Some New Kind of Kick: A Memoir
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- Create Date：2022-10-31 08:51:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Kid Congo Powers
- ISBN：0306828022
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Summary
An intimate， coming-of-age memoir by legendary guitarist Kid Congo Powers， detailing his experiences as a young， queer Mexican-American in 1970s Los Angeles through his rise in the glam rock and punk rock scenes。
Kid Congo Powers has been described as a “legendary guitarist and paragon of cool” with “the greatest resume ever of anyone in rock music。" That unique imprint on rock history stems from being a member of not one but three beloved， groundbreaking， and influential groups—Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds， the Cramps， and last but not least， The Gun Club， the wildly inventive punk-blues band he co-founded。
Some New Kind of Kick begins as an intimate coming of age tale， of a young， queer， Chicano kid， growing up in a suburb east of East LA， in the mid-‘70s， exploring his sexual identity through glam rock。 When a devastating personal tragedy crushes his teenage dreams， he finds solace and community through fandom， as founder （‘The Prez’） of the Ramones West Coast fan club， and immerses himself in the delinquent chaos of the early LA punk scene。
A chance encounter with another superfan， in the line outside the Whiskey-A-Go-Go to get into a Pere Ubu concert， changes the course of his life entirely。 Jeffrey Lee Pierce， a misfit Chicano punk who runs the Blondie fan club， proposes they form a band。 The Gun Club is born。 So begins an unlikely transition from adoring fan to lauded performer。 In Pierce， he finds brotherhood， a creative voice， and a common cause， but also a shared appetite for self-destruction that threatens to overwhelm them both。
Quirky， droll， and heartfelt， with a pitch-perfect evocation of time and place， and a wealth of richly-drawn supporting characters， Some New Kind of Kick is a memoir of personal transformation， addiction and recovery， friendship and belonging， set against the relentless creativity and excess of the ’70s and ’80s underground music scenes。
Kid Congo Powers has been described as a “legendary guitarist and paragon of cool” with “the greatest resume ever of anyone in rock music。" That unique imprint on rock history stems from being a member of not one but three beloved， groundbreaking， and influential groups—Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds， the Cramps， and last but not least， The Gun Club， the wildly inventive punk-blues band he co-founded。
Some New Kind of Kick begins as an intimate coming of age tale， of a young， queer， Chicano kid， growing up in a suburb east of East LA， in the mid-‘70s， exploring his sexual identity through glam rock。 When a devastating personal tragedy crushes his teenage dreams， he finds solace and community through fandom， as founder （‘The Prez’） of the Ramones West Coast fan club， and immerses himself in the delinquent chaos of the early LA punk scene。
A chance encounter with another superfan， in the line outside the Whiskey-A-Go-Go to get into a Pere Ubu concert， changes the course of his life entirely。 Jeffrey Lee Pierce， a misfit Chicano punk who runs the Blondie fan club， proposes they form a band。 The Gun Club is born。 So begins an unlikely transition from adoring fan to lauded performer。 In Pierce， he finds brotherhood， a creative voice， and a common cause， but also a shared appetite for self-destruction that threatens to overwhelm them both。
Quirky， droll， and heartfelt， with a pitch-perfect evocation of time and place， and a wealth of richly-drawn supporting characters， Some New Kind of Kick is a memoir of personal transformation， addiction and recovery， friendship and belonging， set against the relentless creativity and excess of the ’70s and ’80s underground music scenes。
Reviews
Andrea
，
Kid Congo Powers has interacted with so many people that I admire and he has so many great stories， this book was a sheer pleasure to read。
Megan
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Loved reading about his early days of being an obsessed music fan and all the DIY details and chaos of the punk scene。 I’ve been recommending this to all of my gay punk artist friends from NYC to Seattle。 Inspiring！
unknown
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Get this bookThis is a very good read。 I am happy that he covered his early days as much as he did and brought up the music that influenced him。
Diane Hernandez
