By Roman Salomone, General Manager

[Photo courtesy of Kelley Lach]

Cleveland-based alt-rock act Kid Primitive was one of five acts competing in ACRN’s 2024 Battle of the Bands. The group is comprised of singer and guitarist KJ Mueller, bassist Steve Martis, guitarist Jonas Evans and drummer John Finlay. I sat down with the band prior to their set to discuss how they came together, their recent demo recording and why they entered Battle of the Bands. We also had a lengthy conversation about holiday dishes.

[This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.]

Roman Salomone (RS): Thank you all for taking the time to sit down with me! Can you explain how the band came together?

Jonas Evans (JE): On the “me and KJ” front, we were in a band called On Paper for a few years, and that just kind of fizzled out. We knew we were gonna start something eventually. Steve normally plays drums, but was learning bass, so he wanted to hop in. And we had to ask John because he’s the GOAT.

[Laughter]

KJ Mueller (KM): Yeah, we’re all from Cleveland. We knew each other from our other bands playing together at shows at Mahall’s up there. 

RS: So with everyone here coming from several previous and currently active groups, what distinguishes the idea behind other projects y’all have been involved in and Kid Primitive?

Steve Martis (SM): Since the beginning, I feel like we’ve just been really, really focused, and have been able to naturally feel what we were going for. And it’s just been a lot of fun from the start. I think that we’re all really open to each other’s ideas. It’s just a great time just playing with the boys, as they say. Rehearsal is fun and I think there’s just a lot of chemistry between us and it’s great.

John Finlay (JF): Everyone takes it seriously, and that really helps.

RS: Is there anything in particular you’re trying to chase sonically when it comes to what you’ve been writing?

JE: We’re pretty open to changing our sound from prior stuff, but at least for this first set of songs, it’s been a lot of live noise and noisy feedback things. Really tight rhythms, really tight cut-off sections and stuff like that. 

KJ: Yeah, I don’t really know how to put words to the differences between Kid Primitive to On Paper or Cranberry Casket (of which Mueller and Martis are both members). But, I just think it’s something a little bit unique from what I’ve done before.

RS: How does the songwriting process typically go?

SM: I’d say what’s cool for us is that a lot of times we’ll have our own ideas, and they’ll be pretty fleshed out with a couple riffs or some structure ideas. But, when we come together, I feel like we always add so much more. We’re able to put our own flare on everything with all the different instruments. We all contribute to the songwriting.

KJ: We just go in and jam and figure out what to do from there once we have a basic idea.

JE: And then someone might record a whole demo, or a rough outline for a song could be, and then we’ll start playing it. We sorta just mess with it in a jam and then the best ideas usually make it.

SM: I think we’re good at jamming. I want to do it more live. I think we’re tight in the studio when it comes to recording, but I love creating ideas on the spot. I really like when someone comes in with something, and then it kind of goes to a new place. It’s always fun to see where it goes. 

RS: That’s great. On my way out here, I passed by the merch tables and noticed y’all have a hefty stack of CDs. It’s not common that a band operating within or at least partially within Athens already has some stuff “out there” to check out, especially before their first big show down here. Could you share how those recordings came together?

KJ: We started (Kid Primitive) at the beginning of the summer, and things were a little bit slow because we had busy schedules. Halfway through summer, we were able to meet up more often and write more music. Then we had a couple shows at the end of summer, and we knew that we wanted to track our work that we had done into something better than an iPhone recording or whatever. So, for the recording, I used my home studio — the same place where we rehearse. We just set up some mics and just ran through our set one time before one of our shows. I spent the last couple months mixing it, and we’re hoping to have these CDs to help get our name out there right off the bat, and have something for people to listen to before we put anything on streaming services or any official releases. It’s also on Bandcamp for now. 

JE: I think the priority was just getting something out, so when we say we’re in a band people know we’re not lying, and they know what it sounds like…generally. Since we recorded it all in a day, these aren’t the final versions by any means. But, I’d say we’re all pretty proud of what they are to start with. We call them demos, which I think is the best way we could advertise them.

RS: For sure. I think it’s great to see a band come right out the gate with music to listen to from their first couple shows. Now obviously you all are playing Battle of the Bands tonight, but I wanted to ask why you chose to enter and what you hope to gain from it?

JE: Because we want to be the best band.

[Laughter]

KJ: Well, of course we’d love to win Battle of the Bands and earn that spot at Lobsterfest, but more than anything, we know what ACRN and their shows mean to Athens, and they obviously pull a lot of people. We really wanted to play because ACRN shows always have great crowds, and we wanted to get the most traction we could out of one trip here to Athens. Right now, Steve and Jonas are in Cleveland, John is in Cincinnati, and I’m down here. We just wanted to pack everything we could into it.

JE: Me personally, I’ve never done a good old fashioned Battle of the Bands. I’ve always seen them on TV and they look really awesome.

[Laughter]

RS: So quickly going back to something KJ just mentioned — you brought up that all the members are basically spread out across the state. Does the distance hold back certain aspects of what you all aim to do, and is it something you foresee becoming easier or more difficult for this project?

JE: Well, we know that when we’re on break, we have our priorities, and when we’re in school, there’s only so much we can do. We’re gonna try and do at least a couple shows a semester, but KJ and I were both in On Paper for a year or two while he was in school, and I think we were way more successful during that time. It wasn’t because we were apart — but it definitely can be done.

KJ: I’d say being apart gives us time to work on our own ideas that we can hopefully work on when we come back together for breaks, and especially over summer. Obviously, that’s when we grind the most stuff out, but I would say it doesn’t really affect us too much either. Everyone showed up a couple hours ago — we ran through the set a couple of times, and we’re feeling pretty ready. There’s a little bit of rust to shake off, but I think we’ve all been keeping up with our practicing, and it doesn’t really bother us too much.

RS: Since it is November, I figure I have to throw in a pressing question about an upcoming holiday: what do you think is the most underrated Thanksgiving food?

JE: All I gotta say is…it’s all about the stuffing. I don’t know how highly it’s usually rated, but that’s my favorite thing. I like stuffing a lot.

KJ: I would say cranberry sauce. Some people think of that as more of an afterthought, or they don’t even include it on their plate, but honestly, it’s probably my favorite part of Thanksgiving.

SM: Every family Thanksgiving meal I’ve had, we’ve had a really great green bean casserole.

JF: I don’t really know what would be underrated in this case, but I like mashed potatoes a lot. 

JE: That’s probably the most highly rated thing you could have picked.

KJ: That’s a really bad answer, John.

[Laughter]

RS: Is there anything else you’d like to share for the people out there?

JE: Shout out Auden Stevenson.

KJ: Shouts out to Marty Bradesca from Ananke — he switched (their set time) so we’re playing second now, and we owe him very dearly.

SM: Shout out to Sean Bradesca, Marty’s brother, who drove me and Jonas down here. He’s also in Ananke.

JE: Oh, and KJ’s dad because he lets us rehearse at his house.

KJ: Shout out to LeBron James.

JE: Oh yeah, shout out to Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Donovan Mitchell and Dean Wade.

SM: 9-0 easy.

John: 9-0 let’s make it 10-0.

JE: The Cavaliers are realistically gonna be at least like…15-0 in this season. They have a really light next part of their schedule. Cavs Country, baby.

Listen to Kid Primitive’s Live Demos here: https://kid-primitive.bandcamp.com/album/live-demos