Tonight’s selections from Bisbee, Arizona’s The Exbats. Songs from across their catalog. We’ve seen them live twice during the last couple of years.
Maybe it’s that they’re coming from a small town in Arizona, or maybe it’s that the band was started by a father/daughter duo who loved listening to old records together. Whatever inspired it, The Exbats have proven to be great crafters of songs that hearken back to the bright, jangly pop rock and power pop of the sixties and seventies. On their latest LP Song Machine, the group transports us back in time sonically, while keeping a lyrical foot squarely in modernity. — The Indy Review
Best Kiss
Listening to Arizona-based garage punks The Exbats, you might be surprised to find that their published discography begins in 2016 and not 1966. The band, consisting of father-daughter duo Kenny (guitar, vocals) and Inez McClain (vocals, drums), joined by Bobby Carlson (bass) and Matt Rendon (guitar), have a beautiful way of translating their vast range of vintage musical influences (The Monkees, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas) into something that feels entirely their own. Effortlessly traversing genres, The Exbats move between '60s girl groups, teenage tragedy songs, bubblegum garage pop and trashy rock 'n' roll. In this freedom of expression, you can hear the joy of creating that permeates the band's music, which also explains their boldness in producing four albums in six years despite the chaos of the global pandemic (with one on the go as we speak!).
One key detail to The Exbats' uniqueness is the familial relationship between Kenny and Inez, who have been playing music together for around eleven years. After picking up the guitar at the age of 42, Kenny, who was in need of a band member, convinced a 10-year-old Inez to learn drums and start a band with him. Thus, The Exbats' sound incorporates the perspective and flavor of two different generations, which can sometimes be heard in the contrast between lyrical content and instrumentation, and other times is in complete harmony. The bond formed by playing music and growing together has nurtured the creative project into something unlike many other bands emerging over the past decade. Always working on the next album, The Exbats are a seemingly unstoppable force of creative inspiration. — Paperface Zine
Ghost in the Record Store
The video for the song “You Don’t Get It (You Don’t Got It)” debuted in early February on the Alternative Press’ website, and showcases the band’s worldview. Inez lassoes a rope around her waist and struggles to pull a giant TV screen on a makeshift wooden sled through the Arizona desert. The images on the screen capture current events including hurricanes in Puerto Rico, fires in Australia, people throwing things at a blow-up doll effigy of Donald Trump, Dakota Access Pipeline Protest footage, and a photo of Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (right as Inez sings, “I don’t need a dumb face smiling at me”).
The personal is often the political, especially when you’re a teenager playing in a band in bars with your dad. One song on Kicks, Hits, and Fits, a one-minute ditty called “Doorman,” is about Inez wanting to fight a bouncer because he wouldn’t let her in the bar where the band were playing.
“Even though in Arizona, you’re allowed to go in with your parent or guardian,” Inez, now 20, says. “And I had a show — and you’re also allowed to legally go into a bar if you’re playing a show. But he refused to let me in.”
“That’s been a constant struggle for ten years,” Kenny concurs. “We started playing shows in bars when Inez was 12, and they always say she can’t come in. And it’s like, ‘Well, we’re booked to play here, and I’m her dad, and we’re here to rock. So, if you don’t mind, just get out of our way.’” — Phoenix New Times
You Don't Get It (You Don't Got It)
Awesome. Awesome. One of the standout singles from Kicks, Hits, and Fits is undoubtedly “I Got the Hots for Charlie Watts”, which I understand may have been…it was thought of, you know, as a possible title for this album, even. Has there been any word from anyone associated with The Rolling Stones regarding Charlie himself or any other Stones’ members hearing the song?
Kenny: Yeah.
Inez: Yeah.
Really?
Kenny: They did two things. Unfortunately, they were gearing up for a stadium tour this summer. And I think that that’s not happening anymore. But, Charlie’s drum tech, a couple months ago wrote me and was, like, “I fuckin’ love you guys. Your song is the best. I cannot wait to share it with the whole crew,” which I thought was great because I was just picturing, you know, a bunch of people on the road, working in a kind of a stressful situation, and, like, giving your boss a gentle and kind ribbing, you know, saying things like, “Ooh, Charlie’s still got it,” you know, which I love. But then there was another story. When we first recorded it, we put a snippet of it last summer up on Instagram. And somehow that got to Billie Joe Armstrong’s attention. And then Billie Joe Armstrong gave it to Ron Wood…forwarded the Instagram post, and that was just of the chorus. And then Ron Wood dug it. And then Ron Wood [gave] it to Charlie on his birthday.
