Kirby Krackle (band)

Kirby Krackle is an American Geek rock band from Seattle, Washington formed in 2009 with the original lineup consisting of Kyle Stevens and Jim Demonakos. The band's name is a reference to the cosmic energy of the same name drawn by comic book artist Jack Kirby. The lineup has changed a lot over the years, with singer/songwriter/guitarist Kyle Stevens the only constant member. Stevens is a major icon of the nerd music scene, having toured internationally and performed/collaborated with artists such as "Weird Al" Yankovic, MC Lars and The Doubleclicks. 
Kirby Krackle's music takes influence from movements and genres from the 1990s and 2000s such as grunge, pop-punk, Americana (music) and Rhythm and blues. Stevens has also recorded various pop rock love songs over Kirby Krackle's history and sees the band's unique style and open minded fan base as an outlet to try out a variety of themes and musical styles.
== History ==
Kyle Stevens started Kirby Krackle in 2009, shortly after he came off of his band Layman's Terms he had been in since the age of thirteen. It was around this time Stevens was catching up on a lot of the comic book titles he had missed during his time in the studio and the Marvel Cinematic Universe was starting up, so he was inspired to do nerd rock the way he wanted to and make songs about his favorite popular culture. On the first album, Stevens and his bandmate Jim Demonakos recorded 11 songs about Superhero and Video game using programmed Drum kit and various unusual instruments, such as Steelpan, Ukulele and even a brass section. 
In 2013, Kirby Krackle opened for the legendary Comedy music artist "Weird Al" Yankovic, during his reemergence to popular music in between the releases of the albums Alpocalypse and Mandatory Fun. For the 2016 Disney XD Guardians of the Galaxy (TV series), Kirby Krackle was asked to record three original songs emulating the popular trends in music from the 1970s that sounded like they belonged on the Guardians of the Galaxy (soundtrack) with all the other songs from Star-Lord's mixtape.
From 2009 to 2019, the band independently released eight albums - Kirby Krackle (2009), E for Everyone (2010), Super Powered Love (2011), Sounds Like You (2013), MUTATE, BABY! (2015), Suburban Hearts/Vigilante Hymns (2018) and I'm Stuck in a Human Centipede for Christmas (2018). During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, Stevens recorded a non-nerdy concept album titled This Great Pause, a record exploring themes of getting through the coronavirus quarantine and coming out of it.
== Musical style and recurring themes ==
Some bands and musicians Stevens has cited as major influences include Pearl Jam, Green Day, Counting Crows, Matthew Sweet and "anything really melodic". Kirby Krackle's music is often a unique aesthetic blending genres like pop rock and power pop with Synthesizers and other uncommon instruments.
Some franchises Stevens has written a number of songs about include X-Men (The Day My Powers Arrived, X-Men Pool Party and 1407 Graymalkin Lane) Star Wars (Moisture Farm, It Suits You) and Super Mario (Back to the Beginning, In Another Castle). Several tracks off of the Kirby Krackle albums are serious love songs, with pieces like Parachute and You & I. The band will occasionally record a Parody music song with geek-related themes, such as a parody of 50 Cent's Candy Shop about Comic book store stores and a parody of Tom Petty's The Waiting (song) about a mutant waiting for their superpowers to arrive.
== Discography ==
==== Recorded Albums ====
* Kirby Krackle (2009)
* E for Everyone (2010)
* Super Powered Love (2011)
* Sounds Like You (2013)
* MUTATE, BABY! (2015)
* Suburban Hearts/Vigilante Hymns (2018)
* I'm Stuck in a Human Centipede for Christmas (2018)
* This Great Pause (2021)
==== Live Albums ====
* Acoustic in Australia (2011)
* Live in Seattle (2012)
* Live in Calgary: 4.26.13 (2014)
Compilations
* Geekiest Hits Vol. 1 (2014)
* Fan Club Singles Vol. 1 (2017)
==== Singles ====
* Super Powered Love (2011)
* Web Slinger/Hope Bringer (2012)
* One More Episode (2012)
* Unlucky (2014)
* It Suits You (2016)
* The New Infidelity (2017)
* X-Men Pool Party (2017)
* It's Good to be King (2018)
* I Love You 3000 (2019)
* Snake in the Garden (2019)
* Quaransheen (2020)
* Shattered and Scattered (2020)
* A Christmas Like This (2020)
* Beautiful Disaster (2021)
Category:Musicians
Category:Geek rock musicians
Category:Geek rock groups
Category:Musical groups
Category:Pop rock groups