Madrid-based rock ‘n’ roll foursome Kurt Baker Combo just celebrated the release of their sophomore full-length album, Lets Go Wild! this month! The follow-up to their 2016 release, In Orbit, Let’s Go Wild! finds the group not only experimenting with new sounds, but also pushing the boundaries of rock ‘n’ roll music by expanding the primarily power pop foundation of their first full-length. With a couple of years between releases, the band took their time carefully crafting and re-working songs with producer Paco Loco, who pushed the band to step out of their comfort zone, while frontman Kurt Baker found himself digging deep into older material to create songs like “Sick Of Waiting.”
With Let’s Go Wild! out now, Kurt Baker Combo are gearing up for a busy year of touring, including stops in the US later this fall. Read more about Let’s Go Wild! and the band’s plans for the future below.
Interview by Shannon Shumaker
Can you tell us a little bit about Kurt Baker Combo for any readers who might be hearing you guys for the first time?
The Kurt Baker Combo is a rock n’ roll band based in Spain. We really love all kinds of rock n roll music, and we wear the influences on our sleeves. From Alice Cooper to the Knack to the Ramones. We are an energetic band who likes the have a good time. On record and on stage your experience with us is gonna be a fun one.
You guys just released your new album, Let’s Go Wild! this month! What are you the most excited for fans to hear on this release?
We really upped the ante on this one. We’ve got some songs that are more rockin’ than we’ve ever recorded before, we also have some more experimental stuff on this record. We are expanding our horizons with this one, but we’ve also kept it firmly rooted in what we do best.. 2/3 minute catchy rock n’ roll. So there are some surprises, but no curve balls. I think any fan of rock n roll will be able to find something they dig on this new record. It’s diverse.
Did you have any major goals in mind when working on the album?
Only to make it the best album that is humanly possible. With “Let’s Go Wild” we knew we had to make something that we’d be proud of, and we are really over the moon with the final results. It’s definitely the best KB Combo album to date, and that was what we were going for.
Let’s Go Wild! is your second full-length album, too! Where does it pick up following In Orbit? How do you feel you’ve grown between the two releases?
We are a much better band now. We’ve been playing together now for 4 years and it shows. “In Orbit” was our first studio album together, and we were just getting started. I think it’s a good album, but “Let’s Go Wild” is a step above. Stylistically, there are a lot of similar sounds on both records.. Power Pop, Garage, Glam, but now that we are a stronger more confident band, we are able to play the new songs like never before.
Was there anything you wanted to create or accomplish with Let’s Go Wild! that you didn’t have the chance or weren’t able to do on In Orbit?
We self-produced “In Orbit”, so we were really looking forward to working with a producer for “Let’s Go Wild”, and that producer was Paco Loco. He definitely got us thinking and approached a lot of the songs in ways that we would never have thought. He did exactly what a good producer should do, by taking the songs we have a lifting them to different levels. Maybe it’s an addition of a keyboard part, or a change in the arrangement, but even the tiniest of details that we would never have thought to add if we were producing the record ourselves, makes “Let’s Go Wild” unqiue.
I love recording records, and it’s always a rewarding experience to finally get the masters back and listen to all the tracks. It feels really good! Every time, with every album!
You recently released “Sick Of Waiting” from the album, too! Can you tell us about this track? What inspired it?
I had been sitting on this chorus idea for “Sick of Waiting” for a couple years.. and I could never completely get it to where I wanted. Finally, when it came to crunch time to get all the tracks ready for pre-prodction, I approached this tune again. I made a couple demos, and it still wasn’t working. I was thinking that this track wouldn’t end up on the album, but somehow like magic, an idea came to my mind, I sat down at the piano and banged out the verse that you hear on the finished track. Sometimes it all comes together in the last minute. Songwriting is weird like that. You are sitting around just waiting for that dragon to fly out of its cave. Sometimes he never leaves, but when he does… bam! It’s like magic.
With the album out now, do you have any shows coming up or tour dates in the works?
Continuing the KB COMBO “Let’s go Wild!” tour, and getting to the USA for a tour in November
MAY
Thursday 24 VALLADOLID Porta Coeli + Batracios
Friday 25 TALAVERA Beer Garden + Brad Marino
Saturday 26 MADRID The Sun + The Tupper
Thursday 31 PAMPLONA Nebula
Friday 1 ALBI (France) Jour de Fete
JUNE
Saturday, 2 PAU (France) L’imprafait
Saturday 30 CARBALLO Carballo Rocking
JULY
Thursday 19 ESPASA BEACH Motorbeach
Saturday 21 Fuengirola Pop Weekend
SEPTEMBER
Saturday 1 TOBALINA VALLEY Tobalina
Saturday 29 TARRAGONA Bule Bule Toga
OCTOBER
Saturday 6 LYON (France) Spanish Rock Invasion
Friday 12 CASTELLON Four Seassons
NOVEMBER
USA Tour
DECEMBER
Saturday 8 LEON Purple Weekend
Do you have any other big plans or goals for 2018?
Have more fun. The KB Combo are working on a US tour this fall… and more gigs around Europe. Also I need to meditate more and practice my Spanish.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you! Make sure to take your vitamins and drink plenty of water!
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