Why I Love Kiddo

Start with Cleveland’s rock n’ roll prom king and queen, unlikely pop underdogs Liz Wittman and Christian Doble, then mix it up with rock music aficionado Craig Ramsey and Kiddo is what you get. Who is Kiddo? Kiddo is everything you ever wanted, and nothing that you ever expected. With guitarist and vocalist Christian Doble, the good guy, bassist and vocalist Liz Wittman, the rebel, and drummer Craig Ramsey, the passion, Kiddo breaks boundaries and recalls an era in which life was golden and music was meant for kids looking to have fun. Kiddo was born of the Cleveland hard rock scene—just three kids running in opposite directions but running toward the same thing…a good party. At the time, indie pop was virtually unheard of in Cleveland. Despite their reservations, they melded their visions and broke the barrier with catchy tunes that didn’t fall asleep on the bridge. Suddenly, Kiddo was part of a movement that gave Cleveland a chance to break away from the heavy, reflective emo and rock that was flooding the city. Kiddo was new, happy, fresh and, to the surprise of everyone, they were good. Damn good.

You could call it the beautiful Kiddo mess. Nothing seems to make sense. Christian operates more in the vein of traditional pop, Liz breaks tradition and insists on making the music in her head despite what any one says and somehow, Craig keeps the heart of the band beating whenever differences and strife seem too much to overcome. Their stage looks more like a living room rock ‘n roll party than a performance venue. Lite brites, lamps, TVs, Ataris and lounge chairs hang out around the performers, almost beckoning to the audience to come up and hang out in their world for two minutes—which is the average length of a Kiddo song or a Kiddo member attention span. The tour van is littered with stickers and overflowing with amalgamated trinkets, equipment and unexpected flea market finds. You can find a little bit of anything you might be looking for in Kiddo. Made up of a little bit of something from each place they’ve been, just look at their influences. During his first game of spin the bottle Christian learned that chicks dig Poison, and he’s never forgotten it. Liz’s mix tapes start with The Sugarcubes and end with Whitney Houston and as for Craig, on a day off he’s probably beat boxing to the Fat Boys. This is how Kiddo transcends the music genres, and, like true pop should, appeals to a wide and diverse audience, from metal-heads to boy bands. Each song is a “nasty nugget”—sweet outside with the anger and frustration underneath. Ask any member of the band who carries the group and they point to the other two. Several stints at becoming a foursome all ended badly. One candidate asked to be taken back to live with his grandmother and another ate Liz’s chocolate covered pretzel. They’ve since confirmed that Kiddo would always be a trio, no more and no less—a perfectly balanced trio.

Sharing the stage with bands like Apples in Stereo, Dressy Bessy, Imperial Teen, Mates of State and Of Montreal, Kiddo began to pull their weight in the Indie Pop category. In 2004, Billboard magazine mentioned Kiddo as an upcoming band to look out for. So where has Kiddo been? You can find their music everywhere, such as
· TV shows like Joan of Arcadia and Canadian Radio Free Roscoe-a new show from the creators of the teen icon Saved by the Bell
· Pre loaded into pez mp3 dispenser showcased on MTV.com
· A new independent film Rocky Mountain Rollergirls
· American greetings cartoon Sugarsonic theme song
· Girl Scout commercials

And, after countless emails from the fans, Kiddo’s second album Okay Sweetheart is coming in a sneak peak on itunes this May. It has been a few years in the making, and was not always an easy task. A move to Detroit after unemployment and hard times, the band counted their pennies, and wondered if Okay Sweetheart would ever see the light of day. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, they put every ounce of money and life into Okay Sweetheart. These are the songs they always wanted to sing. As Liz puts it, “That’s what music lends you, the ability to say what you can’t say.” And boy do they say it, in just about 30 minutes. Recorded by Jon Chinn at Workbook Studio and mixed at John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone by Aaron Prellwitz, Okay Sweetheart has officially been blessed by technicians that nurtured the sounds of talents like Death Cab for Cutie, New Bomb Turks, Sun Kill Moon, Erase Errata, Spoon and Hot Hot Heat. If that weren’t enough to promise listeners a good ride, Okay Sweetheart was mastered by the one and only John Golden. If ever an album reflected the flavor of the band, this one is it. Every note and every word shines a little more light into the lives of each member of the trio. If you’re looking for one of those career making albums in which you can sing along to every song, this is it. Listen to Okay Sweetheart and you’ll realize what others already do. All or nothing works when you have talent like this. Kiddo is here to stay.