Kinky

When you see a flier with a picture of a girl screaming as she is being -- ahem -- serviced in a stall of a Mexican washroom, you should name your band after the lone word describing the scene: Kinky.

That's what Gilberto Cerezo and mates did a while back, even though the English expression wasn't well known in Monterrey, Mexico, a surprisingly hip town that spawned other luminaries in the rocanrol bastion, such as Control Machete, Plastilina Mosh, and El Gran Silencio.

Kinky may have been born from a groan, but it was accomplished enough as a band to be discovered by Brit producer Chris Allison (Coldplay, Beta Band). Since then, it has developed into one of the most potent and spirited outfits to grace the North American stage. Funky, electronic and bilingual, Kinky is touring in support of Atlas, a follow-up to its acclaimed self-titled 2001 album, which contained several songs that showed up on American television shows and commercials (Nip/Tuck, Kingpin and Nissan ads).

How cool is Kinky? Cool enough to have a Keith Moon-style story about their cowboy-hat-sporting, norteño bad-ass-looking bass player Cesar Pliego. Cerezo recalls an early show: "He was really drunk one night. He came to me and said, It would be really cool to play with youguys.' Thanks to the beer, he joined us."

Can't front on those alcoholic rock 'n' roll credentials -- especially since the beer was Mexican.