Praise For Wallflower.com | Indie Music Blog

Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground was first conceived by Gatsby’s American Dream bassist, Kirk Huffman, in collaboration with the band’s keyboardist, Kyle O’Quinn, while writing their own music and on tour with Gatsby. The central idea of the lyrics were to follow the main character, Kay Kay, while he slowly slipped into paranoid schizophrenia, most clearly displayed in the song, Hey Momma. When the band went on hiatus, Huffman and O’Quinn teamed up with Nada Surf’s Phil Peterson to develop the Kay Kay idea, forming Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground.

As for their sound, it’s hard to pinpoint, exactly: song to song is like comparing apples and oranges. This is probably due to the wide range of instruments and effects that are displayed throughout and across each song. Some things that stay loosely consistent throughout the band’s repertoire are their utilization of lead vocal falsettos, background vocals, funk horns, quirky and upbeat melodies, and guitar riffs reminiscent of classic western movies. Its kind of like 1920's burlesque house/speakeasy's upbeat piano and horn tunes, mixed with acoustic guitars, and finally crossed with a circus. Even though Kay Kay is unorthodox, the members admit that their songs are heavily influenced by other artists, most notably, The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper and Revolver albums, along with The Zombies' Odyssey and Oracle album . The link between these two bands and Kay Kay are the varied sounds which are incorporated into each song as well as the effective use of background vocals, often accomplished by multiple vocalists.

Kay Kay, as previously mentioned, is a culmination of many poppy sounds swirling around a central narrative which could be put into the genre of psychedelic pop rock, but that wouldn’t do them justice. In an interview with the Collegian Chronicles Peterson states, “It is a very broad sound. There are a lot of musicians, and we all come from slightly different backgrounds, so there are more ingredients in the soup. It’s some kind of pop rock, but that’s really up to the listener. That’s part of what’s fun.” Luckily you can make up your own mind and get a better feel for this band, as they have recently released a DVD/CD with a full set of all their songs to date. I haven't checked out the whole album yet due to it being out of stock on the label's website, (Bombs Over Bellevue), but based on some description of it, anyone who likes what is on their Myspace, should be more than pleased with whatever else they have to offer.

THE SKINNY: Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground is so old school, almost all their songs are a throwback to the pop music of decades old.
FAVORITE TRACK: Bowie Santa Cruz
APPROPRIATE FOR: listening to live in a dimly lit club on funk fusion night
FOR FANS OF: The Beatles, The Zombies, Coheed and Cambria, Salvador Dali?