It was a warm summer day when I met Sonja and Hank to do the photo session. They were both nervous about playing at a festival in London. They had no idea how they were going to get there with all of their instruments. I told them that they have enough loyal fans here in the Czech Republic that would probably be more than happy to drive them there and back. Sonja and Hank play in a band called Kill The Dandies! I first saw Sonja and Hank playing on stage with their former band Moimir Papalescu & The Nihilsts in 2003. Sonja was singing wildly in the mic with her hair going all over the place and Hank played guitar while making deep low guttural sounds in the mic. The band was quite special. They were one of the few Czech bands that broke away and developed a sort of international fame, but sometimes when a band starts to get famous they break up. Why? I don´t know, but it sure seems to go that way sometimes! The band broke up in 2007.
Sonja and Hank being the creative resourceful couple that they are, did not take this lying down. They regathered their energies and formed Kill The Dandies! with Richard Fischer on guitar, harmonica and vocals, Wratislav Placheta on drums, Martin Horejsi on bass (Martin Růžička used to play with band. He played bass and steel guitar on the band´s new album) and of course La Petite Sonja - vocal, keyboard, synthesizer and Hank J. Manchini - vocal, guitar, maracas, lap steel, and synthesizer. The band has been together for three years now. They have been playing lots in Czech Republic and touring Europe. They have surprised quite a lot of people with their unique sound. It is a mix of sixties garage rock with a Cramps style of psychotic rock and roll, mixed with a lot of rawness of Hanks voice that reminds one of Lux Interior, but then Sonja starts to sing and her voice is a cross between a Japanese pop singer ala Shogun Knife and some unworldly alien. Steve Morell best described them as psychedelic western rock and roll. They have just released their first album "I saw White Fields" (featuring Steve Morell) produced by legendary Flying Dutch Bert Neven on Berlin‘s BLASS Music / FREIBANK, distributed by Pale Music Int.
Kill The Dandies have developed quite a following. I last saw them play at the tribute concert for Rowland S. Howard. I filmed the concert and interviewed Sonja and Hank for Richard Lowenstein´s documentary about Rowland S. Howard. They put on a great show. We did the above photo after a lot of walking around and deciding it best to take a relaxed photo of both them on a nice sunny day along the Vltava River rather than in a dark damp practice studio room. Sonja, Hank and band did get to London and they played at the festival. As a result of playing in London their album is now being distributed by Rough Trade.They are happy Kill The Dandies! If they are playing near you, do yourself a favor and see them! Click on any highlighted names above to get further information about them.