The Neon Hookers have announced their breakup. The band released the Calling All Creeps! EP via Cabal Records in 2006 and the One Night in Destiny full-length last year via Double or Nothing Records. To view the band's full statement, click "read more."
A few days ago I was surfing the World Wide Web looking for reviews of our debut full length on Double Or Nothing. I found one, and only one, even though the cd has been out now since July. The review starts off with this; Fundamentally, the Neon Hookers' debut is a metalcore album, and those with a musical allergy to the genre should just stop reading now: there is nothing on One Night in Destiny that will convert a committed metalcore hater. Now, right there, in the first sentence thats where we could never break away; metalcore. At our first practice we didnt say, "Lets be a metalcore band", we said, "Lets be a band". In a world of copy cats all we wanted to do was play fast, sloppy, anti everything music. We didnt have an agenda. Thats why we loved doing it. We started off with 3 drunks and 2 straight edge kids, and thats how we ended. We played shows in the sticks of Oklahoma in front of 35 16 yr old kids for 20 bucks. Most people dont realize, but our asking price on tour was 50 bucks. And not to toot our horn, but that tour with Kingdom and In Remembrance, when they were going to kill each other over money, we took money out of our own pokets so that Kingdom and In Remembrance would shut there mouths and hoped they wouldnt kill each other on tour. And that sort of stuffs add up. Borrowing money. Getting in debt. Working it off just to borrow more money so you can dig a bigger debt hole. The review goes on some more talking about my voice and compared it to Chris Doherty of Gang Green, and mentioned the 80's style guitar sound and yadda yadda yadda. Over all, the whole review is pretty good in my opinion. But the way it ends defines the whole reason and the whole existence of the Neon Hookers. "In a style perpetually in danger of disappearing up its own backside thanks to a disinclination to accept new ideas or influences outside of the chosen few, One Night in Destiny sounds downright daring." This brings me back to the start where i talked about a world of copy cats. When did punk rock and hardcore change so much where bands who sound different arent accepted? Sure we played and had a blast, and we toured and we met people and have friends that will be there years down the road, but when the scene itself has changed so much and have lost its roots of being different and unique, you really have to question the integrity of the scene. Nothing about this music scene is pure and different and exciting anymore. In a sub culture that people look to for help and to hide from there regular life, Ive seen people actually get beat up because they ARE different and because they have different political and social views as the people there. Thats not punk rock, and thats not hardcore; thats just pure ignorance. From here everyone in the band has moved there different ways. Dave is now in about 13247216 bands. He posts about all of them every day. Bill is working full time and making a living doing what he does best; sell food. Brian is going back to school to teach ignorance. Randall was never a member, he just helped write the cd (his own words). And for me, im to focused on my military carreer to worry about anything else. A quick thanks to Mike C and his art work and being a true friend. Cabal Booking and Cabal Records is the most punk rock, hardcore, diy thing going. Support it. And listen to All In, In Remembrance, Kingdom, Tigerstyle, Colin Of Arabia, Death Before Dishonor, Shoot To Kill and She Rides because they are the best group of people weve ever worked with and are great people. And thanks to Joey Coggs for filling in when Randall bailed. Good bye. 10/2005 - 3/2008
