I forget exactly where I picked this one up, which is surprising because it’s probably my most prized record. It was recorded by a Kansas City band and released on a KC label. Repping my hometown hard. The funny thing is, I didn’t find it in KC.
Digging through a box of 45s I pulled it out and was in complete awe. Heart in my throat. This was the first KC record I’d ever found in the wild. If I remember right it was $25, a bargain for a clean copy of a short-run pressing from an indie label.
The first time I played it I was blown away. Hey, that guy is singing about my hometown! It starts with a funky guitar and a sound I still can’t quite put my finger on, either a talk box or a guitar effect I’ve never heard before. Either way it fits perfectly with everything around it. The drums kick in next and honestly they’re nothing to write home about. They’re just there, just enough to swing the funk. Then the bass line comes in, an electric piano follows, and a lead male vocal finds his way into the mix. Kansas City’s… Yes. Now we’re talking.
The tune stays pretty consistent as it moves, broken up by a few well-placed breaks for bass, drums, a whistle, and cowbell. Apparently they got Will Ferrell’s memo. Said out loud it sounds like a wildly odd combination, but together they just sound right. The vocalist goes on to paint a picture of KC’s east side, my grandma’s neighborhood, and mine in my early twenties.
The B side is a treasure in its own right: a beautiful recording of the soul classic “Grandma’s Hands.”
If you’ve never found a rare record older than you are from your own stomping grounds, I can’t explain the feeling. You’re hearing your city’s developing sound and history straight from the streets.
I eventually reached out to a well-known crate digger from back home to see if he had any information on the band or the label. Of course he did; old fliers, posters, bits of history. But the questions linger. What happened to the label? What happened to the band? What was the music scene like then, and who were they sharing stages with? So many questions. At least I have one answer: this is what a KC indie funk and soul band from the ’70s sounds like.
Keep your eyes peeled for labels you’ve never heard of. You never know what you might find.