Do You Feel At Home? #13
I've spelled and chronicled many a tome in my day, particularly with regards to this blog, and I foresee this post here ending up being no different. Anyhoo, I'm happy to be back in the saddle after my stay at the hospital. Hope everyone is having a lovely February!
"Well, for starters, they had a perfect name." Kid Dynamo was an emo/indie-rock band touting their inventive and occasionally explosive angst from sunny ol' Santa Rosa, California. Their tenure lasted a hair over half a decade, and, amidst the emo whirlwind that was the 90s, Kid Dynamo were naught but a group to be shelved and brushed off to the wayside. I'm poised to declare that this gaggle of whiny but imaginative kids teeter on the edge of "unsung heroes" status... and, even if they weren't notably innovative (depending on who ya' ask), they were incessantly creative, and sought to never stand in one place for any prolonged period. Now, quickly me, before I inevitably and unfortunately neglect to list them out, Kid Dynamo was comprised of: Brian Buchholz on bass (and backing vox), Kevin Buchholz on drums (brothers!), Jeremy Campbell on guitar, and last but most definitely not least is Matt Carrillo, on guitar and lead vocals respectively. Rest his soul.
It's hard to spell out the importance of a band such as Kid Dynamo, both to their respective scene, as well as the lives they've touched, and for how much I love my hyperbole and over-sentimentality, I'm skeptical as to whether or not it'd serve sufficient justice for a band of this stature. What I will spell out for 'ya throughout this post, however, is how close to my heart they're held. That's about half the crux of what this blog aims to achieve, that being it serving as a vessel for me to spout my affection for such underappreciated music and the groups that created it alike. Though, I think I've reiterated that more than enough at this point!
Via their steady development and burgeoning creative genius as musicians, the band seamlessly and superlatively blended a cacophony of influences ranging from emo's gentler indie-rock janglings, to the ire-riddled screams and poignant abrasiveness of its hardcore ancestry, of which they did both to a T. That notion extended to the projects following the dissolving of Kid Dynamo as well, with the most notable among them being Edaline, of which was one of the most stellar emo/indie-rock acts of the late 90s. Period. My love and adoration for Edaline extends to Kid Dynamo as well, and just thinking about either of these bands gets me a little emotional! Eschewing the fluff of genre labeling and middling descriptors, however; at the very center of it all, was, succinctly, passion... something these four were positively teeming with. It's passion like theirs that touches the soul, and facilely plucks at ones heartstrings, as they do mine, and is precisely the reason I'm making this blog post, besides archiving their material, which is equally as important.
Recently I shared some incredibly heartfelt and sentimental long-winded messages with a fellow who goes by Brantly with regards to this band. I reached out initially in order to see if he could offer any transfers of Kid Dynamo's music, however, he hadn't the means to. I offered to help in any way I could, and spiraling from that was tome after tome of reminiscence, and of the impact art and this bands music has had on both of our lives respectively. Amidst these passages of passion and adoration, Brant offered to send over their 2xCDr discography release for me to archive and share with y'all, and truthfully, that has got to be one of the greatest gestures of kindness and graciousness I've ever been the recipient of.
He said to me, "After reading through your blog, which is written from the heart,
written with a genuineness and a visceral passion, you, are part of that
exact same community. A community of people who love art, who love
tying together the threads of an entropically unspun web to recreate the
music and memories for an entire new generation of people."
I've to say, this stands as one of the most validating and kind string of words directed towards me that I ever did read. It's hard to put into text how important dialogue like this is to me, but, it really does mean the world and back. I've interacted with plenty of old-heads from the scene in my time writing this blog and collecting as well as enjoying this music, and it's interactions such as these that serve as the prime example of why I love this music and this hobby so, so very much.
Anyhoodles, let's get onto that music I keep yapping about, shall we? I know both me and Brant are excited for it to finally make its way out there.
In 2009, Pandacide Records made a very limited D.I.Y. run of CDr's containing Kid Dynamo's discography, of which was released around the time they reunited for their last show. It's a quaint little package, housed in a jewel case with no tray insert, just a double-sided card insert cover, a tri-fold insert right behind it containing the tracklist and liner notes written by Gabe Meline, a friend of Brant's, and sticker labels on the discs. Separated into "Hi-Fi" and "Lo-Fi", this disc chronicles the bands recorded works, as well as a plethora of live recordings and rare material not readily accessible outside of these discs. It truly is some wonderful stuff; blending, as I said, a cacophony of influences ranging from the playful highs of the indie-rock landscape, to the roaring roughness of the hardcore mosh pits, and it is handily some of the most emotionally charged fun I've had listening to music in a good long while. Matt Carrillo and his friends truly were extraordinary, both as people, and as musicians, and together, no matter what project they were a part of, created some of this genres most stellar and beautifully cathartic releases on this side of love. That description of their sonic palette from a few paragraphs ago should give you a rough idea of what you'd be getting yourself into, though if you're familiar with other acts from the Santa Rosa scene, and/or are already familiar with Kid Dynamo themselves, then I'm sure you're gonna love what's in store for you here. I sincerely hope you enjoy these tunes, as have I and Brant! Much love, everyone, and thanks for reading!
Sealed Letter In Portable Plastic
Disc One "Hi-Fi":
1. 01-Reighn For Rent
2. 6 Speed Kerosene
3. Jeffy Spacey
4. Model 6
5. Carpetmower
6. Kryptonite
7. Bubbledumb
8. California Rocks
9. Shade Of Winter
10. Ceramic Trim
11. Petrified
12. Genius Switch
13. Widow's Letter
Disc Two "Lo-Fi":
1. I'm A Star (Live)
2. Loomis Blue (Acoustic)
3. Rio Grande
4. Better Off
5. When I Was A Bomb
6. 3/4
7. Petro-fried (Acoustic)
8. Appending
9. Reflective Skin
10. Boo Radley
11. No Clue
12. This Is What I Show
13. Watercolors
14. Untitled
15. Model 6 (Live)
16. Sputnick
17. Loomis Blue (Live)
18. Eureka
19. So Insecure
20. I'm A Star
21. Bury Me
Thank you so, so very much, from the very bottom of my heart, to Brant Foehl (Brantly). Your letter was lovely, and this all means the world and back to me! I dedicate this post to you, and to the memory of Matthew Carrillo, who means so, so much to the both of us. Rest in peace.