Hi Fi and the Roadburners were a band from Chicago whose music has been described as "rockabilly infused with punk" and "bebop and boogie-woogie". They formed in 1984 and have had many line-up changes, with the Kish brothers, Erik and Hans, being the only constant members. They signed with Victory Records in 1993.
Erik "Hi Fi" Kish also owned and operated Fear City Choppers with his brother Hans and Billy Favata on Chicago's Northside. Fear City Choppers' main focus is personalizing custom Harley Davidson and Triumph bobbers and choppers as well anything unique. Fear City Choppers' motorcycles have been featured in the Horse Backstreet Choppers magazine.
On Thursday September 29, 2011, frontman Erik "Hi Fi" Kish died after a motorcycle accident the previous evening.
Band members
Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Erik "Hi-fi" Kish (died: 09-29-2011)
Bass guitar, backing vocals
Hans Kish
Lead guitar
Brett "Machetti" Keen
Ed Wille
Jeff Schuch (died: 12-28-2009)
Randy Dell
Bill Bulinski
Bill Harnden ("Rockin' Billy")
Willie Blackwell (died: 07-27-2010)
Ron Cannon ("Big Daddy Sun") (died: 03-15-2013)
Carl Schrieber
Mike Berquist (died: Fall 1995)
Jerry Nelson
Sam Barker
Drums
Brian Lueck
Dan Curry
Steve Uppling
Randy Dell
Daniel Aranda
Bob Morris ("Monster Bob")
Rick P. Fiore
Saxophone
Tony Bryan
Denis McQuinn
Aaron "Gigs" Getsug
Craig McWilliams
"Texas" Eddie Reed (Ed Petitti)
Keyboards
Dan Stieger
Ken Takata
Big Bill
Matt
"Chicago's Hi-Fi and the Roadburners kicked off the evening with engineer boots and pomade to spare, not to mention enough inked skin to line the walls of a tattoo parlor. Their basic guitar-and-screaming sax attack was a lunge at postwar guitar rock with all the subtlety of a lug wrench, a gruff intro for headliner Reverend Horton Heat's more polished renderings." (Chauncey Hollingsworth, Chicago Tribune, 1997)
"Greasers with flaming tattoos and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer for cologne never go out of style, right? Well, not if they can burn the rubber with some high-test rock 'n' roll. And Chicago's Hi Fi and the Roadburners can scorch the blacktop with the best of 'em." (Michael Dunn, Tampa Tribune, 1997)
"Hailing from Chicago, the rockabilly revival quintet Hi-Fi & the Roadburners is comprised of members Erik Kish (vocals, rhythm guitar), Hans Kish (bass, backing vocals), Jeff Schuch (lead guitar and backing vocals), Brian Lueck (drums), and Dennis McQuinn (sax, backing vocals). The group issued several albums on the Victory label during the '90s, including such titles as 1994's Fear City, 1996's Wine, Women, and Sin, 1997's Live in Fear City, and the 1998 compilation Flat Iron Years." (Greg Prato, Allmusic)
"The Chicagobred greased down dressed up Roadburners do plain and simple American rock 'n roll that's driven by a burning horn section." (San Antonio Express-News)
"The Roadburners do on-the-mark, grease-fueled, American rock 'n roll. Utilizing a basic 44 backbeat and lead licks from saxophone, guitar and piano, the band delivers originals and cool covers of tunes such as "Crawfish" and "Chicken Shack Boogie"" (Jim Beal, San Antonio Express-News, 1999)
