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KICKIN VALENTINA “THE REVENGE OF ROCK” Album Release Party

A jam-packed weekend revealing that revenge isn’t always a dish best served cold. Especially when you get a bunch of bands, a traveling mob of die-hard fans and two smoking hot cities to showcase the release of a 3rd full-length album titled “The Revenge of Rock.” 

US hard rock band Kickin Valentina calls this their most diverse album so far. The Atlanta, Georgia group has had their fair share of diversity while touring America and Europe opening for acts like Queensryche, Nitrogods, Skid Row, Doro, Faster Pussycat, Buckcherry, LA Guns, Pop Evil and more. 

So let’s see how this major rock n roll event all went down ~

NIGHT # 1

1/22: Nashville, TN

Friday nights extravaganza took place in the heart of Music City… Nashville, Tennessee. Bowie’s Nashville which opened in February 2020, inspired to provide Nashville with a premier rock ’n’ roll joint that honors the past, welcomes today’s legends, and provides a home for those getting their start. Where else can you get a dessert called “She’s My Cherry Pie?” It’s enough to make a grown man cry. EAT…DRINK…ROCK…ROLL.

The night started out early with Tennessee area locals Evolved which includes legendary singer and guitar hero CHARLES WAYNE MORRILL former singer for HAWK, a band which also featured Scott Travis from Judas Priest. Wayne was also guitar player for BULLET BOYS also BLACK KNIGHT & PLATINUM ROSE. He also worked with fellow 80’s rocker Ron Keel, under the name of Keel and Wayne. Charlie and Ron also formed another side project “THE ACOUSTIC OUTCASTS”. The OUTCASTS featured Charlie and Ron plus Terry Ilous (XYZ), Kelly Keeling (BATON ROUGE, MICHEAL SCHENKER, and GEORGE LYNCH) and JK Northrup (XYZ, KING KOBRA). CHARLIE WAYNE MORRILL is one of the founding fathers of the 80s L.A. metal sound. For the show at Bowie’s they did his radio hits and some of their other songs. Wayne was super cool to talk with after the show. He and the rest of the guys confirmed that they are an actual band and not just his touring back-up. They also said they are working on some new songs together. Evolved performed a great set to get the evening rolling along. A little side story that night involving Wayne had to do with two super huge Kickin Valentina fans Buddy Owens and his wife Cathie Schneider-Owens. They pointed towards Buddy’s boot to show me a little spur that Wayne autographed that night for him. That’s so Nashville!

The evening was playing out nicely and it was perfect timing for Kiss Kiss Bang to do their thang. This classic rock n’ roll quintet out of Bowling Green, Kentucky were the direct support exibiting great stage presence and sound. Their harmonies were amazing and the rhythm section was groovy and hard hitting. I had the pleasure of seeing them in December 2019 at Nashville’s Hard Rock Cafe when they opened up once again for Kickin Valentina who at that time were celebrating the release of KV’s Chaos in Copenhagan EP.

The crowd was pumped up and excited, particularly due to anticipation of the evenings headliner Kickin Valentina from Atlanta, Georgia. Loud unapologetic rock n roll and lead singer D.k Revelle was the first one to tell the crowd all about it. With a front-man like D.k his confidence never wavered and he made damn sure to keep every rocker in the place feeling like a part of their Freak Show. Speaking of freak show has anyone seen that Valentina chick yet? For those scratching their heads over this, according to guitarist Heber Pampillon, when the band formed in Atlanta in 2013, they got their name from a fetish porn star who kicked men in their testicles. A true ball-buster to put it mildly. KV performed a great show and at one point they were throwing down such intense smoking hot licks along with a great light show and smoke machines they set the fire alarm system off in the middle of the show! Queue the fire department sent to investigate. The crowd was a great mixture of the local Nashville rock scene and the bands traveling super fans aptly named the KV Mob. They came from all areas of the country with many sporting their official KV merchandise. Some fans even going to great lengths by hand-making some unique outfits representing the band embellished with spiked studs, rhinestones and plenty of KV t-shirts slashed, cut, ripped and torn to better suit the wearers taste. A strong set for Kickin Valentina on this nights show with the smell of new hope on the first day of their record release “The Revenge of Rock.”


NIGHT # 2

1/23: Atlanta, GA

Return to the root and you will find the meaning. The second night of this rockfest paid homage to Atlanta, GA with every band on the bill calling Hot ‘Lanta homebase. Saturday nights party continued on at the Dixie Tavern, the best local live music spot that’s been serving the Atlanta area since 1997. It’s also the official home of the Zac Brown Band famous for their hit Chicken Fried. But this night was purely for the rock and the only bird was an occasional loving flip off from the bands. Awww F-you too! Dixie Tavern is a cool little spot to see bands with a stage set up almost smack-dab in the middle of the place allowing you to get up real close to the performers. Doors opened at 8:00pm and the place was already packed anticipating the first band to begin their set.

