Friday, June 25, 2004  

"Animal was my favorite drummer /
I couldn't get Kurt off my mind last summer"


New Kingdom was too heavy for hip-hop, too rap for rock, and too experimental for major-label stardom. And damn if they weren't one of the best bands of the 1990s.

New Kingdom once played this club in Wheaton in suburban Maryland that tried to be a concert venue, a used record store, and a microbrew pub. It featured the oddest bookings: death metal night followed by ska, followed by rockabilly, followed by prog rock---save for being azz backward it had no identity, so it's no wonder the joint went belly up. The crowd for New Kingdom was small, and the low stage gave the feel that we were watching a high school talent show, but the band ignored the lame surroundings and just tore sh*t up. Jamming like Jimi, down like Public Enemy, fly like Curtis Mayfield, and punk as the Pistols. Awesome, really.

They went on hiatus when their label, Gee Street, was swallowed up, but New Kingdom's leaders have continued to make music---you just needed to be Sherlock Holmes, holmes, to find it. Jason / Nosaj now goes as Nature Boy Jim Kelly, and Sebastian records as Truck Stop [his site is down for the moment]. Guitarist and beatnut Scotty Hard has made a name for himself as a producer or engineer for everyone from Medeski Martin & Wood to Wu-Tang.

Here's a treasure trove of New Kingdom downloads, straight from the band. While the DLs are heavy on NK's second album, 1996's Pardise Don't Come Cheap, you have to find 1993's Heavy Load. Both CDs are available dead cheap from Amazon's used shops: Paradise and Heavy Load for less than 2 bucks each. Steal.

Posted by CP | Link |

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