When Johnny Mile and The Kilometers make it big, there should be a GoPro camera affixed to Chris Cardon’s face at all times during the band’s live sets. Every member of the Tampa garage trio is a sight to behold, but its 28-year-old bassist is especially captivating. Part of it has to do with the jewelry (bolos, bracelets), and some of it is the headwear (hi, Stevie Ray), but most of the appeal comes care of the eternally happy bass face Cardon unleashes while his band is rolling through its screeching and boisterous style of bare-bones, blue-collar, American rock and roll inspired by New York Dolls, The Rolling Stones, Mott The Hoople and The Beatles.
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"I would never consider myself a fashion icon," Cardon laughed. "I guess I just wear what I like without regard of what other people think. When you're 6-foot-7, people tend to stare at you regardless of what you wear. If I had to make a comparison it would be if the early 70s glam-era made love to a cowboy."
The group’s 2017 album, Working Class Cool, boogies, doo-wops and rocks for just over 30 rollicking minutes, and Cardon (along with drummer Tyler Stoelting) provides the backbone so guitarist Gino Capone can lead the way with barroom-ready solos and riffs. A third LP is already in the works, but a live set driven by the band’s “Less gear, more chops” mantra is the way to experience Cardon’s leopard-printed soul in all of its glory.
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"The album is still in the workshop but it's shaping up to be the most diverse sounding one yet with the same old idea of 'rock out or fuck off,'" he said.
"I tend to surround myself with people who have similar music tastes to help keep the 'disconnected [from my age] feeling' at bay, but alas it always creeps it's way into my mind. The way I feel about practicing and performing on an instrument is not the common practice with a lot of performing musicians these days but I won't bore you with my 'old-fashioned' thoughts."
Hear more via johnnymileandthekilometers.bandcamp.com.
This article appears in Aug 23-30, 2018.