May Birthdays 
In 2003 I had seemingly put “music” behind me, after roughly 13 years of writing, recording, and performing in some capacity. I was in my late 20’s and felt I was behind in life. But I felt I was catching up, if somewhat slowly. I had finally finished college and gained a few years of experience. So at this point I had taken a new job and relocated my life. Even more, I had just gotten married. But, as we all know, if music is in your blood it never leaves and will always be a compulsion that needs to be satisfied.
After moving here I did dabble, for a few months, in a local punk rock band. But it only took me a very short period of time (4 months) to realize that my desire to partake in that outlet was long passed. So I quit the project and resigned myself to this new “adult” life.
At this time I had also recently discovered, through pirated software and a very “poor mans” setup, the joys of home, computer based recording. I surely thought this would fill that nagging urge that kept creeping up on me. And, to an extent, it did. This was also the birth of my idea for “Kill, Baby…Kill!”. I had long wanted to try my hand at an instrumental surf project, dating back to a few songs one of my college bands threw together in the mid 90’s. Through the power of a computer I was finally able to fully realize some ideas that had been floating around in my head for years without depending on other musicians. It was just something fun that was done for no other reason than to prove I could do it.
But over time more and more songs came to be. And two years in I realized that I would love to put these in a live setting. I quickly, although accidentally, put together a lineup of very young musicians that I had met just a few years earlier during my short stint in the previously mentioned punk rock band. And, at risk of sounding arrogant, it was a REALLY great lineup. Within about four months we were able to put together a short but full set of originals with a makeshift stage show. And when we finally did hit the stage we nailed it. I am not going to say that this was the most original project. After all, I am quite open about the fact that I was largely trying to prove to myself that I could halfway do Man or Astro-man? But it was good material with a good band backing it.
Sadly, just four performances in the other members found that life was offering them opportunities that they couldn’t turn down. And, considering all were just a few years out of high school, they would have been foolish not to follow these opportunities. I, on the other hand, was 30 years old, had a career, a wife, and had recently found out that we were expecting our first child. Needless to say, “music” got put on hold again for me. And I didn’t mind. There was a new world in front of me that I was ready to discover.
Now, fast forward five more years. I found myself divorced. At that time I was doing the “every other weekend father” thing. I was also not into partying and in no way wanted to chase women. So I found myself with entirely too much time on my hands. I had also, coincidentally, found my way back behind the computer and new songs were starting to pour out. I had never officially “ended” the idea of Kill,Baby…Kill!. After all, despite having previously put together a lineup, it was essentially my solo project. So here I was in 2010, seriously considering trying to find musicians to perform these songs with. And I did.
I had known Wolf for quite a few years. He really didn’t have a history as a musician. But he loved Horror films and owned a Bass guitar. Then came Rye… I had met him back in 2003 when he was around 15 years old. He fronted a band called Typhoid Mary. I doubt memory serves me well. But, at the time, they stood out, if for no other reason than the fact they were kids that were heavily influenced by artists that made no sense for their age group. The three of us jammed around and learned songs for a few months, initially intending on playing to sequenced drums. It was fun. But no one was fully satisfied. So one day Rye mentions hitting up Josh Jackson about playing drums. Josh had played for Typhoid Mary as well. But, frankly, I didn’t have vivid memory of him. A week or so later we met up with Josh at a tool shed in his home town and ran through a few songs. The boy had chops. Even more, he had taken it upon himself to learn the material, based on some old live recordings, before he stepped foot in the shed that day.
So the initial lineup of the modern era of Kill,Baby…Kill! was solidified. We rehearsed for about four more months. And we were tight, well beyond what most startups I have ever been involved in had achieved. We finally set up our first show that October at a local dive (at the time) called The Smoking Moose. We went all out. We had projections behind us, lights, carefully planned samples, fog machine, etc. To our surprise, we took the stage (floor) to a packed house. Perhaps it was memories of the short-lived lineup from five years earlier, but more likely due to having two members from a very small town where they knew everyone… And, in my opinion, we knocked it out of the park.
At this same show we were approached by Chris Eagle. Apparently he had been a part of local bands for some time. But, considering how I stepped away from everything for five years, I had somehow never met him or seen him play. Upon introducing himself he asked if we would be interested in having a key player. I was quite apprehensive. But, in the end, we all decided to give him a shot. And it was the missing link.
The next year was a whirlwind. We played around 40 shows, toured over 10,000 miles, played some really nice festivals, and recorded and released our first EP, which ended up selling very well. Even more, we quickly had a label offer to take us on for our next record. The running joke is that at the end of the first practice with Josh I took him to the side and said something along the lines of “Josh, I would love to have you along. But if you are looking for anything serious then you might want to look elsewhere. I just want something fun that is going to play a few local shows here and there”. I guess that goes to show how one should never make concrete plans.
At the end of that first year there were some major changes. First, after a year of dealing with numerous conflicts, Rye was out of the band. He was not replaced. And, frankly, we became a better unit for it. That isn’t a crack against him. Some things just weren’t meant to be. Second, Wolf decided to pursue other avenues in life and bowed out gracefully.
Enter Erek Smith… I had met Erek during that year, as he was a longtime friend of our Key player. Erek defies explanation. He grew up with all the same kids I knew. But his influences, personal taste, and general approach to life and work was well ahead of his age. Needless to say, he was a very welcome addition. And while it took me time to adjust to having another head-strong member in the mix, his presence forced me to change my approach to everything. And, in the end, it pushed the overall band out of being a half-assed Man or Astro-man? Clone into our own, original project. Even more than that, Erek became a man that I love and respect more than I could ever convey in this post.
We spent the next four years touring, recording, releasing, and generally enjoying being a unit. But with life, all things are in constant change. And there in an inherent danger in putting together a band full of substantially younger members. As a grown man, you are likely relatively set in life. For younger members you are just waiting for new opportunities to present themselves. And as a grown man, you have to expect and understand that they will and should take said opportunities.
Sadly, this has happened. We received word that Erek has received an offer that, frankly, he would be foolish to not accept. I will leave the details of this to him to announce. But, needless to say, we are both supportive and coping with a pending loss of an absolutely amazing Bass player and such a good friend being close by. We wish him all the luck in his new endeavor.
We are knee deep in preparing the next album. And, unlike Corridor X, which was almost a timeline of an album, representing the complete birth and growth of becoming a "band", this album is, by design, a full representation of THIS band…Josh, Chris, Erek, and Noah. This album will be finished in a way that is representative of this lineup and all that we have collectively worked together to create and will, hopefully, be completed and released by the end of Summer.
Beyond this, we haven’t really figured out where we will go. The KBK will not split up, as there is no reason to. But whether this means simply getting together to play shows when Erek is available or searching out a new Bass player is all up in the air. The idea of starting anew with another member is quite frightening. When you have had a near perfect blend of members for this long, the thought of risking brining in new personality conflicts isn’t the most appealing thing. Even more, the likelihood of finding a compatible musician within a logistically reasonable distance seems quite unlikely. But, then again, there are still goals we have set that haven’t been achieved, such as hitting the west coast, some pending split eps with friends from Europe, and even the idea of playing out of the country.
No matter what happens, I hold the three guys I play music with in great esteem. I have tremendous respect for all of them and have grown to love them like family.
—THE KBK ... This is the last known signal. We offer Sanctuary.
www.thekbk.com
http://www.deepeddy.net/artists/thekbk/
www.reverbnation.com/thekbk
www.facebook.com/thekbkal
Last edited: Feb 01, 2016 12:19:23
