the pretty black chains

Two beer cans explode before the first guitar rift rings. Enthusiastic and inexperienced dancers turn chairs and stacks of stereos into dance floors. Crowds that literally go wild. Sights like these accompany the sounds of Oklahoma City rockers The Pretty Black Chains. Kellen McGugan (singer), Derek Knowlton (guitar), Jonathan Martin (base) and Kurt Freudenberger (drums) comprise the quartet. Now that you’ve met the band, we can get to the fun part. The Chains were formed from the bits an...

Two beer cans explode before the first guitar rift rings. Enthusiastic and inexperienced dancers turn chairs and stacks of stereos into dance floors. Crowds that literally go wild. Sights like these accompany the sounds of Oklahoma City rockers The Pretty Black Chains. Kellen McGugan (singer), Derek Knowlton (guitar), Jonathan Martin (base) and Kurt Freudenberger (drums) comprise the quartet. Now that you’ve met the band, we can get to the fun part. The Chains were formed from the bits and pieces of several homegrown Oklahoma acts, and the band hasn’t wasted any time letting the local scene know it means business. Like a lit firecracker with a grudge against silence, the band gets loud and to the point without wasting anyone’s time. McGugan has the power to effectively freak out onstage like he’s the direct descendant of Mick Jagger. Knowlton and Martin’s catchy guitar hooks join with Freudenberger’s precise drumming like a high five between the Arctic Monkys and The Strokes. The Chains make rock music that’s quick to enter your brain but slow to leave. Oklahoma is known for its rock bands (Flaming Lips, Starlight Mints, Evangelicals) and it shouldn’t take long for the Chains to join that list.