KURT BAKER COMBO - Let's Go Wild!
KURT BAKER COMBO - Let's Go Wild!
Though he hasn't taken up permanent residence in outer space just yet, rock 'n' roll genius Kurt Baker is technically an alien. More specifically, he's an alien among the residents of Madrid, Spain, the city to which the American relocated in advance of making his latest album - the debut by Kurt Baker Combo and his initial release on Wicked Cool Records - In Orbit. After winning fans on the strength of three solo albums recorded around the U.S., touring with the likes of The Offspring and Tommy Stinson, and previous releases with the pop/punk band The Leftovers, the Portland, Maine native picked up and moved to the capital of Spain in 2013. ''I had toured in Spain many times and it was always just the greatest,'' says Baker. ''There seems to be more of an audience in Spain for rock 'n' roll. People here go out to concerts even on a weeknight and really enjoy themselves. Madrid is a livable city and it's also just really fun.'' Once settled in Madrid, it didn't take long for Kurt's Combo to take shape. ''When I first moved to Spain I was just doing solo acoustic gigs,'' he recalls. ''I didn't have a band and wasn't planning on forming a Spanish group. That summer I was asked to play festivals with a full-band electric lineup. Juancho Lopez [KBC's bassist] put together the group. It went so well that we decided to do the Combo full time. Juancho books our gigs and keeps us in line. Jorge Colldan is our lead guitar player. He makes a mean paella and is a great studio engineer. Lastly we've got Sam, the wild man from Russia on the drums. He's like Animal from the Muppets but more wild.'' Kurt and his rowdy European cohorts put down the fast-paced grooves of In Orbit in their own studio in the Spanish city of Leon. ''Many talented friends from Leon also stopped by the studio to throw down saxophone, guitar solos or even some cowbell,'' Kurt points out. ''While I'm really proud of the last album I did in the U.S. [2015's Play It Cool], In Orbit has much more of a cohesive live feel which represents how the Combo sounds in concert. It's a rock 'n' roll album!'' Sure to resonate with fans of melodic upbeat rock a la Cheap Trick, Elvis Costello and Butch Walker, each track on In Orbit has its own story in Kurt's own words. ''Upside Down'' - ''Written on the spot during pre-production for the album,'' says Kurt. ''We had it pretty much figured out within ten minutes. I love when that happens. Something spontaneously hits you and boom, you've got a song!'' First single ''Baby's Gone Bad'' - ''This one is about a good girl next door who I knew growing up. Fast forward ten years later and I see her at a biker bar in New Hampshire, covered in tattoos, sniffing glue and making out with a guitar tech.'' ''Rusty Nail'' - ''I love Rockpile, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, all those guys. Big influence on this one. It's kinda soul/Motown but we give it a little pub rock flavor too. Thank you, beer!'' ''Count On Me'' - ''Always loved '60s garage rock and the '80s garage rock revival. One of the things about the Combo is that we incorporate influences from across the rock 'n' roll spectrum. Leon is a city in Spain that has a deep musical history and culture, with a knack for '60s fuzz and mod fashion. The guys in the band are steeped in this.'' ''All For You'' - ''I see a direct correlation from '60s bubblegum to the junk shop glam rock of the '70s. Here was my attempt to combine both of those genres and have some fun with the lyrics, as I don't think The Archies ever spoke about dropping acid.'' ''Modern Day Rock 'N' Roll Girl'' - ''Co-written with Portland, Maine rock 'n' roll legend Kip Brown, who has been a great mentor to me. Originally this song was a bit more up-tempo but we had some fun making it a Mott The Hoople meets Tom Petty kinda thing.'' ''Next Tomorrow'' - ''I center my songwriting based around the melody. Throw a few suspended chords into a progression and things can get pretty groovy. One time a very nice fan told me that they liked songs that were happy but also sad. This one is for them, because it's happy but it definitely ain't 'Walking On Sunshine.''' ''Ugly Way To Be'' - ''Totally '60s kind of beat. This was influenced by The Hollies and by The Beatles' 'She's A Woman.' One of my favorite tunes on the album, actually.'' The Devo cover ''Jerkin' Back 'N' Forth'' - ''Devo to me has always been punker than punk. Out of the box in the best way possible and very socially aware. They also had great songs. The production is so Devo, very electronic and lots of synths, but if you strip it down to the basics, it's actually kinda like a garage rock song.'' ''Do It For You'' - ''Originally written for The Leftovers but never recorded. We needed a good song as a closer and the breakdown is chaotic and wild. Ends the album on an upbeat note!'' As the first release in Wicked Cool Records' new partnership with The Orchard as distributor, In Orbit brings to fruition Kurt's connection with label head Steven Van Zandt (The E Street Band, The Sopranos). ''My U.S. band rented a car for a Midwest tour a few years ago,'' Kurt says. ''The rental was equipped with satellite radio and we listened to The Underground Garage the whole trip. We thought, man, we gotta send in our tunes, maybe they'd like them. Geoff from The Connection, who was playing guitar with me, was able to get me onto Little Steven's radar.'' It's a radar that has led to Kurt's tunes being awarded Steven's ''Coolest Song In The World'' designation five times to date, most recently for In Orbit lead single ''Baby's Gone Bad.'' And how did the sum of these ten tightly wound rock 'n' roll parts come to be called In Orbit? Kurt explains: ''One morning I was browsing the interwebs and came across news that NASA released a treasure trove of recordings from various space missions. I love space... looking up into the stars and thinking there might just be a band out there that has even more amazing songs than The Beatles. We just don't know! Anyway, one of the clips in the NASA database has an astronaut saying 'We're in orbit.' The KB Combo are on a journey or you could even say a 'mission' to keep rock 'n' roll relevant, honest and fun, and we're aiming for the stars. This year we're going In Orbit!'' Wicked Cool Records evolved out of ''Little Steven'' Van Zandt's weekly syndicated radio show and SiriusXM channel Little Steven's Underground Garage. Van Zandt founded the label as a way to further support new rock & roll that wasn't receiving the recognition it deserved. Among the label's releases are ten critically acclaimed compilations including Halloween A Go-Go, Christmas A Go-Go and The Coolest Songs In The World Volumes 1-8, featuring music from the Underground Garage. Tracklist: So Lonely Foolish Stuff No Fun At All Beg To Borrow Let's Go Wild! Don't Say I Didn't Warn Ya Gotta Move It Sick Of Waiting A Girl Like You WDYWFM Yesterday Today Only Way To Life
Vinyl release of Kurt Baker Combo - Let's Go Wild!. Released through Wicked Cool Records and available on LP.