Dissecting ‘Lust’
The Hell Caminos talk about their sophomore CD release
IN A city where island music and mainstream hip-hop permeate the soundscape, the Hell Caminos are the lone option for fans of psychobilly, a blend of '50s rockabilly with a dash of late '70s/early '80s punk rock.
'LUST' CD RELEASE PARTY
With the Hell Caminos
Place: Anna Bannana's, 2440 S. Beretania St.
Time: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
Cover: $5; all ages
Call: 946-5190
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After forming the band in 2004, Michael Camino and Nick Danger discovered there was an audience for their style of music when their debut, "Through the Day and Through the Night," was released a year later. Since then, the band has changed drummers and added a second guitarist while continuing to push musical boundaries and cement their place within the local scene.
"Lust" is the Hell Caminos' sophomore effort, and the band will celebrate with an all-ages CD release party at Anna Bannana's. The Star-Bulletin sat down with Camino and Danger last week to get their thoughts on each of the 17 tracks on the album.
» Track 1: "A Dark Place"
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Michael Camino: That song is about me growing up in Kailua, and how it was really kind of like a dark time in my life. I was pretty much getting into trouble every day, so when I go back, I get this ill kind of feeling.
» Track 2: "Lust"
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Nick Danger: It was about a long, long, drawn-out, back-and-forth relationship. After a while, all that was left was lust. The situation was bad news.
» Track 3: "And I Know"
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MC: This song really isn't about anything, is it?
ND: This was one of my buddies' songs. He didn't have any bands that this song would fit in with, so I said I was going to take that song and play it.
And then Jesse (Atomic) joined the band ... and we were like, 'Why don't you sing the song?' So he wrote the lyrics. So I can't really say what it's about anymore.
» Track 4: "The Cold Light of Dawn"
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ND: It's about the rise of Darth Vader (laughs). When I listen to it, that's what I think it's about.
MC: Yeah, it is kind of like giving in to your dark side.
ND: Mike never explained to me what the song was about, so I made it up myself.
MC: It's about drug addiction, about doing a lot of drugs in high school. I was a gnarly juvenile delinquent.
That song is about just running through the night and doing all this (stuff), and the sun rises and you're still tweaking. It's like God's flashlight shining on you.
» Track 5: "Forever"
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ND: I wrote this song as a sequel to a song that was on the first album.
Actually, it's got three parts. These three songs are not true, it's just a big long story. It's all about the idea that there was a girl that died, and there was a guy who was searching for her and then he dies.
» Track 6: "Into the Night"
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MC: This is about a girl. ... I cheated on her and felt like a bastard, and ended up writing this song in two days.
My story is that I always meet a girl and I want her real bad. Once I have her, I'm over it. And then I realize how good it was and I come back to her, and then I'm over it again.
Or, she doesn't want to have anything to do with me, so I go back into the night to my dark spot.
» Track 7: "Killing Machine"
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ND: It's about someone killing me.
MC: We try to shock the audience. People remember your show more when you do off-the-wall (stuff). I think that more than musicians, we're entertainers. My favorite thing to do is entertain a crowd.
ND: I think we have two really big influences. One would be that whole '50s style, and we'll go on kicks where all we listen to is old rockabilly. Then we'll be listening to hard-core '80s and '90s punk rock.
» Track 8: "Vegas Lights"
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MC: You can just skip this song. Sometimes we just write a song and there isn't any meaning behind it. That's how this song is.
I will say, though, that the guitar lead in to this one is (freaking) rad.
» Track 9: "Old Snake Road"
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MC: It's about Old Snake Road, going out to the North Shore, you know? There's always a bouquet and a cross on the side of the road.
ND: And white owls! Anybody who has driven that road late at night has seen an owl in their headlights. The experience of that drive ... the way the song is, the music and all the lyrics, it really captures that.
» Track 10: "18"
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MC: I wrote this one about a year and a half ago. Ask me if I did anything, though!
ND: I don't think there's anybody it doesn't (happen to).
MC: I was a gentleman. But, I'm not going to say I didn't think about it. It happens to everyone in veteran bands ... but what makes you a bastard or not is if you act on it.
ND: A lot of people love this song, and then they hear the lyrics later and they're like, "Oh snap!"
MC: At an all-ages show, we'll get a row of girls just standing there staring at Nick.
ND: It's cool, I guess. I don't know what to say about that.
» Track 11: "Scream and Shout"
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ND: This was a song I wrote for my roommate. At the time, he was in a relationship, and he was just a real free-spirited guy. And his girlfriend was like, 'I want you to stop doing this.' She was driving him crazy.
» Track 12: "Brackish Line"
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MC: A lot of times when you go out with someone, you're kind of like swallowed by their water. So it's like dirty water, brackish water, and when it recedes ... you see all the filth left over. So when you break up with your girlfriend or boyfriend, you still have their filth on you.
» Track 13: "Not in this Life"
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MC: This song is pretty close to what you'll hear when we play live. Jesse's pretty much made himself indispensable. We sound so much better with two guitars.
ND: The more rockabilly stuff always seems to have a solo because that's the style of it.
» Track 14: "Sound|House Punks"
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MC: It's about our circle of friends. Josh from the 86List has been a big help. S-1 Atomic, Black Square, Dolls Till Daylight ... that's pretty much our whole crew.
» Track 15: "On the Run"
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ND: This is more a rockabilly/swing song.
MC: Jack, our drummer, wrote this song and sings it on the album, which is pretty cool. And then Ryan Kunimura from Go Jimmy Go and New Jass Quartet did the trombone and sax.
» Track 16: "Hell's Road"
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MC: It's another song where I made some mistakes and I wrote the song while I was feeling sorry for myself. It's a metaphor for doing the same (stuff) over and over again and expecting different results.
» Track 17: "Hand in Hand"
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ND: I wrote that one. I played piano for like, five years when I was little. It's a story about the end of the world and looking back at your life as if you're the last one.
This whole song, I don't know if I'd say it was my masterpiece, but I'm really pleased with it. It's really mellow, and then it kind of builds up.
In my mind, I picture buildings falling and all kinds of crazy stuff going on.