Kickstart
Kickstart - Photo by Kurt "Swingcat" Johnson
By Kurt "Swingcat" Johnson
"It's exhilarating! It's orgasmic! Oh my God!" So says "Miss" Kelly
Halter, lead singer for the classic blues/rock band Kickstart, about
the band's new rhythm section and sound at their performance at Hing's
in Oregon City.
Hing's Restaurant and Happy Lounge is located at 517 Main St. The club
features live bands on weekends in the lounge and a full Chinese menu
including Cantonese and Mandarin cuisines. With a full service Chinese
restaurant operation and a roomy lounge with full bar, stage and dance
floor, Hing's provides all the options needed for a complete night
out. With fine Chinese dining, live bands and dancing, it makes for
an excellent combination!
On this visit, the band Kickstart was performing. With recent personnel
changes including a new drummer and bass player, Kickstart has completely
revamped its sound, adding much tighter polished rhythms and beats
and a whole new approach to their music. Known for a mix of classic
rock, blues and dance music, Kickstart is becoming more and more popular
as time goes by. With almost constant bookings locally, the band is
beginning to do shows on the coast, along with upcoming appearances
at Slim's in St. John's, Dollars Corner in Battleground, Cider Mill
in Hillsdale, The River Roadhouse in Milwaukie and Little Bayou in
Seaside.
Kickstart is Kelly Halter on lead vocals; Lynn Border on lead guitar;
Johnny Fincher on keyboards and vocals; new bass player Scott McGilliuray;
and new drummer Dan Sims. Each brings their own "signature" to
the overall band sound.
Kickstart describes their sound as "rocky-tonk," a
mix of blues, classic rock, ‘60s, funk, R&B and includes
songs from the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison and Aretha Franklin. Their
sound is a mix of pulsating beats, grinding rhythms, Halter's powerful,
soaring voice and Border's blistering guitar licks, with Fincher's
plaintive keyboard riffs. It easily gets the crowd up on the dance
floor groovin' to the sound.
When Halter sang Chain of Fools, the entire sound came together and
easily showcased the new tighter tone and rhythms they've put together.
Guitarist Border talks about the new line-up change; "We have
a new drummer and new bass player. They've really tightened up the
band and have a lot of professional experience between them." He
continues, "We've changed our sound with a little more rhythmic
feel to the music. They bring new musical ideas and lot of ability.
Dan has played a lot of R&B and funk. It's really a tighter sound.”
New bass player McGilliuray talks about what he brings to the mix; "I'm
a rhythm section player and I feel I've been able to add a good, solid
groove to the band. I've played everything from country to speed metal,
jazz and industrial. I bring that breadth of music and styles and make
my own style from those pieces. The rhythm section that works tightly
is really the key to a good band. We're really locked in together.
We've only worked together for two months now and we've really established
a musical connection. And you can really hear it when we play."
New drummer Sims has been with the band for just over two months. He's
played in bands since the ‘60s, originally from Cleveland and
has toured in Europe and on the East Coast, along with a long list
of session work. He says, "I have a lot of drive and tend to be
connective. I have a good sense of funk and polyrhythmic syncopation.
It's really fitting in with the band and we're jelling nicely. I think
our communication with the crowd is making us get even more comfortable
playing together so our communication with the audience is getting
better too. The response from the people has been great."
Halter adds; "The new rhythm section gives it a driving, punchy
beat and it just keeps going and gets me excited. It makes me work
a lot harder as a singer to perform even stronger and harder getting
the crowd involved and making them feel part of the band family. It
makes me want to play at bigger venues and reach even more people.
I want to take this as far as I can. The sky's the limit and with our
new players I think we're on our way!"
Regular Kickstart groupie Mike Dohls had this to say about the band; "It's
rock ‘n’ roll. It's not hard metal, it's ‘70s and ‘80s
rock ‘n’ roll. We see them 5-6 times a month. They're pretty
easy-going and they're good people. They enjoy what they're doing.
I've seen some bands that perform only as a job. These people play
for the love of the music. I enjoy it because what they do and what
it does makes a difference."
First time listener Linda Johnson said, "I like them. They're
very tight and energetic and they seem to be having a great time. The
singer Kelly's great. I really liked her on Janis Joplin's Piece
of my Heart. They're a lot of fun and I enjoyed them very much."
With its new sound, Kickstart is moving in new directions. Keyboardist
and music director Fincher talks about the band's new focus; "We're
working on original tunes. Lynn and I have some original songs and
we plan to be doing them in our shows in the future. They're R&B
and some hard rock too.
We all like variety and don’t want to
be locked in one groove." He mentions their creative process;
he says, "They're all different. Sometimes you'll just be playing
and a certain lick or idea or words will set the juices in motion.
And sometimes the band members will add ideas too. The interesting
part is sometimes you'll have a song and present it to the band and
they interject ideas and rhythms and feel so it can come out better
than your idea in your head."
Border sums up the band's plans; "We're ready to move forward.
Both Johnny and I have an assortment of original songs...high-energy
fun. Kelly is such a strong vocalist and I feel that all the players
are at the same level both musically and personally. We get along great,
both communicating with our music and with each other. It's heaven!
It makes everything a lot of fun. This summer, we want to make a CD
from a live recording. We plan to have our own label and self-promote
the CD. A lot of our friends would love to have our CD so they can
share it with their friends. We hope to have enough success to sustain
it and make people's ears happy!"
With a new line-up and sound, original compositions on the way and
a live CD in the works, Kickstart is taking it to the next level.
They're definitely a band with a plan! Catch them at one of their
many shows.
You can see their schedule in Bandstand.
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