Jump to content

Kids These Days (band)

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kids These Days
OriginChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Years active2009–2013
Past members

Kids These Days was a hip hop band from Chicago, Illinois.[2] The band formed in 2009 while the members were teenagers and their debut album Traphouse Rock was released in 2012. Their split in May 2013 served as a launch pad for Vic Mensa and Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment, among others.[3]

History

[edit]

In November 2009, the band won first place at Congress Theater’s Next Big Thing competition.[4] In 2011, the band performed at South by Southwest,[5] at Milwaukee's Summerfest on July 1,[4] at Lollapalooza,[1] and at The Roots Picnic started and hosted by The Roots on June 2.[6][7] On June 13, 2012, the band performed on Conan O'Brien's TV show, Conan at The Chicago Theatre.[8]

During the Fall 2012 Chicago Teachers Union strike, Kids These Days performed at the union's Solidarity Festival in Union Park.[9]

Kids These Days 2012 debut, "Traphouse Cuts," was produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and mixed by Mario C.[10]

In May 2013, Kids These Days decided to split up.[3]

Beyond Kids These Days

[edit]

Vic Mensa launched his own career and continued to pursue his musical talents. He worked on collaborative songs with rappers such as Chance the Rapper and Kanye West. He currently[when?] fronts the punk-rock project 93PUNX.[11] Nico Segal, the horn player, also released 2 mixtapes, Illasoul: Shades of Blue and the Donnie Trumpet EP as Nico Segal and currently[when?] went on to perform in The Social Experiment with Greg Landfair Jr.[citation needed]

Lane Beckstrom went on to produce and record his own electronic music under the name Lane. His debut EP "Argot" was released on January 20, 2015.[12] Rajiv Halim recently released his debut album Foundation in August 2015.[13]

Three previous members of Kids These Days, Macie Stewart, Lane Beckstrom and Liam Cunningham, along with Matt Carroll, formed the band Marrow.[14]

Macie Stewart formed the band OHMME, with Sima Cunningham, which remains active as of 2020. As of 2019, Stewart also plays violin and sings in Chicago's avant-garde jazz community, including as a member of Marker, led by Ken Vandermark.[15][16][17]

Liam Kazar (Cunningham) backed the duo Tweedy on tour. In 2021, Kazar released a solo album[18][19] and was regularly performing in Chicago, including with his band.[20]

Members

[edit]
  • Liam Cunningham, a.k.a. Liam Kazar – lead vocals, guitar
  • Macie Stewart – lead vocals, keyboards
  • Vic Mensa – rap vocals
  • Lane Beckstrom – bass
  • Greg Landfair Jr. – drums
  • Nico Segal – trumpet
  • J.P. Floyd – trombone
  • Rajiv Halim – saxophone

Discography

[edit]

Albums

[edit]
  • Hard Times EP (2011)[21]
  • Traphouse Rock (October 2012)
  • Traphouse Cuts (September 2012)[22]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Carrera, Idalmy (July 30, 2011). "Kids These Days: A Group With a Sound if Not a Genre". The New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  2. ^ Kot, Greg (November 16, 2011). "Kids These Days growing up fast and on tour". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Buyanovsky, Dan (May 8, 2013). "Exclusive: Vic Mensa Announces End Of Kids These Days, Drops Solo Video". XXL Magazine. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Kids These Days". SXSW. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  5. ^ Kot, Greg (March 18, 2012). "Kids These Days in no mood for subtleties at SXSW". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  6. ^ Gunther, Nick (June 7, 2012). "Roots Picnic celebrates fifth year". Delco News Network. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  7. ^ "5th Annual Roots Picnic". Okayplayer. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  8. ^ Graef, Jon (June 14, 2012). "Watch Kids These Days Perform Live on Conan". The Chicagoist. Archived from the original on May 18, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  9. ^ "Union head: Teachers 'tired of billionaires telling us what ... to do'". Chicago Sun-Times.
  10. ^ Chicago Sun-Times Review: Kids These Days, 'Traphouse Rock' Archived April 14, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Vic Mensa Doubling Down on Solo Career". Rolling Stone. October 2013.
  12. ^ "Lane – Argot". January 21, 2015.
  13. ^ "Foundation by Rajiv Halim on iTunes". iTunes. August 28, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  14. ^ "The Band "Marrow" to be Formed by Former "Kids These Days" Members (News) | Blacktooth Entertainment". Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  15. ^ Wall, Patrick (February 1, 2018). "With Marker, Ken Vandermark Synthesizes Sounds to Manipulate Memory". Free Times (Columbia, South Carolina). Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  16. ^ Margasak, Peter (February 1, 2018). "Veteran Chicago reedist adapts a mentor role in his visceral new Chicago quintet Marker". Chicago Reader. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  17. ^ "Friday July 6 [2018], 9:00 PM: Ken Vandermark's Marker". Elastic Arts. 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  18. ^ Donelson, Marcy (2021). "Liam Kazar: Due North". Allmusic. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  19. ^ Galil, Leor (August 2, 2021). "Chicago indie workhorse Liam Kazar reaches for the sublime on his debut solo album". Chicago Reader. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  20. ^ "Thee Best Western Block Party". Empty Bottle. 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  21. ^ Young, Alex (June 23, 2011). "Album Review: Kids These Days – Hard Times EP". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  22. ^ Vitale, Alyssa (November 21, 2011). "Jeff Tweedy producing Chicago band Kids These Days' debut record". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kids_These_Days_(band)&oldid=1257177557"