"King Freud confirms my belief
that there is this generation of music, coming from kids who spent a lot of
time in their basement, playing Atari, and smoking out of cans with forkholes;
who are now writing and creating some pretty stellar music. I know I
was one of them! I thought after listening to this album that it had
a variety of songs on it.
Some critics these days say that is a bad
thing to have. I totally disagree. The kids who are creating music
these days have such a broad spectrum of music to be influenced by that they
have all kinds of tastes and colors. I mean isn't that what we've been
searching for all along? The songs on this CD are all really cool and
unique in their own ways. Its called creativity for those critics who
seem to have forgotten! I think that the ego-minds of today's falling
popstars are disappearing. Why? Because so many people have been
washed over with this image that "I am somehow better than you because I
can do this..." musicians. So many people have been blazed with this that
THOSE PEOPLE are now getting together and creating a new generation.
Squashing
Tommy Hilfiger, squashing Maybelline, squashing WHAT IS BEING TALKED *AT*
YOU, SQUASHING SENSATIONALISM! Its now becoming "WE ARE TALKING WITH
YOU". Its all suburbian basement philosophy but take it or leave it,
this music is emerging as something as new and different as Garage Music,
Thrash Music, or Grunge Music....i would call it Suburbian Basement Music.
Kids are playing guitars and hangin out watchin crap on MTV, understanding
the Simpsons, and generally being outraged at how market analysts think they
are hosers, and hoping to somehow change the way MTV wants us to appear things
to be.
These kids are fearless. I hope they somehow take over
popular music in a way makes the listener feel as if "the band is communicating
with you" and not "the band is communicating AT you". Times are changing.
This is the vibe I get after listening to your music, King Freud. I enjoyed
the Lenny Kravitz Feel of #4(What the Hell Happened). The song Laura
I assume is about a girlfriend or someone close. See, go to those spaces
that make you have to write music. Because that is truth to you and
you can tell it by how you sing it. Great vocals... A couple tunes
sound just as good as what is on the radio. Wow. #1 (Down) and #5 (Do
You Know Her?) I enjoyed the little pieces of soundbytes at the end
of the songs that were left in instead of cut. Kinda like that as a
theme for your music. Just letting the end drowned away into sticks
clammering and people coughing and shit? What do you think? I enjoyed
the hidden track and enjoyed the video game feel of the jam. Very cool
shit... I was thinking if we could try and cover track #2 (Mooseknuckle Shuffle),
that would be cool. I would enjoy playing that jam for sure... Seriously
I liked the disc dood. It’s in my CD player for good."
– Jason Fladager (The
Big Wu)
From the pages of the Citizen Harold
King Freud
Ward’s Car (Self Released)
For those of you with rolled eyes at the ready at the sight of an unsigned
band getting some ink, you might want to save that oft-accurate reaction
for some unknown band other than King Freud.
Aside from their actual age, King Freud has an ironic maturity in not
only their commitment to sound, but in their musicianship. Anyone can conjure
up a quartet of their closest mates and bellow out the all-too-common juvenile
garage sounds with perhaps a dash of punk alongside some gratuitous "Sympathy
for the Devil" power chord stoner riffs. King Freud, however, combines their
youthful energy with spirited intelligence, a refreshing deviation from what
we often have come to expect from young musicians.
One might describe the experience of listening to Ward’s Car as Steely
Dan meets Ben Folds Five in a Dodge Dart with bad brakes driven by Lenny
Kravitz, most evident on the second track of the disc, “Mooseknuckle Shuffle.”
With 5 minutes and twenty seconds of not-for-Dead Heads-only atonal intergalactic
funk, “Freud” leaves no tone unturned. Although the more pop-single sounding
“Do You Know Her?” may have its paddle slightly submerged into the mainstream,
the band couldn’t have injected more musical variety between the multi-movemented
lead track, “Down,” and the urgently culminating piece, “You’ll Be There.”
From loungy/bluesy to hippie/heavy, King Freud is the alternative to alternative.
With a remarkably well-produced and mature sound, “Freud” is about as far
from hollow as Britney Spears is from undermarketed. This Twin Cities band
has the talent, dynamism, and youthful energy to lead the next wave of “underground.”
In short, be sure to check your assumptions at the CD cover and look to hear
more from King Freud on a record label near you. Soon.
