Kill Casino is an
English rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band, featuring Karen Luan on lead vocals and bass, Chris Ryan on guitar and Paul-Luc Gifford on drums.
History
Formation
Luan met Ryan and they formed the band, and in 2006, made their first festival appearance at Truck festival, Oxford, narrowly avoiding electrocution by lightning. Back in London, they were sharing stages with bigger names on the circuit, headlining Visible Noise's Subverse club in London and guesting at the 'Rock' club at the Mean Fiddler. In July 2006 they started recording their debut album, a feat that took them three different
recording studio
A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...
s (and a lounge) over eight months under the guidance of Rob Haggett. ''I've Been to London to See the Queen'' received rave reviews in September 2007, and tracks from the album got played on Kerrang,
BBC Radio One, and
XFM
Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed London-wide station in 1997 and nationally in 2015 ...
and the accompanying "Stolen Eyes" video debuted online in
YouTube's top 100 played artists. In August 2007 Paul-luc Gifford joined the band.
''I've Been To London to See the Queen'' (2007)
In 2007 Kill Casino released their debut album ''I've Been To London To See The Queen''. It was released on the record label Nothing Stays Golden. Shortly before the album's release the duo were joined by Paul-Luc Gifford.
''
Kerrang!'' gave the album 4 out of 5 K's and said "Standing apart for any notion of a 'scene' their debut is an enjoyable guessing game.", ''rocksomething.com'' remarked; "This band is one of those rare treasures you occasionally come across on the UK music scene with something unique to offer." and ''rockmidgets.com'' called the band "Kick-you-in-the-nuts rock."
They also were featured as an up-and-coming act in a full page article in ''Kerrang!''.
While on tour with
TheStart
theStart (stylized as theSTART) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Their current lineup includes Aimee Echo, Jamie Miller, Erick Sanger and Chelsea Davis.
History
Aimee Echo and Jamie Miller formed the band in 1998, origi ...
their show in London at Barfly was reviewed my ''Kerrang!''. Kill Casino was called an "anthemic roit".
"Paper Walls & The Voice Downstairs" (2008–2009)
In April 2008 Kill Casino were invited by
Against Me!
Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup ...
frontman
Tom Gabel
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
to open for the Florida punk rockers on their UK tour. That summer, Kill Casino played a number of UK festivals including
Offset Festival
Offset Festival was a musical festival held at Hainault Forest Country Park, just outside London, from 2008 to 2010.
2008
The first event aimed to join the dots between cutting-edge, new artists and their influences, with 8 stages covering art r ...
. The band released a re-recorded version of album track "Underwater" as a single that October and saw the accompanying video playlisted on Kerrang! TV. In December 2008, Kill Casino began recording the follow-up to ''I've Been To London To See The Queen'' with
producer
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
John Mitchell.
In June 2009 Kill Casino were invited by
NOFX
NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...
mainman
Fat Mike
Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me F ...
to open for his side-project
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their UK tour.
Kill Casino's EP, "Paper Walls & The Voice Downstairs" was released digitally in the UK on 10 August and physically on 17 August. ''
Rock Sound'' described the EP as "first-rate" and "landing on the right side of originality rather than emulation" giving it 7/10 in their August 2009 issue while ''
Kerrang!'' said "Paper Walls..." was "full of slick punk-rock darts along with the enjoyably edgy flipside to this trio's output" and awarded it 4 out of 5 Ks.
Discography
Albums
''I've Been To London To See The Queen''
*Released: 10 September 2007
*Formats:
CD /
Digital Download
*Label: Nothing Stays Golden / Cargo Records
EPs
"Paper Walls & The Voice Downstairs"
*Released: 10 August 2009 (digitally) / 17 August 2009 (physically)
*Formats:
CD /
Digital Download
*Label: Nothing Stays Golden / Cargo Records
Singles
"Stolen Eyes"
*Released: 8 October 2007
*Formats:
CD /
Digital Download
*Label: Nothing Stays Golden / Cargo Records
"Best Served Cold"
*Released: 14 April 2008
*Formats:
CD /
Digital Download
*Label: Nothing Stays Golden / Cargo Records
"Underwater"
*Released: 20 October 2008
*Formats:
CD /
Digital Download
*Label: Nothing Stays Golden / Cargo Records
"You Came I Saw"
*Released: 14 July 2008
*Formats: Free
Digital Download in association with
www.kerrang.com
"Free Kill Casino MP3!" 14 July 2009
*Label: Nothing Stays Golden / Cargo Records
Music videos
* "Stolen Eyes" (2007) from ''I've Been to London to See the Queen''
* "Best Served Cold" (2008) from ''I've Been to London to See the Queen''
* "Underwater (2008 Version)" (2008) from ''I've Been to London to See the Queen''
References
External links
Kill Casino's official website
Kill Casino's Myspace
{{Authority control
English punk rock groups
English alternative rock groups