CKY Rebuild Without Gn'R : Rolling Stone

After enduring album delays, indifferent Rolling Stone critics and a perpetually late Axl Rose, hard rockers CKY are striking out on their own. The Philadelphia band will begin a headlining tour tonight in Dallas, Texas, and stay on the road through April 12th.

If the past six months has taught CKY anything, it's that they're far better off playing to their rabid underground fan base than the masses. The group -- singer/guitarist Deron Miller, guitarist Chad Ginsberg, bassist Vern Zaborowski and drummer Jess Margera -- released its second major-label album, Infiltrate. Destroy. Rebuild, in August of 202, but only after months of record company delays. Though the band's mix of Seventies stoner rock, metal and punk seemed a perfect fit for modern rock audiences looking for the next Queens of the Stone Age, radio never caught on. Even MTV dropped the ball, largely ignoring the group's video for "Flesh Into Gear," an odd move considering the heavy investment the music station had in the Jackass soundtrack that featured the song.

Critics weren't much better. Rolling Stone gave the album two stars, prompting hardcore fans (the "CKY Alliance") to wage a nasty letter-writing battle with the magazine -- one angry correspondent suggested the offending reviewer be "fired, tied up and have his feet burned." Even the band was a little miffed. "I like Rolling Stone, but that review was an embarrassment to your magazine," says drummer Jess Margera.

Despite a lack of mainstream support, Infiltrate has lived up to its title, sneaking in and out of the Billboard Top 200 album chart for the past six months. Along the way the band made an important friend in Axl Rose, who personally chose the group to open for Guns n' Roses on their big North American comeback tour. Although the trek started and ended in riots and was ultimately cut short, CKY has no regrets.

"We got to play Madison Square Garden with Guns n' Roses," says guitarist Chad Ginsberg. "That's cool as shit! Axl gave us a great opportunity. He was really into us."

CKY even had a chance to bond with the reclusive singer. "We went to a strip club in Toronto with Axl," Ginsberg remembers. "This girl danced to 'November Rain,' and Axl just put his head down in embarrassment."

The current CKY tour will play to 1000-2000-capacity, standing-room venues, the perfect size for the group's aggressive faithful. "The fans come to our show and they're like, 'Punch me in the face,'" says Margera, laughing. "I don't want to punch them in the face, but sometimes it psyches them up and I have to. It's kind of scary."

CKY tour dates:

2/11: Dallas, Galaxy Club
2/12: Austin, TX, Stubb's Barbeque
2/13: Houston, Engine Room
2/14: New Orleans, Shim Sham Club
2/15: Tallahassee, FL, Beta Bar
2/17: St. Petersburg, FL, Jannus Landing
2/18: Fort Lauderdale, FL, Culture Room
2/19: Orlando, Tabu
2/21: Jacksonville, Jack Rabbit's
2/22: Atlanta, Cotton Club
2/23: Columbia, SC, Uncle Doctor's
2/25: Spartanburg, SC, Ground Zero
2/26: Winston-Salem, NC, Ziggy's
2/28: Norfolk, VA, The NorVa
3/1: Pittsburgh, Metropol
3/2: Poughkeepsie, NY, The Chance
3/4: State College, PA, The Crowbar
3/5: Scranton, PA, Tink's
3/6: Reading, PA, The Silo
3/7: Old Bridge, NJ, Birch Hill Nite Club
3/8: Philadelphia, Theater Of Living Arts
3/9: Hartford, Webster Theater
3/11: New York, Irving Plaza
3/12: Clifton Park, NY, Northern Lights
3/13: Boston, Axis
3/14: Providence, Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
3/15: Winooski, VT, Higher Ground
3/16: Montreal, Cabaret Music Hall
3/18: Toronto, Opera House
3/19: Covington, KY, Jillian's Entertainment Center
3/20: Cleveland, Peabody's Down Under
3/21: Indianapolis, Emerson Theater
3/22: Detroit, The Shelter
3/23: Milwaukee, The Rave / Eagles Ballroom
3/24: Minneapolis, Quest Club
3/25: Chicago, House Of Blues
3/26: Omaha, Ranch Bowl
3/27: St. Louis, The Galaxy
3/28: Lawrence, KS, The Bottleneck
3/29: Pittsburg, KS, Boardwalk Pub