Our humble beginnings:
3 best friends, Matt, Ethan and Dave were all jamming around at Matt's house one night while drunk. Matt had just learned bass and had mostly punk and ska influences. Ethan, a lover of grunge, folk, and classic rock, played guitar. And Dave, a long-time guitarist, hopped on drums because he slightly knew how to play them and there was nothing else for him to do. Needless to say, the combination was strange and awkward. Laura, Matt's older sister, came in the room and decided this "band" needed a singer.
She penned that night a song that would become the band's trademark (even though they no longer play it). The song was entitled "Everybody's getting drunk." The song was sloppy and didn't make much sense, but the chorus was catchy and the lyrics were kind of funny. A few days later, Matt and Laura held a show in their backyard, and decided to throw this band into the line-up, dubbing themselves "Just for Kix" in honor of why they were playing the show. Katie, a friend/distant relative of various group members, was thrown onto back-up vocals, along with another friend, Kyle. The group performed "Everybody's Getting Drunk" along with the just-made-up "Ska Song 1" and an acoustic song featuring Ethan and Laura called "Our Song." The set was short, and the band kind of laughed about it afterward, thinking it was a one-time performance. Little did the group know, it was only the beginning of Just for Kix.
Three and a half years later, Just For Kix is still "kickin'"; however, the band has been re-invented more often than you change your underwear. (Yes, you.) Katie was switched from back-up vocals to trumpet, since she was a band geek and the band members all liked ska. Zak, a saxophone player was also added. After making a habit of turning down Ethan's guitar (all the way) at shows, the band decided his style of guitar didn't suit the band's style and recruited another friend named Dave to fill in. The band experimented with other horn sounds, briefly adding a member named Andrew ("tooth") on trombone, and even having an encounter with his child prodigy clarinet playing brother. However, due to Andrew being almost permanently grounded and the child prodigy still being in elementary school, neither of those band members worked out. Dave (the drummer) was involved in other musical commitments and decided to leave the band. A friend named Taylor filled in on drums for one show, but was too busy to join the band permanently. Finally, Matt found some friends who liked ska and had talent. (Yay!) The band tried out a new drummer named Ray and a guitarist named Dan. However, Dan was soon replaced by Rich, who was good friends with Matt and Ray and whose house was available for practice. Just For Kix was reborn, now with Matt on bass, Laura on vocals, Ray on drums, Rich on guitar, Katie on trumpet and Zak on saxophone. Over time Zak became involved in other commitments and also left the group, leaving the band as a five-piece which has remained intact since 2003.
Just For Kix has played a lot of shows since that fateful backyard show of 2002, mostly around the area of Rochester, New York where the band members originate from. Some past venues include X-Dreams Skate Park (Brighton), Steel Music Hall (Scottsville), The Bug Jar (Rochester), Java's (Rochester), Rush-Henrietta High School (Henrietta), Westcott Community Center (Syracuse), and several living rooms and basements of Riverton and Henrietta. Some shows have been downright terrible, some have been downright amazing! If you saw the band and thought they were terrible, it was probably a technical difficulty. Yeah. That's it.
The band has also produced several demos, as well as a full-length recorded by the band's old guitarist, Dave. Currently, Just For Kix is on hiatus as several band members attend college, but during summer and winter breaks you can find them practicing and playing shows in the Rochester area.
