Kids These Days
Band Members: Macie Stewart (Vocals), Liam Cunningham (Guitar/Vocals), Vic Mensa (Rapper), J.P. Floyd (Trombone), Rajiv Orozco (Saxophone), Nico Segal (Trumpet), Lane Beckstrom (Bass), and Greg Landfair Jr. (Drums).
By: Nevra Azerkan
Kids These Days is a Chicago based, eight piece band comprised of 17-21 year olds. That’s right an eight piece band made up of young adults who have not only organized their sound into something coherent, but they are doing it surprisingly quite professionally. The band includes members: Macie Stewart (Vocals), Liam Cunningham (Guitar/Vocals), Vic Mensa (Rapper), J.P. Floyd (Trombone), Rajiv Orozco (Saxophone), Nico Segal (Trumpet), Lane Beckstrom (Bass), and Greg Landfair Jr. (Drums). Together they form a mixture of hip-hop, jazz and funk with a kick of ska. They have been compared to some of their own influences like Ozomatli and The Roots.
The band met through school and started out as cover band. Their versions were remixes of Common’s “Be” mixed with Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia,” and James Brown’s “Man’s World” mixed with the Billie Holiday classic “Summertime.” Now playing their own material they have gone on to play sold out shows in Chicago as well as critically acclaimed performances at SXSW Music Festival and Lollapalooza. While many are impressed with their recordings, their live shows garner them new fans in the masses. There are not many mainstream bands that use horns in their music mostly because they can’t pull it off, but Kids These Days have the potential to bring that sound onto the airwaves.
The band released a five-song EP, entitled ‘Hard Times’ online in June of 2011. The EP includes the original songs: “Hard Times”, “My Days”, “Darling”, “Summerscent” and “Walking Down The Line”. Their sound is effortlessly smooth accompanied by refreshingly fun lyrics. It’s hard to believe they remain unsigned.
Be sure to watch their videos for “Darling” and “Summerscent” and you will be hitting repeat in no time. Their combination of styles is unconventional yet they blend perfectly without needing to fit into any one specific genre. Kids These Days are going to continue to attract attention, so be one of the first to discover them and buy their EP on iTunes and if you’re lucky enough don’t miss the opportunity to catch one of their live shows.
For more information on Kids These These Days visit their pages on Facebook, Sonic Bids and their official website.
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