The Ledge #84: Jeff Smith of The Hickoids

A few weeks ago, Realpunkradio main guru Jason Snyderman played a great cover of The Damned's "Neat Neat Neat" on his Burrito Electrico show. Once I found out that it was the Hickoids that were performing the remake, Snyderman informed me that if I was interested he could get Hickoids leader Jeff Smith on The Ledge. Yes! Definitely!
Due to conflicting schedules, it took us a little bit of time to find time to record, but this past Sunday we were able to spend a couple of hours chatting and playing tunes. Originally formed in 1985, The Hickoids are one of those bands that are impossible to categorize. Yeah, there's some punk rock in there, along with some elements of country, psychobilly, garage rock, and so many more.
The best description is probably found on their website, which states "to truly 'get' The Hickoids as they were in their original wild, wooly and damned loud and raucously ragged magnificence, combine tequila with beer chasers (not the other way round), psychedelic shrooms, demon musical seeds spewed by The Sex Pistols, The Ramones and Iggy & The Stooges, honky-tonk and 'Hee Haw', hay bales scattered in the air...". Ok, you get the idea.
After a decade-plus break, The Hickoids reconvened a few years ago, along with a record label, Saustex, run by Smith. Besides Hickoids product, the label has also recently released albums by The Sons of Hercules, Glambilly, Pinata Protest, Churchwood, Snowbyrd, and The Service Industry. For more information, check out Saustexmedia.com.
You can download the show at the usual spots - utilize The Ledge android/iPhone app, subscribe via iTunes, stream through Stitcher, or directly download here. Here's Jeff's playlist:

1. The Hickoids, "Gudbuy t'Jane"
2. Lou Reed "Vicious"
3. Wounded Turkey "Suffragette City"
4. Johnny Kid & The Pirates "Shakin' All Over"
5. The Who "Substitute"
6. Hickoids "Pictures Of Lily"
7. Sex Pistols "Satellite"
8. Hickoids "Neat, Neat, Neat"
9. The Rolling Stones "Satisfaction"
10. David Bowie "Let's Spend The Night Together"
11. Hickoids "Have You Seen Your Mother..."
12. Cheap Trick "C'mon, C'mon"
13. Hickoids "Brontosaurus"
14. Little Richard "Good Golly Miss Molly"
15. Slade "Get Down and Get With It"
16. New York Dolls "Lone Star Queen"
17. Hickoids "Bennie & The Jets"
18. Sons Of Hercules "Your Salvation"
19. Robert Calvert, "Ejection"