Retrovirus and Opportunistic Infection

Long after everyone else has gone on to get real jobs and real lives, after all the others have gotten married, mortgaged and mummified, there will still be one shining beacon of unrestrained immaturity that refused to die : Retrovirus and Opportunistic Infection. A pair of drunken "kids" that wander the Kentucky countryside day and night, troubadours of trash warbling their little songs to anyone who'll listen, and usually no one is.

Two kids. Two kids that seem to have always existed. Like in that Harlan Ellison story about the kid who remained a kid while his best friend grew. Two kids that travel all over the place, manage to be almost everywhere at once, and make a living doing nothing but jerking off and singing about it on street corners. Everywhere. Flea markets, private parties, shopping malls, ice cream stands in Irvine. They're there, or left indication that they had recently been there. It's enough to make one paranoid. People from all walks of life have been touched by these damn kids, in ways ranging from mild irritation to utter financial ruin. Berea College groundskeepers, Cumberland Gap State Park cafeteria workers, Renfro Valley lighting crew members, regular customers at Pete's Wok ... you name it. What the hell are these guys, and how can they be harnessed? Bottled? Utilized for the good of mankind? Answer: They can't. BE GLAD THAT THEY CAN'T!

Drawing on virtually all of history, past, present, and future as material, they condense it down to the simple savagery of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Willie Lofton, Hasil Adkins, Cannon's Jug Stompers, Skillet Lickers, and, yes, Billy Childish. But this isn't primitive retro for primitive retro's sake: as well as banging on trash cans and discarded appliances, they are unafraid to use synths and electronics (albeit cheap low-budget sub-Big Lots ones), and some of their recordings make references and allusions to modern performers such as Devo, Jad Fair and Ice-T.

There is no telling how many recordings they have made; they apparently record virtually every waking moment in their day-to-day adventures and spend a significant chunk of that time making up spontaneous songs and performing live on the streets, begging for coins and gum. Most of their "albums" are not even sold in stores, but sold at street appearances and left at bus stops, phone booths and restrooms to be found by unsuspecting victims. JLK Records is currently attempting to release their work in the compact disc format.

Retrovirus and Opportunistic Infection hold the key to Quantum Unintelligibility and rule this state like perverse guardian angels, or a wizard's pet familiar that can't even play a kazoo.