Kid Dynamite (band)
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Kid Dynamite was an American
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
band from
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. They formed in 1997 and broke up in 2000, while reuniting sporadically since then until 2013. They were signed to
Jade Tree Records Jade Tree International, Inc. is an independent record label formed by Darren Walters and Tim Owen in 1990 in Wilmington, Delaware. History Origin (1987–1990) In 1987, Tim Owen and Darren Walters were introduced during a punk show in Washin ...
.


History


20th century

Kid Dynamite was formed in 1997 by drummer Dave Wagenschutz and guitarist Dan Yemin, who had both played in the influential New Jersey band Lifetime. After their dissolution, Yemin expressed interest in forming a new band. He called friend Steve Ferrell to fill the role as the bassist and Wagenschutz on drums, rounding out the rhythm section. They then went into the studio to record the music for what would become their first demo. After trying out multiple singers, they settled on Jason Shevchuk, who previously sang for straight edge band Bound. With this lineup intact, Jason added vocals over the music the band previously recorded, naming the demo 'Six Songs With Jay Singing'. They played their first show on April 22, 1998, in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, opening for
Better Than a Thousand Ray Cappo, also known as Raghunath Das, is an American punk rock musician best known as the vocalist for the bands Youth of Today and Shelter and as founder of the independent record labels Revelation Records and Equal Vision Records. Origina ...
. From there, the band played shows up and down the
East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...
throughout the summer of that year. In the fall of 1998, they entered the studio to record their first full length album with Steve Evetts, who had previously worked with Lifetime on their albums Hello Bastards and Jersey's Best Dancers. Kid Dynamite released their self-titled debut on October 27, 1998, through Jade Tree to immediate popularity. After the album's release, the band continued to gig throughout the winter of 1998. In 1999, bassist Steve Ferrell departed the band on good terms and was temporarily replaced by Ernie Parada of GreyArea. The bassist position was then permanently filled by Michael 'Spider' Cotterman. In the summer of 1999, the band embarked on their first cross-country tour opening for Good Riddance, alongside Boston's In My Eyes. From there, they spent the rest of the year on the road with other bands including Kill Your Idols, Snapcase, and Buried Alive. In between that, they went back into the studio to record what would be their last album '' Shorter, Faster, Louder''. After the album's completion, Shevchuk left in December 1999 to finish film school. Though it was rumoured that Jesse Standhard of Right Brigade had taken over as the lead singer, it was ultimately proven false.


21st century

''Shorter, Faster, Louder'' was released on February 15, 2000. Kid Dynamite did two final shows on February 18 and 19, 2000 at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In April 2003, the band played three reunion shows as benefits for the Syrentha J. Savio Endowment, to help early breast cancer detection. The three shows raised over $20,000 total towards the endowment. In September 2003, the band's label Jade Tree put out a compilation of rare and live material titled ''Cheap Shots, Youth Anthems'', which featured a teaser DVD for a forthcoming live DVD that will include footage from the band's 2003 reunion shows for the Syrentha Savio Endowment charity. In 2005, the band played a reunion show as a benefit for
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
's historic
CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...
venue on August 22, 2005. The opening bands were Take My Chances (ex-The Backup Plan), Voice in the Wire, and GreyArea. Ernie Parada joined the band onstage for their cover of 'Birthdays' by Token Entry, who he played drums for in the 1980's. The band jokingly came up with a new "song" during the soundcheck called "Whoa Dave Can You Hear Me"; in which they tested out their equipment to see if everything was set up properly while Jason Shevchuk screamed "Whoa Dave can you hear me" over and over. On February 21, 2006, Jade Tree released the DVD ''Four Years In One Gulp'', a
DVD documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill Nic ...
on the band. It features commentary about Kid Dynamite from members of the band and several friends regarding the bands history, with narration by Jason Shevchuk. It also included 25 live performances throughout the band's lifetime. ''Carry the Torch: A Tribute to Kid Dynamite'' was released by Get Outta Town Records in 2009. The album contains covers of every song the band recorded interpreted by other punk and hardcore adjacent bands. The band has performed other reunion shows at "This Is Hardcore" fest in 2010, and "Fuck Yeah Fest" in Los Angeles, on September 3, 2011,
The Fest The Fest is an annual music festival in Gainesville, Florida, United States, which takes place on the weekend of the Florida–Georgia football game (around Halloween). Originally organized by Tony Weinbender, formerly of No Idea Records, it pr ...
10 in
Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...
, and FunFunFunFest 2011 in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
. In 2013, the band officially announced they were breaking up. They played their last shows at This Is Hardcore Fest in Philadelphia and in New York with Swearin’ and
Joyce Manor Joyce Manor is an American punk rock band formed in Torrance, California, in 2008. The band's current lineup consists of singer-songwriter and guitarist Barry Johnson, guitarist Chase Knobbe, and bassist/backing vocalist Matt Ebert. The band's m ...
.


Discography

Studio albums Compilation albums Video albums Extended plays


References


External links


Record label band pageJade Tree Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kid Dynamite Musical groups from Philadelphia American melodic hardcore musical groups Hardcore punk groups from Pennsylvania Jade Tree (record label) artists