Kinky Friedman will perform on the West Coast this summer for the first time in nearly 20 years. Dates for the "Go West Young Kinky Tour of 2010" start on July 26th in Vancouver and continue into August (a full list of venues follows). Two members of Kinky's seminal band the Texas Jewboys, Little Jewford and Washington Ratso, will join him on the tour. No prisoners will be taken. Only the strong shall survive.
The Kinkster, often referred to as the "Mark Twain of Texas," will also be hawking his wares, in this case his most recent (limited edition) books, Heroes of a Texas Childhood and What Would Kinky Do?, both of which will be available for purchase and signing at the shows. As Kinky has often said, he'll "sign anything but bad legislation." This includes any of his dozens of top-selling books or columns, or even his Kinky Friedman Cigars, which, rumor has it, will also be available at the venues. Bring it, and he will sign it.
Kinky Friedman rose to stardom in the '70s, with the aforementioned Texas Jewboys as his sick and twisted sidekicks. An equal opportunity offender, Kinky, with his outrageous lyrics and crazed stage persona, may have offended some, but drew people like Don Imus, Robin Williams, Bob Dylan and John Belushi into his spiritual fan club. He toured with Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue and appeared on the inaugural season of Saturday Night Live. His infamous appearance on Austin City Limits, the only performance ever filmed by ACL and never broadcast because of content, has finally been released on DVD, to the delight of fans everywhere.
In the mid '80s, Kinky rescued a woman being robbed at a midtown Manhattan ATM, and, based on this experience, created the character Kinky Friedman the Detective, who solved murders in what would become a series of wildly popular mystery novels. In the years since, the real Kinky has branched out into children's books, memoirs, historical reflections and editorials, all to great success, and all powered by his razor sharp wit.
The Go West Young Kinky Tour of 2010:
Mon., July 26 Vancouver, Bc Biltmore Cabaret
Tues., July 27 Seattle, Wa Triple Door
Wed., July 28 Portland, Or Roseland Theater
Fri., July 30 San Francisco, Ca Great American Music Hall
Sat., July 31 Los Angeles, Ca Mccabe's (2 Shows)
Sun., Aug. 1 San Diego, Ca Belly Up, With Mojo Nixon
Tues., Aug. 3 Bakersfield, Ca Fishlips
Wed., Aug. 4 Santa Cruz, Ca Moe's Alley
Thurs., Aug. 5 Sebastopol, Ca North Bay Live At Studio E