King For a Day 7"

I picked up this two song ep shortly after it was released by Initial in 1997, and I remember really enjoying the bands heavily college rock-influenced post-emo stylings that are to be found on this record. The first jam, "Sleeping Hero" is pretty slow and meandering, taking me on a journey once again through the woods that were behind the house I grew up in. The same spot where myself, my little brother and the other neighborhood kids would hang out in tree forts, throw itchy-balls and rather large berries we found at each other, play ice hockey on the small, nearby pond throughout every winter, play some serious fucking games of Manhunt and harassed the neighbors dogs. The flip side - "Lazy"-  is a faster, more rollicking song with lots of the vocal harmonies that KFAD would employ on many of their songs. I honestly haven't listened to these two songs in quite some time, but I'm glad to report that I still enjoy 'em. They were both included on the bands discography, Before I Go, but probably get overshadowed by some of the sweet, sweet jams that appear earlier on that compact disc (namely "Dolly Llama" and "Windows").

These dudes originally hailed from the Detroit, MI area, before eventually calling Chicago home. I actually can't confirm this information, but I CAN confirm that the Before I Go disc (also released by Initial) gives the band a Chi-town contact address, so...I'm guessing they split town. Actually, the contact addy for KFAD in the liner notes of this here record lists a Northville, Michigan address, which absolutely blew my fucking mind when I first read it because my family spent two years living in that town when I was much younger (from mid-1983 to mid-1985, specifically). Still makes me crack a proud smile to this day, as if I had something to do with them getting together and playing music. I do, however, occasionally wonder if any of these dudes and I attended the same grade school at the same time, though*. As my friends in Assfactor 4 once said, life is wacky.

I could easily recommend this 7" (and the aforementioned, subsequent cd)  to folks who dig other Midwestern bands such as Elliott or The Get Up Kids. I've never entirely been sure why to be honest, but New Brunswick's Greyhouse sometimes came to mind throughout the years while listening to King For A Day, and this is clearly a compliment to the band whose record I've posted here. This eponymous release has a pretty nifty little layout, as well as two different playing speeds. A couple of these dudes also played in the bands Cleons Down, The Story So Far and Koufax. Lots of sung vocals and melody in this one. These songs were recorded at White Room in February 1997, and this record is Initial Records #21.

 Tracklist:
1) Sleeping Hero
2) Lazy

- I don't feel alone for a change -


* When two friends and I attended Michigan Fest in March 2002, held about 20 miles away from Northville in nearby Wayne, I dropped my pals Mark and Sean off at the fest that morning and drove my 1989 Dodge Ram high-top conversion van (aka The Great Granville) back to Northville and spent about two hours walking through my old neighborhood, in addition to walking the grounds of my old elementary school. It was definitely a pretty great moment for me, one that was pretty emotional and is something I will (hopefully) never forget.