“Hey Kid, I’m talkin’ to You” - Kid Ego: Bringing on Good Times

Take one look at the Kid Ego outfit and you might think that they’d of been around for years - look again and then you realise just how young they are. With what seems more like a student card, Kid Ego’s age ranges are 16 to 21 - but they know how to rock it loud, sleazy and fiercely.

The classic rock debate of 'why-do-we-need-to-keep-looking-back-to-try-and-go-forward' as far as the critics are concerned continues to rage in the constant surge of alternative and hybrid 'rock' genres picking up awards and accolades. Kid Ego seem to have struck the chord that a lot of rock fans have been harping on about since the mid nineties - why make music for the sake of innovation, why not just make it because it sounds good.

Their debut album is released in the next month and they have been tearing up the UK putting on wild, megaphone, fret-widdlery shows and spreading the word. Nicola Crichton caught up with Kid Ego’s vocalist Zakk Taylor to talk about being on the bill for Cruëfest, breaking the market and the prospect of world domination!

N: Kid Ego in a nutshell?
Z: KID EGO is a passion for classic rock, a bit faster and f***in louder. It's not a rebellion as such against any other music but we offer an exciting stage show with music written about real life experiences we've gone through so people can relate and also sing along. We're trying to avoid re-defining yet another rock genre and just having copious amounts of fun playing and singing what ever comes out.

N: How did you come up with the name?
Z: Kid Ego first consisted of myself and Rookie (bass) with guitarists that came and went and as any new band does we tried playing a few covers. The first being 'Kid Ego' by Extreme. It kinda described mine and Rookie's personality at the time and definitely defines all of our characters now having a full band. But the strangest thing was we couldn’t play the f***in song for s***. We could play many others which most would class more complicated but for some reason we couldn't grasp this song. We don’t try and play it any more but in my mind its kind of our 'unicorn' so to speak. We just can't seem to catch it! It's also a reminder of not to be put off by any failure and just keep working hard at what we love doing.

N: What’s different about Kid Ego than any other band trying to break through at the moment?
Z: I think the music industry is so fickle and full of s*** at times. I'm probably the most open minded about genres and styles as I am just a music lover full stop, but as with fashion, music can be too much of a trend. We're not trying to bring back a certain era or over run the current Indie and metal scene, we're just doing what we enjoy. We do it for us but now we're generating a fan base that ranges from Indie fans to really heavy metal fans so the more the merrier. I guess its kind of a universal rock that reaches out to more people than other specific styles of music. either way it's f***in fast, f***in loud and a whole lot of f***in fun! and now we want to share it with rock fans across the world.

N: In your opinion, what is the state of rock music?
Z: Rock music is, I would say the most misunderstood art that people judge. I think there are far too many big wigs in suits ramming what they think is the current trend down our ears and over looking the fact that there are so many quality and more exciting rock bands out there desperate for a chance to be heard. Do they fear sleazy rock n roll? it ain’t the 80's any more and I’m sure it wont be a drug fuelled mass of chaos if they only gave it a f***in chance. We need more down to earth reality rock that every one can go out on a night and forget about the drags of their day. People wanna get dressed up, go out slam a double Jack down their necks and sing out all those negative aspects of their daily life and for people who don’t have any, they still wanna go and celebrate that fact. We just need a bit more fun in music at the moment and all credit to every musician out there who is doing it for that reason. Why does Pete Doherty get so much attention as a great song writer? He's in the papers because he f***s a super model and constantly lets his fans down by not performing! People who are in a position like that should appreciate they have a responsibility to entertain their fans through music. On a positive, I think the bands the like Kaiser Chiefs are brilliant - great fun music and they work hard for it and for their fans.

N: Cruëfest, how did that opportunity come about?
Z: Cruëfest is so surreal when I think about it because no matter the size of the event, the fact is we're playing it because there are so many Kid Ego fans in America requested us to! It feels great when your manager calls you up and says we're confirmed for so and so but when you find out you've been selected to play Cruefest through some rumour website and the fans have really got you the gig, it just makes you feel so overwhelmed. We're really looking forward to getting our asses to America and giving them a show of music that they have probably being craving for since, 'ironically' the days of Mötley Cruë. It's also an honour to play for the charity even in the name of one of our biggest idols and f*** me im gonna be on stage at the “Whiskey-a-Go-Go”!

