![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/uncle_kurtis.jpg\")
It\u2019s not at all unusual for four 14-year-old boys to start a rock group. It is, however, remarkable when that band gets high-profile gigs in local bars, and cuts an album of songs, all within a year of forming. But thanks in part to parents drawing on their contacts, that\u2019s what has happened for Uncle Kurtis, an Asheville quartet of rising ninth graders.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach of the dads for this group has some connections, and a lot of people are calling things in,\u201d says Roger Darnell, father of vocalist Riley Darnell and enthusiastic spokesman for the band. He says that local club owners are \u201cwilling to accommodate us in special ways\u201d by scheduling all-ages shows. <\/p>\n
Bassist Quinn Sforza jokingly suggests another reason why his band lands sought-after bookings in a competitive local market full of worthy musical artists: \u201cI don\u2019t think they know that we\u2019re all 14.\u201d<\/p>\n
The band\u2019s studio album, Let\u2019s Kill Uncle Kurtis<\/i>, was released on Girth Records, an indie label run by the brother-in-law of one of Riley\u2019s teachers at ArtSpace charter school. The group\u2019s music reflects the influences of each member\u2019s musical heroes. Sforza laughs when he mentions his influences: \u201cLes Claypool, Jaco Pastorius, Flea \u2026 as stereotypical as it gets.\u201d Guitarist Jackson Lee says his tastes run toward \u201cavant garde composers, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream.\u201d (Drummer Graham Barrineau was unable to make the interview.) <\/p>\n
While the instrumentalists in the group cite the influence of ambitious artists, Riley draws inspiration from punk. \u201cTo get in the state of mind that I like to be in for shows, I watch Bad Brains videos,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Some of Uncle Kurtis\u2019 songs feature knotty riffs, but many are built around one- or two-chord motifs; the group members agree that the approach is a sort of a band signature. The vocals consist mostly of Riley shouting seemingly off-the-cuff lyrics over the musical foundation. He says that he jots down lyric ideas on his phone. \u201cAnd then, whenever they start playing a song that they want to turn into a real song, I\u2019ll just pick one that I think fits the best,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Since getting together in July 2017 (some of the members had played together in other groups before their tenth birthdays), Uncle Kurtis has been booked at Soulshine and LEAF Downtown festivals, and Asheville venues Sly Grog, Isis Music Hall, Salvage Station and the Mothlight. Roger says his son\u2019s group has a loyal following, one made up not just of kids. <\/p>\n
There\u2019s an unapologetically bratty demeanor to the ten songs on Let\u2019s Kill Uncle Kurtis<\/i> (four of which feature explicit lyrics). And the subject matter is sometimes intentionally provocative: \u201cBack to Iowa\u201d is a first-person victim account of a child kidnapping; the central character develops a Stockholm Syndrome-type attachment to his male abductor, and rebels when returned to his parents. Roger steps in to defend the band\u2019s lyrics penned by his son. \u201cThe things that they like to sing about and carry on about make them all laugh together,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
The lyrics of the nearly six-minute, one-chord album closer \u201cRubber Man 35\u201d concern a motivational speaker who appeared at ArtSpace. \u201cHis father told him not to have sex until he was 35,\u201d Riley recalls with a laugh. \u201cIt\u2019s based on a true story, like some of their other songs,\u201d Roger interjects.<\/p>\n
The violent nature of the album\u2019s title might strike some as bad optics, especially at a time when many teens are protesting gun and other forms of violence (Uncle Kurtis played a concert fundraiser benefiting Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action in May). Sophia Miller, designer of the album\u2019s cover art, claims responsibility for the title.<\/p>\n
But when pressed to explain its meaning, Miller just shrugs. When she drew the album cover art, she included a speech bubble above the floating head of drummer Barrineau. \u201cThere was some room above \u2018Uncle Kurtis\u2019 in the speech bubble,\u201d she says. \u201cSo I wrote \u2018Let\u2019s Kill.\u2019 And then that just became the album name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not really meant as anything,\u201d insists Riley. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter. It just sounds good, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lengthiest track on Let\u2019s Kill Uncle Kurtis<\/i> is the ambitiously-titled \u201cSimfonia LaMousea,\u201d a two-chord improvisation that runs more than 13 minutes. Its inclusion is explained in part by the band\u2019s need to record enough music for a full-length album. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t like we ran out of material,\u201d explains Sforza, possibly joking. \u201cWe ran out of good<\/i> material.\u201d (The rest of the band responds with hisses and boos.) <\/p>\n
Right now, the four band members are enjoying the summer before starting high school; their plans beyond that aren\u2019t sharply defined. \u201cWe just want to make more songs,\u201d says Riley. \u201cFurther develop them, and kind of round them off before we record them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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