High kicks. Low kicks. Side kicks. French Kicks.
No, this isn’t a brand-new Dr. Seuss book, nor is it the latest exercise trend. But you may be prompted to do some fierce head bobbing when you come out to see one of New York’s hottest rock ‘n’ roll bands when they return to Chicago.
Hailing from Brooklyn, the French Kicks have been around for a while, but it’s taken a Downtown rock explosion for them to get the recognition and radio play they deserve.
The foursome moved from Washington, D.C., to New York after graduating from college and spent the better part of the last decade refining their sound–and building a fan base on the East Coast. Now signed with Alan McGee, the man responsible for launching Oasis, the French Kicks are ready for more spotlight time, which may grow after their upcoming tour with British sensations Keane.
Singer and drummer Nick Stumpf, talking over the crowd in New York’s Penn Station, gave RedEye a few moments before hopping on a train to visit his parents on Long Island.
Did moving from D.C. to New York help mold your now more mature, lush sound?
I don’t think the city makes a difference. The only thing is the hecticness and the pace maybe to help form the music. We’ve never been influenced by other bands in the scene.
But your sound went from gangly and garage-y to a lot more radio-friendly.
We evolved as musicians and songwriters. The way the stuff was recorded was loud and garage-y. I think you can hear the pop stuff that came to the fore, even back then. We’ve just always been interested in writing songs as well as possible.
So are you saying the next natural progression would be to become a boy band?
(Laughs) We never really plan [where the music’s headed], it just happens naturally. We get a batch of songs and see what themes emerge. It depends on a lot of things: what we’re writing, what instruments are around when we’re writing. Rhythms and beats are really my favorite. I grew up playing piano, and people accuse me of playing piano like I’m playing drums.
You recently played at the Wicker Park festival. Did you get to spend any time in Chicago?
We went out to the Rainbo [Club] afterward. We’ve been there many times. We’ve probably played Chicago more than anywhere. It’s always been a good town for us to play. I think our first real show was in Chicago at Empty Bottle at a label showcase. It was the most people we played to up to date. Chicago has a good vibe–we feel really welcome.
Other than that, did you take the summer off?
We did a John Kerry benefit in New York a few weeks ago with Yo La Tengo. I think they raised $100,000. [“Saturday Night Live’s”] Rachel Dratch did a funny Zeppelin imitation with a cello. Other than that, I took vacation time out at the beach. [Guitarist] Josh [Wise] and I spent a week in D.C. just trying to write some music. Whenever we’re not touring, there’s writing going on in some capacity.
French Kicks
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave.
Tickets: $15
———-
popmusicwriter@yahoo.com
Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Victoria Rodriguez (vrodriguez@tribune.com)
