who waits for the planes to come

There's something about live performances of the Pink Sexies that leave you wondering whether the group is a rock band or a performance art troupe. The shows are entertaining, make no mistake. Singer Hamo Braham tends to take over the show— sometimes beginning with the sickest of jokes—and once the band fires up, he wanders into the audience, singing into the faces of terrified audience members and fighting off body slams from those who rise to his challenge. It's like GG Allin without the shit and blood.

There's something brilliant in the way Hamo can make rock 'n' roll feel menacing and dynamic and fun. But it also gets a little tiresome. (At one show I was clipped in the brow with the microphone stand as Hamo was tackled by a fan and tumbled backwards over a couch.)

The band's new CD, Rock and Roll Mustache Ride, may not definitely answer the question of what the hell this band is all about. But it demonstrates that beyond the theatrics, the Sexies are a damn fine punk rock band. This is a tribute to the tightness of the band—William DeLeonardis (bassist who writes most of the music), Fred Roscoe (guitar), and Jason Stark (drums). Stylistically, the Pink Sexies draw mostly on punk and post-punk bands of the late-'70s, early '80s, but there's a soulfulness that creeps in from time to time.

The production makes Hamo's lyrics—mostly indecipherable live—clear; many people probably wish they weren't. As with his amazing illustrations, Hamo's lyrical humor is twisted, morbid and pretty damn funny. Take "A Teenage Breakdown" in which he sings about a girl who blows her boyfriend's head off. The chorus goes, "honey honey honey/ what's this mess/ you got cum on your hands/ you got blood on your lips/ (how about a little kiss)."

It's liberating to laugh at the most disgusting things you can think of. And that's sort of what the Pink Sexies are all about. Listening to this record—or seeing the band live—makes you want to jump around. Which you can do at the Pilot Light this Saturday, March 27, for the CD release show.

Pink Sexies "The Pink Sexies" CD

Knoxville, Tennessee... I once got stuck in a traffic jam there. I was driving by myself, heading to Atlanta, Georgia to pick up my beloved, and had to piss so fucking bad that I pulled over and hit the roadside. The morning rush hour commuters, they didn't even bat an eye. It was like they see shit like that everyday.

I pissed like a waterfall. I swear, in the small patch of bare ground that I had aimed my piss at, some of the earth had washed away like you took a water-hose at it. I pissed so hard I thought my dick was going to rip in half. I never will forget that. Even to this day, during my last drive thru the city on another trip to and from Atlanta, I recalled the trip and remarked once to Julie on the way down and again on the way back to myself, where I had that monumental piss.

Now, I have something else I can mention when I pass thru Knoxville. I can now remark how it is home of The Pink Sexies!!!!

Man, this shit is pretty good. I mean, I really like it. There's seven songs with stand out tracks being the dark observative "Grey Hound Cowboy" (I'll fuck you up, I'll fuck you down), "Frankenhooker", first track "Bye Bye Zombie" and the last track "Tease Kiss". I would rather hear shit like this on labels like Empty Records than what I been hearing.

Soundwise, The Sexies remind me of a band whose members play their instruments like someone might play a synthesizer. The Pink Sexies are a Neoteric Punk/Wave band, that much I know. Something about their song arrangements tells me, that they sent this to me to 'get on board'. Welcome aboard gentlemen....Real repetitive beats. Catchy. Invasive. I can't escape the feeling that this sounds like a mixture of early Motards and The Stitches. It hits me good and tastes awful. Exactly how I like my rock and/or roll.