Finding Equilibrium

Kill Gordon's New Album Sees The Band Balancing Energetic Performing And Restrained Recording

originally published January 10, 2007

“I want the song to make people feel how I felt when I wrote it and when we wrote it,” says Kyle Gordon, frontman and namesake of the indie/ garage rock outfit Kill Gordon, of the 11 tracks on the band’s forthcoming self-titled album. Set for release in late January, Kill Gordon is the Atlanta trio’s first full-length and first experience recording in a professional studio setting. Gordon, bassist Cyrus Shahmir and drummer Daniel Brett spent three days laying down all of the live tracks and subsequently came in over six weekends to do all of the overdubs. The result is a cohesive, dirty and sometimes mellow collection of rock-and-roll tunes that will serve as a better introduction for Kill Gordon than the two EPs the band previously released.

The time in the studio proved beneficial for the band, as it not only helped Gordon improve his vocal skills, but it also allowed the guys an opportunity to experiment with and delve deeper into the songs in their attempt to uncover Kill Gordon’s defining style - though it didn’t quite work out that way. “I still feel like we haven’t found exactly how we should sound on record yet,” admits Gordon. “I love this record. I’m very proud of what we’re putting out now and I like the first EP, too. But I still feel like we haven’t found our sound yet.”

The band Kill Gordon traces its roots to back to Gordon’s earlier forays in local acts like The Booze, and his decision to start playing his own music once he found his voice. Truth is, he'd been writing songs for a while but could never find anyone to sing them the way he wanted to. Once he was able to perform them himself, he bolted from his previous group and ventured out on his own. Never wanting to be a solo artist, Gordon quickly snatched up Shahmir and the two hit it off instantly. One of the first songs they wrote together was “Lips,” a track that has made its way to the new record. Gordon and Shahmir had originally enlisted another drummer before Brett joined the group.

Shahmir had moved to Atlanta from New York with a disenchanted outlook on the music scene up North; he was pleasantly surprised by what he found waiting for him in the South. “Down here, people actually respond and go to shows and hang out and go see music,” he observes. “I’ve always been drawn to that. And down here, [the music scene] is so much more rich. It seems authentic.”

Because of Gordon’s prior involvement in the Atlanta music scene, Kill Gordon had little difficulty finding its niche or drawing crowds in. And what has kept the crowds coming back for more is the trio’s emotionally chaotic live show that aims to present a unique experience each time around. The guys naturally get excited when they perform, though due to a couple of close calls, they’ve had to consciously tone things down a bit. Says Gordon, “I’m at a point now with the music to where when we play live, I’m kind of trying to restrict that raw emotion a little bit.”

Unlike the members of bands who decline to watch themselves on video, the guys in Kill Gordon equate the task with doing their homework. It helps them pick up on what not to do (rather than just trying to make sure they look “cool” all the time) and has helped calm the jitters that used to run rampant before a show. With their experience has come a sense of calmness about performing live. “Now we’re at a place where I don’t worry about much of anything,” Gordon declares. “I feel we’ve been doing this long enough to where whether I feel like we had a good show or not, people are gonna dig it because I never really think we do that good. But of course we do. All it takes is for me to see 10 seconds of a video clip of us playing to be like, ‘Oh, I would like that if I saw that.’” Many Atlanta and Athens concertgoers seem to share the same sentiment.

Leah Weinberg

WHO: Kill Gordon, Sovus Radio, All the Saints
WHERE: Go Bar
WHEN: Friday, January 12
HOW MUCH: $5