The first LP for Kenny and The Kasuals was The Impact Sound of Kenny and the Kasuals Recorded Live at The Studio Club. This mouthful of a title was rarely used, and almost everyone referred to the album simply as "Impact." Only 500 albums were pressed, with the band thinking that it might be difficult to sell even that many. It wasn't. The album sold out (except for a few dozen copies which were warped beyond salvation in the heat while in drummer David "Bird" Blachley's car one summer day).
"Impact" has been cited by Rolling Stone as one of the most collectible American albums ever, and original copies still sell for over $400. The LP was reissued on vinyl in the seventies and is now available on CD.
After a couple of additional single record releases, in 1966 they hit on the song that would be picked up for national release. It was called "Journey To Tyme" and has been labeled as the very first "psychedelic style" recording.
Local airplay and positive sales caught the attention of the successful national record label United Artists, which negotiated with Mark Lee for the American rights. The song received good radio station play around the country, making the top ten in its hometown and reaching number one in Buffalo and Pittsburgh. Kenny has stated that the band's unwillingness to sign exclusively with United Artists kept the song from breaking into the national hit charts. Nevertheless, the song and the band were doing very well and it seemed like a good time for going "big time," and that meant a move to New York.
"In New York, we played The Rolling Stone Club after The Young Rascals and stayed in a hotel in Greenwich Village," Kenny remembers. "The New York bands we saw were terrific - Jimi Hendrix at the Nite Owl, The Seeds and The Lovin' Spoonful. We were asked to open for The Beatles at Shea Stadium. It was a great adventure."
After returning from a successful month in the Big Apple, Kenny and the Kasuals went back to their lucrative frat-party and nightclub circuit, becoming the most popular live band in Texas.
Record collectors rediscovered the "Impact" album in the early seventies, and eventually all of Kenny and The Kasuals recordings were re-released.
The band has been featured in write-ups in Rolling Stone (which called them one of the only true sixties bands left in the world), Texas Monthly, D Magazine, Creem, Bomp and Goldmine Magazines and have been featured on television news and variety shows.
Kenny and the Kasuals still perform, regularly featuring three of the original members (and on certain fun occasions, the entire original band). Two other top-quality musicians round out the current line-up. The music they play is still a high-energy mix of the hits and album dance songs that filled the dance floors in the sixties.
And There You Were
Kenny & The Kasuals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Robbing me of my sensibilities
Apparitions and heavy air
Colour my vision and make it hard to breathe
But I'll survive if it makes it better
Oh I'll survive if it makes it better
But I can't help wanting to let it go
I figured I need this now don't you think
I really don't think that it's false
Mirror on the wall
I need reassurance now don't you think
I don't want to believe it's false
Mirror on the wall
I figured I need this now don't you think
I really don't think that it's false
Mirror on the wall
I need reassurance now don't you think
I don't want to believe it's false
Mirror on the wall
I figured I need this now don't you think
I really don't think that it's false
Mirror on the wall
Conceited and vain you don't look the same
Constrained by belief perhaps I'm just afraid
Inner dialogue
I guess it's just a monologue
Doesn't mean anything to anyone
Just something I'm afraid of
It took me by surprise
As something I devised
A process of retrospection
Whereby the gaps are filled by lies
In my mind
It's the same things that I always find
Twisted recapitulation
Heard this too many times
Heard this too many times
Heard this too many times
Cinematic, erratic, ecstatic
I can't stop living it
Literal, visceral, barely permissible
Slip-ups in my common sense
Become a stricken mess
Yeah it's a shame I guess
Could complain or confess
For whatever reason you can't just forget
Oh in the end
In the end I need out my own head
The lyrics of Kenny & The Kasuals's song "And There You Were" express the confusion and fear that come with seeing things that aren't really there. The singer is struggling to make sense of his own perceptions, which seem to be distorting his view of reality. He feels like he is being robbed of his senses, and the apparitions and heavy air that he sees color his vision and make it hard to breathe. Despite this, he wants to survive and make things better, but he can't help wanting to let go of the things that are holding him back.
The singer's inner dialogue is dominated by a monologue that doesn't mean anything to anyone but himself. He's afraid of the gaps in his own perception and has devised a process of retrospection that he uses to fill these gaps with lies. He admits that he's heard these things too many times and is struggling to find a way out of his own head. The lyrics express the singer's desire to be reassured that what he sees is not false, and he turns to the mirror on the wall for that reassurance.
The lyrics of "And There You Were" are deep and introspective, exploring the complexities of human perception and the ways in which our minds can deceive us. The song is a poignant reflection on the struggle that many people go through in trying to make sense of their own experiences and perceptions.
Line by Line Meaning
I see things that were never there
I am experiencing things that do not exist
Robbing me of my sensibilities
The experience is affecting my senses negatively
Apparitions and heavy air
I am having hallucinations and a feeling of oppression
Colour my vision and make it hard to breathe
The situation is causing me to see things differently and feel uneasy
But I'll survive if it makes it better
I am willing to endure this experience for the sake of improvement
Oh I'll survive if it makes it better
I am committed to surviving this difficulty
But I can't help wanting to let it go
Despite my commitment to endurance, I desire relief from this situation
I can't help wanting to let it go
I am feeling overwhelmed and need to let go of the situation
I figured I need this now don't you think
I have concluded that I require this experience
I really don't think that it's false
I believe this experience to be true
Mirror on the wall
I seek reassurance from my own reflection
I need reassurance now don't you think
I require validation of my beliefs
I don't want to believe it's false
I fear that my beliefs may be untrue
Conceited and vain you don't look the same
I am feeling self-absorbed and my perception has changed
Constrained by belief perhaps I'm just afraid
I may be restrained by my beliefs and fear the unknown
Inner dialogue
I am having an internal conversation
I guess it's just a monologue
I am speaking to myself without any response
Doesn't mean anything to anyone
My thoughts are not meaningful to anyone else
Just something I'm afraid of
This situation is causing me fear
It took me by surprise
I was not expecting this
As something I devised
I created this situation
A process of retrospection
I am reflecting on past experiences
Whereby the gaps are filled by lies
I am filling in missing information with falsehoods
In my mind
This is all happening in my thoughts
It's the same things that I always find
I keep encountering the same issues
Twisted recapitulation
I am repeating the same pattern with a different outcome
Heard this too many times
I am tired of hearing the same thing
Cinematic, erratic, ecstatic
This experience is surreal, unpredictable, and intense
I can't stop living it
I cannot stop experiencing this situation
Literal, visceral, barely permissible
This situation is tangible, affecting me physically, and almost too much to bear
Slip-ups in my common sense
I am making mistakes in my reasoning
Become a stricken mess
I am feeling overwhelmed and distressed
Yeah it's a shame I guess
This is a difficult situation to accept
Could complain or confess
I could express my frustrations or reveal my true feelings
For whatever reason you can't just forget
I cannot forget this experience, for some reason
Oh in the end
Ultimately
In the end I need out my own head
I need to escape my own thoughts
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Kenneth King
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind