Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground


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Background = group_or_band
Alias = Kay Kay
Origin = Seattle, Washington, US
Genre = Indie rock, Psychedelic pop
Years_active = 2005 - Present
Label = Bombs Over Bellevue, ECA Records
Associated_acts = Gatsbys American Dream
Wild Orchid Children
Surrounded By Lions
Forgive Durden
The Divorce
Acceptance
The Lashes
The Pharmacy
The House of Breaking Glass
URL = [http://www.bombsoverbellevue.com/ Official site]
Current_members = Kirk Huffman
Kyle O'Quin
Phil Peterson
Past_members =

Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground is an indie band started by Kirk Huffman and Kyle O'Quin of Gatsbys American Dream. Like Gatsbys, the band draws influence from a wide variety of musical genres. Though the band only has 3 official members, they have been known to perform with as many as 11 additional musicians on stage.

History

Kay Kay got its start when Gatsbys American Dream went on hiatus, shortly after the release of their 2006 self-titled album. Huffman and O'Quin had been writing songs together while on tour and brought in Huffman's friend Phil Peterson to round out the group.

The band first released a handful of tracks for streaming on Purevolume and MySpace. These songs later appeared on a cassette single released by ECA Records in 2006. [ [http://www.ecarecords.com/releases/kay-kay/cassette-ep/index.php Kay Kay cassette product page.] ECA Records website. Last accessed February 29, 2008.]

A copy of the band's cassette found its way to John Sidel of V2 Records. The band signed an initial agreement to record a full-length album, but V2 was bought out by Universal Music shortly thereafter and a finalized contract never materialized. [ [http://www.performermag.com/wcp.cover.0805.php "Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground - What You Love Without the Bullshit - Or the Budget."] "Performermag.com". May 2008.]

In early 2007, the band released "Live at the Pretty Parlor", a two-disc set featuring a live DVD and accompanying CD. The DVD was filmed at an independent clothing store in Seattle in late 2006 and released on the band's own label, Bombs Over Bellevue.

In mid-2007, they played their first out-of-state shows in Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. On June 13th, 2007, the band made their national television debut on Last Call with Carson Daly. According to Huffman, [ [http://lineout.thestranger.com/2007/12/kay_kays_kirk_talks_carson_daly "Kay Kay's Kirk Talks Carson Daly."] "Slog, The Stranger blog". December 5, 2007.] the band's DVD found its way into the hands of Carson Daly who then pushed to have the band on the show. The band performed "Hey Momma," reducing the song's length due to time constraints. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk9RjgIPu-8 "Hey Momma" live on Carson Daly.] Youtube video. Last accessed December 9, 2007.]

On February 19, 2008, the band released their debut self-titled album on vinyl through Vinyl Collective, a subsidiary of Suburban Home Records. [ [http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=289385 "Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground New Album Info."] "Absolutepunk.net". January 14, 2008.] The album is a double LP (with a digital download code included) and pressed in three variations, totaling 1,000 copies: rainbow transparent vinyl (200), rainbow milk vinyl (300), and orange with red speckles (500). [ [http://www.vinylcollective.com/2008/02/06/potp -kay-kay-and-his-weathered-underground-st-dbl-lp-3-colors Self-titled preorder page.] Vinyl Collective. Accessed February 6, 2008.] The album was also made available digitally through several retailers, including Amazon MP3 and eMusic. To celebrate the album's release, the band played a sold-out show at The Triple Door in Seattle, where Huffman declared "I thought we’d be playing for ten people. This is the greatest night of my life." [ [http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/kay_kay_triple_door "Kay Kay - Triple Door."] "LineOut, The Stranger music blog." February 19, 2008.] The band was also featured in Seattle weekly newspaper "The Stranger" for the album release. [ [http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=511096 "Friends, Family, Lovers, and Neighbors - The Swerving Orchestra of Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground."] "The Stranger". February 13, 2008.]

In August, the band will embark on their first west-coast tour in support of Rx Bandits and Portugal The Man, with dates running from August 12 to September 1. [ [http://www.punknews.org/article/28644 "Tours: Rx Bandits / Portugal The Man."] "Punknews.org". April 24, 2008.]

On the 17th of July 2008, the band posted a Myspace blog stating that they were already half way through recording their second full-length entitled "Introducing Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground". This blog was accompanied by a new song, titled "Diggin."

Members

According the band's Myspace page, the official members are:
* Kirk Huffman - lead vocals, guitar, percussion
* Kyle O'Quin - keys
* Phil Peterson - cello, backing vocals

Additional musicians

The following is an incomplete list of musicians who are not officially a part of the band, but accompanied the band on their album and for live performances.
* Thomas Hunter - guitar
* Racheal Huffman - backing vocals, percussion
* Nate Mooter - bass
* J. J. Jang - violin
* Victoria (Tori) Parker - violin, backing vocals
* Robert (Bobby) Parker - trumpet, flugelhorn, backing vocals
* Joey Seward - tuba
* Andy Lum - drums
* Garrett Lunceford - drums

Discography

* "Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground" (2006, ECA Records) - Cassette tape featuring 3 early songs.
* "Live at the Pretty Parlor" (2007, Bombs Over Bellevue) - Live DVD/CD release recorded at a clothing store in Seattle.
* "Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground" (2008, Suburban Home/Vinyl Collective) - Studio album currently only available on vinyl and digital download.
* "Diggin' " (2008, Suburban Home/Vinyl Collective) - 7" featuring 2 tracks ("Diggin'" and "All My Friends Passed Out"), taken from the forthcoming album "Introducing...". Includes downloadable versions of both songs.
* "Introducing Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground" (TBA, TBA) - Second full-length studio album.

References

ee also

* Gatsbys American Dream

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/kaykayunderground Kay Kay's Myspace page]
* [http://www.purevolume.com/kaykayandhisweatheredunderground Kay Kay's Purevolume page]