Renegade Issue 27

58-59 / 100

58 RenegadeMagazine.com
The first
time I saw Lara
Hope and the Ark-Tones perform
was at the Heavy Rebel Weekender a couple
years ago and man was I blown away! Lara’s sin-
fully beautiful voice mixed with her rebellious attitude
makes for a powerful combination.
Their new cd Luck Maker, is a collection of cool rock-
ing tunes showcasing the own blen of rockabilly and
psycobilly will have you stomping your feet and swing-
ing your ass on your favorite honkytonk’s dance floor.
Lara’s voice has that sultry sweet and sassy quality
that can hypnotize anyone... if you close your eyes
you can almost taste the whisky and smell the ciga-
rette smoke filling the air of some gritty dive bar where
Lara & The Ark-Tones have the house swinging.
I have to admit the first thing
that caught my attention about the Living
Dead’s was the powerful stage presence of the wild
and beautiful Symphony Tidwell rocking her upright
bass, like a wild banshee in heat slaying her bass with
wild abandon! As a photographer it was a photo op I
just could not resist!
As I clicked away with my camera I found myself tap-
ping my feet and swaying to their infections thumping
beat, which does not really help when taking photos.
This band is just one of those rare bands that just has
that genuine energy that just come blasting out of the
stacks! Randee McKnight on drums/vocals and Sym-
phony Tidwell on upright bass are like the hellbilly ver-
sion of Sid & Nancy, with their raw energy and do or
die attitude, make for one rocking duo.
m
RenegadeMagazine.com 59
The
Koffin Kats
new release “Born of The
Motor is a powerhouse, pedal to the metal
blast into overdrive! Thump, thump, bam, nosebleed
from the speed this is one psycobilly creed! Upright
bass thumping like a freight train from hell, guitars
screaming like demons released, mosh pit raging,
blood, sweat and gears... Two shots to the wind, wild
women dancing all around, the fucking Koffin Kats
are in town! Daddy’s lock up your back doors lock up
your little girls, freaks, punks and sinners gather from
all around for the rocking rumble thats going down.
Engines thunder to life all over town, rubber burns,
smoke rises as if a crack in the earth has unleashed
wicked women and demons to feast! The weak and
the meak cower in fear... The mighty Koffin Kats are
coming to town! The wicked and the restless race to
join the madness and mayhem. All the freaks have
gathered the smoke begins to clear out of the shadows
the mighty Koffin Kats appear, thump, thump Bam...
If you have
ever been to a bike
rally then you’ve probably seen
Bean’re, if you have you would know it, because
he most definitely stands out in the crowd, with his
classic rattlesnake top hat, and purple zoot suites!
For years I kept seeing this wild looking character
at almost every bike rally I ever attended, I seen
him in Daytona, and Myrtle beach then in 2005
me and a couple friends rode out to Sturgis and
low and behold there was Bean’re! So I finally had
to introduce myself to this wild character. When I
asked him how he could afford to just ride around
to all these events, he told me he sold cigars...
We’ve been friends ever since, now I wouldn’t
say we were close, just fellow travelers who cross
paths from time to time. Well a couple years ago
Bean’re wrote a book about his travels as a mo-
torcycle nomad. It’s a good read and an incite to
life on the road, with a bit of a surprising twist near
the end of the book that I will let you discover for
yourself.