Indie 5-0 with Kick and the Hug
Kick and the Hug is slowly becoming one of the bands that gets stuck in your head. Their music is catchy and their lyrics are fun. This combo keeps you coming back for more. They recently released their single “Born Too Late,” an indie pop song that begs you to get out of your seat and have a good time.
We got the chance to speak with Kick and the Hug in this edition of Indie 5-0.
What was the writing process like for “Born Too Late”?
Not much different then the other songs on this album (Ladies and Gentlemen, Kick and the Hug, to be released Jan 28th). We were on lockdown, and I was stuck (stuck, but loving it) in my basement studio for weeks at a time. I think I came up with a few lines, Demo’d it… sent it around to the rest of the guys in the band. I don’t think we thought too much of it. I was bored one night and made a little video clip of it (https://youtube.com/shorts/eg7dRC0pBH0?feature=share), put it up on YouTube, sent it around to a couple of friends, and that seemed to be the end of it. It wasn’t really a song. It was one of those little Internet snippet things…but when we started going through the material we were going to record, that one kept coming up… so I guess at some point, a year later or so, I had to write some more lyrics, and Tyler probably forced a structure out of me. By the time we ended up at the studio… it was ready to record.
What are you most excited for once you get back on stage? What’s the best part of performing live?
Oh man… first and foremost I’m excited to be terrified. I’m not going to tell you how long it’s been since I played a show, but I bet a buck you weren’t even alive. So there’s that… but really, we just want to get high on that drug that is a crowd getting amp’d up on what we’re giving them.
Who is your biggest musical inspiration and why?
Unfair question. Depends on the day of the week. I would say it’s not really a particular artist as much as it is a feeling that they all create. I was trying to explain to my friend the other day how “melancholy” can somehow create joy. It’s a complicated phenomena…but if you’ve felt it, you know what I’m talking about. Ok, you need names? At any given point in my life I could have answered this question with…John Denver, Rush, Asia, REM, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Cure, Miracle Legion, DaDa, Fiona Apple, Annie Lenox, The National, The Mathew Good Band, The Samples, Local Natives, Band of Horses, Wilco, Bon Iver, Post Malone… I’ll stop.
Is there a difference between writing a song for a live setting and a streaming setting?
Not sure I understand that question, but I’ll pretend I do. I/we don’t write songs for either. We write and record songs because the process of creating something from nothing is what we love to do. If we make something that finds a greater purpose for its existence (like streaming, or being performed live) then that’s great, but I’m just as stoked about some of the songs that are on my hard drives (and not likely to ever be streamed or performed) as I am about the songs we dress up all fancy for release.
What do you hope your fans and listeners get from "Born Too Late"? What do you hope to share?
Well… that song is really just a fun thought…wrapped in a music sandwich that I hope tastes pretty good. It’s not meant to be preachy or overbearing. It’s more like… a parent who comes home from dinner only to find his kids (his adult kids of course) having a kegger in the garage, and instead of nodding hello and heading up to bed, I decide (yes, it’s me lol) to stay and “have a couple,” and after I get a little lubed up I start going on (like any parent does) about how “things were different in my day.” But instead of sitting there wide eyed and interested, the kegger kids lovingly say, “fuck off old man,” we all have a good laugh and fun ensues. So… yeah, a little tinge of sincere sympathy for the next generation, but also fun enough and aware enough to know that every generation has their own thing, and it’s fine if it’s not the same thing as the generation before them. But damn… I think about some of those nights I had in college, when the band kept playing, the house lights came on, and you knew the show was on borrowed time… that was some good shit. My kids haven’t experienced that. They experience kids dying at Travis Scott shows or od’ing at Skrillex shows… so yeah, I still have sympathy in my heart for the younger music loving population…it should be easier, simpler and a little more pure. I think it’s still out there, you just got to be a little more creative if you want to find it.
Listen to “Born Too Late” here:
https://open.spotify.com/track/4gwbWYbJ70UTKnlf0HXVfW?si=9610706d48c74dc1
Be on the lookout for their upcoming video for “Born Too Late” as well, coming out 11/24.
Find more on Kick and the Hug via:
Website // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // Spotify // Soundcloud
