Sexy Indie-Disco Mastered! Extra! Extra! Rock Kills Kid!

By Farah Minwalla

Self sacrifice for the sake of music could not be defined more than the experiences of Rock Kills Kid’s frontman, Jeff Tucker. Formerly called the “Hermit,” Tucker lived in a studio for close to three years. There was no shower, so he cleaned himself with baby wipes. Oh and this was for three years, did I mention? “It was good, it stripped me down, it was a ‘learn to a how to survive period’. There was definitely time to write,” said Tucker. By the end of 2003 Tucker had written at least a staggering 150 songs. Now, with a new album titled Are You Nervous? to be released on May 9, the world is ahead of Rock Kills Kid. ‘Paralyzed,’ the first single off Are You Nervous? sounds like a mellow Queen with back melodies and tunes of Pink Floyd. It is a catchy sexy disco beat, that you just want to hit repeat over and over. “‘Paralyzed’ has a dance beat, it is different. But I’m surprised we are getting played,” said Tucker. ‘Paralyzed’ is that damn good people, so is the entire album. Are You Nervous? resembles a soundtrack of Pulp Fiction and dare I say Saturday Night Fever, but much cooler. “The album has its ups and downs, there are parts that are slow and upbeat. It isn’t like Bloc Party where it is all dance,” said Tucker. Attractive songs like ‘Life’s a Bitch’ is refreshing because it mixes sensual nightclub harmonies with lyrics that are amazingly true, like “life is a little bitch, but we keep moving on”. Are You Nervous? is a remarkable influence of the provocative 80s and the emotions of the 21 st century to bring to life an album that I swear will be on everyone’s IPods. But the path to the top wasn’t always easy or let alone expected. “I never knew I wanted to be in music. I never showed my songs. Things just kind of happened and I guess this is what I’m doing,” said Tucker. Rock Kills Kid was complied all over the LA music scene and throughout meeting people and testing the waters. With Jeff Tucker, Sean Stopnik, Shawn Dailey, Reed Calhoun, and Ian Hendrickson, Rock Kills Kid seems to be perfectly fit with all the star power it needs. Now fast forward to 2006, where the difference in Rock Kills Kid’s music can be distinctly heard. “I haven’t heard of another band like us, it is dynamic with a lot of feelings and emotions. And that is what rock is to me. The music are lyrics are definitely from the heart,” said Tucker. Ironically, Tucker didn’t always begin with a purpose while writing for the makings of a potential album. “My inspiration came from boredom, I started to play guitar at 16, and I devoted time towards it. Then I got bored with the guitar, so I put lyrics with songs and see whatever happened,” said Tucker. And maybe that is where Tucker’s shy, closed off, personality comes in. Nowadays, with soo many young hopefuls determined to make it into the music business, it seems impossible to get a break. “I think you should be original and be yourself. Let your personality come through your music,” said Tucker. Rock Kills Kid makes good music and that will be well received because good music is good music. They are living proof of a band that struggled through the music biz to get to where they are today, and that is the top. Paralyzed? I think not. Rock Kills Kid are just getting started.