N:Video for flirting with suicide is very professional. Where did the concept for that come from and how did it all come about? - any plans for it to be on Scuzz/Kerrang?
Z: Now I read the Cruë auto-biography 'The Dirt' about a year ago and the ups and downs in that book made me really reflect on my own lifestyle and that of my fellow band mates. It's simple to understand the song as a warning against a particular lifestyle but if you listen carefully to the lyrics, it reaches into a level of realisation of where I want to be and the things that have ruined it for my idols. Take it as you will but we decided it was our strongest song at the time and we wanted to create a video simply for promotional use as an example of how we look and act on stage. You don’t get the full effect but that’s really what that video is intended for. Yet again its over whelming to hear fans describe it as an awesome video that should be played on the likes of Kerrang! and Scuzz! but I think if it were to go to that level I would request that the video would be re-filmed with a more graphic story of what the song is really about.

N: MySpace - how has that been in Kid Ego's success? Does it dramatically change relationship with fans?
Z: MySpace is god's gift to bands and music fans at the moment. It's come at a perfect time for us and it's a great way to get your music heard and develop a fan base in different areas. We love to communicate with our fans and will always do our best to reply to any requests or questions that are fired at us. When we play live we always socialise with all our fans before and after the show so MySpace is just a chance to keep everyone updated and receive feedback 24/7. I'm pretty sure some people just use it to get laid though!

N: Kid Ego in the US. How did that come about? Are you going to concentrate on the US market or UK?
Z: Cruëfest is our only priority at the moment as far as the US goes but I will say, we have so many US fans who deserve to see the EGO in full force and party with us that we are planning to fit in some dates this summer, followed by a full US tour when the timing is right. We're not prioritising any country at the moment. We just want to release our album and make sure it's available for all the rock fans who want it across the world. We're proud to be British musicians and appreciate the classic rock market in the States might be somewhat bigger but we're thinking the world rather than two countries. We just wanna play every where and we'll tour like f*** to get to as many places as possible.

N: Kid Ego personalities - who is the playboy? Who’s the serious one?
Z: Haha! personalities? there's plenty! your looking at 5 guys who are nothing alike but when come together it just fits! but as far as our characters I guess Rookie (bass) would be the ladies man. He's got the looks and the presence on stage. I just wish people wouldn't label him as a Nikki Sixx look alike because he deserves all of the attention for being himself - he's awesome. Nickky (drums) is our little magician, for a 16 year old kid with his talent he's just like anyone else would be - enjoying himself, partying hard and also enjoying the ladies because he's a looker too! Birdy (lead guitar) is the classic rock icon, you see him wail out a solo on stage and he just reminds you of what rock n’ roll is really about. We call him 'Mr too nice' because he is the nicest guy you will ever meet, it sickens me - but I love him. Phil (rhythm guitar) doesn’t give a toss about anything except music. He maybe the quietist character but you need to realise musically he is the back bone behind every song - and if that guitar riff is stuck in your head, that man wrote it! As for me well I guess I'm the naughty one. I like a bit of mayhem to inspire my lyrics - haha yeah, that’s my excuse!

N: Best Kid Ego Gig?
Z: Best gig? it's hard to say, we make the effort to really enjoy ourselves on tour but personally it was a great experience playing Rock In The Castle to around a thousand people, only 15 gigs into our career!

N: Worst Kid Ego Gig?
Z: Worst gig funnily enough was a few days before Rock In The Castle. I don’t like to hide behind "Bad sound on stage" or "I couldn’t hear my monitor" but I was in a mischievous mood and decided to party way too early forgetting we were headlining later that night and this particular venue is always a struggle to hear properly on stage so I guess I made a bad decision. I got a bit carried away and what was supposed to be a 7 song set I decided on stage to turn it to a 12 song set putting my band on the spot by announcing we were about to play all these cover songs. Makes me laugh now because looking back I thought it was a great idea but I wasn't very popular with the rest of the guys when I finally decided the set was over. Since then I've been put on a drinking ban before the show. Which in all honesty has really improved my singing ability!

N: What’s for 2006?
Z: 2006 - Kid Ego full stop! We're gonna work hard and play hard. Our debut album comes out this year and it's time to kick some f***in ass everywhere - it's as simple as that!

Photographs and words by Nix (aka Nicola Crichton)
Check out www.kidego.co.uk for their debut video “Flirting with Suicide”

© Pure Rawk 2006