Let Slip the Hamsters of War

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You know why this is a great job? Because if I were, say, an accountant, then I would probably never have received an email from a band called
KK + The Flying Hamsters of Doom.

(Unless, of course, I happened to be KK + The Flying Hamsters of Doom's accountant, in which case I would almost certainly receive emails from them regularly; but I'm not. Ergo, this job is cool.)

Yes, that is the name of a band, and yes, they are even better than their amazingly fantastic name. Like their mutated rodent namesake, KK+FHOD are one part Ozzy, one part Evanescence and one part Tenacious D. Oh, yes: With an album entitled Defenders of Rock, it's a sure bet that these guys are down with The D.

It may come as a surprise, then, to learn that despite their awesome band name, this is not a novelty act. To their extreme credit, KK+FHOD still take the music seriously; and they seriously rock. Frontwoman KK, and band members Tom, Dmitri and Jason deliver the goods with a minimum of fuss, and without wearing silly costumes.

The band's hard-edged Rock sound is infused with Goth elements, which means that the music is nicely melodic, and generally more interesting than it would have been if it were just four people thrashing away.

For some reason, female-fronted Hard Rock has never really taken off in a big way. I mean, the number of female hard-rockers who've cracked the Top 40 can be counted on Roger Rabbit's left hand. Some unenlightened cretins might make the argument that the quality of the female artists in the genre does not compare to that of the men, and therefore the women don't "earn" airplay. Such an argument is inherently asinine, but I created this station to disprove it anyway. Defenders of Rock is well-produced, well-written and accessible...further proof that gender has no impact on how well you can rock.

KK (Photo: Dan Locke)

Chicago has always been a great music town, but lately it's been an embarrassment of riches: KK+FHOD are the third outstanding Chicago band I've added to the playlist in a row...and these have all been random submissions from the bands themselves, not the work of one local promoter. It's not done yet, either; I expect to add a couple more Chicago bands in the near future.

Check out KK + The Flying Hamsters of Doom at their website linked above. It's serious Rock from a band that hasn't lost its sense of humor.