Band Bio Press and Venue Info

The Story of Porkchop Express


Porkchop Express (from left):
Kevin Kalahiki - Bass
Kitt Thompson - Drums, vocals
Collin Conoley - Vocals, ukulele
Brian Hamilton - Guitar
John Brunn - Guitar

Porkchop Express is a San Francisco based Americana band that has been playing together since 2002. They take gristly scraps from the American traditions of folk, country, and rock 'n roll, push it through a meat grinder, and serve it up on a honky tonk platter for all to enjoy. The sound is a reflection of their memebers. Bassist Kevin Kalahiki is as inspired by Charles Mingus and Mike Watt as anything that's come out of Muscle Shoals or Austin; drummer Kitt Thompson studied music and his knowledge of instruments and theory keeps him one step ahead of what you'd expect from a bar-band drummer. Guitarist John Brunn is equally at home setting the mood with spacey lap-steel as he is ripping a blistering solo that sounds like it could grumble out of a Detroit garage. While singer and multi-instrumentalist Collin Conoley nurses the chip on his shoulder common to those that play the tiny instruments (ukulele, mandolin), he also manages to keep up appearances with accoustic and telecaster guitars. The singing and songwriting ground the band in twangy traditions and when you hear Collin and Kitt's vocal harmonies it all comes together. You can tell these guys have something to say, and you can tell they're gonna have a really good time saying it.

PCE feels joyfully swept up in the wonderful Americana scene in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bay Area twang bands range so far across the spectrum, from traditional blue grass to heavy metal death-country, that Porkchop Express has ample freedom to enjoy their twangy, lighthearted songs as well as allowing them to get into some darker material.

Though the band is best known for combining hilarious lyrics with catchy melodies, don't think you can label them as a joke band and call it a day. The band and their songs have matured over the years and they're wise enough to know that bad news is best greeted with a smile, handed a drink, and then dragged out back at the end of the night to be buried.

They've self released four CD's: "The Clock Radio Sessions" in 2004; a six song EP entitled "All You Can Handle" in 2006; and a two song holiday disc named "Yule Logs and Sexy Hogs"; and most recently a ten song album entitled "Fault Lines and Good Times" released August, 2009.

PCE on the Airwaves

Here's our interview on Mike Bond's Bottleneck Cafe' show.

What Folks Say About PCE

"It's these original twists on familiar themes that bring the listener back to the CD for repeated plays. Many of the songs do not click on first listen but as we decipher them song by song, the porkchopian gestalt begins to permeate our consciousness like the afterglow of a hayloft tryst." Read the full review
--Hicks With Sticks

"Solid new album from local alt-country veterans. A common thread of ironic reflection on the peril of adult life runs through songs like Bourbon and Bile and I Shot My Wife (Again). With a sound that's a little bluesy, a lot twangy, and a whole ton of country and some damn funny lyrics, it's a witty little slice of Americana."
--East Bay Express