PAUL NATKIN-PHOTO RESERVE
A country blend of old and new: The O'Kanes-O'Hara (left) and Kane-in concert
A-AmermicanSound
The O'Kanes make music that's simple-and good

noted country-music capital of Queens,
N.Y. Despite their birthplaces, the two
took easily to country and worked as staff
songwriters in Music City, creating hit
songs for The Judds and Alabama before
striking out on their own. Listen to "One
True Love," for example, and you'll likely
find yourself thinking of tooling fast down
an open road in a pickup truck, windows
down, crisp Kentucky air blowing through
your hair.
No smiles: A rock fan might think that
sometimes they stumble. "In My Heart" is
an all-too-typical hound-dog-sad lament of
a woman who up and left. Followed as it is
by "I'm Lonely," you might wonder how
folks in Nashville manage to muster a
smile. Fortunately, the spare lyrics, call-
ing up spent emotion, can't disguise a
spunky foot-stompin' tune bolstered by
Kane's nifty mandolin work.
Stylistically, The O'Kanes blend the old
and the new in a very appealing fashion.
You can hear the influence of bluegrass in
the instrumentals, the easy vocal harmo-
nies so reminiscent of the Everly Brothers
and a few jazzy digressions as well. This is
true innovation in country music-musi-
cal and lyrical explorations by new tradi-
tionalists who make music that is both
new and traditional. Just when you think
you've got some basic bluegrass, the
next tune harks back to folk or the blues.
If you don't listen to The O'Kanes just
because they're country, you're missing
an awfully fine time. Buy this record-
it's good.
TODD BARRETT

review as straightforward as the
music of The O'Kanes would say,
"Buy this record-it's good." Their
second album, "Tired of the Runnin',"
picks up where their refreshing debut left
off-country tunes played with a deft
crispness, creating music as stunning in
its simplicity as an Edward Hopper
painting.
U2's music evokes Ireland. Chicano cul-
ture powers Los Lobos. Hear The O'Kanes
and you'll hear America. Nothing bor-

rowed from British bands, no rhythms
from Africa, this music-with instru-
ments like the fiddle, banjo and mando-
lin-is homegrown. No tricks, either, up
this record sleeve; The O'Kanes make a
big deal about recording "live," without
overdubs, all six members of the studio
band playing on the same take.
The O'Kanes weren't exactly weaned in
Nashville, Tenn. Jamie O'Hara hails from
Toledo, Ohio, and Kieran Kane (O'Hara
and Kane-get it? The O'Kanes) from the

Rock and Roll Comes Down to Two Guys

W hat kind of band would
call itself House of
Freaks? The first impression
youget from the name is leath-
er-clad zombies flailing away
at detuned instruments while
howling punk obscenities.
Well, never trust first impres-
sions. House of Freaks cranks
out gritty rock and roll that
refers back to a purer, pre-
synthesizer form: Buddy Hol-
lywithaBoDiddleybite.Their
gutsy drive is most evident
in live performance, but on
their debut album, Monkey on a
Chain Gang (Rhino), they've
managed to capture 90 per-
cent of the raw energy of their
stage showwithout knuckling
under to the conventional wis-

dom of the recording studio.
House of Freaks is a duo.
Period. Songwriter Bryan
Harveyplaysguitarandsings.
Johnny Hott plays drums. Pe-
riod. No "guest musicians"-
either on disc or onstage-and
very little electronic manipu-
lation or overdubbing. Just
straight-ahead foot stompers
such as "Yellow Dog," driven
by Hott's relentless and cre-
ative pounding (and, in con-
cert, howling). Or a potential
pop anthem like "40 Years," a
melodic paean to an anniver-
sary of Hiroshima, that soars
on the earnest delivery of Har-
vey's vocal. When he sings,
"Prayforyourselfandforyour
memories / And be thankful

we've had 40 years," in coun-
terpoint to his roughly tex-
tured guitar voicings, the song
achieves a haunting unity,
propelling the concept as well
as the rhythm.
Bare bones: The rest of the
album is equally inventive,
displaying a wide variety of
forms that seem to borrow
from the likes of knee-slap-
ping blues and country, with-
out ripping them off. Only
two cuts, "Give Me a Sign"
and "Dark and Light in New
Mexico," made me wonder if a
punchy bass line or harmony
vocal would help. But I hope
Harvey and Hott resist the
temptation to add other in-
struments and voices, and

U 11MIL'5A'TUN1"ALL
Raw energy: House of Freaks
continue to explore every mu-
sical possibility as a bare-
bones duo. House of Freaks is
agreat band. Period.
ROBERT J. GEORGE

MAY 1988NEWSWEEKONCAMPUS 47

MAY 1988

NEWSWEEK ON CAMPUS 47