The Kixx

英國新晉搖滾流行四人樂團
Introducing The Kixx…
"We've gone from playing to 50 people in a pub to playing Manchester MEN. Amazing!"
~ David Gibbs
Meet Dave May (21), Jack Guppy (20), Robbie McDade and David Gibbs (19). Four hot faces, four very talented boys. They are The Kixx.
They've already performed in front of 40,000 people, been offered industry advice by Robbie Williams himself, played the 02 Arena - and they're about to embark on a 31-date national tour with Olly Murs – a tour that has completely sold out. And all that comes before they've officially released their first single! So why should you take notice of The Kixx? Well for a start, they're not 'just another boy-band'.
They don't mime on stage, dance to cheesy routines or spend their entire set sitting on stools – instead, they write their own lyrics, create their own music and play their own instruments. They even taught themselves how to sing! "We're a real band," comments Jack. "Not manufactured. It's always just been us. We've worked hard for this". "We've learned how to write a song the hard way," chips in Dave. "Not just any song – a good song, one fit for an album or fit for radio." See, that is why this band are at the brink of becoming huge – and their talent and determination are about to tip them over the edge.
The Kixx signed to Entertainment Company BPM, run by Record Producer Mike Peden (David Bowie, Will Young, Shakira) and Tim Bowen (the former the COO of Sony BMG Worldwide), last year. BPM snapped the band up as soon as Peden saw their live performance at The Big Sing (a charity gig at the 02 in London) – and it's a move that has completely rewritten the band's future and given them the chance to show the entire nation what they can do. "Supporting Olly Murs on tour is a massive thing for us," notes Jack (the self-proclaimed dreamer of the band, he seems pretty happy with this particular dream). "And we know we're lucky to have done great things already – we've performed with Robbie Williams, McFly, The Saturdays, Gabriella Cilmi and Eliza Doolittle." You'd think with this kind of a start, the boys might already be sure of what lies ahead. But their young, gentle characters actually ooze nothing but modesty – even though Peden's faith in them has been clear from the start. He flew them out to the Big Apple to write and record their debut LP and there they worked with top Producer Jack Daley (Lenny Kravitz, Michael Jackson, Jay-Z) to polish up the tracks.
The band admit the whole thing has been an experience that has completely blown their minds. "We were used to recording in Essex," laughs Dave (the cute, blonde "Daddy of the group" - as he puts it). "Then we were told we were going to New York!" "We recorded four tracks, then we went back to complete the album at Jack Daley's studio," gushes Robbie (he's the front-man and "the one with the best six-pack"). "He's a world class musician! We walked in not knowing who people were…" "…and then we realised our Producer had worked with Michael Jackson, Leona Lewis and Naughty By Nature," finishes a bright-eyed Dave. "What a moment!" So with a self-penned record in tow ("it has a guitar-pop sound with big ballads, mid-tempo tunes, rockier tracks, some acoustic and a bonus track as well"), the boys returned home to continue doing what they love most – playing music. 2010's Blackpool Illuminations gig saw Robbie Williams stop to give them advice on their future careers ("It was like we were old friends," smiles David, he may be the worrier of the band but this conversation with the Take That member clearly conjures up good memories and a happy smile) and on the same night, Frankie Sandford dived in for a photo with them too. The band also went on to perform a show with McFly – where Tom Fletcher told reporters that he thinks The Kixx could steal the McFly crown because "they are amazing".
The band have even recorded their debut music video starring The Inbetweeners star, Emily Atack – it was her first music video too, which made an exciting project for both parties. "I kept thinking how it was just weeks ago we were selling CDs out of the back of a car. Now we were actually making a music video," muses Jack. "It's just crazy." But how did The Kixx come to be in the first place? Firstly, they all grew up very near to each other in Reading, Berkshire. "It all started when I was 12," explains David. "I was put in a group with Robbie during Music class and we started an acoustic guitar duo. I didn't sing at the time, but he taught me. After about a year, we enjoyed it so much we wanted to get a full band together – and we had met Jack at a party, so we invited him along." "I was playing the drums, but I loved all music," adds Dave (who was the final piece of the jigsaw). "I'd forced myself to learn the guitar and the piano because I loved music. But by then, I knew Jack too and so I went along to a band rehearsal.
That's when we became a quartet. And we wanted a name that could be timeless - [The Kixx] sums up the band - we live to enjoy ourselves – 'just for kicks'." The boys went on to produce their first ever EP just two weeks later – and perhaps more impressively, they did it all with their own pocket money. "We went into a studio with all the money we'd saved up," reminisces David. "Then we sold the result out of the back of a car!" Dave laughs, "We've actually got better at everything by literally going out there and doing it ourselves.
We didn't have any lessons, but we learnt as we played schools, pubs and clubs." But it was when they were finally signed that the boys realised the door had opened into a wider world. "We went from playing to 50 people in a pub, to playing Manchester MEN," tells David, his excitement is clearly evident. "Amazing!" "Since then we've been playing with heavy metal bands, hip-hop acts and we even played with Roll Deep," interjects Robbie. It's this raw passion and talent that has brought these four brand new (and let's face it, completely attractive) faces onto the UK music scene. Brimming with energy, originality and killer vocals – there is no doubt that 2011 is going to be the year of The Kixx.
In fact, if you're not manically digging out headphones right now to listen to them, then you're missing out!