Kissers and Killers

Kissers and Killers
Studio album by The Choir
Released	1993
Recorded	1990, 1993
Studio	Neverland Studios, Cerritos, California Pakaderm Studios, Los Alamitos, California Fingerprint Recorders, Montrose, California
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	32:33
Label	Glasshouse
Producer	Derri Daugherty, Steve Hindalong
The Choir chronology
Circle Slide (1990) Kissers and Killers (1993) Speckled Bird (1994)

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Kissers and Killers is the sixth studio album from Christian alternative rock band The Choir, released in 1993.

Recording history

Rather than renew their recording contract with Myrrh, The Choir decided to create their own record label, Glasshouse, through which they could release their future albums independently. At this point in the band's musical evolution, the twin strands of worship-minded compositions and confessional songs about love and loss had begun to diverge, so after Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong provided their first album of worship music, At the Foot of the Cross, Volume One: Clouds, Rain, Fire, to the Christian market, the band put together what essentially was a collection of demos intended to attract the interest of a mainstream record label. To that end, only 6300 copies were pressed.

Far more aggressive than anything the band had ever released, Kissers and Killers is a non-stop collection of alternative rock songs that bluntly address the complexities of romantic love and obsession. The only breather in the set is "Let the Sky Fall," a roots-rock composition featuring Hindalong on only his second lead vocal for the band (the first being the somewhat goofy "Everybody in the Band" on Chase the Kangaroo).

This is the last album that the band would record in California, before Daugherty, Hindalong and Dan Michaels decided to uproot their families and move across the country to Nashville, Tennessee in the latter part of 1993. At that time, all of the songs on this album were either re-recorded or remixed for release as part of the band's next album Speckled Bird, with the exception of "Let the Sky Fall," as Hindalong was insecure about his vocals. However, it can be argued that the track order presented here is a more effective presentation of these eight songs than on the band's next record.

Track listing

All lyrics by Steve Hindalong. All music by Derri Daugherty unless otherwise noted.

1. "Gripped" – 4:20
2. "Amazing" – 3:46
3. "Kissers and Killers" (Lyrics by Hindalong, Tim Chandler; music by Daugherty, Hindalong, Chandler) – 2:57
4. "Weather Girl" (music by Daugherty, Hindalong, Chandler, Dan Michaels) – 5:51
5. "Yellow Skies" – 3:43
6. "Grace" – 3:08
7. "Let the Sky Fall" (music by Hindalong) – 3:36
8. "Love Your Mind" (music by Daugherty, Chandler, Hindalong) – 5:12

Personnel

The Choir

• Derri Daugherty – lead vocals, guitars, bass guitar, producer, recording, mixing
• Steve Hindalong – drums, percussion, producer, lead vocals on "Let the Sky Fall"
• Tim Chandler – bass guitar
• Dan Michaels – saxophone, Lyricon

Additional musicians

• Chris Colbert – guitar ("Amazing," "Kissers and Killers")
• Mark Heard – accordion ("Let the Sky Fall")

Production

• Dave Hackbarth – recording, mixing
• Neverland Studios – mixing location
• Jr. McNeely – mixing at Pakaderm Studios, Los Alamitos, California ("Gripped," "Amazing")
• Fingerprint Recorders, Montrose, California – recording 1990 (accordion, harmonica, drums, acoustic guitars), 1993 (bass, electric guitars and vocals)
• Doug Doyle – mastering at Digital Brothers, Costa Mesa, California
• Leiza Schmidt – art direction, photography
• Gene Ray George – art layout, design assistance