Wow!
Kenny: And then Ron Wood got back to Billie Joe Armstrong, saying that Charlie loved the song. And somehow this whole thread of, like, of text messages got forwarded to Sean Bohrman, the guy that is half of the label that we’re on, Burger Records. — StGA
I Got the Hots for Charlie Watts
Tom Tom: At what point did you guys decide to start playing music together? Can you tell me the story behind that?
Inez: We started playing music together when I was ten, that’ll be 11 years this summer. I was coming home from a sleepover and when my dad picked me up there was a drum set in the back, he told me we were starting a band. I really rejected everything about being in a band with my dad. So there was some compromise, he told me that all kids have to learn an instrument, and I could either take piano lessons from a mean old lady or play drums in a rock band with him. Obviously I chose the latter.
How do you think your relationship with each other has changed since starting to play music together?
One of the main reasons my dad started the band was to create a special kind of communication between us. For all of my childhood it had always been me and my dad, mom wasn’t in the picture very much, and I was about to hitting my teen angst years. So the band was kind of like an emotional outlet, which I think is cheesy, but true. We have always been close, but the band for sure has strengthen that and given us so many memories to look back on. All of that makes us sound sappy, but we’re just a father and daughter that are best friends that like making music.
What’s coming next for y’all (besides world domination)?
Of course our new album is coming out officially, Kicks, Hits, and Fits. We’ve got a lot of spring shows lined up, including Burgerama, and Burgermania at SXSW. We’ve already started working on the next album for 2021, most likely going to be called Inez For Prez 2027, something like that. We’ve got some good old fight songs and love ballads being written for that one. I am running for president in 2027, I’ll be 28, perfect age for the president and it is a voting year, two birds with one stone am I right? I’m gonna criminalize coca-cola, make Party in the U.S.A. by Miley Cyrus the national anthem, and probably a couple other things. — Tom Tom Mag
Like It Like I Do
Paperface Zine: I read that one of your favorite drummers is Charlie Watts (hence the song!). What are your favorite Stones songs, and what is it about Charlie that makes him stand out so much to you?
Inez McClain: The first Rolling Stones song I ever just sat and listened to (possibly one of the very first I ever really listened to) was "Play With Fire." When I first heard it, I was probably in first grade, and I had just never heard anything like it before, it was entirely new to me. I can remember sitting in my room that had a red shaggy carpet and a cheap chandelier, making me feel like the most mature first grader to have ever existed (probably not true). Nowadays the majority of my Spotify playlists consist of "Street Fighting Man" or "2000 Man" (sorry purists, lots of Rolling Stones stuff I like are from Wes Anderson movies). My first real impression of the Rolling Stones as human beings was from the Tami Show where I just thought Keith and Mick were the coolest dudes I had ever seen (obvi), but then I watched the documentary Charlie is My Darling, and fell in love with the cool demeanor of Charlie Watts, he seemed to be a loner, but the coolest loner you've ever seen. And as a drummer, that's extremely relatable. Charlie Watts just seems sweet and respectable. And cool. — Paperface Zine
Doorman
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WHO’S TALKING TO WHO?
Jimmy Kimmel: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Rory Scovel
Jimmy Fallon: Dakota Johnson, Chloë Sevigny, Gaby Moreno featuring Oscar Isaac (R 1/22/24)
Stephen Colbert: Christopher Nolan (R 2/7/24)
After Midnight: Bianca Del Rio, Reggie Watts, Wendi McLendon-Covey (R 2/5/24)
Seth Meyers: Sterling K. Brown, Melissa Rauch, Colleen Clark (R 1/29/24)
Watch What Happens Live: "Southern Hospitality" Season 2 Reunion
The Daily Show: Jason Isbell, host Desi Lydic
LAST WEEK'S POLL: WITHOUT USING GOOGLE, WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS NOT A TOWN LOCATED IN THE UNITED STATES?
Big Bottom 4%
Booger Hole 4%
Friggin 19%
Intercourse 0%
Okay 0%
Santa Claus 0%
Satan's Kingdom 15%
Waterproof 19%
Pie 38%
Friggin is not a town located in the US. Friggin was a town in Arkansas. It was renamed to "Flippin". No joke.
Big Bottom, WA; Booger Hole, WV; Intercourse, PA; Okay, OK; Santa Claus, IN; Satan's Kingdom, MA; Waterproof, LA