KMB's roots go back to 1990, where Kevin MacDonald played bass and sang while John Coughlin played drums in a band that did really bad R.E.M., Midnight Oil, and Cure covers. Fortunately, this band never made it out of the garage. Over the next few years, John went on to drum for a few local Boston bands, most notably, Son Of Lucy. Kevin, however, retreated to his bedroom. For the next few years he accumulated a couple of guitars, a Korg digital piano, and most importantly a Tascam 4-track (living at home obviously allowed for some free spending). He then began sharpening his "skills" as a songwriter. During the winter of 1995, Kevin made the decision to record some of his "best" songs. He approached John with the idea, and throughout April, May and June the two rehearsed. In July of 1995 they went into Fort Apache Studios in Cambridge MA to record with Wally Gagel (who has worked with Superchunk, Sebadoah, and Folk Implosion). They recorded 5 songs and returned to the Fort in September to record 3 more. The CD "where am i...and where are my glasses" was released December 23, 1995. 1996 began the search for a band. A four piece would've been ideal (to duplicate various overdubbed guitar and vocal parts), but a good portion of the year was WASTED when several "prospects" didn't work out. By October, Kevin and John were again just two. Enter Eric J. Watts. Kevin knew Eric from work and knew he played bass, but didn't think he'd be interested in playing Kevin's brand of "pop" (Eric was known for his taste in heavier types of music). Eric put all concerns to rest quickly. With his enthusiasm and reliability, not to mention his skill, he breathed new life into the project. Not wanting to waste anymore time auditioning new members, Kevin decided to go with the more stripped down, raw sounding three-piece. Although they cannot duplicate all the noises on the CD, they compensate with a tight, punchy sound which actually gives the more "poppy" songs ("Perfect Girl", "Never Meant To Be") some added edge. The Kevin MacDonald Band played it's first show ever on February 5, 1997 at T.T. the Bears' Place in Cambridge MA. They continued to play shows throughout the year and in October of 1997 they were back at Fort Apache recording CD #2, this time working with Matthew Ellard (who has worked with Tanya Donnelly, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Treble Charger, etc., etc.). The band recorded a more versatile set of songs than on the first CD, featuring melodic pop("Just When"), crunchy pop ("Sleep Less"), edgy ("Drink"), moody and intricate ("Nineteen Years"), and ambitious, if not overcomposed ("Complex Christ"). Titled "They Laughed at Noah," KMB's second CD was released Feb. 5, 1998, exactly one year after their first show. Kevin, John and Eric played out in support of Noah for the bulk of the year, playing at the Kirkland Cafe in Cambridge and Aerosmith's Mama Kin on Landsdown St. in Boston. Then, in November John decided to leave the band and played his last show with KMB on December 2, at Mama Kin. A week and half later, Tom Bishop was chosen to fill the void. Tom promptly moved his kit (and P.A.) into the practice studio they shared with Son of Lucy at the Music Complex in Charlestown, MA and began to learn Kevin's tunes. They left this shared room in late January and on February 1, 1999 moved into Tom's basement, recently renovated to be neighbor-friendly, and have been there since. |