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Some New Kind of Kick is the story of a Hispanic gay punk’s journey from a confused adolescent to guitarist with The Cramps。It’s the late 1970s。 Punk rock is just beginning in Los Angeles。 Here is your chance to take a drug-fueled lap around the club and gay scene with Kid Congo。Since I grew up in the same area at the same time， many of the stories in the book bring back good memories。 Unfortunately， many of those same stories are name bombs that show who the author met but little about those pe Some New Kind of Kick is the story of a Hispanic gay punk’s journey from a confused adolescent to guitarist with The Cramps。It’s the late 1970s。 Punk rock is just beginning in Los Angeles。 Here is your chance to take a drug-fueled lap around the club and gay scene with Kid Congo。Since I grew up in the same area at the same time， many of the stories in the book bring back good memories。 Unfortunately， many of those same stories are name bombs that show who the author met but little about those people’s personalities or quirks。 I expected more personal details about some seemingly interesting characters。Some New Kind of Kick is an interesting read for those interested in punk music and/or gay culture， particularly in Los Angeles。 It is also an empowering coming-of-age tale about how to find yourself when everyone else around you looks/feels completely different from you。 3。5 stars rounded up to 4 stars！Thanks to Hachette Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book。 。。。more
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Hachette Books for an advanced copy of this memoir and history of a glam and punk music musician and survivor。 Music never judges。 People judge for the music that others listen to， but Music itself is always welcoming and accepting。 Music wants to be enjoyed， to be sung and danced to， even when played in a way to make others feel bad， or even feel fear。 Music doesn't know and Music doesn't really care。 Outsiders have always found shelter in music， th My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Hachette Books for an advanced copy of this memoir and history of a glam and punk music musician and survivor。 Music never judges。 People judge for the music that others listen to， but Music itself is always welcoming and accepting。 Music wants to be enjoyed， to be sung and danced to， even when played in a way to make others feel bad， or even feel fear。 Music doesn't know and Music doesn't really care。 Outsiders have always found shelter in music， the scene， the fans， the players sometimes more accepting than families。 These outsiders might prosper in the scene， enriching the scene with their talents， even if its only knowing one chord， or singing out of key。 They want to give back all that they have received to help others feel safe。 Kid Congo Powers is one of these outsiders and his book Some New Kind of Kick written with Chris Campion is about his live in music， his bands， his loves and his many losses。Brian Tristan was born in California the son of Mexican American parents and a strong feeling of not belonging。 Not knowing of familiar with his Mexican background， and looking not enough to be American， he was also gay which was something he did not understand， being which added to his alienation。 Until he found music。 And he world around it。 A scene where he could dress like he wanted， be who he wanted and people supported him and loved him， and unfortunately introduced him to the world of drugs。 Waiting on line for a show he met Jeffrey Lee Pierce who pushed him to learn guitar and together they would form a band The Gun Club。 Soon he was approached to join the band the Cramps， an amazing band， when their guitarist went AWOL。 In the Cramps he was given the nickname Kid Congo Powers， but tax problems and Kid's drug problems caused him to leave the band。 Opportunity came in the form of joining Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds， and further adventures lay in wait。 A very good warts and all memoir about a man who helped in the creation of a lot of great music and has quite the resume。 Kid is not shy about discussing anything in his life， good or bad， and knows a tremendous amount of people。 This is not a dishy gossip piece， people are treated like people， some are good some are bad。 There is a tremendous amount of loss cousins， friends， bandmates， parents， and Kid writes about this very powerfully， what these have done to him， and how he feels he should have done more。 The section about him cleaning himself off of drugs， is my favorite， Kid seems so proud and happy， it really comes off the page。 A very good story about a nice guy who loved music， and admits he was very lucky about who he got to play it with。 A nice look at the LA punk scene， plenty of fun stories about rock n' roll excess， even better stories about the power of music and how it helped Kid find who he is。 Recommended for glam and punk fans， or for people who love music in general and love reading good stories about a good guy at peace with himself。 。。。more
Will Allison
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Thank you #goodreadsgiveaway for the opportunity to read this。 The story is familiar with the drug usage， partying and internal drama。 While the artist themselves writes a story all their own， which makes it unique in that aspect， the story's progression is slow and needs assistance in terms of flow。 Thank you #goodreadsgiveaway for the opportunity to read this。 The story is familiar with the drug usage， partying and internal drama。 While the artist themselves writes a story all their own， which makes it unique in that aspect， the story's progression is slow and needs assistance in terms of flow。 。。。more
Beagle Lover （Avid Reader）
