If you were a millennial male hitting your teenage years in the early aughts you were familiar with the band CKY almost by default. The band’s drummer Jess Margera was the brother of Bam Margera. Before connecting with Johnny Knoxville and crew to create the smash-hit Jackass, Bam created the precursor to that media empire with his similarly titled CKY video series. These shoddily shot home videos featured stunts, pranks, and skateboarding set in his hometown of West Chester PA and heavily featured CKY’s music. When Jackass premiered on MTV Bam brought that same aesthetic to the show, frequently using CKY tracks in the background and helped to introduce the band’s unique blend of hard rock and experimental metal to a wider audience.
I watched the shit out of CKY as a kid and still get that warm tingle of nostalgia whenever I think of Bam, Brandon DiCamillo, Rake Yohn, and Raab Himself running amok in the Pennsylvania suburbs causing mayhem. There’s nothing like the adrenaline shot of hearing “96 Quite Bitter Beings” come on the stereo and being transported back to a simpler time when a 40 ouncer of Steel Reserve, a shopping cart, and an empty parking lot was good enough to have a helluva time with your friends on a Friday night.
Standout Songs: “96 Quite Bitter Beings”, “Rio Bravo”, “Disengage The Simulator”, “Knee Deep”
