Kooked Out ride a wave both past and present with ‘DIY Sessions I’
Boston duo adds a new groove to its hyper-active, forward-motion music with a diverse new EP out Friday, June 21
Three original tracks pair with classic surf covers of ‘Wipeout’ and ‘Walk Don’t Run’
Listen to debut album ‘Vis Viva’
Photo Credit: Christine Paige Photography
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BOSTON, Mass. [June 21, 2024] -- There’s lots of talk these days about a band being a “brand,” and how creatives should market their music as such to reach and relate to a targeted audience. But to do that, one has to first put definitions and parameters on their project, a necessity for the recipient to understand just what they are being served. So what happens when a band is ultimately undefinable, doesn’t fit into any genre boxes, and defies any sense of expectation and restriction?
Kooked Out might have the answer, but they’re just too busy playing shows all across New England to really care about that kind of stuff. The Boston-based collective led by core members John Fiore (guitar and vocals) and Chris Laskey (drums and vocals) remain impossible to pigeon-hole into any specific genre, and continue a path of playing by their own rules and doing whatever the hell they want.
Now, fresh off a spirited run to the finals of New England Music Awards’ Last Band Standing competition, Kooked Out self-release DIY Sessions I on Friday, June 21 -- and it’s an exercise in self-expression, creative freedom, and musical juxtaposition. The follow-up to breakout 2022 debut album Vis Viva, this new record contains five songs: Three new tracks that skillfully span a spectrum of styles from gritty blues to alt-country to ethereal folk, and two classic instrumental covers that lean in to the duo’s penchant for surf-pop: “Wipe Out,” first performed and recorded by the Surfaris in 1963; and “Walk Don’t Run,” made famous by The Ventures three years earlier.
Taking songs that first entered the pop culture lexicon more than six decades ago is no sweat for Fiore and Laskey, who canvass the region in their “Kooky Bus,” a band vessel of a vehicle that falls in line with The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour mixed with a bit of Ken Kesey and The Merry Pranksters and Tom Wolfe’s Electric Kool Aid Acid Test. And it jives with Kooked Out’s own sense of timelessness within their music; it’s made in 2024, but could easily fall within any other era, dating back to the ‘50s and ‘60s. At the core is a DIY ethic and ethos, and an eagerness to perform live to any crowd – from the city’s rock clubs to busking circuits to arts spaces and outdoor places – that puts them squarely into the right here, right now.
Kooked Out just want to get the music out there.
“We're super stoked to release this record,” the band says. “This was just a fun easy going project as far as recording goes; we just put up one room mic at home without really worrying about strategic placement or the quality of the sound. The basic tracks were done with the drums and guitar being played live with the bass, overdubs and vocals added in after. Originally these were intended to be demo versions of the songs that we were planning to record again later on. Ultimately though we just said fuck it it's fine and moved on [laughs].”
That “later on” will find Kooked Out recording a new album sometime in the fall, an alleged proper follow-up to Vis Viva. But with a ton of shows and live appearances from now to the holidays, the band wanted to offer up something new – even if some of the material is pulled from their personal archives.
“We're not exactly sure how this record reflects where we're at currently because the idea of even making this a record at all came to us after the fact,” they admit. “We had two surf covers already recorded that were just collecting dust and a few original tracks that all varied in style. Aside from the surf tunes, the three originals were unlike anything off of Vis Viva. So, basically this record was created to give these songs a home.”
What DIY Sessions I does is showcase another side of Kooked Out, whose kaleidoscopic sound echoed brightly out of the speakers on Vis Viva. Here, there’s a dusted layer of grit that permeates through the originals. Opening track “All My Woes” displays a weathered sense of raw blues as a feedback hum permeates throughout; “Make The Rounds” punches with an outlaw alt-country fever as a mic stand bangs against a high-hat while Fiore’s dog Lou’s collar jingles faintly in the background; and closer “Jojo” is a delicate acoustic number dedicated to Fiore’s fiancée and newborn son. The band, named after Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker’s viral video interview from 2013, kept all the minor imperfections to retain the record’s rawness.
Fiore further breaks down each of the original Kooked Out tracks:
“‘All My Woes’ is about internalizing and holding on to other peoples negative influence over you but having the decency within yourself to not want to hurt them by letting them know just how much they hurt you.
“‘Make The Rounds’ is about taking chances and creating your own path. Following your dreams can be scary sometimes even more so for the people who care about you the most watching from a distance. When you're in it and believe in what you're doing you take all the good with the bad and just keep moving forward.
“And ‘Jojo’ is a love song about my fiancée and some of the many ways she lifts me up and keeps me hopeful. I wanted the song to have a lullaby type of quality to it with pretty guitars and a gentle melody that sounded breezy. The song was written on acoustic and it just felt right to keep it that way. I just became a new father and my son is named John Joseph so the song has taken on an additional meaning for me and now when I'm singing it I feel like it's for both of them. Although it's personal I hope that people out there can find a way to relate to it in their own relationships.”
