Citizen Staff Writer
Music
OTTO ROSS
ottoross@tucsoncitizen.com
Local rock band The Kindled is beginning to progress from a slow burn to a full-fledged fire.
The 8-year-old band was recently picked to be one of the performers at Saturday’s KFMA Day,its biggest show to date.
“It’s an adrenaline rush, a good rush,” vocalist-guitarist Ian Browning says. “It’s not like I’m nervous. It’s like I’m crazy excited.”
The Kindled, originally, A Kindled Apparition, was started by Browning, Corey MacGormen and Chad Arnold in middle school. The trio, Browning says, simply had nothing better to do but play ding-dong ditch or start a band.
“We were just bored kids over the summer trying to play some instruments,” he says. “We just taught ourselves.”
Little did they know that eight years later they would be recording in the same studio as many of their favorite artists. In 2003, the band added guitarist David Gullman and the lineup hasn’t changed since. The band members, all graduates of Ironwood Ridge High School, recently recorded their album, “Restore” at Blasting Room Studios in Fort Collins, Colo., a studio created by members of the band Descendents and used by a variety of artists whose sounds and styles have touched The Kindled.
“You walk in and there’s a hallway and on the right side and it’s all the CDs they’ve done,” drummer and songwriter MacGormen says. “We saw Rise Against, The Casualties, we saw all of these bands that we were totally influenced by.”
“Recording at the Blasting Room was the coolest thing we’ve ever done,” Browning says. “It was so cool to be at a place where all our favorite CDs have been recorded.”
After the recording, The Kindled, which plays punk-progressive rock , opened a show for Authority Zero and Strung Out. During the concert the band passed out demo CDs. By coincidence, one of them landed in the hands of KFMA’s “Creepy Pete.”
“It was completely random how he got it,” Browning says. “One of us handed him the demo somehow because we were the only ones handing them out.”
“Yeah, or somebody dropped it on the ground,” MacGormen interjects, laughing.
Next thing the band members new, they were on the phone with KFMA’s Matt Spry discussing playing KFMA Day. Again, it seems The Kindled is getting close to another band that has greatly affected it music because Korn is the headlining act.
“Korn was kind of my starting point as a musician,” MacGormen says. “I probably wouldn’t be playing if it wasn’t for them. All in all, the bands are pretty sweet this year.”
KFMA Day is just a warm-up for The Kindled. The band has 12 instrumental tracks prepared for a CD that are awaiting lyrics and members hope to hit the road soon and begin touring.
IF YOU GO
What: The Kindled at KFMA Day, also featuring Korn, Hollywood Undead, Escape the Fate, Anberlin, Red, ph8
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Tucson Electric Park, 2500 E. Ajo Way
Price: Tickers are $35 and are available at Catalina Mart locations or online
Info: 407-4500, www.kfma.com