California Kids

The *California Kids* is a comedy rock/ska band, formed in the years during the second hiatus of *The Dropouts.* The band featured Nick Barnett, Chris O'Brian, Alex Kuzmack, and Miles Gonzalez, hot off the tail of their go on *You Know Us Too Well,* the sixth album from *The Dropouts.* The band is most known for their upbeat and fast songs, paired with comedic lyrics, sometimes coming close to the nonsensical songs from *The Dropouts* like *Dope Nose* and *House of 1982 Built Like a Ship.* Their first album was released on December 5th, 2001, titled *The Wild Sea.* In 20XX, Nick Barnett and Chris O'Brian came together to revive the band, forming a new lineup with returning and new members, leading to the compilation album *Return From The Isle of Dread,* which featured new recordings of the band's greatest hits, and then *Spiritual Reboot*, the new original album.

## Band Members

1. Nick Barnett - Vocals/Lead Guitar
2. Chris O'Brian - Vocals/Guitar/Lead Guitar (After 2001)
3. Miles Gonzalez - Bass
4. Alex Kuzmack - Drums
5. Jeff Klopfenstein - Trombone
6. Derrick Clarke - Trumpet/Saxophone
7. Danny Landrow - Vocals/Guitar (Joined after 2001)
8. Kevin Brockton - Drums (After 20XX)
9. Kasey Williams - Keyboard/Vocals (After 20XX)
10. Ali Zehbra - Saxophone (After 20XX)

### Current Lineup:

1. Nick Barnett - Vocals/Lead Guitar
2. Chris O'Brian - Vocals/Bass
3. Danny Landrow - Vocals/Guitar/Trombone
4. Kasey Williams - Keyboard/Vocals
5. Kevin Brockton - Drums
6. Derrick Clarke - Trumpet
7. Ali Zehbra - Saxophone

## Albums

1. *The Wild Sea -* July 5th, 2001
2. *Mundane Things Performed By Mundane People -* August 15th 2004
3. *The People's Republic of California -* May 25th, 2006
4. *The Perfect Valentine's Gift -* February 14th, 2008
5. *Check Please -* March 10th, 2009
6. *Return From The Isle of Dread: The Best of The California Kids* - February 1st, 20XX
7. *Spiritual Reboot -* February 14th, 20XX

## History

Starting off after the mixed reaction to *You Know Us Too Well*, Nick Barnett, Chris O'Brian, Alex Kuzmack, and Miles Gonzales started their own new band as to not be weighed down by the legacy of *The Dropouts.* The decision to be a comedy band was made after Chris wanted to write more songs like *House of 1982 Built Like a Ship,* with nonsensical and non serious lyrics. Nick wanted to try his hand at a new writing style and agreed, and the band was named *California Kids*, picking the opposite of what they all were, California being on the other side of the country from New York, and none of them were kids anymore. Brass players Jeff Klopfenstein and Derrick Clarke were brought on to fill in the place of the *Dropouts Brass Section,* and their first album *The Wild Sea* was put into production.

The band is known for their biggest hits, most coming off their first album when Nick was still in the band. Those being songs like *The Wild Sea, Martian Girl, Fashion Zombies,* and *Hey Luno.* The band later found success after Nick in songs like *Danny Don't You Know,* and *First Date*.

In 2002, Nick Barnett left the band to work on the reunion of *The Dropouts* and their next album *Spirit Weak,* leaving the band without a lead singer. Since him and Chris often shared vocals in their songs, it was an easy transition for Chris O'Brian to become the new lead of the band, bringing on Danny Landrow as the new guitarist taking Chris' original spot.

After releasing 4 more albums, in 2009, Chris O'Brian left the band to join *The Dropouts* again, after their third hiatus and spots opened up in the band. With the two original writers of the band now gone, the band made the decision to split up, going their separate ways and leaving the *California Kids* to have their own legacy.

