My low-brow sense of humor is no secret. Time and time again I’ve put it on display here in the Weekly Volcano. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a fan of fart jokes and disgusting sexual banter.



It’s been that way since junior high at least, and like many dudes, I guess I just never grew out of it.



For this reason, and others, I’m a fan of Hobo Libido — the Renton-based, lowest common denominator classic metal band set to celebrate a CD release show this Saturday, March 15 at Hell’s Kitchen. Their new album is called Hornier than a Box Full of Hobos, and that’s just where things start to get adolescent.



When I think of Hobo Libido I think of the “Love Cow,” and I know I’m not alone. The very first time I dropped in on a Hobo Libido show at Hell’s Kitchen, the very first song I saw Hobo Libido tear through was “Love Cow,” a classic little ditty about a plastic cow-shaped sex doll with a rear end ready for … well, you know. Anyway, the junior high boy in me exploded, and I instantly knew Hobo Libido was the type of band I could throw my support behind. (Get it!)



“Pretty much everything rock and roll is inspired by sex or drugs or some combination of the two,” says Hobo Libido frontman Brandon Ballentine.



“Whether it’s a serious song written about something I’ve experienced that’s hurt me or brought me joy or just a joke about a love doll we saw in a porn shop that was shaped like a cow, we’ve taken that theme, injected it with amphetamines, greased it up with expensive lube, and run with it.”



While running with something greased up and full of amphetamines sounds dangerous, if that’s what Hobo Libido has done, the results have been anything but disastrous. Hornier than a Box Full of Hobos, in addition to being one of the 10 best titled records of 2008, manages, through the gags and gaffs, to bring together nine years worth of material. Ballentine wrote the song “We’re Not Leavin’ ‘til We’re Heavin’,” a long time fan favorite, when he was 15. The aforementioned “Love Cow” was written only months ago.

“(Hornier than a Box Full of Hobos) is surprisingly cohesive. I guess we just never grew up,” says Ballentine.



“We mainly just want to have something tangible to give our loyal fans and, hopefully, something that will win over the people who previously didn’t get us or just hadn’t heard of us. Our ultimate goal, though, is to take it on the road and let it pay for gas and cheeseburgers!



“We want to get on a label that will put us on tour. Basically, we want to tour the shit out of this album and get our name out there. If that doesn’t happen by this summer, we’ll continue doing the local club rounds, trying our best to put on a memorable show. A long-time goal of mine has been to open for GWAR. I’m not ruling that out either.”



In a time when artsy rock is all the rage and being in a band for free beer and groupies is frowned upon, Hobo Libido is a throwback. This probably explains some of their success in our grit filled city. If they didn’t live up north something tells me Tacoma would welcome Hobo Libido with open arms. Hobo Libido is the kind of band you expect Tacoma to like, and by all indications it does. Don’t expect Hobo Libido to break any boundaries or redefine anything other than a hobo’s libido, but do expect a down and dirty show from a down and dirty rock band at Hell’s Kitchen this Saturday. “We just make the music we want to hear,” says Ballentine.



Apparently, Hobo Libido isn’t alone in the kind of music they want to hear. Tacoma feels the same way, as does this forever adolescent writer. Hobo Libido may not have smelt it, but they certainly dealt it – and anyone who still appreciates lines like that should take a whiff.



[Hell’s Kitchen, Hobo Libido, Bone Candy, Dumbass Jones, Godmachine, Saturday, March 15, 9 p.m., $5, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]



Fart via e-mail to me.