Why Protruders (formerly Kappa Chow) Rules by Andrea Patehviri (2016)
Protruders
Protruders (formerly Kappa Chow) currently reside in Toronto, but are originally from Sackville (seriously… what’s in the water over there?). They are Punk as Fuck, as can be attested to by the track of the same name. But don’t make the mistake of pigeonholing them: they are way more than just a punk band. What they do isn’t so much genre-hopping as it is weaving some sort of badass multi-genre tapestry. Their music is quirky, raw, distorted, dissonant, psychedelic, rock-and-roll, garage punk goodness.
The first time I heard them, I was a volunteer in CFRU’s music library and was wading my way through the stacks of music submissions, trying to determine what would get added to our new releases. By the time I popped Kappa Chow’s “Collected Output as of Now” into the CD drive, I had probably subjected my ears to a fair share of sonic cruelty and was expecting more of the same. With just the first few bars of the opening track, I felt the clouds parting. First up was “Jump,” and, boy, did it ever make me wanna. Shimmering guitar, psychedelic sax and synth interplay, mixed with dreamy yet simultaneously attitude-infused vocals – one track in and they had me hooked. Delving more deeply into their album demonstrated that this band never let things get boring. Sometimes punk tunes have the habit of melding into each other, giving you the impression that you’re listening to one long song, but that’s never the case here. Protruders’ tracks each have their own distinctive flavour, allowing your energy as a listener to keep up with the infusion of energy with which they tackle each of their songs – and energy is something that Protruders are in no short supply of.
This is gonna be their inaugural Guelph show as Protruders; let’s show them that we’re not afraid to jump around and get a little (…okay, a lot) weird.
Andrea Patehviri is a member of the Kazoo! Fest Board of Directors and is the Outreach Coordinator at CFRU 93.3 FM.