Nebula
From the pages of the Osseo/Maple Grove Press (oh how sweet......thier
hometown)
Maple Grove band debuts first recording
by Kathy Hara
King Freud, a Maple Grove band, is anticipating the debut of its first
CD early in December.
Members of the band are all former or present students of Maple Grove
High School: Joel Latterell (Class of 1999), Ryan Plewacki (1999), Brandon
Hess (2000), Jordan Carlson (2000) and Eric Bottelberghe (2001). The band
got started in Carlson's basement in 1997, and at that time they called themselves
the "Wandering Melodics."
Over the next few years, they honed their craft by performing at school
events or at teen clubs. Now, with the band members either in school or
working, they still manage to get together twice a week to practice.
"The real difficult thing as far as scheduling went is that essentially
we had to take six months out of our lives to record the CD," said Plewacki.
"We started in May. It was a long, hard process."
The CD, titled "Ward's Car," is being produced and will be sold by an
area independent record label. The band hopes the label, Insight Galactic,
will also set up more opportunities for them to perform when the CD comes
out. They also expect their music will be played on the radio, especially
the ones that air local talent.
CREATIVITY
Although the recording process was difficult, said Carlson, it was also
a good environment in which to create. The band writes its own music, he
said, with Plewacki furnishing most of the initial material.
"I'll write progressions - the basic song and basic structure," said Plewacki.
"Then everybody adds their own voice. At that point, it goes where I could
never imagine it could go. The most exciting thing for a writer is to see
it go from its basic form to the end product."
And what is that end product?
"I like to tell people it's rock, funk and jazz in a pop setting," said
Carlson.
"It's hard to stick to one specific style when there's so much out there,"
added Plewacki.
The group is a lot different than when it started, said Plewacki. In fact,
the band members felt they had evolved to the point where they needed a new
name. Their original name derived from a long narrative Brandon Hess had
written his junior year in English class. The story - which can be found on
their web site - is titled "Richard and the Wandering Melodics." The antagonist
from the story is named King Freud, and the band chose that for their new
name.
INFLUENCES
The CD itself, "Ward's Car," is named after their friend David Ward who
had an abiding interest in antique cars. The band wrote an instrumental
piece in 1998 called "Ward's Car," which is an unaccredited number in the
upcoming album.
"I want to talk about a song called 'You'll Be There,' " said Plewacki.
"It has many references to Maple Grove. It kind of gives directions to where
I used to live. We want to keep involved in Maple Grove, because this is
where we grew up."
The band will be happy if its CD is a moderate success, said Carlson.
The good news is that the first production has already sold out from pre-orders,
with a second run due December 4, and the band is already booking shows.
The band members in college plan to stay in school and finish their degrees.
In the meantime, they will continue to have fun with the band, performing
when they can and continuing to practice in Carlson's basement.
"We're very emphatic about thanking Jordan's mother for all she's done
for us," said Plewacki. "She thought she was rid of us when we graduated
and went to college. But we still practice there twice a week."
King Freud has announced the release of its debut album, Ward’s Car. The
Minnesota-based band will play a cd-release party Friday at the Five Corners
Saloon in Minneapolis. Fellow Minnesota resident Jason Fladager of The Big
Wu is a big fan of King Freud. “The songs on this CD are all really cool
and unique in their own ways,” says Fladager. “Great vocals…A couple tunes
sound just as good as what is on the radio. Wow.”
Big Wu Family Reunion Sells Out
Tickets are no longer available for The Big Wu Family Reunion. The festival,
which sold out last week, will take place May 25 - 27 at Jamboree Campground
in Black River Falls, WI. Bands on the bill include All Mighty Senators,
Ancient Harmony, Cornmeal, Dred I Dread, Greenhouse, Homunculus, The Jones
Gang, King Freud, Larry, Dean Magraw & Friends, Patchouli, The Recipe,
Sound Tribe Sector 9, Strange Pleasures, Sweet Potato Project, Umphreys McGee,
The Big Wu and Yonder Mountain String Band. There will not be tickets available
at the gate. For more details, visit www.thebigwu.com.
Last year’s Family Reunion has been nominated for a Jammy in the category
of Best Festival. The 2nd Annual Jammys will be held June 28 at Roseland
Ballroom in New York City. To vote, visit the Jammys voting page.
