The music of Johnny Profane and Kimmie F'n Green Eyez was comfortable, casual. This was friendly music, music you would listen to around a campfire or at a cookout.
The lyrics might have been a little repetitive, but they were catchy. The guitar playing was not
groundbreaking musically, but it was performed well. Their songs were simple, and I didn't have to give the music my full attention to enjoy it.
Not many people showed up for their show at Rachael's Cafe, and it seemed like Johnny and Kimmie were not expecting them to. "We heard that this is a place where people like to study, so we hope you like listening to our music while you're here," Kimmie said.
Johnny played guitar, while Kimmie provided vocals and occasionally played guitar as well. Kimmie's voice reminded me of June Carter Cash - although it doesn't sound like she's been technically trained, her voice sounds good with the music. She has a distinct style - a little bit country, a little bit folksy.
The song that summed up their style best was probably "Another Shot of Liquor". The song was about the rat race, and their unwillingness to get caught up in it. "No matter how big I think, someone's thinking bigger/...I got nothing to prove, just pour another shot of liquor!"
Most of their songs were about getting knocked down and pushed around, but rolling with the punches and doing what they wanted to do despite what other people thought. It was a little jarring at first to hear a woman in her late fifties, a grandmother, singing about smoking weed and drinking whiskey and cursing like a sailor while her 3-year-old granddaughter ran around the cafe.
Like their stage names, Johnny and Kimmie's lyrics were much darker and edgier than their music. The lyrics talked about Kimmie losing her religion, about children burying their mother, about various illegal substances that I won't list here, but Johnny's acoustic guitar just kept playing quietly along in the background, twangy and pleasant.
Although the lyrics and music didn't seem to match, it somehow worked for me - probably because the calm music distracted me from the not-so-calm lyrics.
The performance itself was casual. Johnny and Kimmie were not trying to put on a show - they didn't demand attention. They were content to play for anyone who would listen. They took a ten-minute intermission and invited their son, who was in the audience, to come onstage and play while they were taking a break.
They deserved a larger audience, in my opinion. Their performance wasn't polished, but they seemed happy just to be playing music whether or not there was a crowd listening. Like their song said, they "got nothing to prove".
Post by Victoria Fater
