Vanishing Apollo

**Vanishing Apollo** are an American electric soul band from Kent, Ohio.

## **History**

Formed in 2010 by then-16 year old Guitar virtuoso, Mike Kabat, the band underwent several lineup changes until it settled on the four it has been for years: Ben Brown on Vocals, Chris Kulow on Bass, Chris "Bubba" Gray on Drums and Keyboard, and of course, Mike Kabat on Guitar. Together they concoct a melting pot /salad bowl of genres (Funk, Rock, Reggae, Blues, Psychedelia, Classical, Skiffle, and Latin Rock) which form what they call "Electric Soul" in the style and tradition of classic bands like Led Zeppelin and the Doors.

On July 5th, 2011 the group came out with the 5 song, self-titled demo recorded at Central 8 Studios in Akron and engineered by Nathan Doutt. After the recording session, which took one day of live recording, overdubs, and mixing, they all felt certain things would start to change for the better and they could start booking bigger gigs. Unfortunately, the band's world came to a sudden stop when Ben Brown was in a car accident two days later.

Ben was hospitalized for a while and suffered from a series of serious injuries including a collapsed lung, imploded bladder, and broken pelvis and knee. The rest of the band were the first ones to be by his hospital bed that evening. Obviously booking gigs to support the demo would have to be put on hold for a while. After several months of physical therapy, rehab, catheters, wheelchairs, walkers, and finally crutches, he was back on his feet and the band was ready to make a comeback.

That's exactly what they did. The following year was spent playing bars, Cancer benefit shows, graduation parties, bars, underground music venues like Kent's Sutherland Ranch, and more bars and by the summer of 2012, Vanishing Apollo had raised enough money to go back into the recording studio with Nate to record their first full length album, Visions & Voices. Like the demo, it was all recorded live and then fixed up with overdubs, but this time they rented out the studio for the whole weekend. The five of them, including Nathan, started Friday and went late into each following morning, only stopping to sleep on the floor of the studio, and came out early Monday morning with a rough mix, tired eyes and all 12 tracks finished. Visions & Voices was released with wonderful reception in 2013 with an electric performance despite Mike's Uncle passing away earlier that day.

Work has begun in RCR Studios (where Tropidelic record) for the new album of original material. The new songs showcase the improvement and maturity which comes from playing together live with soul-jolting versions of songs like Valerie by Amy Winehouse and Sitting On the Dock by Otis Redding. The band is very excited about the future. Vanishing Apollo is starting to play with bigger bands in farther reaches and has a New Album and EP in the works at RCR Studios going in a more concise direction yet staying with the classic psychedelic influences, poppy melodies, and progressive flourishes. The lyrics go on an Alice in Wonderland style adventure while getting a little more personal than Visions and Voices; like holding hands with a new lover in a strange land, and learning to grow and know yourself. The title is aptly named "Sustain & Grow" and will be due out around late Summer 2017.

The story of Vanishing Apollo seems to be cursed with tragedies, and you can hear it in the way they play, but nonetheless, they are determined because in the end, you can either, "Pick yourself up or pick yourself backwards," (Pick It Up. Track 1) and sometimes, "There's nowhere to go but higher!" (Garden of Roads. Track 9).

## **Members**

* Mike Kabat - Guitar
* Chris Kulow - Bass, Ukelele
* Chris Bubba Gray - Drums, Keyboards
* Ben Brown - Vocals

## **External Links**

* Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/vanishingapollo/
* Bandcamp - https://vanishingapollo.bandcamp.com/