MP3 Monday is a weekly SmartShanghai column, serving up mp3s from bands living and making music in China (or coming to China, or thinking about coming to China, or whatever). Copyright holders: if you would like your song removed, please email us here, and we'll honor your request promptly.

The subject of your Monday afternoon hype-job is Montreal two-piece King Khan & BBQ, arriving in Shanghai at Yuyintang on June 11, probably to burn it down, down, down.

King Khan and BBQ (Mark Sultan) are the stuff of legend in Canadian hardcore / punk rock circles dating back to the mid '90s when they were in this band called The Spaceshits (King Khan as 'Blacksnake' on bass, Mark Sultan singing), who managed to get barred from most live music venues in Montreal. Montreal is not exactly the most authoritarian place, so it takes a bit of effort to get that done. Pretty much they never played for more than 15 minutes, during which time their gimmick was to unleash all manner of zany destruction on the place. Lots of smashing and good-natured mayhem. They got good at being hated by everyone -- other bands, bar owners, the general public. The Spaceshits eventually broke up with King Khan moving to Berlin and Mark Sultan staying on Montreal playing solo shows, in another adored but short lived garage rock band called Les Sexareenos, and working on putting stuff out over his label, Sultan Records.



Over the years Sultan has been a key influence in the Canadian modern garage rock scene, which sees punk kids incorporating classic '50s/'60s rock, doo-wop and psychedelic garage in their music. A wave of kids got into The Hives, New Bomb Turks, Turbonegro, and The Make-Up as a gateway drug, and Sultan and a few others (like The Deadly Snakes, RIP) bridge the gap for them back to people like The Sonics, Del Shannon, Link Wray, Paul Revere, and Sam Cooke, and then on up into a new punk rock sound which has a basis in teenage hardcore love but goes on to incorporate a frantic zeal for things like obscure Northern Soul, classic psychedelic garage, and R&B. Standing before it all is The Cramps, may the devil keep them.



These days both King Khan and Mark Sultan are two famous dudes who play in 90 bands under 90 aliases, but also as a duo -- King Khan & BBQ -- and sometimes as a trio, King Khan & BBQ Show. Here's one of their scorchers:

(Update: We've been altered to the fact that this is actually a cover of a Roky Erickson song, martian among men of the 13th Floor Elevators. Goddamn. Live and learn. Thanks, Mr. Domer.)


King Khan is also in this band called King Khan & The Shrines, who are also righteous. This is them:


And here's Mark Sultan playing solo:


So there you go! This is going to be an amazing concert. King Khan & BBQ in Shanghai on June 11 at Yuyintang. Fresh off a run-in with Johnny Law for mushrooms in Kentucky and wagging ass at Lindsey Lohan. Good times.

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