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4 stars This will be quick。 A story about the repeated rises and falls of a young gay Mexican- American boy from a poor upbringing。 He wanders through his life on sex， drugs and booze， while learning to play guitar and co-founding a punk rock band， The Gun Club。 He was also a member of the Cramps， which garnered him the most fame。 Along the way， the AIDS disease strikes， claiming a number of his friends and sexual partners。 Luckily， he remained uninfected。 A good read for those into self-destruc 4 stars This will be quick。 A story about the repeated rises and falls of a young gay Mexican- American boy from a poor upbringing。 He wanders through his life on sex， drugs and booze， while learning to play guitar and co-founding a punk rock band， The Gun Club。 He was also a member of the Cramps， which garnered him the most fame。 Along the way， the AIDS disease strikes， claiming a number of his friends and sexual partners。 Luckily， he remained uninfected。 A good read for those into self-destructive behavioral patterns， punk/glam rock and a unique coming-of-age story。 Kid Congo Powers currently the front man for Kid Congo and The Pink Monkey Birds。 。。。more
Karen
，
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。I'm a bit familiar with who the author is， but I am more familiar with the punk scene he came from。 He tells his story in an interesting way， and this kept my interest。 If music， especially from the 70s punk scene， interests you， READ THIS BOOK。 You won't be disappointed！！。 I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。I'm a bit familiar with who the author is， but I am more familiar with the punk scene he came from。 He tells his story in an interesting way， and this kept my interest。 If music， especially from the 70s punk scene， interests you， READ THIS BOOK。 You won't be disappointed！！。 。。。more
Matt Kratz
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I enjoyed reading this。 Good story！
Nat
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I'm not one to judge someone's lived experiences。 But the writing style in this book just wasn't my vibe。 It was super repetitive， and I felt like it didn't even talk about the author's life all that much。 I'm not one to judge someone's lived experiences。 But the writing style in this book just wasn't my vibe。 It was super repetitive， and I felt like it didn't even talk about the author's life all that much。 。。。more
Stenedria
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I received this arc in a giveaway in exchange for an honest review。 I wanted to like this book more than I did。 I found this to be a whirlwind of names and bands along with the journey of sexual identity and drug use。 I felt the narrative was a bit scattered for me。 One moment， there's experiences with bands and traveling on tour， then it stop to talk vaguely on drug use and brief mention of sex。 I think all of those things are great to explore in a memoir， but there was a lot of some aspects an I received this arc in a giveaway in exchange for an honest review。 I wanted to like this book more than I did。 I found this to be a whirlwind of names and bands along with the journey of sexual identity and drug use。 I felt the narrative was a bit scattered for me。 One moment， there's experiences with bands and traveling on tour， then it stop to talk vaguely on drug use and brief mention of sex。 I think all of those things are great to explore in a memoir， but there was a lot of some aspects and not enough of others。 And then I felt like some aspects were glossed over and never really given much depth other than a casual mention （coming to terms with finding your sexuality， recovering from drug use， family， dealing with death， diving into public stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS， etc。）。 To be fair， family was more included in the beginning before the narrator became a journalist， but quickly dipped off to get to the band life and wandering from place-to-place life。 Then it was inserted here and there later on， but it didn't have much of an impact for me。 All the people mentioned didn't have an impact for me either other than Jeffrey Lee Pierce （with the exception of some family members）。 I didn't know the bands or their rotating roster of members， so it came more across as name-dropping than people who held a difference in shaping the narrator's life。 Perhaps they did， but it was all a blur to me。 It ultimately felt like a lot to tackle for one memoir in my opinionI did thoroughly enjoyed the line at the end， "That was the thread running through all the art， music， literature， and culture we discovered and obsessed over together: the darkness and the light， the merging of the two to make a full spectrum of emotion and experience" （252）。I do feel like this book is worth giving a try if you're interested in the music scene。 。。。more
Lovely Loveday
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Some New Kind of Kick is an intriguing coming-of-age memoir by legendary guitarist Kid Congo Powers。 A memoir full of insights that give you a behind the scene look at Kid Congo Powers。
Alexander
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