CD Review: "It Leads to Poverty"

CD: It Leads to Poverty
ARTIST: Legbone

We’re such big fans of the Dayton, Ohio-based punk rock outfit Legbone that, despite them being huge Buckeye fans, apparently, we just have to review their new 10-song CD It Leads to Poverty. And in case any WVU fans were looking for an “enemy of my enemy” type reason to love Legbone -- don’t worry, they’ve got one.

So yeah, we’ve had Legbone’s last two CDs, Different Path and the now 10-year old Natural Light-themed Beer:30 CD. Different Path is one of our favorite punk CDs of all time, what with its 15 songs worth of of gnarly, high-energy skate punk -- seemingly merging the tempo and tone of Pennywise, with the irreverent, party-or-die lyrics of NOFX.

But for the dudes in Legbone (Mitch Lawson: guitar/vocals; Kyle Curtis: vocals; AJ Morse: guitar/vocals; Gee Gee Bradley: bass/vocals; and Kevin Hittepool: drums) -- together in various incarnations since 1991 -- this ain’t no Hollywood set; life is real.

The guys are getting older, lazier, having hygiene problems, (still) getting drunk, falling behind on their bills and, having signed with a management company a couple of years ago, they’re now back to the DIY style synonymous with punk. It Leads to Poverty, despite having five fewer songs, is a super-solid follow-up to Different Path -- these guys are still too punk for metal and way too metal for their version of hardcore punk. Screw those guys at the management company!

While there’s the standard hilarity and hijinks you’ve come to expect out of Legbone, there are glimpses of conscious punk (as opposed to gangster punk) in the lyrics.

“Think” is the opening anti-mainstream media punk rock tirade. Brainwashed? Give this song a listen. “California Screamin’” has the band seeking warmer climates, while bemoaning the millions of people dying in the streets. The best song, the instant punk rock classic “Pains” opens with a slow tom roll and verse before going into the catchy, anthemic punk rock:

“I got pains, and when I drink they go away.
I got things on my mind and my life is fucked up.
Every day’s the same.”

“Aladin” has Legbone getting three wishes, and using them to quit their jobs and write killer punk rock songs. Wishes well spent. “PGUT” has the dudes going on a date, to a punk show, naturally, with an alcoholic; works out well for them, sounds like. “17 Days” has the band forgoing drinking, concentrating on recording or Colonel Mitch will kick them in the ass.

The not so subtly titled bonus track “Tom Petty” is really Legbone’s cover of “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” ably done in punk rock fashion. Who said Tom Petty was irrelevant? Not us, ‘twas some tool writing for Yahoo about his Super Bowl halftime appearance.

And for those WVU fans who are still pissed over Rich Rod’s abrupt departure after the Pitt loss in 2007, there’s Legbone’s ode to the Buckeyes, the anti-Michigan polemic “Let’s Go Bucks” -- but make no mistake, after everything they say about the Wolverines and their cheerleaders, this song will never be played over the PA at the Horseshoe, and the guys in Legbone would fit in just fine in the student section at, say, a WVU-Ohio State game.

It Leads to Poverty, recorded at Refraze Studios in Dayton, like Different Path, has a full, deep, well produced sound. Hopefully with this release, the band will sell all the copies they can, and shoot straight outta poverty into punk rock diva status. Even though they’re from Ohio, we love Legbone.

It Leads to Poverty on interpunk