Kid Dad: "Writing is the only way I can tell how I really feel"

German band Kid Dad's debut album is full of huge indie-rock singles. Packed with anthemic, unapologetic hooks ready to blast any lingering lockdown cobwebs well and truly away, in tracks like 'Limbo' and longtime favourite 'Happy' they capture a messy and youthful enthusiasm that's completely addictive. It all very coming-of-age - figuring out how you feel, what the future holds; what adventures to head out on next. A world of possibilities lies ahead. Marius Vieth (vocals/guitar) introduces his band.

Hi Marius - who are you all, where did you meet?
We are four students who met each other in high school. Back then I had a pop-punk band which kinda transformed into what's now Kid Dad by old members leaving and new members joining the group. Michael, who is our drummer, and Joshi, who's our lead guitarist, started studying popular music and media, exactly like I did, with the dream of forming a band and getting heard someday. Max, our bassist and backing vocalist who also plays synthesizers, studied special education at the same uni as we three did. After we all crossed paths, we started writing songs and playing shows together, and that's how we got here, haha!

What's your hometown Paderborn like, are there many opportunities for up-and-coming bands there?
Paderborn is sweet and beautiful, but that comes from someone who grew up here. For me personally, it was always hard to find a way to play shows and get live experiences here, but the local scene(s) here has grown pretty decently since you can study popular music and media here. Many talented and hungry musicians moved to Paderborn, which led to a colourful scene and more shows - I love it, and I wish it would have been that easy to get heard back in 2012! The city is living and growing!

Do you get to travel outside of Germany much? Y'know, when there isn't a pandemic on.
We used to tour all around Europe and still want to play in the States, Asia and everywhere possible, but as you said - COVID-19 pulled the break on that for now. We hope pandemics and wars don't stop ongoing globalization and we will be able to play places we always have dreamed of playing. At the same time, we are fully aware that to achieve this, we all have to work hard and be patient.

Has lockdown mucked up many of your plans?
Yes and no. We had many plans that we still have, but we were more like right in the middle of planning and booking shows when the pandemic hit us. Luckily, we have the chance to stay in very close contact with our partners who always want the best for us, and we were able to make really great alternative plans, so you can look forward to a lot of things happening in the near future. So everything will be as cool as possible!

What's the most exciting thing you've done with Kid Dad so far? Completing your debut album must be up there?
It is! Not just that we are a group of friends making our own music - we also have the opportunity of releasing something that sums up this crazy chapter of our lives. Nothing really can compare to this (until now, haha)!

Tell us about the record - how did you curate the tracklisting? Is it a mix of old and new songs?
It's not really old and new. It's more like recorded early and recorded later. We all wrote the songs between 2017 and 2019 and some of the songs written in 2017 were recorded in 2019, while some written in 2018 were recorded just a few weeks after the writing process was finished. We recorded in more than 5 different studios, and it gave every song the room we thought it needed (without busting the bank), so it was very exciting to hear these songs successively and completely finished and then find a tracklist for it. We're talking about weeks of "finding" here because we can be complicated sometimes and we tend to overthink things. But we are all very happy with this list and beyond thankful for everyone involved in the process.

It feels like there's a vast range of influences here, where do you look for inspiration? Do you have varied tastes in music?
Yes, we are veeeery different, especially when it comes to music, art and styles, but somehow we always find a golden middle everyone is happy with. Joshi [Meinert, guitar] for example, is crazy for indie, atmospheric krautrock and stuff like that while Michael [Reihle, drums] loves EDM and K-Pop. Max [Alexander Zdunek (bass/backing vocals] and I grew up in the pop-punk/emo scene, and when he listens to Lil Peep, German rap and Incubus, I lean back to Radiohead, Mac Miller, The 1975 and even John Coltrane. So, all in all, there may be no genre all of us hate, and no band all of us love equally, but that's the perfect foundation for a band that wants to create and not copy I guess, haha!

Do you have a favourite song on the album?
Yes, I do, it's called 'Window'. I mean, I really, really love them all, we all do, but 'Window' feels special to me. It's not a single, so you have to wait until the album drops!

What do you most enjoy writing about, are there any topics you find yourselves returning to?
Interesting question, cause that's exactly what is happening. I preserve a feeling in a song, hidden in the lyrics, a riff, a beat or only the tempo, and I feel it onstage. This is why live performances are so intense for me. It looks like I'm playing a song, but I'm re-feeling an emotion - that's tough but beautiful. Writing is the only way I can tell how I really feel, you know?

What's next for you guys?
After releasing 'In A Box' we will play as many shows as we can in times like these and try to focus on creating videos, music and gaining attention to our campaign against domestic violence to support kids in need. We will try to stay healthy in every way and work until we drop dead.