Corn, introduced a collision of country imagery, punk energy, garage rock, satire, and a remarkable number of agricultural references. [4][5] The band’s original run ended in the early 1990s. (that was hard to write) 

The Hickoids began appearing again through reunion performances during the early 2000s and officially reformed in 2006. Since then, they have released more music and toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. [1][4] 

In 2013, they released Hairy Chafin’ Ape Suit, their first full album of original material since the band’s original run. [5]

In 2014, the Hickoids were inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame. [6]

Field observations suggest the corn had become historically significant. Watching them inside Soundbite Social, the raccoon realized something. The Hickoids didn not care whether any of this belonged together. Country. Punk. Corn. Boots. Patterns. Humor. Exceptional musicianship. They had already answered that question decades ago.

The answer was simply, “Yes.”

THE REAL DISCOVERY

The raccoon arrived expecting to document another genre. 

Instead, she documented another community. The music was different. The operating system wasn’t. Humans gathered. Someone created. Someone laughed. Someone danced. Someone left carrying a story they didn’t have when they arrived. Field research continues to support the same conclusion. 

Genres organize music. Communities organize humans. 

The raccoon is far more interested in the second one.

CONTINUE YOUR OWN FIELD RESEARCH

The raccoon has reached an important conclusion. One evening is never enough evidence. Fortunately, both bands continue leaving plenty behind. If your own field research has not yet included White Line Nightmares, begin there.

Lawrence’s loud, garagey punk rock ’n’ roll humans can be found here:

Bandcamp:

https://whitelinenightmares.bandcamp.com

Linktree:

https://linktr.ee/Whitelinenightmares

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/whitelinenightmares

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BtKrrwdvB/

If your curiosity now includes the Hickoids, be warned. The corn is not a phase.

Field research suggests it has been an established operating system for more than four decades. The Austin cowpunk pioneers continue to prove that country, punk, humor, exceptional musicianship, and agricultural references can coexist quite peacefully.

Bandcamp:

https://hickoids.bandcamp.com/music

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CjyLjRWRZ/

The raccoon strongly recommends conducting your own field research.

Support local bands. Support touring bands. Support the wonderfully strange little rooms that make evenings like this possible.

The evidence is still out there.  Go collect some of your own.

The raccoon is pleased to report that the evidence supports the original conclusion. The corn was real. The corn was historical. The corn was canon.

View the Evidence Here: 

Hickoids and White Line Nightmare Full Gallery 

Field note complete.

The room left evidence.

The raccoon collected it.

Slightly feral.

Entirely capable.

— Laverna the Rockin’ Raccoon 🦝🖤

Slightly Feral Media

Published by My Midlife Crisis Creative Inc.

REFERENCES AND FURTHER FIELD RESEARCH

[1] Warehouse on Broadway — Hickoids with White Line Nightmares

Official event listing for the Hickoids and White Line Nightmares performance at Soundbite Social inside Warehouse on Broadway in Kansas City, Missouri. The listing also includes the Hickoids’ current biography and touring history.

https://warehouseonbroadway.com/event/hickoids/warehouse-on-broadway/kansas-city-missouri/

[2] White Line Nightmares — Official Bandcamp

Official music, band description, catalog, and current lineup for the Lawrence, Kansas, garagey punk rock ’n’ roll band.

https://whitelinenightmares.bandcamp.com/

[3] The Pitch — White Line Nightmares’ “Slash and Burn” Is Pure Power Trio Rock ’n’ Roll

Background on White Line Nightmares, the members’ previous bands, and the creation of the band’s first music video.

https://www.thepitchkc.com/premiere-white-line-nightmares-slash-and-burn-is-pure-power-trio-rock-n-roll/

[4] Hickoids — Official Bandcamp

The Hickoids’ official music archive, including Corn Demon, We’re in It for the Corn, Hard Corn, “Corntaminated,” and “Corn Foo Fighting.”

https://hickoids.bandcamp.com/music

https://hickoids.bandcamp.com/album/corn-demon

[5] Lone Star Music — In Profile: The Hickoids

A detailed history of the Hickoids’ formation, founders Jeff Smith and Davy Jones, the origin of the band’s name, its 1985 debut, original run, revival, and longstanding relationship with corn.

https://lonestarmusicmagazine.com/in-profile-the-hickoids/

[6] The Austin Chronicle — Austin Music Awards Hall of Fame

The Austin Chronicle’s Hall of Fame record lists the Hickoids as 2014 inductees.

https://www.austinchronicle.com/features/austin-music-awards-hall-of-fame-inductees-1983-2016-11769113/