Throughout high school and college, I played in a variety of bands. Obviously, this had a big role in the creation of The Band From Another World. There are several small details I worked into the story that reference these bands, and I thought it would be fun to share a little bit about each of them (including the music). Let’s dive in!
Gold Team
Gold Team was the first band I was a part of in high school. Because of this, there are a lot of influences from Gold Team in the final book. Like most high school bands, we weren’t particularly good most of the time. I played guitar, but this is also where I had my first foray into rap by sharing lead vocals on “Da Mall.”
Besides our high school battle of the bands, we also played at the “famed” Sterling Community Center in Sterling, VA, which despite basically just being a gym, had hosted bands that became known nationally like Metro Station and Downtown Fiction.
My favorite performance was probably the “Gold Team Backyard Barbecue Bananza” that we did in our drummer’s backyard before we left for missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our drummer accidentally broke a lampshade in his basement while we were goofing around to get “pumped up” before the show.
My Favorite Songs:
- “She’s Not Listening” – I wrote the lyrics to this one, which is secretly about the 2000s kids show Wonder Pets!
- “Da Mall” – This started as a joke between me and our bass player, and somehow turned into one of our most iconic songs that a few kids played on repeat.
- “Up in Lights” – I also wrote the lyrics to this one, which is probably our most musically proficient song overall.
Gold Team in The Band From Another World (minor spoilers!)
- “She’s Not Listening” is name dropped at one point in the story.
- Like me, Marv ends up playing guitar. Also like me, he’s not particularly good.
- Liv, who plays bass, is by far the most musically talented member of the group. Similarly, Gold Team’s bass player was the most talented in our group.
- The first song we wrote was secretly about trying to find a place to go to the bathroom. Kenji attempts to write a similar song at one point.
- Jammin’ Joe’s is a reference to Jammin’ Java, a popular local venue in Vienna, VA that we never played at.
- Parade the Day, my favorite local band of that era, is also referenced. I also found out they’re back together and releasing new music again! I am so unbelievably stoked about this.
Crazy Talk
Crazy Talk was my first real college band (the failed freshman year effort that never played any shows doesn’t really count). Crazy Talk went through two iterations. The first had two members from Gold Team who were at college with me. But then our piano player got married, and as a result, that meant he had no more time for the band.
We spent a summer in limbo until we met new people who joined in the band. When the bass player from Gold Team returned from his missionary service, he joined us, too.
I really expanded my role in Crazy Talk, taking lead vocal on many of our songs, as well as playing a mix of guitar, ukulele, and even piano, depending on the song. Aside from playing the main local venues in Provo, Utah, our biggest highlight was playing at a wedding reception for a couple that met at one of our shows.
My Favorite Songs:
- “Playin’ Hard to Get” – I originally wrote and recorded this as a solo demo before we recorded a full version as Crazy Talk. A rap version was later recorded with Bust A Kap.
- “Jack London” – Another song that I wrote, loosely based on the ideas of Jack London and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. We brought in several extra friends for the recording to play harmonica, electric guitar, and backing vocals.
- “Clap and Shout” – Another Kevin original, this is the one song that I played piano on. I like its uptempo nature.
Crazy Talk in The Band From Another World
- The second iteration of Crazy Talk had the same gender split as Marv’s band in the book – three boys and two girls.
- Marv’s school misspells Battle of the Bands as “Battel of the Bands.” Crazy Talk played a venue in Salt Lake City that had the same misspelling on their outside billboard.
Bust A Kap
One summer at college, the bass player from Gold Team/Crazy Talk and I moved to a new apartment complex, where we met DJ Lunchbox. Together, we formed Bust A Kap, with the goal of being the most ridiculous hip hop group in Provo. What started as a one-off for a talent show turned into a lot of performances.
Aside from Provo’s main music venues of the time (Velour and Muse Music), we played at a lot of random locations. Bust A Kap performed at house parties, the BYU Hip Hop Club Showcase (where “Da Mall” was loudly requested when we weren’t originally planning to play it), a charity fun run, and even a SpongeBob SquarePants movie release event at an on-campus restaurant.
Bust A Kap was also where we finally made music videos for some of our songs, something that unfortunately never happened with the other groups. But probably the most ridiculous thing of all is that we were paid to write a song based on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for a summer camp for international students (really). Later, an elementary school reached out and asked for permission to perform it. An entire grade at this school did a full dance routine to the song, complete with kids taking turns rapping and singing different parts. Probably the highlight of my musical career.
My Favorite Songs:
- “Plus One” – I love the entire feel of the song, especially the switch halfway through to being a pseudo parody of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On.”
- “Stylin'” – Another jam. DJ Lunchbox came up with some great sound effects for the chorus, and it includes some of my favorite ridiculous lines.
- “Seven Habits” – The fact that we were paid to write this song, and that an entire elementary school grade learned and performed it, still boggles my mind.
Bust A Kap in The Band From Another World
- Liv references a band that wears monkey and banana suits onstage. Early on, a big part of Bust A Kap performances involved wearing ridiculous costumes (such as our bassist wearing a pink bunny onesie).
The Blurst of Times
For completion’s sake, this is solo singer-songwriter stuff I recorded during college. A few friends appear on some of the tracks, but I never performed them anywhere. I just wanted to write and record them for myself.
My Favorite Songs:
- “A Weirdo Will Love You” – This is totally something Nora would say to Marv. This was originally a Crazy Talk song that I reworked a bit.
- “The Inversion (Jim Bridger)” – A song inspired by Utah’s winter smog.
- “Oh Lord, Where is Thy Pavilion?” – A sad song, but a good one.