There are probably a lot of reasons The Kickovers are preparing to release their debut album "Osaka."
There are probably a lot of reasons The Kickovers are preparing to release their debut album "Osaka."
The band members are longtime friends who've talked about getting together, and their national pedigrees supply them with a ready-made fan base.
But bassist Mikey Welsh distills it down to one big reason. "It's VH1's fault" he says with a laugh.
Last fall, the group - featuring ex-Mighty Mighty Bosstones guitarist Nate Albert, current Bosstones drummer Joe Sirois, ex-Weezer bassist Welsh and Bosstone guitar tech/Mike Ness Band guitarist Johnny Rioux - was informally working on tracks when an article on the project ran in a local paper.
"I was still in a very hairy situation with Weezer" explains Welsh, who left that band after enduring some personal problems that led to a short hospital stay. Since Weezer was in the midst of a successful tour, Welsh's situation kept his name in the news, so VH1 picked up the story, reporting, "Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh and Nate Albert of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones have formed a band and they're in the studio."
"It made us really nervous all of a sudden because it was still in a very mellow stage. So I said, 'Oh, I guess we're a band now'" Welsh says with another laugh.
Thank goodness, because "Osaka," due for an April 23 release on the newly minted local label Fenway Recordings, should become one of this summer's must-listens. Brimming with catchy tunes and sizzling guitar licks, the record is a full-on, turn-up-the-volume-roll-down-the-windows jolt of scrappy, but never sloppy, power pop punk.
"Originally the record was being recorded as demos, and I think that comes through," says chief songwriter, lead singer and guitarist Albert, in a separate interview. "It's a lot more natural, a lot more fun and relaxed than a lot of records these days."
Citing bands like Husker Du and Dinosaur Jr. as influences, Albert says, "It seems like everything right now is so heavy, so rap metal-ly that I just wanted to be a voice for all this other great music that seems to be on the sidelines right now. I wanted to make the record that is not out there that I want, and I feel like I did that."
Fans of the Bosstones' ska-core may be a little disappointed. But Albert - who left the Bosstones after recording 2000's unjustly underpromoted "Pay Attention" to get a degree in political theory at Brown - isn't worried. "I feel like they were pretty liberal and into a lot of different bands, they liked melodic good stuff so they'll probably dig this."
Certainly Weezer fans will have to do less stretching, since the Kickovers share common roots. Says Welsh, "That sound comes from the same kind of stuff that Nate and I cut our teeth on, like the Pixies, Replacements and even Van Halen. Being in Weezer for a long time and living with (Weezer songwriter) Rivers (Cuomo), I know where his influences come from and they're the same as me and Nate's."
One thing not to expect from the Kickovers is a long tour. While Albert says he's ready to "do the work" - including a show Sunday at the Middle East and a two-week East coast jaunt - part of the reason he left the Bosstones, amicably, was that he was weary from the nonstop tour grind.
"I want to tour and support it, but I really want to put the focus back on the music," says Albert, who envisions spending more time in the studio than on the road.
"I think we just want to keep it fresh and exciting and fun for ourselves because we've already been through pretty much anything anyone can go through in the music business" says Welsh. "We're lucky, we've both lived out all of our dreams and everything we've ever wanted to do."
Now, Welsh says, the close-knit group of friends can concentrate on making music and not worry about being rock stars.
"Being a rock star and all those other things just come and go. I think we'll just make great records and hope that people love them and not worry about the sycophantic element of the world."