Kid Kilowatt was an American rock
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to:
* Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields
* Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry
* Supergroup ...
formed in 1996 and dissolved in 1997, including members of
Cave In
Cave In is an American rock band that formed in 1995 in Methuen, Massachusetts. The band's lineup solidified with the 1998 release of ''Until Your Heart Stops'' through Hydra Head Records, and their early albums were prominent in the metalcore ...
,
Converge
Converge may refer to:
* Converge (band), American hardcore punk band
* Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body
* Limit (mathematics)
* Converge ICT, internet service provider in the Philippines
*CONVERGE CFD s ...
and
Piebald
A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backgro ...
. They wrote only one album, ''
Guitar Method'', first released by
Second Nature Recordings
Second Nature Recordings is an independent record label based in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri. It specializes in indie rock and co-releases vinyl pressings for other labels. The label has released material by Coalesce (band), Coale ...
in 2003.
Stephen Brodsky
Stephen Brodsky is an American rock musician best known as a member of Cave In, Mutoid Man, New Idea Society and Old Man Gloom. He also has a solo career and is a former member of Converge, Kid Kilowatt, Parasite and Pet Genius.
History
Stephe ...
described the band as their "little softie rock outlet from the metal of Cave In",
giving a sound "much mellower"
[Sharpe-Young (2005), p. 79.] than that of the members' main projects.
History
Kid Kilowatt was initially created as "Ester of Wood Rosin" by
Cave In
Cave In is an American rock band that formed in 1995 in Methuen, Massachusetts. The band's lineup solidified with the 1998 release of ''Until Your Heart Stops'' through Hydra Head Records, and their early albums were prominent in the metalcore ...
's Steve Brodsky in August 1996,
"inspired by
islove for Giants Chair and
isneed for an alter-ego to Cave In".
He recruited Adam McGrath, also of Cave In, on bass guitar, local drummer Matt Redmond and
Piebald
A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backgro ...
guitarist and vocalist Aaron Stuart. Brodsky took the role of guitarist and lead vocalist, and with this line-up they, in the words of Brodsky, "began to formulate some good ol' sappy-but-not-too-sappy rock n' roll tunes".
They wrote the first material destined for ''Guitar Method'' within the first few months, including "Teg Nugent" and "the original, 9 minute long opus version" of "Tug of War".
In Autumn 1996, they recorded a four-song demo with
Kurt Ballou
Kurt Ballou (born February 1, 1974) is an American musician and producer based in Massachusetts, best known as the guitarist for hardcore punk band Converge and for his prolific recording and production work at his own GodCity Studio.
Early and ...
at his 8-track home studio, GodCity.
Brodsky hand-crafted the demo inserts in his high school graphic arts room, and about 400 copies of the demo were pressed. According to Brodsky, they were "gone in no time".
In Spring 1997, Aaron Stuart left the band in order to concentrate on his primary project,
Piebald
A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backgro ...
.
Kurt Ballou, of
Converge
Converge may refer to:
* Converge (band), American hardcore punk band
* Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body
* Limit (mathematics)
* Converge ICT, internet service provider in the Philippines
*CONVERGE CFD s ...
, who had recorded and produced their prior 4-track demo, joined the band in his stead, and they renamed the band "Kid Kilowatt". The name was inspired by a
Guided by Voices song entitled "Cool Off Kid Kilowatt", from their 1993 album ''
Vampire on Titus
''Vampire on Titus'' is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices.
Background
''Vampire on Titus'' was recorded after a short-lived dissolution of the band (after 1992's "farewell" album ''Propeller'') but prior to the ...
''.
Now with Ballou as a full-time member, the band re-developed songs written Stuart, including "The Bicycle Song", "7th Inning Song Formation", "The Scope", "Peeping Tomboy" and "Red Carpet", and resumed writing with "Radio Pow for Now".
In their first show as Kid Kilowatt, they performed with Brodsky's "heroes", Giants Chair, in his home town of
Methuen, Massachusetts
Methuen () is a 23 square mile (60 km2) city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 53,059 at the 2020 census. Methuen lies along the northwestern edge of Essex County, just east of Middlesex County and just south of ...
.
For the following six or seven months, all the band members were prepossessed with other musical projects, resulting in infrequent rehearsal and intermittent live performance. They did play live during this period, however, performing with bands including
Piebald
A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backgro ...
,
Jejune, and
Regulator Watts
Regulator Watts was a rock band from Washington, D.C. from 1996 to 1998. When the band broke up, Dunham formed a new band, Abilene, and Sless-Kitain joined Bluetip.
Style
The band's music resembles that of illustrious predecessor Hoover
Ho ...
.
They recorded as Kid Kilowatt only once before the official demise of the band, in July 1997.
During this session, they recorded "Bicycle Song" and "The Scope" on Ballou's 8-track machine; this version of "Bicycle Song" appeared on ''Hydra Head Records CD sampler Volume 1''.
After Brodsky joined
Converge
Converge may refer to:
* Converge (band), American hardcore punk band
* Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body
* Limit (mathematics)
* Converge ICT, internet service provider in the Philippines
*CONVERGE CFD s ...
, whilst still a member of
Cave In
Cave In is an American rock band that formed in 1995 in Methuen, Massachusetts. The band's lineup solidified with the 1998 release of ''Until Your Heart Stops'' through Hydra Head Records, and their early albums were prominent in the metalcore ...
, in 1997, the amount of time being devoted to Kid Kilowatt began to wane. Matt Redmond had moved to
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
also, causing "enthusiasm for the band to fizzle".
They played what would be their last show in January 1998 at the Met Cafe in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
. Soon after that show, Brodsky left Converge in order to devote all his time to Cave In, now as, not only the guitarist, but as the vocalist. McGrath and Ballou continued their duties with Cave In and Converge, respectively, and Redmond joined a new band called Eulcid. As Brodsky eulogises: "There was simply no time left in our schedules for Kid Kilowatt and the band collapsed".
In November 1998, the band decided to try to record everything they had written as a band.
Recording continued at GodCity until October 1999, occurring "completely sporadically; a week night here and there, maybe a full day during one weekend of a month or two".
Brodsky describes this as "quite evident from the sound of the record".
During these sessions, new material was composed, including "Memorial Drive", "Glass of Shattered Youth", "Cadence for a Rainy Day" and "Cadence for the Desert Sun". The last Kid Kilowatt song ever recorded was the album version of "Tug of War".
The record was mastered at M-works in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
.
Members
*
Kurt Ballou
Kurt Ballou (born February 1, 1974) is an American musician and producer based in Massachusetts, best known as the guitarist for hardcore punk band Converge and for his prolific recording and production work at his own GodCity Studio.
Early and ...
– guitar
*
Stephen Brodsky
Stephen Brodsky is an American rock musician best known as a member of Cave In, Mutoid Man, New Idea Society and Old Man Gloom. He also has a solo career and is a former member of Converge, Kid Kilowatt, Parasite and Pet Genius.
History
Stephe ...
– guitar, vocals
*Adam McGrath – bass
*Matt Redmond – drums
*Aaron Stuart – guitar
Discography
EPs
*''Hit Single'' (2001)
Albums
*''
Guitar Method'' (2004)
References
*
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical groups disestablished in 1997
Rock music supergroups