The Gloryholes – Memphis Flyer

October 30th is Devil’s Night, at least according to some traditions. It’s a night for mischief, making it a fitting warmup for Halloween. That also makes it the ideal setting for a rock-and-roll show, such as when The Glory Holes and Switchblade Kid share the bill at the Hi Tone this Saturday. In advance of the concert, I spoke with Harry Koniditsiotis of Switchblade Kid about frightening films, the power of a producer, and how he’s stayed busy (very busy) during the pandemic.

Memphis Flyer: The last time we spoke, it was for a Christmas-themed concert at Two Rivers Bookstore. Do you have a particular fondness for holiday concerts?

Harry Koniditsiotis: I do. I love all the lights, decorations and especially vintage plastic blow molds. I covered Two Rivers in Christmas lights and blow molds. It was so dreamy. Holidays always seem like a great time to throw a party. This Halloween show will have plenty of spooky decor, gloomy lighting and smoke.

Is this a Switchblade Kid (the band) concert, or will you be flying solo?
This will be the full band. We’ll be playing material from a new album that I hope to have out next year and some old favorites.

We will also be brushing up on a few Angel Sluts tunes in preparation for the upcoming reunion show for The Angel Sluts Live at the Buccaneer album. That will be in January. And probably throw in a few Turn It Offs songs just to keep things interesting.

I’ve been working with a new label out of Los Angeles called Thanks I Hate It Records. They will be putting out both albums and rereleasing the first album of my old ’90s New Orleans goth band, Falling Janus, The Trinity Site. The first track “Empty Shoulders” was recently picked up to use in an upcoming New Orleans-based horror movie called Tad Caldwell and the Monster Kid.

The show is at the newly relocated Hi Tone. What do you think of the new space?
I think it’s a great spot. This will be my first time playing at the new location so I’m looking forward to it.

What can we expect from this concert — any spooky songs?
I think all my songs have a bit of a spooky vibe. That might be the New Orleans thing.

Speaking of spookiness, where do you fall on the horror spectrum? Switchblade Kid music has always struck me as somewhat ominous, but I don’t think of the project as really horror-themed.
I think it’s more of a Twilight Zone, Twin Peaks, silent film vibe than anything. Music for flickering 8mm projectors.

Okay, quick Halloween horror rundown. What’s your favorite scary franchise?
I’ve been on a mummy kick this season and am currently watching 1981’s Dawn of the Mummy. But I did just finish a Godzilla marathon.

Cabinet of Dr. Caligari might be my favorite horror movie of all time. Two years ago I made a cut with an all Bauhaus soundtrack and showed it at Black Lodge. I love the classic Universal horror monsters and B-movie giant spiders-type stuff.

You’re from New Orleans and you live in Memphis, two cities that definitely have associations with being haunted. Do you think that’s a factor in your aesthetic?
There’s such a natural death culture in New Orleans. It’s like breathing. You grow up around all these monuments to the dead and somewhat carry on the tradition, knowingly or not. I’ll play a friend something I wrote and they’ll say “Wow, that’s spooky as hell,” and I’m like, “Oh really? I thought it was pretty sunshine happy.”

How have you kept yourself busy during the pandemic?
I gotta say I stayed busy as hell. I would actually love another shutdown so I could get more done. I recorded a new Switchblade Kid album, discovered the Live at the Buccaneer recording that Joe Holland did back in 2005 and got that record rolling. I started writing a comic book called Day Labor, so that was a whole new thing for me. The best was cutting a cover of “Memphis Tennessee” with the one and only Ross Johnson, who oddly enough knew my next door neighbor from the house I grew up in. He actually stayed next door for a week back in the ’80s. If only I had met Ross when I was 10! I also did a set for the Shangri-La Records podcast. That was a lot of fun.

Tell me a little bit about the porch shows you’ve put on. The neighbors don’t mind?
The neighborhood actually loved it! I thought the neighbors would be annoyed but I kept having random people approach me on the street and ask when the next one was. I think the shows brought a lot of joy to people in Cooper-Young who were dealing with the isolation of lockdown. I basically had bands play in the driveway of my studio 5 & Dime Recording.

