Kinetix Electrifies Area Stages

When Kinetix pulled its members together almost four years ago, they knew they had an scintillating sound. Their eclectic mix of rock, jazz, hip-hop, and pop soon won over fans and venue owners. They have been playing major clubs such as Martyr’s in Chicago, The Lions Den and the Knitting Factory in New York City, and Boston’s Mideast and the House of Blues. This year they’ll return to the 10,000 Lakes Festival in July. Before that happens, area music fans will be treated to two nights of their rock blend at Rascals and the Crosstown Lounge next week.

All five band members were drawn to the Denver University’s Lamont School of Music, to study jazz. Adam Lufkin (acoustic guitar, vocals) came from Massachusetts. Two of the other guys came from Columbia, Mo., one came from Chicago, and one was a local Denver resident. For fun, the guys started playing rock and funk, and realized that they really gelled together. A year later, they were on the road.

Doing their own booking and publicity, it was surprising they landed such premium gigs. “I did the booking myself,” says Lufkin. “I was pretty relentless. Like with the Fox Theater, it took us about a year and a half to two years to get into that place. I was calling them probably at least once a month, sometimes two or three times a month, leaving messages, never getting a call back. Along with that, I was sending them emails. Finally, I got someone on the phone and got them to check the stuff out. Shortly after that, we got a gig.”

Their persistence paid off, and they now have become Denver favorites. Their philosophy has been simple. “Hit the road, and hit it hard,” says Lufkin. “Get out there and spread the name and hopefully go for a record deal in a couple of years.”
One of their savvy marketing strategies was to press a live disc for the 10,000 Lakes Festival. “We made 5,000 of them,“Lufkin says. “We handed out about 3,000 of them at the festival to spread the music.”

They have two studio albums. Their first was released in 2005, and their most recent, “Talking to Faces,” was released last year. In the beginning, Lufkin and Eric Blumenfeld, the keyboard player who also sings, wrote all of the songs.
“Now, when we have a song, it’s much more open to change, so the composition flow becomes that of the whole band and not of one person,” says Lufkin.

On ‘Talking to Faces,’ there are a lot more flavors in the textures of the songs. “All of a sudden there’s a different song that sounds like it was inspired by Josh Fariman. the bass player. He’s got a lot of ideas, too,” Lufkin explains.

“The lead guitarist Jordan Linit writes music, too. He’s got a really good vocabulary. He can write all across the charts. He can write slow jazz ballads or up-tempo funky that sounds like Soul Live. So there’s a lot on our palette that we could be using.”

Jack Gargan, drums, adds his strokes to the final band arrangement. “It’s just a matter of getting it all together and making it as unique a sound, as well as we can,” Lufkin adds.

Though their albums are finely crafted instrumentally and cleanly produced, it is Kinetix’s live shows that have engendered loyal fans. Their energy, wild bouncing on stage, and song hooks that produce instant audience sing-alongs, and keep packing venues wherever Kinetix plays. They are equally at home producing a classic Allman Brothers tune or tweaking their own unique sound.

If You Go

WHAT: Kinetix
WHERE: Moorhead: May 7, Rascals Bar;
Grand Forks: May 8, Crosstown Lounge
INFO: (218) 287-1846, (701) 757-0162