Nick Barnett and Chris O'Brian will still occasionally play songs from their days as *California Kids* at shows, as well as some songs that never made it to *California Kids* albums eventually making it onto *The Dropouts* albums like *My Skateboard!* and *Adventure Today.*

### Revival

After working on a few side projects together during off seasons from *The Dropouts*, Nick Barnett and Chris O'Brian decided to put their first side project *$2,400,000* on the back burner and return to where it all started for them, *California Kids*. By this time, both Alex Kuzmack and Miles Gonzalez had both retired from music, and Jeff Klopfenstein was too busy to return to his role in the band, and so this lead to Nick and Chris forming a new line up for the band.

Pulling from all around their music experiences, Nick and Chris crafted the all new line up. Danny Landrow and Derrick Clarke returned to the band. Kevin Brockton was brought on, the first time working with Nick and Chris since the days he drummed for *The Dropouts*, and finally, Ali Zehbra and Kasey Williams round out the band, both of them old collaborators of Nick and Chris', Ali had performed the song *Unity* with her band Zebrahead and *The Dropouts* way back on *Price For Popularity,* while Kasey had written and performed the song *I Know You Too Well to Like You Anymore* for *You Know Us Too Well*, which was Nick and Chris' first go with the second line up for *The Dropouts.*

All together, the band started production on the *California Kids* first album in over 15 years, *Spiritual Reboot.* Much like the changing moods around the music for *The Dropouts*, the band wanted to challenge the brand that *California Kids* were known for. This was a new line up with many different music backgrounds, and they wanted that to translate into the album. This was the inspiration for the album name, as it was almost meant as a reboot for the band. When promoting the new line up, the tagline "This isn't your grandma's California Kids." was used to push this idea.

Including some covers of songs by *The Dropouts*, the album presented 11 new tracks, of varying genres and styles. Other than *I Wanna Love You - Acoustic,* and *(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To,* every other track on the album was completely new.

In addition to recording the new original album, the band also opted to put together a compilation record of their most popular songs from when the band was originally active. Naming it *Return From The Isle of Dread,* after a line in the song *The Wild Sea,* the new lineup provided new recordings of the classic songs. Pulling from every era and album, fans were excited when it was first announced. At the end of the album as a bonus track, the song *Lovers of Loving Love* was also included, as a sneak peek of what *Spiritual Reboot* would be.

The final tracklist for the best of album was in part decided by the fans of the band, after a poll was put up on *The Dropouts* social media asking what everyone's favorite *California Kids* songs were, coinciding with the original announcement of the revival and following compilation record.

After taking in the results from the poll, the band then combined the results with their own personal favorite tracks to decide the final list. While the new members of the band had their input as they were fans of the original band, the non returning members were also contacted to see what they thought, and so Alex Kuzmack, Miles Gonzalez, and Jeff Klopfenstein all got credits on the album for just their general input, as well as any original writing credits they had. The final tracklist came down to:

1. *Super Rad!*
2. *Red Sweater!*
3. *The Story of Nothing!*
4. *Martian Girl!*
5. *Pizza Day*
6. *Pool Party*
7. *Fashion Zombies!*
8. *The Wild Sea*
9. *California Kids* - An unreleased song Nick wrote about the band for *The Dropouts*
10. *Houdini*
11. *Hey Luno*
12. *Dear Spike*
13. *The Shark Fighter!*
14. *First Date*
15. *Danny Don't You Know*
16. *Back To The Shack -* Never officially released, but performed at a *California Kids* reunion show before the revival
17. *Luck Lady Dragon!*
18. *Adventure Today! (CK Version) -* This song was originally demoed for *Mundane Things Performed by Mundane People* before Nick left the band, and eventually it was rewritten as the closer for *Tales From Summer Camp Vol. 4* by *The Dropouts.* This is the original demo fully recorded
19. *The Legend is True!*
20. *Lovers of Loving Love* - Bonus track to promote *Spiritual Reboot*