Just about the time folks started staring at the bottom of their glass Ashpalt Valentine crafted a concotion fused together of punk, glam, pop, hard rock, country and rhythm & blues. The five members of the band got together to combine all those aspects of the ‘spirit’ of Rock and Roll and they supplied enough heat to keep the fire smoldering from within. Due to such heavy Covid restrictions being enacted into law for music venues all over the country, this past December the band has just recently had a chance to play out after a year being out of commission. Back in March 2020 Ashpalt Valentine digitally released “Twisted Road” to all the popular streaming and subscription formats. They put forth a strong effort for Saturday nights show at Dixie Tavern and gained some new fans. Definitely looking forward to hearing more from them and the chance to catch them live again without such a long break in-between performances due to no fault of their own.

Even though the main guest of the evening in support of their new album release “The Revenge of Rock” was Kickin Valentina they ideally like to take the middle slot when 3 bands are on the bill. They know their fans travel from all over to come see a live performance by vocalist D.k. Revelle, Heber Pampillon guitar, Chris Taylor bass and Jimmy Berdine drums and they want to supply the best show they can for the KV Mob. What they also want to do is what makes so many fans support this band and that’s their unwavering personal interaction with them. So giving up the headlining spot gives KV more time to mingle with the fans forging a good relationship with them. The band also has a very lively social media following and they are experts at self-promotion always working hard to keep the fans not only in America but Overseas in the loop about all things Kickin Valentina. With that being said, I thought Saturday nights show was their best performance of the weekend. The crowd was super pumped up and with it being a much smaller, more intimate stage setting the fan participation was epic with eveyone singing along loudly to the lyrics. Even the brand new songs were performed with proven proficiency by the fans! The set-list for both shows was “Sweat,” “On My Side,” “Freak Show,” “Easy Rider,” “Rat Race,” “Somebody New,” “Heartbreak,” “Shake Down,” “Alone,” “Turns Me On,” “War,” “End Of The Road,” “The Revenge of Rock,” and “Get Ready.”

Ending out the evenings festivities by bringing an energetic stage show was Say Never crafting powerfully relatable songs that contain strong melodies and hooks rooted in Rock, Grunge, Country and Metal. They performed a previous show at Dixie Tavern back in December 2019 with Vices of Vanity in support of Kickin Valentina’s Chaos in Copenhagen EP Release. Alway’s a great set from these guys!

This might of have been the end of the road for this totally kick-ass weekend of pure, unadulterated rock but it’s definitely not stopping Kickin Valentina by any stretch of the imagination. The band continues to celebrate a tremendous amout of high-score album reviews coming in from all avenues and that in itself is a reason they are full of boundless energy and steadfast in their goals. They have learned to activate their natural talents and develop the skills necessary to achieve whatever they aim for. Rocks Revenge to the core!

 

Kickin Valentina ~ “The Revenge Of Rock” out January 22nd, 2021 on LTD red LP, CD & digital.

Order CD here: https://targetshop.dk/en/vare/kickin-valentina-chaos-in-copenhagen-cd?fbclid=IwAR1A7EK_8kbTCT1Jokrl-OLTtkwJ4yGSOomZkdE5G_iILlt6kvqPhvBj8ec

Order LP here: https://targetshop.dk/en/vare/kickin-valentina-chaos-in-copenhagen-cd?fbclid=IwAR2If6_k5SqIdir01GBpsKxKY17ypvRepUhKj5kx1EYlEjJ4VhnV4_n7MlA

Digital only here: https://backl.ink/143634175?fbclid=IwAR2jAhNzTi-JiTwGZPmTxrBsyb4yqkDurlV_BOfCVlDKHspvvpH0MbRyyhY

 

Find them on Facebook: @KickinValentina

Become part of the KV MOB on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1452623691716997

Website: kickinvalentina.com

 

KICKIN VALENTINA “THE REVENGE OF ROCK"2021: The Revenge of Rock (Mighty Music/Target Group) Tracks:

“Freak Show”

“Somebody New”

“Rat Race”

“Strange”

“Lookin For Me”

“War”

“Heart Tattoo”

“End Of The Road”

“The Revenge of Rock”

 

Line-up:
D.k. Revelle: vocals
Heber Pampillon: guitar
Chris Taylor: bass
Jimmy Berdine: drums

 

Evolved ~

Find them on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/Evolved-108542694389017/about/?ref=page_internal

 

Kiss Kiss Bang ~

Find them on Facebook at:

@Kisskissbangmusic

 

Ashpalt Valentine ~

Here’s their digital album “Twisted Road” on bandcamp:

https://asphaltvalentine.bandcamp.com/album/twisted-road

Find them on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/asphaltvalentine

Website:

https://www.asphaltvalentine.com/

 

Say Never ~

Find them on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/sayneveratl

Website:

http://www.sayneverband.com/

 

BOWIE’S in NASHVILLE, TN ~

https://www.bowiesnashville.com/

https://www.facebook.com/bowiesnashville

 

DIXIE TAVERN in MARIETTA, GA ~

https://dixie2017.herokuapp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/dixietavernatlanta/

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By Kim Sullivan

Kim Sullivan was born in Manchester, NH. Spent the first ten years of her life living in Lawrence, MA, then became a southern girl in the late '70s with a move to Raleigh, NC. Kim has a taste for music that runs rampant, as well as a voracious appetite for live music, usually accompanied by traveling to different states sometimes two in one day to catch a show performance.