1. The Reign of

2. Starting off strong with “Hold Out” **Listen for:  Complex, haunting piano part. Taken from jazz and classical roots.  Loose, impassioned vocal style  Over-arching blues guitar lead  Lots and lots of percussion. Very strong African & Latin-American roots  Pure, unadulterated awesomeness. #biased https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD9IT9a6 3RM

3. Band Origins The Reign of Kindo was formed from four members of the band “This Day and Age”  This Day and Age grew out of a childhood project with several of the band members that went on to become The Reign of Kindo.  In 2006, lead singer Jeffrey Martin left the band on indefinite hiatus.  Remaining members picked up a new bassist (Jeffrey Jarvis), replaced lead singer with Joey Secchiaroli and formed “The Reign of Kindo.”

4. Band Name??? The new group had some material they wanted to release but no band name.  Lead guitarist Mike Carroll played around with nonsensical words and came up with “Kindo”  “The Reign of” added just for the sake of ridiculousness. Friends of the band hated the name, so naturally they kept it.

5. Musical Training According to band member Joseph “Joey” Secchiaroli, most of the band members have had little or no formal musical training with their instrument. Of writing songs, Joey said “...we tend to write with our ears and the hairs on the back of our necks.” In other words, no formal composition training is in play. …

6. Current Band Line-Up (From Left to Right) Steven Padin: Drums, Vocals Danny Pizzaro: Piano Joey Secchiaroli: Vocals, Guitar Jeff Jarvis: Bass, Vocals Mike Carroll: Guitar, Percussion Former Member Kelly Sciandra: Piano, Trumpet

7. Musical Influences Although The Reign of Kindo is an indie rock band, they also claim musical influence from jazz and classical composers. Describes their genre as “music with words” Classical/Jazz Artists  Ryuichi Sakamoto  Dave Brubeck  Hiromi Uehara  Pat Metheny Pop/Rock Artists  The Rocket Summer  The Spill Canvas  Daphne Loves Derby  All Time Low  …. and many more!

8. Lyrics Kindo's lyrics are widely varied, from songs of unrequited love to commentary on the inevitability of human mortality  “Bullets in the Air” warns against speaking in anger, describing harsh words like bullets in the air.  “Breath Again” tells the story of a father who is robbed of his kids' presents on Christmas and taking revenge on the thief.  “Now We've Made Our Ascent” describes a theoretical situation of an individual's first impressions of heaven.  “I Hate Music” comments on the writer's disgust over some of the stereotypical, overproduced popular music dominating the modern music industry.

9. Now for the good stuff. The Songs “Thrill of the Fall” **Listen for: Rousing, jazzy piano leads Tricky 7/8 time signature https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ WuXfiXYI0 “Blistered Hands” **Listen for: Simple acoustic guitar fingerpicking Romantic ballad lyrics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q O40fKTvyz4 “Romancing a Stranger (8-bit)” **Listen for: Syncopated rhythms Song with traditional instrumentation re-imagined with electronic sounds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If7 7oUNmkUY “Impossible World” **Listen for: Use of horn & woodwind instruments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4 _3Kt8HP0A starting at 17:29

10. References Mason, Stewart. “Artist Biography” AllMusic. All Media Network. Web. 4 Dec 2014. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/this-day-and-age- mn0000811763/biographyhttp://www.allmusic.com/artist/this-day-and-age- mn0000811763/biography “The Reign of Kindo.” CANdYRAT Records. CANdYRAT Records. Web. 4 Dec 2014. http://www.candyrat.com/artists/ReignofKindo/http://www.candyrat.com/artists/ReignofKindo/ Secchiaroli, Joseph. (2010). [Liner Notes]. In This Is What Happens [CD]. Menomee Falls, WI: CandyRat Records Secchiaroli, Joseph. “Class Report on The Reign of Kindo.” E-mail to Isaac Macfarlane. 28 Nov. 2014