Transmissions :: Kid Congo Powers

Welcome to the final episode of Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions’ 2022 season. We saved a great one for the finale: Kid Congo Powers. Born Brian Tristan in La Puente, California, he eventually adopted the stage name which appears on the cover of Some New Kind of Kick, a new memoir that documents his time in The Cramps, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and The Gun Club, with whom he’s credited for “excessive feedback, guitar and slide guitar, whirling whirlies, maracas and ancient mutterings.” And that’s not all it covers. Kid’s story is a layered one. The book, written with Chris Campion, gets into all of it, including frank examinations of queer identity, struggles with addiction, and his connection to the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce—who’s dream visit inspired his 2020 Pink Monkey Birds Latin psych epic “He Walked In.”  At once hilarious, tender, and possessing an almost dreamlike spiritual quality, it’s a great read. And it arrives alongside two new records: Summer Forever and Ever, the second album by Wolfmanhattan Project, his trio with Mick Collins of The Dirtbombs and Gories and Bob Bert, formerly of Sonic Youth, and Kid Congo Powers and The Near Death Experience Live in St. Kilda, a live concert taped in Australia. Both will be out physically in 2023—but you can listen to them digitally now. Or rather, after you finish this conversation between host Jason P. Woodbury and Kid, fellow Arizonans. Thanks so much for listening to Transmissions. Our 2022 season closes with this episode. We’ll be back in early 2023, keep your eyes on Aquarium Drunkard for more info and check out the Patreon for bonus content we’ll be sharing over the next couple months. This season of Transmissions is concluded.