Bruce Von Stiers
They play gigs at places like Frank’s Power Plant in Milwaukee and the Turf Club in St. Paul. They are from the Twin Cities area. They have an edgy punk surf sound. And they have a too cool moniker of The No No’s.
Not only do they have a unique name, the band members also go by cool nicknames. There is Brother L.U.C. on guitar. He looks like he could be in a punk version of a Calvin Klein ad. Sister K.T.K might have been a late teen Jody Foster’s punk alter ego. She does the vocals for the band. .Matt is on bass. He wouldn’t be out of place on a bowling team or in a Blues Brother tribute band. And Nats is the drummer. He looks like he took his look from Guns ‘n’ Roses.
But for their cool name and different looks, is their music any good? You bet your (insert favorite expletive) it is. The band has a debut album out with, what else, a unique title of Long Play Recording.
All twelve songs on the album were written by members of the band, but only one has the entire band credited. Coming in at about thirty minutes of play time, there is plenty of punk surf music to go around.
Sister K.T.K. cranks it out with the first song, Undone. Her vocals have been fittingly called a cross between Debbie Harry and Pat Benetar. The song has a tough backbeat embracing the vocals.
Movin’ might be a bit of Ramones lite. Or possibly a touch of The Pretenders.
Tight is a kind of punk flavored ballad.
Beer Tub Bitch is a definite in-your-face streaming punk tune.
Bipolar begins with music like it might be a Black Crowes tune. But things move into a more moderate punk flavored mode.
Diamonds is a slick surf influenced tune.
American Pigeon has some hot guitar and aching punk vocals. Loose Tooth has some strong drum and Tom Petty guitar.
Other songs on the album are Stuff, Friday, Pinata and Miss $50.
With an eclectic look and smoking hot surf punk music, The No No’s might just be the next big, great thing to come out of the Twin Cities.
You can hear cuts from Long Play Recording on the band’s MySpace Music site. It can be found at http://www.myspace.com/thenonosband.
© 2008 Bruce E Von Stiers