Do you like hosting other bands, or working with them in the studio? How is that different from working on your own songs?
I love being a producer. I always liked the George Martin/Martin Hannett aspect of working with bands. I can’t be in a million bands but it’s fun to be a part of so many even if it’s just for a short time period.

Have you got anything else in the works our readers should know about?
I’ll be releasing my New Orleans comic book documentary Who the Hell is Alfred Medley?! in May 2022 so I’m super excited about getting that out there and hitting the film fest and comic con circuit.

Pre-orders are up for The Angel Sluts Live at the Buccaneer on yellow vinyl at ThanksIHateItRecords.com.

Switchblade Kid, The Gloryholes will perform at Hi Tone on Saturday, October 30th, 9 p.m. $5

In advance of a Saturday-night gig with The Glory Holes, Harry Koniditsiotis of Switchblade Kid talks — Harry Koniditsiotis of Switchblade Kid (Courtesy Harry Koniditsiotis)

The Subteens

For those who came of age in the first blush of punk rock, before it was codified into a “sound,” the movement known as “Rock Against Racism” was a clarion call of the new aesthetic. Even as it coalesced into a series of concerts in London’s East End, it sprang from a broader social movement that challenged and inspired bands to inject more political awareness into their sound. Nonetheless, it certainly was triggered by a musical event: Eric Clapton, during a 1976 show in Birmingham, launched into an anti-immigrant rant and endorsed U.K. ultra-nationalist Enoch Powell. It was the death knell, in a way, for any claim that classic rock had on the music’s original rebellious spirit. Taking up the mantle, and filled with disgust at the entitlement that Clapton expressed, was a new guard of punks and activists.

In my teenage years, as all this was going down, Rock Against Racism was more abstract, but I knew it fomented some great compilation albums, featuring the likes of the Mekons, Elvis Costello, X-Ray Spex, the Specials, or, maybe my favorite at the time, the Stiff Little Fingers. It grew into a conceptual concert series that spanned multiple years and multiple genres, as the first wave of rebellion splintered into a thousand different styles.

For many years afterward, RAR seemed an artifact of its time, as politically subversive music ebbed away and the splintering of genres continued apace into the new century. But with the current climate of rabid nationalism and bigotry, epitomized by the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan and other American “alt right” groups, emboldened by a bullying loudmouth who fulfills their most garish fantasies of authoritarianism, Rock Against Racism is relevant again.

Cue the indie Memphis rock scene, who will gather at the Hi Tone this Saturday to bring Rock Against Racism into the 21st Century. Making use of both stages at the venue, the gathering will bring together The Subteens, Pezz, The Gloryholes, Negro Terror, Arizona Akin & The Hoodrat Hyenas, who will donate all door proceeds to Bridges USA.
Michael Donahue

Negro Terror at Our Scene United

The nonprofit’s mission states: “In greater Memphis, young people’s day-to-day interactions and relationships are racially, ethnically, socially, economically and/or religiously segregated. These are huge divides that block collaboration, trust-building, mutual understanding and empathy. Our intensive training teaches not only respect for diversity and inclusion, but it also builds skills for the 21st Century like creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, effective citizenship and social responsibility.”

Such a radically inclusive vision is sorely needed today, according to co-organizer and Subteen member Mark Akin. “I work about a block from immigration court and have for the last seven years,” he says. And all of a sudden, in the last three or four months, every day there are families of brown people, all dressed up and looking slightly anxious, making their way to immigration court, mostly Hispanic and Middle Eastern. The Subteens has never been a political band, ever. It’s just never really been our thing. But it seems like now, you almost have to pick a side. Anybody that disagrees with what the current administration is doing has to stand up and say ‘I disagree.’ The luxury days are over now. The luxury of keeping your mouth shut and your head down doesn’t exist anymore. Those of us with a conscience have a responsibility to do something. And this is something we can do. To donate the money to Bridges is a very useful endeavor.”

Pezz has long been on the more political side of the local hardcore scene. Negro Terror packs a political punch simply by virtue of being one of the few African American hardcore bands on the scene. Others, like the Subteens, simply want to rock and roll. But all are committing themselves to a larger vision of justice and inclusiveness. The original activists behind Rock Against Racism would surely approve, though Eric Clapton might still take some convincing.