Widow’s Peak. Dark Clothing. Side arm, side-burns and fangs. Guitar. The image of Unknown Hinson is freaky and funny. By contrast, his musical delivery is deadly serious. In between his lyrical references to all things white trash, he plays electric blues as good as any rock god that you may worship. The arrangements to his country and western numbers are as tight and twangy as anything out of 1950’s Nashville. He knowingly winks at the listener with his knowledge of the rock guitar idiom.
Aside from the music, Unknown comes ready with his own mythology, which is chronicled throughout his lyrics and interviews. In the song ‘UNDEAD BLUES’ he details his vamp origins: “…been pickin’ and singin’ for eternity…well, at least o’ couple o’ centuries…’cause I made out with a vampire gal…it felt real good, but look at me now…”
In interviews, Unknown vehemently denies being a vampire. Further, he claims to only be writing and performing rock music as a way to lead its fans to the salvation of country music. He is the self-proclaimed King of Country Western Troubadours, and in ‘Rock N Roll Is Straight From Hell’ he laments that while initially critics thought rock was “just the latest ninety-day sensation…it’s lasted more than forty-years…” and that “…we don’t know what name it will take on…maybe the Beatles, maybe Elvis, maybe Satan…and all the records will go straight to number one…this is Beelzebub’s genderation [sic]…” This rock history lesson is the sort of thing that is appealing about Unknown because it hearkens back to a time when rock music was dangerous, before commercialism rotted it from within.
His discography is a fistful of sonic pleasures, including a concert recording entitled LIVE & UNDEAD, which is as good an experience as Live At Leeds or Kick Out The Jams. Believe it, Hoss.
