Kris Hood

Kris Hood – Los Pepes, More Kicks, The Speedways www.facebook.com/lospepesmusic www.facebook.com/morekicksmorekicks From a small city on the Baltic coast of Poland to the heart of the punk and garage scene in London, Kris has always had – luckily for his bands Los Pepes and More Kicks – impeccable timing. Aged 17 he fell off his skateboard and behind a drum set instead. A couple of years later, a weekend trip to London to see a band turned into a seven-year stay (and counting). Now, powered by his expressive, propulsive drumming, Los Pepes are gearing up for the release of their fourth album – each one attracting more support to a growing army of fans across Europe. Crossing the divide between rock, punk and powerpop, Los Pepes are the ultimate good-time band. A gang of four spitting out pop melodies to a punk backdrop. Simple in theory, hard to pull off. “My first big idol was Marky Ramone. His technique was everything – it’s all about the hi-hat,” Kris says. ‘The most important skills for a drummer are a good character and keeping a 1-2-3-4 tempo. Then, once you’ve got those two things sorted, add some more!” Los Pepes have toured all over the UK and Europe, playing to two people or 1,500 people, depending on the night. And there’s much more to come. Not quite busy enough with that, Kris’ new band is More Kicks – a pop explosion from London. It’s perfect pop music played slightly too fast. A beating heart without an inch of fat. You think pop songs are three minutes long? Try two minutes… As with Los Pepes, more UK dates and a European tour await. “I just want to play as many gigs as there are days in the month,” says Kris. “Maybe one month of gigs with Los Pepes, then swap for More Kicks gigs the next! Plus at least one album a year.” And that’s not including his regular contributions to, among others, electro-punk rabble-rousers Miscalculations and post-punk trio Scraps. “I’ve played on the scaffolding of a house at a party in Poland, sold-out shows up and down the UK, the beach of an island off the coast of Germany – and everywhere in between! Wherever it is, playing drums with my friends is an escape from real life. I love it.”