I don't think anyone knew what quite to expect when Kailip took the stage at The Drinkery in OTR a few months back. It was reasonable to wonder what these guys might be up to. It was known the band had been rehearsing/recording for over 12 months and that they wanted to start playing many more shows around the region. Lou Larson (guitar)/ Adam Shelton (drums)/ Donn Vidmar (stand up bass)/ Johnny Hodge (lead singer) were ready to play! They performed an impressive blend of original songs both old and new, including the debut of a song that is fairly special to them. "Every so often you have a new song that really seems to capture the essence of what you do" said Johnny, "and 'Picture Book' is one of those type of songs." It was an exciting night of music and just the start of much more to come from the indie psych jazz rock group.
Kailip has had a "rough and tumble" existence since they got together in 2000. From the beginning, the group has been led by spirited (in more than one way) lead singer Johnny Hodge (formerly of Stich) and well accomplished lead guitarist Lou Larson. Johnny and Lou had words literally the first words out of each other' mouths. Johnny has a habit of giving nicknames to people quickly upon meeting them, and when Lou and Johnny first met at the studio Johnny called Lou one of these names and didn't go over very well... They quickly stopped chatting and started playing music. Johnny says, "Although Lou has a way of pushing my buttons sometimes, I not so secretly talk of his genius both at playing and creating. Its a rare combination to have both, and Lou's knowledge of music is immense....When Lou and I play together its like he is my musical best friend meant to be...part of our show is us picking on each other a bit." Today the guys are more mature in most ways (well maybe not Johnny). One thing they are all very serious about is their songs. "We take an extreme amount of pride in writing original music," the band states
The band now features the intense and extremely talented Adam Shelton (Perfect Children) on Drums and the surrealesque and creative talent of Donn Vidmar who brings the mystery and drama through his brooding play. "We all wondered how we would do with a new rhythm section including our friends...I think we can say that we work together brilliantly and our creativity together is exciting," Johnny gushes, “We have had the benefit of spending time in studios of all sizes to shape what we like and what we don't like.” Kailip's live shows are so genuine and expressive that an audience can expect to know that the band is giving everything they have. There is also the level of unexpected with Kailip as you never know exactly what you might get and witness at a show. As much as the guys would love to give specifics, its best that some things remain left unsaid. Look for a surprise from Donn at our upcoming shows. He keeps things very interesting.
What is coming soon?
Kailip is finishing off the details of a vinyl release (downloads will also be available) to come soon. It is tentatively now set to be a 12" vinyl single with new originals "Picture Book" B/W "Things Fall Apart". It will be a limited production and each copy will be hand numbered. Artwork is already in the works and the band is excited to share some of their new sounds. The band plans to release at least one more vinyl single before working on any albums although they have been tempted to release more as they have so many original songs they have written. The band is hoping to debut their newest song "I play adult" at their MOTR Pub show on Sunday November 17th (FREE!, music starts at 8pm with Little Lights and Kailip goes on around 9:30pm). The band will be giving away a limited # of copies of Paramount Schemes at the show. "We are super excited a,bout playing with Little Lights" Lou said. Kailip still plays some of the favorites from their debut album, Paramount Schemes as well. Make sure to put Kailip on your calendar and get your friends out to see them too!
