KIFF - Declares War on Music
Self Released
"You wanted the Best and you got it. The Hottest band in North Carolina, KIFF!" Yeah, I heard that line some where. KIFF is short for Knowledge Is For Fools. They're a four piece punk rock n roll band hailing from Raleigh, NC. Here's some history for ya. A little over ten years ago four local musicians got together to jam out some punk/metal covers and decided hey we'll play some shows, have some fun and that would be it. Well the next thing, which happens all the time with garage type of bands, KIFF started writing their own material. Next up they got to write the title songs for some zombie movies, most notably "Forever Dead" and "Fistful of Brains".
From there the band garnered a good following from their performances. There's an unspoken truth in my area's local music scene. If you wanna go out to a club to be seen then there's plenty of places to do that. But if you want to go out and have a great time, you go to a KIFF show. The band is one big fuckin party in performing whether it's inviting special guests on stage, having props or just smashing things, sometimes over an audience member's head (and they like it). All of that led to their debut CD a few years ago with was a mix of well worn originals and covers. And from that debut the band just exploded in popularity nationwide. Sure it's more popular in the scumfuck punk rock n roll scene but hey they've paid their fuckin dues.
So here we have KIFF's sophomore release and in all honesty yeah I've heard most of these cuts live. "Prank Caller" will always be a favorite. I know these days the art of prank phone calling is lost but from someone who has participated in that hijinks you gotta love it. "Saw You in the Slammer" is a self depricating cut since at one time all of the band members had girlfriends who were in a local paper which posted pictures of people recently arrested. "Carolina Reaper" is an ode to our state's hotter than hell pepper. Speaking of hot there's a cut about graveyard fucking, "It Was Blasphemy (Was It A Blast For You)". Then there's the hilarious yet thought provoking cut "Record Store Day".
As I said earlier, KIFF does some covers and on this dink you have their takes on songs by the RAMONES, the GODZ, HELLSTOMPER and ANTISEEN. The latter one is special since their version of ANTISEEN's "Fornication" is dedicated to the late great Joe Young, guitarist of ANTISEEN. Since I am a huge ANTISEEN fan (who isn't?) I can say that KIFF did a great job on this song. Another cover which I thought was poignant is "Blood in the Wind". A well loved and respected local band called BLISTER recorded this song for the Fistful of Brains movie soundtrack. Unfortunately their bass player and someone I'd call a friend, Natasha Fatale, passed away. KIFF's version is a stand-up cow punk tribute to that great lady.
For those of you looking at the CD cover and seeing the beautiful woman in the red, white and blue bikini, (which does make America Great Again) ah no she ain't in the band. That's premiere local model and all around rocker girl Kris Kirby. Oh yeah she does know how to use those weapons. Which brings me to the final point on this band's second CD. KIFF have come out with a another release of cool punk rock n roll. Seventeen cuts in all and every one a winner. File this under IT'S NOT METAL BUT I LIKE IT. You could also file this under continuing to create what you love despite the odds. KIFF's second full length shows that the DIY ethic, making long lasting friendships, using social media to it's advantage and having fun beats out having a favorable write-up in a local hipster paper. Nuff Said.
https://www.facebook.com/KIFF-Knowledge-Is-For-Fools-51878349998/
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/knowledgeisforfools4
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