According to our next subject, “she’s gonna cut [his] head off,” and he “doesn’t care.”
That’s what KennyHoopla will tell you in his February released single “How Will I Rest in Peace if I’m Buried by a Highway?”. It’s the first of many contradictory themes that the 23-year-old from Cleveland will throw at you. This was Kenny’s first track to reach one million views on YouTube, and plenty of punk/indie rock fans are hungry for more.
Kenny’s live performance of the song includes a desolate warehouse sheltering his sweet leopard-printed pants, my tattoo artist’s barefoot doppelganger on the bass, and an immersive performance on the drums. As the drummer and bass guitarist jam out and build up to Kenny’s first verse, he floats around in a careless and excited state, rocking said pants.
“They say, “You clean up nice
You look like a dead man
Like a dead man”
She say, “You dress up nice”
I feel like a dead man
A dead man”
I choose to see this as another contradictory theme that taps into the spectrum of caring in life that anyone could relate to and balance better. He “cleans up nice” because Kenny still cares about some things, like his girl and his music. His appearance “looks like a dead man” because he looks nice (is it contradictory to dress up dead people?). He feels like a dead man for things he could be pushed care less about; therefore he might as well be dead considering his level of concern. Kenny doesn’t care about anything at this point other than making his music and expressing himself for who he truly is. He’s determined to make his mark and create art with reason behind it.
What’s bad ass is that all of this creates a viewing experience that elicits undeniable head nods while Kenny screams at you “I DON’T CARE!” twice at a time. He ends the party fittingly with an open question, “Party’s over, I’m still on your couch, are you taking me in or kicking me out?”
As a young and upcoming artist in an Indie rock genre that has often looked different than KennyHoopla does, I don’t want him to care. And what’s more punk than not caring? KennyHoopla doesn’t care. He’s gaining steam, recently featuring Travis Barker, and is up next in the punk/indie arena.
Catch KennyHoopla’s latest release, “ESTELLA// (Feat. Travis Barker)” below:
Enjoy, good people!