The trio of new joints are weaved around the two aforementioned surf-pop standards. Both are instant party-starters, the types of songs everyone knows even if they don’t know the titles. And both fit right at home with Kooked Out’s hyper-active, forward-motion music.
“We've been playing the classic surf stuff since the beginning and ‘Wipe Out’ has remained a fan favorite and staple of our live set for some time now,” Kooked Out say. “Our version was actually recorded a few years ago and has a more aggressive and intense surf-punk vibe than the original. The drum hook and riff is just super fun to play. ‘Walk Don't Run’ has such a cool melody and feel. Like a lot of the great instrumental surf songs of the 1960s it truly captures the essence of Southern California, the summer, the beach, and surf culture. Surf music will always have a prominent influence over our sound.”
From here, Kooked Out will spend the summer playing literally anywhere and everywhere, with a live lineup rounded out by additional vocalist Nicole Nelson and bassist Chris Caduto. They’ll then ride a wave over to The Bridge Sound & Stage in Cambridge to record the next album with engineer Alex Allinson.
But for now, it’s DIY Sessions I that keeps extending the Kooked Out narrative forward. Just don’t try to predict what might happen next – because this is a band, not a brand.
Media Contact: John Fiore and Chris Laskey of Kooked Out at kookedoutband@gmail.com.
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Kooked Out is:
John Fiore: Guitar + Vocals
Chris Laskey: Drums + Vocals
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‘DIY Sessions I’ production credits:
‘All My Woes’, ‘Make The Rounds’, and ‘Jojo’ written by Kooked Out
‘Wipe Out’ written by The Surfaris, 1963
‘Walk Don't Run’ written by Johnny Smith, 1954; made famous by The Ventures, 1960
Mixed and mastered by Kooked Out
‘Jojo’ mixed by Owen Korzec and mastered by Adam Chamberlain at Adam C Mastering
Cover art by Kooked Out
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‘DIY Sessions I’ artwork:
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Kooked Out short bio:
Kooked Out is here for the good times. Emerging from the Massachusetts town of Stoneham, the band’s animated and eclectic rock and roll – a combination of indie, surf-pop, alternative, punk, reggae, and whatever else sounds good in the band’s musical cauldron – belies its sleepy small suburban town origins. With a tireless and ambitious live calendar, Kooked Out could as easily be found busking across the streets of Boston the afternoon before playing across the city’s rock club circuit by night. Their genre-spanning sound, drawing influences from the 1930s to now, has become a calling card, both on record and live on stage, appropriate for a creative outlet that cites its top influences as Chuck Berry, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Dick Dale, The Black Keys, Cage The Elephant, and Blink-182. In 2022, Kooked Out self-released its emphatic debut album, Vis Viva. The record’s response – as well as the band advancing to the semis of the 2023 Rock And Roll Rumble, and a growing organic fanbase around New England – led to its re-release on cassette that summer. A new EP, featuring three new songs and two classic covers, arrives June 2024.
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Kooked Out’s Kooky Bus:
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Media praise for Kooked Out:
“Summer may be winding down, but the sounds of surf music continue to reverberate thanks to the hard-working duo Kooked Out. They just reissued their debut album Vis Viva on cassette, and they are bringing their Kooky Bus to venues around the area, including this new dog park/bar in Everett. Besides supplying plenty of catchy pop and punk songs, the cassette features some surf chestnuts and the rollicking original instrumental ‘Bugger Off’. Quincy’s Dick Dale would be proud.” _The Arts Fuse
“A frenzied fan base awaited Kooked Out as they commanded the headlining slot of Night 1 with an electrified reggae-meets-funk-meets-ska-meets-rawk hybrid sound that began with the title track from recent album Vis Viva and continued through new school anthems like ‘The Weekend’, ‘Like We’re 21’, and more!” _Rock & Roll Fables’ Rumble reviews
“[Vis Viva] is a sprawling, kinetic collection of tunes that captures the band's distinct personality that ebbs and flows throughout, and does a great job of encapsulating the band's musical might all in one fell swoop.” _Music Box Pete
Kooked Out is here for the good times. Emerging from the Massachusetts town of Stoneham, the band’s animated and eclectic rock and roll – a combination of indie, surf-pop, alternative, punk, reggae, and whatever else sounds good in the band’s musical cauldron – belies its sleepy small suburban town origins. With a tireless and ambitious live calendar, Kooked Out could as easily be found busking across the streets of Boston the afternoon before playing across the city’s rock club circuit by night.” _Blood Makes Noise
“We were probably 40 seconds into the title track ‘Vis Viva’ from Boston based band Kooked Out, when we declared that if there was an official band for absolute happiness it should be Kooked Out.” _The Whole Kameese
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Band + Press Contact: kookedoutband@gmail.com
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