Trash/Thrash Tuesday: CKY – “Days of Self Destruction”

Oh hi friends, how’s it going this week? Looks like summer is right around the corner, or maybe that’s just all in my head. Spring seems to have definitively sprung, and the days are getting longer, you can almost smell weiners roasting, and hear the distant sound of fireworks and long weekends rattling in the wind.

I’m reminded during this time of an end of semester party I once DJ’d and a drunken frat boy who was rocking his brains out, beer bong in hand, to CKY’s “Plastic Plan”. This was more than 13 years ago (I’m old). Now, if you’re anything like me, in being old and crotchety, you may remember CKY. And if you don’t remember CKY, you surely remember Jackass, and somehow the two were inextricably linked.

I suppose it seems only fitting that a CKY promo found it’s way into my e-mail around this end of semester time. It’s been a long time since CKY put out an album. 2009. 8 years later, the Phoenix arises from the ashes. I have very fond memories of my time watching Jackass and listening to CKY, and after checking out their new track (which features Brent Hinds from Mastodon), it brought me all back. The new track is slick and well produced and bears that same distinctive feel. Obviously, if you’re looking for hardcore metal, this isn’t going to be it, but all the same, I’m into it.

“CKY will release The Phoenix on June 16, 2017 via Longbranch Records / SPV. The new LP will be the first release since the band put out Carver City in 2009. The album was engineered and mixed at Rancho De La Luna, the highly regarded recording studio in Joshua Tree, CA.

CKY hit the UK for a mostly sold-out tour this month, catch them on one of the following dates:

May 8: Brighton, UK, Concorde 2
May 9: Bristol, UK, The Fleece (sold out)
May 10: Portsmouth, UK, Wedgewood Rooms
May 11: Cambridge, UK, The Junction
May 12: Reading, UK, Sub 89
May 13: Birmingham, UK, O2 Academy
May 15: Glasgow, Scotland, UK, King Tuts
May 16: Manchester, UK, Rebellion (sold out)
May 17: Sheffield, UK, O2 Academy 2
May 19: Liverpool, UK, O2 Academy 2
May 20: Colchester, UK, Colchester Arts Centre (sold out)
May 21: London, UK, The Underworld (sold out)
May 22: London, UK, The Underworld

“2017 will be a massive year for CKY, who have sold north of a million albums over the course of their nearly-20-year career. Fans can expect new music and more tour dates from a band that is re-energised and refreshed, and emerging with a career-defining effort that will prove to be worth the wait.

Chad I Ginsburg, the band’s guitarist and singer, steps into the frontman role with charisma, charm, and bravado, confidently delivering a diverse performance as he claims a position that was clearly rightfully his to own.

He’s joined in enduring partnership and musical and personal chemistry by fellow CKY cofounder, Jess Margera, the drummer whose extracurricular work in projects like The Company Band (with guys from Clutch and Fireball Ministry) expanded CKY’s horizons as much as Ginsburg’s solo work has as well. The duo returned to their primary project refreshed and reenergized, with bassist Matt Deis (ex-All That Remains), who first joined CKY in 2005.

Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, and Deftones have all personally invited CKY on tour, cementing a legacy as a hard-charging live act. CKY built a worldwide fanbase of dedicated acolytes, friends, and supporters, lovingly dubbed the CKY Alliance, with a broader group of musicians, athletes, and other creative types in the CKY family, both literally and figuratively. “

“We’re grown adults now with an eagle-eye perspective on who we are, what we do, and how to do it right,” Ginsburg declares, with matter-of-fact certainty. “None of us are out there in the clouds. We’re pretty well-grounded people that have an honest perspective on where we’re at.”