No Big Hair!

Motion City Soundtrack covers Pavement

Where Are They Now?: Nevermind Baby Edition

Have you ever wondered what happened to this baby?

Well, here he is now, all grown up. No more baby wiener. 

Nirvana Baby, Spencer Elden from Barry O Donnell on Vimeo.

One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap For Mankind

What happens when you mix a MicroKorg synthesizer and "a 1980s futuristic sci fi vision of the United States under communist rule"? Chances are, you'll end up with some cold war influenced, dance floor packing songs by young Pittsburgh band Comrade Kangaroo. Comrade Kangaroo is composed of C.A.P.A. classmates George Cessna and Hunter Blackwell. As far as who does what in the band, George had this to say when I recently spoke to him: "When we play live we just blast the backing tracks while I sing and Hunter plays synth."



The band recently self released their five song self titled demo on March 5. The songs on the demo show similarities to bands like The Postal Service, Junior Boys, and O.M.D. There is a harmonious marriage between predominantly synthetic sounds and subtle doses of analog instrumentation, all the while, having a sense of humor and not being too serious. "Even though Comrade Kangaroo is all about the science fiction and communism thing, it's safe to say that most of the songs are pretty goofy and suffer from some major teenage drama. If it's not about girls, it's about robots." Regardless of any teenage drama, George has pretty grown up tastes, claiming that the main inspirations on Comrade Kangaroo are Kraftwerk, New Order, Julian Casablancas, and David Bowie. You'd be hard pressed to find many 18 year olds who have even heard of Kraftwerk. 


Following graduation from C.A.P.A., George will be heading to MICA Art School in Baltimore in the fall. He didn't comment on the impact this may or may not have on Comrade Kangaroo. But it is safe to say that people should go see the band while they can. After playing to nearly 200 people at a C.A.P.A. battle of the bands, Comrade knows how to rock a crowd. This Friday, May 7, Comrade Kangaroo will be playing a show at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. See the flyer after the jump. While you wait in anticipation of the show, go check out Comrade Kangaroo's Myspace and listen to some songs. And remember..." if it's not about robots, it's not Comrade Kangaroo."


Visit Comrade Kangaroo's Myspace HERE