Greg Kihn Band

danbind · Post by **danbind** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 5:25 pm

I haven't seen mention of Greg Kihn here--here's the back cover of the "In the Naked Eye" LP. A good set of pop-rock from his pre-MTV days, good covers of Springsteen's "Rendezvous" (I don't think he had recorded it at the time), and Jonathan Richman's "Roadrunner".

Cool Vox bass, too.

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 6:02 pm

The Greg Kihn Band was a great retro 60's band. I've got their album "RocKihn Roll".

karl_teten · Post by **karl_teten** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 11:28 pm

I wore out both of those Kihn LP's when they came out.

My high school group used to play 'The Breakup Song'.

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:16 am

"RocKihn Roll" I think is by far his best effort. I need to get another copy of it.

In their early days I think they were very much like the Heartbreakers as far as influences go and no doubt started the trend that so many others followed (Plimsould, Knack, etc.) Too bad that didn't last longer or undergo another revival.

danbind · Post by **danbind** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 5:04 pm

I did a search, and he has a site www.gregkihn.com. It looks like he is now a classic rock DJ (in San Jose?), and has written a few novels. In terms of Ric content, there is one live pic of him with the 360 shown above.

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:17 am

When I think of GK and see him playing Vox Phantoms, it reminds me very much of those days when his band and the Heartbreakers work working their way through colleges, their best days still ahead of them. Tom P and crew of course having very similar tastes in guitar, threads and songs. Like Petty's drummer, Greg's was also named Lynch. Just a coincidence?

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 3:29 pm

I got a bit bored with the overuse of his name in every LP title. Kihnspiracy was the last straw. It was starting to make Kihnstipated!

Sorry!

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 1:39 pm

Yes. Why they had to carry that on was stupid.

8mileshigher · Post by **8mileshigher** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:46 am

Back on the Greg Kihn album covers ---- I have many of the GKB vinyl LPs and I believe there was more than one of the GKB albums where you could see Greg with his Ric 360-12 guitar. I will have to go dig these old LPs out from the attic !

I used to live in the San Francisco area back in the 70s and 80s and the best rock concert I ever saw was the second-to-last night of the closing of Bill Graham's Winterland arena. It was the Greg Kihn Band opening for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers as top bill, and what a show !! Lots of classic tunes were played with Rickenbackers on that double bill that night ! Wish I could recall what year that was.

Greg Kihn's son has a rock & roll band named K2 in the SF Bay area nowadays. I think I saw a picture of his son Ry playing a Rickenbacker once.

Speaking of revivals, I saw Greg Kihn was part of that MTV or VH1 production last year "Hit Me Baby One More Time" where bands from the past were given another chance at the spotlight. Unfortunately, the GKB did not win that competition. When I was visiting the beach town of Santa Cruz about four years ago, they had announcements posted for various bands playing down on the Boardwalk and the GKB was one of the revival bands who was announced doing a gig there.

From his web-site, it does not look like the GKB is doing many appearances recently here in 2006.

I agree with the comments here about the overkill on the kihn-name on recordings. Aside from the corny album titles -- I really enjoyed the classic rock and roll music the GKB did and the ringing sound of Greg's 360-12 was very pronounced on many of their early recordings on the Bezerkley record label in the mid 70s.

Maybe any Forum members in the San Jose- Santa Cruz area can update us on current KGB events or gigs ?

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:09 pm

Richard, great memories there. Thanks. Any idea when that show was you mentioned? If I had to guess it would be 78 but that's just a wild guess.

I know TP&HBs were playing there often in those days.

8mileshigher · Post by **8mileshigher** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:41 pm

Glen --- that was many years ago.... I will have to ask old friends if they remember which year. Maybe the Bill Graham organization which has a web-site selling paraphenalia and posters, might have info on the old Fillmore, then Fillmore West and Winterland, which was the sequence of three dance halls that Graham managed back in the hey-dey of S.F. rock music. I remember Jefferson Airplane had a live album called "30 Seconds over Winterland" which if one had the date on that album recording, it might put the Winterland arena's time era into perspective. You could be right with 1978.... I know I graduated college in 1975 and went to several concerts a year at Winterland around those years. But by 1980, I remember going to concerts at Berkley Community Theatre and the Cow Palace and Oakland Coliseum, so Winterland must have been closed by then -- or it could be that the bands I was seeing around 1979-1980 (Fleetwood Mac, Peter Frampton and Pink Floyd, etc.) were big enough draws, to go stadium size and Graham was also producing these massive "Days on the Green" concerts every Summer.

For their encore that night at Winterland, I distinctly remember the Greg Kihn Band came out and they played two Lou Reed classics back to back to close the night out....Sweet Jane and Rock and Roll. [As a side note, for those who never heard of two pretty hot guitarists, Dick Wagner & Steve Hunter, check out the licks on the ancient (mid-70s era) Lou Reed RCA album "Rock and Roll Animal" which obviously must have influenced Greg Kihn, to make those two songs his final numbers at Winterland]. Kihn's rendition of Sweet Jane and Rock and Roll were such an awesome finish to a set, I was thinking what could top this ... and then TP & the Heartbreakers came out and kicked @$$ with one hit after another. As I said, I've seen a lot of rock and roll shows over a lifetime and that double-bill of Greg Kihn and TP&HBs was just unbelievable.

The very final night of Winterland (which was the next night after GKB and TP) was Graham's San Francisco favorites, the Grateful Dead, which I did not attend, having seen the better show of the final weekend already ! Regards - Rich F.

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:41 am

Thanks, Rich.

Of course TP's band used to do some great covers, some of which made B sides and his box set.

ataritoobin · Post by **ataritoobin** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:56 am

Yup, Greg Kihn's got a morning radio show over here in San Jose (just had its 10 year anniversary I believe). He plays around here pretty often. I seem to recall he occasionally now plays a newer FG 360 (or 330, I can't remember).

8mileshigher · Post by **8mileshigher** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:37 am

Steve --- glad to hear Greg is playing regularly around San Jose. Are there any of the "original" GKB members playing with Greg now when he gigs in your area or is it a whole new cast ? (I understand his son plays with them off and on). Rich F.