KING FU NECKTIE is an ancient combat strangle hold developed to fool English colonizers in the 18th century. Eastern Asia was very much rallying for sovereignty at this point and soldiers developed a technique where in they would invite an English military man out for a taste of the local cuisine under the guise of inviting the English into their culture. The Englishman, knowing nothing of eastern culture, would invariably become shocked to find the restaurant as "Mao Chun Yeoh" (Dinner Jacket Required) and would be forced, out of sheer english guilt, to don the house jacket and tie. At this point the combatant would switch out the tie for a ravenous Asian Python snake and the deadly maneuver soon became known as the "Kung Fu Necktie".
As tends to happen in American culture the Kung Fu Necktie has been passed along through generations as a dinner party story, a silly icebreaker, a matter of kitsch. Just North of Girard Street under the El train there is a bar that has taken the moniker and uses it ironically as young folks tend to do. They have music at this bar and on Thursday, January 7th (this Thursday) we will be playing there at 9PM sharp, in order to spread the truth. Do not miss out on all the history.
w/ the Bee Team + Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies. 8PM. $5.
Though their sound seems more fitting for some dusty barroom in an old Western town, TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb's lyrics are crafted by someone who has seen the world (at least the lowdown parts of it). TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb's music can be most singularly described as evocative. Listening to their music, you're drawn into a vivid world inhabited by wanderers, dreamers, and drunks. Beneath all of TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb's songs, you can hear the faint sizzle of highway asphalt.
Half singing, half growling, TJ Kong likes to lay lyrics on thick. In a style akin to Bob Dylan, Kong weaves cynical tales that are uplifted by well-crafted wit and turns-of-phrases. In the nihilistic lament 'Making Up For Lost Time,' Kong croons, "you got a plan, I got nothing to prove / we've been waiting for someone to start the next move / you can study the lies and fight for the view... say what you want, either way you're a fool." Kong's lyrics are clever without coming off as pretentious; he seems to shrugs them off as second nature. This naturalistic songwriting is similar to the view on love expressed in 'The Trail of the Lonesome Hobo:' "I don't know what love is, but I can feel it in my veins."
During most songs, you're not sure whether to laugh or cry, though it's probably just best to dance along. While the lyrics are heavy with the blues, the rhythm section remains lighthearted and sometimes jaunty. The refreshing editions of the occasional harmonica or banjo are the finishing touches on TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb's unique folk sound. And any band featuring a skillful banjo picker, with his rollicking solo on 'The Trail of the Lonesome Hobo,' is just fine by me.
Track Pick: 'The Trail of the Lonesome Hobo'
by Emily Currier
"Winding around the labyrinthine pathways of The Magic Gardens the sound of rousing country blues follows after us, softly building as continuous waves curve along the living corals of Isaiah Zagar's artwork to bring us to the fore where the band - part of TJ Kong and The Atomic Bomb complemented by members of Jubel Jenkins - stands under an ornate wooden carapace."
"Sans microphone, Kong's froggy voice, rich with character, powerfully projects outward with relaxed ease as the accompaniments - cello, violin, accordion, and standing bass - rise together with mirthful glee, the synergy at its height on the track, Everyone We Know, where the cello weeps in slow measure throughout while Kong leads with trilling guitar rhythms as his harmonica busily sings to the frenetic dance of the violin."
"A chorus of subdued melancholy rises up from the string pieces while Kong softly strums on a slow number, singing, "I'll trample the flowers by my own grave, but they'll only bloom again," his signature vocals instilling nuances through expert tonality. Fittingly, the music is tinged with malaise during this song about "the whole world going dry," while Magic Gardens' plethora of repurposed beer bottles surround us. Though not too dour, the pulse quickly shoots back up on the next track, the music returning to an approximation of convivial times one could imagine Mr. Zagar and his friends experienced in emptying all those bottles."
by Brion Shreffler
She's got legs. She knows how to use them.
band@tjkongandtheatomicbomb.com
422 Watkins Street
Philadelphia,PA 19148
United Stated of America
