Interview: Black Kids

By Jon Bosworth

“With coed harmonies and snatches of R&B, Black Kids have a more classic pop sound than your typical indie-rock band — and they’re more humble,” said “Rolling Stone” (of Jacksonville’s Black Kids) in the “Artist to Watch” segment of their magazine and website in November. It wouldn’t be unusual for you to overlook a North Florida-based band, but Black Kids have recently transcended the local scene in a big way. Although the band was regular on the local scene, playing about once a month at clubs around the area, including Café 11, Jack Rabbits and frequently at downtown Jacksonville’s TSI Discotheque, they recently booked a single out-of-town show in Athens.

“Brendan, who books for TSI, he basically booked us [at the Athens Popfest] and bullied us. He said ‘You’re going!’” said Reggie Youngblood.

Reggie, the guitarist and lead vocalist for the group, and bassist Owen Holmes met up with Drift at Mossfire Grill in the historic Five Points neighborhood in Jacksonville’s Riverside, where they live. They’re joined at shows with Kevin Snow on drums, Ali Youngblood (Reggie’s sister) on synthesizer and vocals and Dawn Watley on keys and vocals.

After their performance at AthFest, they were suddenly one of the most buzzed about band in the country. Their somewhat scandalous name went from virtually unknown, by even most of North Florida, to getting write-ups in Vice, NME, Pitchfork, Village Voice and Rolling Stone.

“To an outsider it may seem like we just got lucky, and maybe there is an element of luck,” said Owen. “But we have been playing in bands for 10 years and we’ve gone on nasty-ass tours where we played for six people at some shithole and come back with less money than when we started.”

Drift: You and Kevin were both in the band Cubby. Tell me about the transition from Cubby to Black Kids.

Reggie: I guess we did Cubby for nearly three years and it changed a lot. After playing for three years and not a whole lot of people in town caring, it just got played out. So we gave that a rest. Owen was in Scotland and we were corresponding via email about starting a group, and so we talked about what it is we loved about certain groups and we just wanted to accumulate those qualities.

Drift: So when you moved back from Scotland did you start playing with Reggie then?

Owen: When I moved back, we moved in together. We decided to take our relationship to the next level. (Laughing) And yeah, we started playing straightaway.

Drift: What music do you have out right now other than the songs on MySpace?

Reggie: None whatsoever.

Owen: You can’t give us money for it.

Drift: So what’s your plan on that front, are you trying to explore the label options before you do anything, are you trying to get something out right now?

Reggie: Absolutely. We are talking to labels in the UK, that’s where most of the interest is stemming from. All of the interest, actually (laughing). We’re discussing working with some of them, but if all of them pass on us we’ll just put it out ourselves anyway.

Owen: The tentative plan is to record the full length in January or February and have it come out during the summer.

Drift: Where did you guys play at AthFest, was it a main stage or at a club?

Owen: I guess it was technically a club, but it was probably the worst possible circumstances. It was like 2 pm. (To Reggie) Were we the first band that day?

Reggie: Yeah.

Owen: It was a two-day festival, Friday and Saturday, and we were the first band on Saturday. Full daylight and everyone’s wasted from the night before, hungover at least, but some people were probably still wasted. Shit sound, no monitors.

Drift: Was it a bar?

Owen: Yeah, it was a bar with a little plywood stage.

Reggie: Great bar.

Owen: Yeah, yeah, I would hang out there every night if I lived there. It was called Little Kings.

Drift: When did you first catch wind of the repercussions of that show? Did Vice just call you up or did you read something online?

Reggie: Well one of the bands that were playing there, Tullycraft, they were at our show and they absolutely loved it and made it known to us that they really enjoyed it. They wrote about it on their website. Three Imaginary Girls were there and they wrote about it as well. Basically it seems like half the people there were bloggers so they all wrote about it and said kind things. And the online editor of Vice caught wind of it and he wrote us for an interview. From there it just escalated.

Drift: Are you in Rolling Stone right now?

Reggie: Yeah.

Owen: We were in the last issue and we’re in this issue.

Drift: Is that bizarre to you? The Times-Union doesn’t even know you exist but you’re in Rolling Stone?

Reggie: It’s surreal. I don’t have a television, but I was told we were on MTV News.

Drift: How did the invitation to College Music Journal Music Marathon in New York City come about?

Reggie: It was kind of roundabout. We got management shortly after all the hype. We hooked up with Quest Management, and they manage like Bjork and Arcade Fire, so they’re not lacking in resources. If you want to play CMJ, it wasn’t that difficult to get on a couple of showcases.

Drift: What was the whole CMJ thing like? Did you get to enjoy your buzz or were you just in the mix at that point?

Reggie: We weren’t another band in the mix. I’m not boasting, but we were the buzz band (laughing) and it was overwhelming. It was chaotic. The reviews were mixed. Our first two shows were kind of shaky and people would come in expecting the second coming, like we would change their lives or something, but, you know, we’re just a party band from Jacksonville. Alcohol is a huge part of our equation and if you’re not with the program (laughing) you’re probably not going to get as much as you can out of it. We had some good shows as well, so the reviews were mixed.

Owen: So we came back and I quit my job. This month we’ve been practicing extensively. We quit our jobs and we are doing this full time now.

Drift: How weird is it that you’re in Vice, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and all of this, but the local media is behind the curve? Do you feel like no one notices you until you get international recognition?

Owen: I think that reflects on local media, not on us.

Drift: How do you react to that, though?

Reggie: We’re not bitter or anything.

Drift: Is Jacksonville out of touch?

Reggie: I don’t wanna say that, because we’re sons of Jacksonville. It’s just that in general, we’re not a typical Jacksonville band, so we’re not expecting everyone to celebrate us (laughing). We always suspected that it would happen elsewhere, and we’re fine with that. We don’t resent Jacksonville.

To check out the party music of Black Kids, go to their MySpace page at myspace.com/blackkidsrock and download their “Wizard of Ahhs” EP for free. If you want to catch their set live, you’re in for a long drive or an even longer wait. After returning to Athens in November, they’ll embark on a tour in the UK in December. Keep up with their MySpace to see when they will be playing in North Florida again, most likely in January or February.

Black Kids - I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You

Photos courtesy of Amrit Singh / stereogum.com

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