The Immortal Lee County Killers (ILCK) were an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

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from Auburn, Lee County,

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. Playing in the

punk blues Punk blues (or blues punk) is a rock music genre that mixes elements of punk rock and blues. Punk Blues Genre AMG Allmusic.com, Retrieved on May 21, 2008 Punk blues musicians and bands usually incorporate elements of related styles, such as p ...

style, as well as

garage punk A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

, the band consisted of Chetley "Cheetah" Weise on vocals/guitar, plus assorted musicians over its roughly three incarnations. Weise had formerly fronted The Quadrajets. ILCK formed in late 1999 and dissolved in 2007, just as it was gaining underground popularity. These incarnations were known sequentially as ILCK I, ILCK II, and ILCK III, and recorded three full-length albums and several singles.

Musical style

Chet Weise is an enthusiastic and avid proponent of the often-underground punk blues style. The Immortal Lee County Killers has been called "Truly the place where punk meets the blues." Weise often referred to punk blues as the "fucked up blues" and the "real punk blues". Taking influence from

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

, John Lee Hooker,

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MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

Skip James Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, 1902October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "This emotional, lyrical performer was a talented blues guitarist and arranger with an impressive ...

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this t ...

and

The Gun Club The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. History Early days (1979–1980) The Gun Club w ...

, ILCK approached the punk blues genre with reverence and originality, lending credibility to a genre that had sometimes been previously employed as a musically ironic

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

and garage rock aesthetic. They did not take influence from blues-rock, preferring the older Delta blues and

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

styles. Chet Weise—a

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political economics Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour mar ...

and a blues connoisseur—has stated, "

Punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and blues are both honest reactions to life. It's blues, it's our blues. It's just a bit turned up and a bit faster."

Post-breakup

After The Immortal Lee County Killers' 2007 breakup, Weise went on to front a new punk blues band, Silver Lion's 20/20. John Wesley Myers also started a new band, Black Diamond Heavies, he also recorded a solo album, ''Solitary Pleasure'', released on April 12, 2011.

Members

ILCK I

*Chetley "Cheetah" Weise: vocals, guitar, harp *Doug: drums

ILCK II

*Chetley "Cheetah" Weise: vocals, guitar, harp *J.R. "J.R.R. Tokien" Collins: drums, backup vocals *Jeff Goodwin: organ, backup vocals

ILCK III

*Chetley "Cheetah" Weise: vocals, guitar, harp *J.R. "J.R.R. Tokien" Collins: drums, bass, backup vocals *Jeff: organ, backup vocals *John Wesley Myers: church organ

Discography

Albums

*(2000) ''The Essential Fucked Up Blues'' LP/CD (

Estrus The estrous cycle (, originally ) is the set of recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian therian females. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous ...

) *(2003) ''Love Is A Charm Of Powerful Trouble'' LP/CD (Estrus) *(2003) ''Love Unbolts The Dark'' CD (Sweet Nothing) *(2006) ''These Bones Will Rise To Love You Again'' CD (

Tee Pee Records Tee Pee Records is an American independent rock music record label in New York City, prominent for releasing music by Sleep, Witch, Graveyard, Earthless, High on Fire and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. It has housed many stoner rock bands. R ...

)

Singles

*(2000) Big Damn Roach 7" (Homo Habilis, ILCK 01) *(2000) Train She Rides 7" (Homo Habilis, ILCK 06) *(2001) Let's Get Killed 7" (Estrus, ES 7156) *(2004) Sonic Angel 7" (Munster Records, MR 7190) *(2005) Turn on the Panther 7" (Sweet Nothing Records)

Splits

*(2001) ILCK/Matching Numbers 7" (Chicken Ranch Records, ILCK 07) *(2002) ILCK/ The Monkeywrench 7" (Bronx Cheer, ILCK 08) *(2003) ILCK/Cash Audio: Orange Sessions Vol 2 10" (Orange, OR-23) *(2003) ILCK/The Wednesdays 7" (Arkam Records, Arkam 8)

Compilations

*(2000) The Estrus Apeshit Rock Sampler Vol. 2 CD (Estrus, ES 1275) *(2000) The Isle Of Spight CD (Catch And Release, CR 006) *(2002) The Estrus Double Dynomite Sampler Volume 3 CD (Estrus, ES 1288) *(2004) Smash Music Sampler CD (Smash Music, smash 008) *(2005) This Is Punk Rock Blues - Vol No. 1 CD (Punk Rock Blues, PRB CD001)

References

External links

ILCK3 Official Website

Official MySpace Music Profile

Silver Lion's 20/20 Official MySpace Music Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Immortal Lee County Killers, The Musical groups established in 1999 Punk blues musical groups American garage rock groups Garage punk groups Rock music groups from Alabama 1999 establishments in Alabama