Premiere: ‘Junior’ from Arson Class is revved-up blue-collar punk rock
Arson Class. // photo by Sid Sowder
It’s been three and a half years since Sid Sowder’s Too Much Rock last released an entry in their single series. No Germ Candy’s “Straight Talk” backed with a cover of Beat Happening’s “Indian Summer” dropped in the midst of the Covid pandemic and while Sowder’s been regularly updating the Too Much Rock blog with photos, videos, and show recollections, we thought the single series was done for.
Then, earlier this month, Sowder shot us an email which read: “The Too Much Rock Single Series lives! After a four-year break we’re back with the eleventh installment of the vinyl singles series. For this edition we feature Kansas City’s Arson Class. This is the first vinyl release from these Kansas City, Missouri purveyors of blue-collar punk rock.
The band is led by Pinoy brothers Chris and Phil Kinsley with live bass from Marc Bollinger.” We immediately clapped our hands and clicked the link to take a listen.
The single’s a-side features the band’s own “Junior,” “a highly combustible rock & roll number featuring a breakneck rhythm, a driving guitar, and an anthemic gang chorus,” while the flipside features a cover of the 1976 John Cougar deep cut, “American Dream,” as chosen by Too Much Rock. We spoke with vocalist/bassist/guitarist Chris Kinsley about the new single and Arson Class’ upcoming plans. Check that out while you listen along to “Junior” below.
The Pitch: This single marks the second of two new songs you’ve released, your first recorded material in nearly four years. What’s the band been up to in the meantime?
Chris Kinsley: Mostly, we’ve been working on getting back to “show ready” form and lining up gigs. Bumps in the road seem to find us right when we get a little momentum and things are going well. It’s always a bummer but we dust off pretty quick and look forward to the next good time. With this Too Much Rock 7″ release and our first LP on the horizon, good times are coming and we’re pretty excited about it.
Tell me some more about the upcoming full-length, Expansion Plan.
We started recording toward “the end” of the pandemic with Duane Trower at Weights and Measures. During this time one of us had to take some time off to beat the crap out of a very serious health condition. Thankfully he whooped its ass and we got back into the studio and finished up.
It’s a simple, guitar driven, dead ahead punk rock and roll album. Duane knows how to stack the meat and bring the heat and he really helped us get the best out of that sort of simplicity. There’s a few older re-recorded tracks and a cover track to go with all the new stuff.
Were you familiar with the b-side Sid asked you to cover, and how’d the band respond when it was pitched to you?
As familiar as we are with John Cougar, we were even more unfamiliar with this selection. I was unimpressed when I first listened but instantly saw what we could do with it and chose a route that I felt remained true to the song and it’s melody and also was not far from the path that Arson Class likes to travel.
Where can folks catch you in the coming months?
Saturday, May 18, we will be at Lawrence Rampage at Centennial Skate Park with Iron Guts Kelly and D-Fibs, hosted by River Rat Skate Shop, Escapist Skateboarding, and Skeleton Key MFG. Saturday, June 1, we’ll be kicking things off at miniBar with Red Kate and The Itch from Joplin. It’ll be a dirty old time, and Saturday, July 20, [we’ll be] up in Sioux City for Scene of The Crash Hot Rod festival.
