California, Los Angeles in particular, has given us many trends, movies and loads of entertainment, now the city of angels has given us perhaps the next big thing; Kicking Harold.
This hard rocking trio anchored by more than experienced and capable front man Tim David Kelly on lead vocal and guitar has been making music since their debut demo EP in 1994. Several lineup changes later and an overwhelmingly fantastic new CD titled “Red Light District,” have the band poised for greatness. The addition of drummer Michael Odabashian and newest member Julia Lage on bass has reinvigorated the band and its fan base as they are currently on tour with super group; The Winery Dogs.
The Starland Ballroom in Sayerville, NJ was the setting recently for these two bands, with Kicking Harold leading the way; opening with a hard rocking, driving set featuring all original material and two cover tunes which wasted no time whipping the crowd into a frenzy. “I loved playing it,” said Tim David Kelly of the venue during a post-show interview. “I’d heard about this place but had never played it; it’s such a cool rock club.”
Cool club or not, the temperature was anything but once they ripped into their opening number, “American Nitro.” Three power chords in and one could feel the energy level rise, “I’m psycho, I’m American nitro….” A great opening line and one that would set the tone for the entire evening as the group started there and never slowed down. “Let’s Fly Away” and “Sugarcoat My World” segued into a slowed down, bluesy version of Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild” temporarily semi-calming the raucous crowd as they seemingly used the time to catch their breath as they swayed along.
Odabashian, who is originally from New York and has previously graced the Starland stage was pleased and somewhat relieved by the crowd’s reaction, “I’m familiar with the venue, I’ve played here before, I supported a pop artist; the show tonight was awesome! I am from the area and I didn’t want to go out and stink it up,” he said as he laughed; “It’s such a great venue.” Even Brazilian born bassist Lage was impressed with the crowd and the venue as she ventures out on her first ever U.S tour. “Tonight was great! I’ve actually seen The Winery Dogs here so I was super excited to perform here; I’ve toured all over Brazil but never in the U.S. and so far it’s been amazing and I’m having a blast. Audiences like these make it so good to play for them.”
“Marigold” was followed by “I Want To Go Faster” and “Underneath It All,” a song describing the relief, finality and clarity that the ending of a relationship can bring to light. “Down On You,” “Fred’s New Dress” and the grungy “Kill You” had this set careening towards the end like a runaway mine car; fast and furious.
Taking only a minute to regain composure along with a brief introduction and some audience instruction; Kelly launched into “Gasoline.” Motor heads worldwide may recognize the tune from TLC’s “Overhaulin’” as it was featured as the program’s main theme. Kelly didn’t have to twist any arms or vocal chords as during the tune’s break down section the head bangers, who by now were full throttle responded, “Gasoline” to his calls of, “I am…” as their crescendo built with reckless abandon.
Times like these seem to be the norm on this tour but of course, opening for The Winery Dogs tends to make things a bit easier as the band continues to perform to packed houses from the start of every evening. The word is out that they are worth the price of admission as well and not just the “Opening act,” as many would think. “Touring with these guys is really, really cool,” says Kelly. “They’ve been really good to us and are such gracious hosts; we couldn’t ask for a better experience.” Odabashian echoed his band mate’s words, “The Winery Dogs are really great guys,” he stated emphatically; “This tour is great and we can’t thank them enough!”
Lage, who says she, “Loves the tour so much,” and was thrilled to join Kicking Harold when asked, because in her words is, “In love with their music” and “Loves the new record;” is often a focal point on stage. A statuesque, long haired brunette, who wears a smile far brighter than any spot light, is the perfect combination of precision and grace as she holds down the bottom end of the band’s rhythm section along with Obadashian. “I used to go see these guys often,” she said with a true respect for her mates; “So when they asked me to join a couple of months ago I was very excited!”
“Gasoline” definitely added fuel to an already revved up crowd whose tachs were already pinned but what happened next took things to a whole other level. Kelly broke into the opening chords of Rush’s “Working Man” and the place went from frenzied to a fever pitch. A rarity when bands cover the famed Canadian trio, let alone covers them well; Kicking Harold not only did so but had no need to vocalize as those in attendance took over. The smile on their three faces said it all as one could genuinely tell that they were having a blast performing the music of their idols. “I love playing Rush, anything by Rush,” said Lage. “Definitely a crowd favorite when we do it; that’s why we like to end with it,” said Kelly. Drummer Obadashian, who says that Neil Peart was one of his major influences, loves playing the tune and ending the night with it; summed up and their set perfectly when he simply stated, “I really like the chemistry of this band.”
With that, Kicking Harold vacated the stage and as they did so, now playing the part of roadies for themselves; one gets the sense of just how much longer they’ll be doing so. This band is poised for greatness and as this tour progresses; may get there before it’s over.
To discover more about Kicking Harold and the current tour; please go to www.kickingharold.com
