Saustex Media honcho and Hickoids frontman Jeff Smith has been mighty busy lately. Barely allowing himself time to come up for air after the release of Snowbyrd’s formidable debut CD, Smith has released two discs that should thrill followers of hardcore twang, corn-core, cow-punk, or whatever inadequate category you want to apply to country music played at breakneck speed with dollops of punk rudeness.
Let’s begin with Corn Demon, a freshly remastered collection of the first two Hickoids releases (1985’s We’re In It For The Corn and 1987’s Hard Corn). Together on one digitally encoded coaster, you can now hear monuments to bad behavior such as “Rodeo Peligroso,” “Animal Husbandry,” “Vittles,” and “Corn Foo Fighting.”
Saustex has also reissued the lone album from one of the Hickoids’ spiritual descendants, Loco Gringos. The self-titled release includes “Nurture My Pig,” a 1987 single later covered by Dallas trio the Rev. Horton Heat, and 200-proof classics such as “Mescal Breakfast,” “Burrito Electrico,” “Beer Corral,” and “Hug a Jug.”
To spread the good word about these new offerings, Smith will join the reconfigured Hickoids (with Stevie Tombstone on guitar) for a Friday, January 26, Limelight show that will also include Poor Dumb Bastards, Scotty Karate, and Misty White. Limelight is located at 2718 N. St. Mary’s. Showtime is 10 p.m.
