Mr. Kind

A couple of years ago, we played a tribute to one of our favorite bands, Wilco. 

Ever since then, we've been itching to do another tribute show but we could never agree on a band, let alone an album.

Eventually, we realized that we all had one other band in common that we all loved: Creed.

The strange thing is, they're a band that history (and musical critics) have not beed kind to.

We're here to settle the score.

Mr. Kind will be performing at The New Parkway Theater in Oakland on Sunday March 2nd as part of their annual Oscar party. We will be performing our original music in the lobby before the award ceremony then we'll move into one of the auditoriums during the program, playing classic and contemporary movie songs during commercial breaks.

$20 gets you a ticket, appetizers, + good times. The Barely Legal crew will be supplying entertainment in the other auditorium.  

Mr. Kind will be performing at The New Parkway Theater in Oakland on Sunday March 2nd as part of their annual Oscar party. We will be performing our original music in the lobby before the award ceremony then we'll move into one of the auditoriums during the program, playing classic and contemporary movie songs during commercial breaks.

$20 gets you a ticket, appetizers, + good times. The Barely Legal crew will be supplying entertainment in the other auditorium.  

I woke up to the best email ever yesterday, an invitation asking us to be a part of The Family Crest's album release show at The Great American Music Hall on Thursday February 13th. This is awesome for a couple of reasons:

- If you haven't seen The Family Crest before, it's an experience. From their bio: "the group formed in early 2010 into a six-piece band with an 'extended family' of 300 who participate in recordings, live performances, and other media and art projects. The band aims to form an interactive community around a common musical platform, dissolving the barrier between artist and audience member."

I saw them twice at SXSW a couple of years ago as well as in the Bay Area. Their live performances are powerful, moving, and participatory and with their impending CD release, they are on the up-and-up. Awesome sauce.

- The Great American Music Hall was named the 6th best rock club in American by The Rolling Stone last year. Those "Best Of" lists are always suspect but in this case, it's legit. A beautiful venue (some say it's haunted), it's a spiritual experience going to listen to music there. The Family Crest is a perfect compliment to the vibe there, and along with Branches (who will be main support), we're going to hold it down and make it a special night.

- This show is presented by KFOG and Performer Magazine, veritable institutions in the local music ecosystem.

As for where Mr. Kind fits into this, in addition to the EP we released last year, we've been working on another EP, constantly honing our sound, and we're excited to showcase it for all of you. With such a legendary venue, such a strong bill, and esteemed presenters, we're going for broke on this one.

Facebook Invite - Tickets - Doors at 7p - Mr. Kind is first at 8pm

I woke up to the best email ever yesterday, an invitation asking us to be a part of The Family Crest's album release show at The Great American Music Hall on Thursday February 13th. This is awesome for a couple of reasons:

- If you haven't seen The Family Crest before, it's an experience. From their bio: "the group formed in early 2010 into a six-piece band with an 'extended family' of 300 who participate in recordings, live performances, and other media and art projects. The band aims to form an interactive community around a common musical platform, dissolving the barrier between artist and audience member."

I saw them twice at SXSW a couple of years ago and it's a powerful experience, deeply moving. Awesome sauce.

- The Great American Music Hall was named the 6th best rock club in American by The Rolling Stone last year. Those "Best Of" lists are always suspect but in this case, it's legit. A beautiful venue (some say it's haunted), it's a spiritual experience going to listen to music there. The Family Crest is a perfect compliment to the vibe there, and along with Branches (who will be main support), we're going to hold it down and make it a real special night.

As for where this fits in the Mr. Kind universe, in addition to the EP we released last year, we've been working on another EP, constantly honing our sound, and we're excited to showcase it for all of you. At such a legendary venue, with such a strong bill, we're going for broke on this one and will be pulling out all the stops.

Facebook Invite - Tickets - Doors at 7p - Mr. Kind is first at 8pm

2013 was a year of incubation for Mr. Kind. We spent the majority of our time in the studio honing our sound but still managed to play some notable shows and build momentum that we will be carrying into 2014.

Here are a few choice highlights from this past year:

Live Shows: We kicked off 2013 with a sold-out show at the Brick and Mortar Hall, opening for French Cassettes. We followed that up with our first visit to Cafe Du Nord in February, and a coveted slot at Awaken Cafe's First Friday, opening for Mister Loveless (RIP!) back in April. We holed up in the studio until our Villains-themed EP release in November with Awaken as host. We closed out 2013 with a show at The Milk Bar, as part of Surf Bored's single release.

We're going to let the good times roll with our first show of 2014 at Bottom of the Hill.

Recording: Geoff McCann joined the band in late 2012 as Jon's hand problems got worse. While Geoff's guitar and keys became a defining part of our sound, so did Jon's production skills. We self-produced the bulk of our recording at his Dirt Room studio. In addition to the self-titled EP we released in November, we launched our collaboration series Mr. Kind & ..., covering beloved songs by Spoon, The Postal Service, and Blur. Jon and I also composed video game music for the first time. In November, we put in a Mr. Kind session at Ex'Pressions college (our home away from home), tracking two new songs that we'll release in the new year. Hands finally on the mend, Jon joined us back on guitar for both that session as well as our EP release and now we have both Jon AND 'Magical' Geoff McCann (mwahaha!)

Music Videos: We developed music video concepts for each of the songs on the new EP. A couple of them (Don't Be The Last One In + The Best I Can Do) died in development because of budget, availability, and other projects taking precedence. Our music video for Patience is still in development, having reached a gut check moment last month when technical constraints led us to re-think how we hope to pull it off (more on that in the new year!). Our music video for Maliced Hearts was completed and released in October.

Brian's solo career: It's tough for me to look at Mr. Kind's trajectory independently from my own solo career, as the two are so intertwined. For the last three years, I've been performing as a solo artist at wineries, weddings, and private events throughout California -- over 350 gigs! With each year, my reputation has grown, allowing me to perform fewer, yet more lucrative gigs and allowing me to spend more of my time working on Mr. Kind and other original music projects. 2013 was the first year that I felt like I've been able to make a stable living through only playing music, carrying this freedom into Mr. Kind. I'm extremely grateful to have finally gotten to this point in my career and will continue to build on this foundation in the new year.

Thank you for the victories as well as the mistakes. They have played their part in our growth this year and we'll be mindful of them in 2014. We have great things planned.

The sincerest thank you for anyone who played even the smallest part in Mr. Kind or any of our lives this year.

Thank you.

We're not done with you yet, 2013! We're playing at The Milk Bar on FRIDAY the 13th with Surf Bored (featuring members of Tumbleweed Wanderers, Goodnight, Texas, and The District Attorneys) and Lemme Adams.