Kill It Kid

Kill It Kid (sometimes shortened to KIK) are a four-piece British blues/grunge/Americana band based in Bath and fronted by both Chris Turpin and Stephanie Ward.

The band was widely recognised as one of the best new acts of 2009, with magazines such as NME and Clash rating their debut album 8/10 and 9/10 respectively; the album was nominated for XFM's New Music Award 2010. ^{[1] [2][3][4] [5][6][7][8]}

Kill it Kid signed a publishing deal with EMI in 2011^[9]. They released their first two albums on London indie label, One Little Indian Records^[10], whose roster includes Bjork, Paul McCartney and Skunk Anansie.

Kill it Kid's blend of roots and blues features lead vocals by both Chris Turpin and Stephanie Ward; their line-up has included slide guitar, fiddle and at times banjo. Although the band never really saw their music as folk, ^[11] they were originally linked to British nu-folk.

Now a four piece, ^[12] the band's output, as showcased in their album 'Feet Fall Heavy' (2011), is guitar-driven and bluesy, and has drawn comparisons to bands like The White Stripes, ^[13][14].

Chris Turpin describes the change in a 2011 interview: ‘It’s an entirely different record, it almost feels like a different band, to be honest. It’s just the reality of living and working in the music industry for two years and turning into a family band. You all become siblings which is a bit peculiar after like, the seventeenth day on the road. The main difference is there’s no violin and there’s no acoustic guitars, it’s a much heavier process. [...]'^[15]

The band are strongly influenced by British Blues, Delta Blues, roots and Ragtime; the band's name is a reference to a Blind Willie McTell^[16] song, Kill it Kid Rag. Other influences include: Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Ben Harper, Nirvana, My Morning Jacket and Johnny Cash^[17].

Kill it Kid met and formed in Bath, where its original members lived (most were students at Bath Spa University):^[18][19]"I [Chris] was gigging on my own doing solo pre war acoustic blues, Steph was doing similar on the other side of the scale, Bessie Smith and all the early female blues. We started playing together in different little groups, I was playing behind her in some jazz concerts and she had come to see my shows. Mark [sic.] saw me at a solo gig and we all decided to get everyone in a room together." ^[20]

In February 2008 John Parish [producer of PJ Harvey, Eels] was invited by a tutor at Bath Spa University to exhibit his recording skills by taking a group into the studio and letting students watch - Big Brother style. Kill It Kid were that guinea pig band. "We sat and slogged for like 12 hour days singing over and over again trying to get these songs right whilst about 20 students sat in the other room listening to us," explained KIK's vocalist Chris Turpin. "It was a bit strange - I don't know if there was tutoring going on or what." The finished product became their debut EP, which drew increasing label interest. ^[21]

Kill It Kid were signed to One Little Indian Records three months later and began touring the UK. In January 2009 they went to Seattle to record their debut album with producer Ryan Hadlock[3], (Foo Fighters, The Gossip, The Strokes) in Bear Creek studio[4].^[22] After two successful single releases, they released their self-titled debut album in October 2009, to critical acclaim. The album was subsequently nominated for XFM's New Music Award 2010.^{[23] [24][25][26] [27][28][29][30][31]}

Kill it Kid's second album, Feet Fall Heavy was produced by Leo Abrahams and recorded in Shoreditch over a period of ten days ^[32]; it features samples of Alan Lomax ^[33] field recordings. Feet Fall Heavy was to be released on September 19, 2011 but distribution was slightly delayed after rioters set fire to and destroyed a Sony warehouse in Enfield, North London (used by independent-music distributor PIAS) in which most of the existing physical copies of the album were being stored (see: 2011 England riots)^[34].

Kill it Kid have toured the UK and Ireland extensively, both as headliners and as supporting acts for the likes of Brandi Carlile, Feeder, Foy Vance and Pete and the Pirates. The band have also toured throughout Eastern Europe and Western Europe, and have gigged in the US, notably at the spring break festival South by Southwest (Austin, Texas) in 2010 and 2011.^{[35][36][37][38]}

• Chris Turpin - Guitar, Vocals
• Stephanie Ward - Piano, Vocals
• Dom Kozubik - Bass - (2011-present)
• Mark Jones - Drums, Percussion

• Richard Jones - Violin, Backing Vocals. Left band in 2011. Credits: 'Burst its Banks' EP;'Kill It Kid' album
• Adam Timmins - Bass, Banjo. Left band in 2011. Credits: 'Burst its Banks' EP; 'Kill It Kid' album; 'Feet Fall Heavy' album ^[39]

• Kill it Kid (October 2009, One Little Indian Records)
• Feet Fall Heavy (September 2011, One Little Indian Records)

• Burst Its Banks, LTD edition EP, (2008)

• Send Me An Angel Down, single, (May 2009, One Little Indian Records)
• Burst Its Banks, single, (August 2009, One Little Indian Records)
• Heaven Never Seemed So Close single (October 2009, One Little Indian Records)
• Pray On Me, single, (March 2011, One Little Indian Records)
• Wild & Wasted Waters, single, (November 2011, One Little Indian Records)

• Official Kill it Kid website (url redirected to their MySpace account...)