| The only thing simple about
Simple Kid a.k.a Kierian Mcpheely is the moniker and the interview technique.
Direct, honest and unpretentious; the same could be said of his music. He’s bummed,
high tailed and hitch hiked his way around the American East coast, was once signed
to Sony as 1/5 of The Young Offenders, (Remember them? Me neither…) He’s
not a proper singer/songwriter, he’s not the new Bob Dylan (we’ll leave that too
Johnny Borrell) he’s a fan of karaoke?! And labelled the NME ‘insane’ Nice to
see someone’s keeping it simple. Sort of. After a successful U.S. tour and
festival appearances spanning the globe the Kid’s career looks to have gone full
circle. Having completed both U.K. and U.S tours already this year, it’s all in
stark contrast to his last visit to the U.S of A. In what you might call a career
break, a jaunt around the sun drenched coasts and a meeting of minds were the
events that spawned the Simple Kid. Jaded and disillusioned from the demise of
first band, The Young Offenders and the ever fickle music industry, Kierian decided
solo was where it’s at. Overblown comparisons, a gruelling tour schedule and homage
to where it all began, welcome the return of the Kid, on his own terms. ‘It
was different. I didn’t really go to any of the same places so I wouldn’t say
there was any sentimentality but it’s always exciting to go to a new country and
tour and I got invited over and thought id do it’. Not one for wasting any more
time, a philosophy of ‘It’s like you get to the point where you finish a tour
and you sit around and get bored and twiddle your thumbs. It’s good to have a
break but it’s better to keep busy’. So it explains Simple Kids somewhat demonic
touring schedule, but instead of becoming stale and rigid, ‘I don’t want to sound
cheesy but I enjoyed them all’, it doesn’t always do exactly what it says on the
ticket. The U.K tour saw sitar players, DJ slots, themed sets and ex Oasis axeman
Bonehead doing karaoke. It might be the want of band mates or perhaps the dementia
brought on by loneliness but the family Kid, Simple Kids alter egos, beat any
band, imaginary or not… ‘It’s not really the way I think you mean. It’s not like
I go onstage with a moustache and a costume, it’s more about the style I’ll play
the set on the night.’ With debut effort ‘1’ quietly conquering record collections
and capturing the imagination of the indie cult massive, Simple Kids folksy, catchy
electric skiffle is as effective in winning admirers as it is in the humming stakes.
Proving that you don’t have to be a part of the ‘The *insert band name here*’
collective to grab the right media attention. Perhaps the comparison between him
and James Dean Bradfield both getting their respective band names from an old
man would make more sense to the NME accolade of ‘the new Bob Dylan’ could prove
interesting to someone who doesn’t think of themselves as a singer/songwriter.
‘Insane. ‘I think I play around and mess it up a little more than most people,
but it is me singing so I am, but not properly.’ And making it easy for HMV workers
everywhere Simple Kids music is; ‘Indie. Just indie I think. It’s very heavy on
the lyrics side but I can’t think of it being anything else. Just indie.’ ‘I take
my gear around with me all the time and I’m always writing songs. I’ve got a few
ready and recorded and I’ll hopefully start on the album during the summer. It’s
still fun making set lists up on the day, so I’ll probably play some new songs
on the tours.’ With the promise of new material and a second album coupled with
appearances at some of the world’s biggest festivals, it’s going to be a busy
summer for Simple Kid. Having already done Glastonbury he’s still picking no favourites.
‘Roskilde’s a huge festival and the Fuji festival, Japan, which I’ve never been
too. They’re all pretty big so I couldn’t really choose.’ Could you sum
up the idea behind Simple Kid in one word? Simple ‘It might be country,
or punk or rock, it’s basically so people know who they are going to see on the
ticket, and it’s all about keeping it different.’ Contradictions a beautiful
thing. Relevant sites:
/http://www.simplekid.com
Interview conducted by Sherief Younis for Crud Magazine 2004©
|
