Hillsbonia
TIM KOUKOS PAYS TRIBUTE TO HIS HOMETOWN WITH ALL-INSTRUMENTAL GUITAR HEAVY RELEASE, ‘…AND THE SNOW IS TOO DUMB TO MELT’
Best known as half of the guitar tandem of Red Right Hand, the head of Screaming Ferret Wreckords, and the owner of Screaming Ferret Recording Studios, Tim Koukos is one busy man. But he has also found the time to issue his own solo album, ‘…And the Snow is Too Dumb to Melt,’ a quirky set of guitar-heavy tunes that pays tribute to his sleepy hometown of Hillsboro, New Hampshire. Or, as the man himself describes the album, “An instrumental depiction of day-to-day life in small town New Hampshire USA, by one not so sound individual.”
Koukos also offers to dig a bit deeper into this mysteriously and titled album, and its quirky subject matter (not to mention some very David Lynch-esque song titles). “It’s basically me sarcastically poking fun of Hillsboro NH, a town were I’ve spent the past eleven years of my life. It’s in the middle of nowhere and there’s no good way to get there. Most of the songs on the album are inspired/named after events and things that influenced me from there, one way or another. Really, it’s not a bad place to live, especially if you want to raise a family. I feel I’ve learned a lot from my experiences there, good and bad. Very different from living in a city, let me tell you, and honestly, I choose the city.”
And while Koukos gets to show off his six-string chops throughout the album, you can’t exactly picture such song titles as “When Wal-Mart Opens,” “Why Isn’t There A Stamp Machine at the Post Office?”, “Drowning in the Contoocook River with Devin,” and “Donuts, Guns, Day School” popping up on the next Steve Vai or Joe Satriani album. “I guess the album is some kind of alter ego album,” explains Koukos. “I’m a metal head at heart but I love so many other music styles as well. I’d like to think that this album reflects some of those other music styles. It was also a therapy album for me. A lock yourself in the studio for a few hours and forget about the rest of the world kind of therapy thing.”
But despite his guitar leading the charge throughout ‘…And the Snow is Too Dumb to Melt,’ Koukos isn’t entirely comfortable deeming it ‘shred.’ “Some people might call it a ‘shred’ album. I don’t. I’ve never considered myself a shredder. Pete DeMaggio [RRH’s other guitar player] once called it a ‘guitar’ album. That makes sense to me. I guess that’s one of the differences between my work with RRH and this solo album. It’s a guitar album. As odd as that may sound.”
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