HELLBOUND HOUNDS The Hellbound Hounds. From top, Kyle Plyler, drums, Joel Tokunaga, guitar, Nate Verdugo, vocals, Kyle Miyamoto, bass, Matt Bennett, guitar.

Hellraisers

Prurient projections on pure white
help 5 rockers roll out
their Halloween spectacle

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By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com

There are rock bands and there are rock bands -- and then there's the full-fledged spectacle of the Hellbound Hounds.

The five of them -- leadman Nate Verdugo, guitarists Matt Bennett and Joel Tokunaga, and the two Kyles, Miyamoto on bass and melodica and Plyler on drums -- are not some po-faced musicians that stand stock still on stage. "We're five showmen," said Plyler, a San Franciscan transplant who takes Tokunaga's place behind the drum kit, so Tokunaga can flash his rock star poses to better effect.

And instead of dressing up for their upcoming Halloween blowout, the Hounds will be all in "pure" white -- all the better to see the disgusting and prurient imagery that'll be projected on them during their hell-raising set.

"We'll be showing surgery clips, scenes from B-grade horror movies, zombie and '70s exploitation flicks, plus some minor porn," (whatever the heck that is) said Bennett. The Hounds also plan to debut some new material, help reacquaint their fans to their new drummer and feature their costumed female dancers, dubbed the "Hellbound Honeys." "Plus we're trying to get a foam machine for the gig," added Tokunaga.

The guys like to dub what they do simply as "modern rock," although there's a lot of old-school garage, glam and punk energy in their sound and stage presence. They namecheck such influences as T. Rex, the Sweet, AC/DC, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Tool and Radiohead -- but with a rawer edge.

"We hate the current state of rock radio," proclaimed Bennett. "It's so squeaky clean, it's practically air-conditioned." "It's just a cacophony of repetitive noise," added the quote-ready Plyler.

Even though it wasn't their initial intention to enter the recent Battle of the Bands at Pipeline Cafe, when they did, Tokunaga said "we entered it to win" -- which they do so, thanks to their balls-to-the-wall presentation. "I think another reason we won," said Plyler, "is that all the other bands were so heavily genre'd."

It also helps the Hounds that they have such a showman in Verdugo, who has "that Mick Jagger swagger," said Bennett, "even though he'd probably cringe if he heard that comparison. But he's definitely got his own moves, and it's like there was no such thing as rock 'n' roll before Nate showed up.

"He's like Cyndi Lauper on a lot of pills!," he added. "He's not a 'sensitive' vocalist -- Nate's voice is gruff, like he's been smoking two packs a day and downing his fair share of whiskey."

"Rock 'n' roll used to be sexy," Tokunaga said, idly tugging on his lower lip ring. "The kids nowadays have grown up with grunge, hip-hop and nü-metal -- well, we're here to bring that true rock 'n' roll spirit to them."

"We're the proven Spanish Fly," said Plyler. "We're not just a mere band -- we're a musical aphrodisiac!"

Should we be surprised that Tokunaga fantasizes about strippers doing the do to the band's music?

Not with original songs like "What's Going On?," described as "straight-up, sucking-up rock 'n' roll a la Mötorhead and Danzig," and "Where's My Cat?," which is about, to put it politely, a sexual encounter of Verdugo's.

"To put it simply, most of our songs are about sex or drugs or rock 'n' roll," Tokunaga said.

Hellbound Halloween with Hellbound Hounds, Little Moments and Extra Stout Where: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pohukaina St. When: 7 p.m. to midnight Thursday Admission: $5; 18 and over Call: 589-1999

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