READ THE EXCLUSIVE Q & A over at O Weekly.
Unfortunately, they only had enough content space for the interview, which means weeeeeee get the feature story!
Black Kids and The Blog
How a little bit of buzz took a band a long way from home.
by Melanie Gapany
It began with an idea, a couple of friends, and some time. A couple of years ago, a little-known band called themselves Black Kids. They lived in Tallahassee, and dreamed of being able to play music for a living. The practiced hard and began to play some shows. Soon they decided to make an EP, and when they did, they watched as their fame skyrocketed beyond their farthest expectations. In all honesty, the Black Kids story sounds like it could be the plot of the high school musical 18.
The problem with Black Kids, is that even though almost everyone knows who they are, and even those that don’t know the words to their hit song, no one can really figure out how they got where they are, so quickly, and almost effortlessly.
People blame the blogs for Block Kids’ fame. But blogs are run by people, and the very people who criticize Black Kids for being a blog phenomenon are the ones that created the fad (If that’s what Black Kids actually are). Fact is, it is easier than ever to find an outlet to voice your thought and opinions. With blogging platforms all over the interwebs, anyone with DSL, something to say and the ability to write (and not necessarily write well) can join the blogosphere. Each of these bloggers are trying their best to be the best, to be on top, to get the most hits.
And so Black Kids have climbed the ranks of music’s food chain faster than anyone could ever have imagined. Primarily made up of a few big hitters and tons and tons of little guys, blogging about music has turned into an arena of file sharing, link listing, and name dropping beyond what anyone could’ve ever expected. With the words “Black Kids” on everyone’s lips, with a million remixes to boot, the question that has arisen is whether or not Black Kids deserve the hype.
The short answer is yes. When Black Kids released their EPs, the "Wizard of Ahhhs", as a digital download in 2007, there was a distinct need that needed to be met in the current indie scene. As Indie music became more saturated, Black Kids arose to meet a need in the scene. Here was a band whose music was incredibly mixable, whose songs could be reshaped over and over and over again, a band who able to break the barriers of Indie-land and launch a surprise attack on anyone listening. Blogs pick it up and help move it along. A name like Black Kids only helps that even more.
Idolator wrote an impressive piece on how the Black Kids super-speed rise to fame ultimately created yet another tour-lagged undeveloped one hit wonder. Signed even before their first major performance, Black Kids were quickly thrown into a serious touring schedule. The Band’s keyboardist, Dawn Watley, admitted that the band was somewhat worried that they would, in fact, end up becoming another blog phenomenon, seeing themselves in “magazines and read all these things and it happened so fast [they] were worried that [they] wouldn’t be able to make a career band of out Black Kids”.
But they braved on, destined to stay in the scene and take the throne as the new reigning indie kings and queens. The band soon went into the studio to record their full length album, "Partie Traumatic". With the help of former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, whom the band really enjoyed working with, they succeeded in reaching the #5 spot on the UK charts. They emerged from the studio back into their brutal tour schedule. Recently when Dawn took a minute to talk to me, she was in London having just finished the Leeds Festival-Leeds and The Last Days of Summer, mid tour. The light at the end of the tunnel being that the Jacksonville band will soon be making their return to the States, and for the first time, will get to tour their home state of Florida.
Dawn says that they didn’t go into the studio to prove anything to anyone. In the three short weeks, between tours, that they recorded "Partie Traumatic", they did it simply to make a party album. In Dawn’s words, they “wanted to make people dance and just have a good time”.
With talking to one of the Black Kids, it becomes perfectly clear that they have an advantage that had helped them get to the top of European and dance music charts: The band members’ individuality, their tenacity, and their serious dedication to lead their band to success. They are serious about their work, but they still play simply for the entertainment of it, and as they become more and more comfortable performing together and as their relationships with one another continue to evolve, so does their sound. Dawn agrees that there was blog hype, but she also says that blogs can’t possibly understand the intensity of having a tour schedule like the one that they have. She and the rest of her band mates know that they are paying their dues, and gaining knowledge that will help them grow as musicians.
Now much of the buzz has quieted down, but the Black Kids are still touring, still chasing their goals. Every so often, a new remix of “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You” pops up on the blogs. It has become clear that it's very possible that the very blog hype that initially threatened to destroy them instead has helped launch them towards becoming what end up as the Beatles of a new generation. And if not, at least maybe the Monkees.
Black Kids have been writing new material while on the road. They hope to be back in the studio soon and plan to release a sophomore album in the summer of 2009. They perform in Orlando at the Social on September 20th.
www.myspace.com/blackkidsrock
Buy their music on itunes!
Listen to these two remixes by one of my favorites, The Twelves:
Black Kids - Hurricane Jane (The Twelves Remix)
Black Kids - “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You” (The Twelves Remix)
Then go see them perform at the Social with opening act, The Virgins @ The Social THIS Saturday (the20th).
Event and ticket info.
I'm listening to their CD as I make this post, and goddamn their songs are fucking catchy. I'll be taking photos at the show, along with fellow Smiler, Dani D! Check back here for a review and tons of fun photos!
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