And The Kids didn’t start honing their sound in a standard rehearsal space. Three years ago, the Northampton-based band rented a cheap plot of land on the Connecticut River with an electrical outlet, erected a tent and brought in a storage pod to practice in.
“We had fans in there and kept it open—it was in the shade as well,” says singer/guitarist Hannah Mohan. “We were right on the water. You could play drums outside. It was like the dream summer, except for the thunderstorms.” That is, Mohan says, until the fire department declared their bucolic setup unsafe.
This summer finds And The Kids touring behind their assured and adventurous second album, Friends Share Lovers. The June release supplements the band’s oblique songs—rooted in influences from Yes and the Doors to PJ Harvey—with dream-pop layers capped by high, stacked harmonies.
“I love dream-pop,” Mohan says. “It was definitely intentional to do more vocals and experiment more.” And The Kids have been artistically restless ever since Mohan met drummer Rebecca Lasaponaro in middle school band class. They dropped out of high school but earned GEDs and later met keyboardist Megan Miller and bassist Taliana Katz at the Institute for the Musical Arts in Goshen.
Katz only joined And The Kids when Miller was deported to her native Canada for overstaying her visa, a situation that likely won’t be resolved for a few years. So the group went to Montreal to write and record Friends Share Lovers with Miller’s input—and synth parts that Lasaponaro now triggers onstage while Mohan and Katz work with loop pedals to refashion the band’s shorthanded sound. “It’s crazy, but we keep it together,” Mohan says. “We’re just gonna pretend we’re together.”
Striking a Chord
Catch 10 Local Bands Making Waves.
By Paul Robicheau | Photo Credit: Courtney Chavanell | Aug. 1, 2016
And The Kids
And The Kids didn’t start honing their sound in a standard rehearsal space. Three years ago, the Northampton-based band rented a cheap plot of land on the Connecticut River with an electrical outlet, erected a tent and brought in a storage pod to practice in.
“We had fans in there and kept it open—it was in the shade as well,” says singer/guitarist Hannah Mohan. “We were right on the water. You could play drums outside. It was like the dream summer, except for the thunderstorms.” That is, Mohan says, until the fire department declared their bucolic setup unsafe.
This summer finds And The Kids touring behind their assured and adventurous second album, Friends Share Lovers. The June release supplements the band’s oblique songs—rooted in influences from Yes and the Doors to PJ Harvey—with dream-pop layers capped by high, stacked harmonies.
“I love dream-pop,” Mohan says. “It was definitely intentional to do more vocals and experiment more.” And The Kids have been artistically restless ever since Mohan met drummer Rebecca Lasaponaro in middle school band class. They dropped out of high school but earned GEDs and later met keyboardist Megan Miller and bassist Taliana Katz at the Institute for the Musical Arts in Goshen.
Katz only joined And The Kids when Miller was deported to her native Canada for overstaying her visa, a situation that likely won’t be resolved for a few years. So the group went to Montreal to write and record Friends Share Lovers with Miller’s input—and synth parts that Lasaponaro now triggers onstage while Mohan and Katz work with loop pedals to refashion the band’s shorthanded sound. “It’s crazy, but we keep it together,” Mohan says. “We’re just gonna pretend we’re together.”
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