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Good Kid is a five-member indie rock band from Toronto, Ontario. It consists of five members: lead vocalist Nick Frosst, drummer Jon Kereliuk, bassist Michael Kozakov, and guitarists David Wood and Jacob Tsafatinos. The band's mascot, known as Nomu Kid, is primarily featured in their marketing and social media. They released their first Album, titled Good Kid, in 2018. It was followed by Good Kid 2 two years later. In late 2020, the band gained popularity through the use of their music on Fortnite streams. The band has chosen not to issue DMCA strikes so that their music could be used in streams.
Good Kid | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Genres | Indie rock |
Years active | 2015–present |
Members | Nick Frosst Jon Kereliuk Michael Kozakov David Wood Jacob Tsafatinos |
History
Good Kid's first song, "Nomu", was released on October 13, 2015. It introduced the band's mascot, Nomu Kid, who was named after the song. In the following years, the band released more singles: "Atlas" on May 13, 2016, "Witches" on June 6, 2017, and "Tell Me You Know" on June 4, 2018. Their first EP, titled Good Kid, released on June 15, 2018.
In mid-2020, the band began releasing singles that would later be featured in their second EP: "Everything Everything" on July 20, "Drifting" on August 28, and "Down With the King" on October 2. Good Kid 2 was released on November 6, 2020. Its lead track, "Down With the King", was based on Donkey Kong Country; the lyrics describe the singer being stuck on the game and calling their friend for help.[1]
Following the release of Good Kid 2, Good Kid launched an alternate reality game on social media to promote a tie-in browser game called Ghost King's Revenge. The premise was that their mascot, Nomu Kid, had gone missing, and was captured by the antagonist of the game.[1] Ghost King's Revenge featured a soundtrack consisting of both original music and chiptune arrangements of every Good Kid song featured on Good Kid and Good Kid 2.
In late 2020, Good Kid experienced a surge of popularity with the Fortnite community. Fortnite streamers on sites like Twitch and YouTube would often play Good Kid music in their streams, introducing it to their viewers. This extended to high-profile players such as FaZe Clan and Bugha. The band members began participating in these streams, retweeting Fortnite montages that included their music. Fortnite players campaigned for Good Kid music to be added to the in-game radio.[1] In response, Epic Games asked Good Kid to send in two of their songs for inclusion; the band settled on "Witches", which was added that June, to positive reception by the band.[1]
In response to the controversy over DMCA claims, and the number of people including their music in streams, Good Kid said it would not issue takedowns against streamers.[1][2] According to Tsafatinos, this reaction came from the band's observation that most streamers were young people who "just wanna play the music that they like on stream", and likely did not know about the DMCA system.[1]
In 2021, Good Kid released a single called "Orbit." The early stages of the song had been composed in 2018, but since it did not fit with Good Kid's style of music, it was shelved. However, it was revisited to bring it more in line with the band's music.[1] Like "Witches", "Orbit" was also added to Fortnite's radio.[3][1]
Good Kid's next single, "No Time to Explain", was released on September 9, 2022.[4][5] The following month, "No Time to Explain" was added to Fortnite's radio.[6]
Good Kid released another single, "First Rate Town," on January 27, 2023.[7]
In 2023, they announced The Return of The Kid, their concert tour for the year.[8] The tour was for all ages and happened from May 6 to June 2. The locations were mostly in the United States of America, aside from one show occurring in Toronto.
On March 17, Good Kid released another single, "Mimi's Delivery Service".[9]
On April 14, Good Kid released their third EP, Good Kid 3.[10] It features two new songs, "Osmosis" and "Madeleine".[11]
On June 20, Portugal. The Man announced Good Kid as a special guest for their Canadian tour running from November 6 to November 18.[12]
On October 13, Good Kid released another single "Ground".[13]
On November 10, 2023, the band released yet another single titled “From The Start,” a cover of Laufey’s song of the same name.
On January 12, 2024, Good Kid released one more single titled “Bubbly.”
On February 9, 2024, Good Kid released another single titled “Break.”
Influences
Good Kid's initial work was inspired by 2000s indie rock and J-rock bands, such as The Strokes, Two Door Cinema Club, Bloc Party, and Kana-Boon.[14] In 2019, they cited their current influences as PUP, Peach Pit, and Last Dinosaurs.[14]
Members
Nick Frosst - Lead Singer, Born on January 5, 1993
- Founder of Cohere, a visual saliency prediction algorithm, focusing on benchmarking and optimization
- Undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto in 2015, Bachelor of Science with a double major in Computer Science and Cognitive Science
Jonathon Kereliuk - Drummer, Born on March 2
- Undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto in 2017, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science and Mathematics
Michael Kozakov – Bassist, Born on September 2, 1989
- Soldier in the IT department of the Israeli army from 2008 to 2011
- Undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto in 2015, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a minor in German Studies
- Son of Mikhail Kozakov
- Has a Scottish fold cat named Mel[15]
David Wood – Guitarist, Born on October 13
Jacob Tsafatinos – guitarist,[14] Born on December 2
Discography
EPs
- Good Kid (2018)
- Good Kid 2 (2020)
- Ghost King's Revenge (OST) (2020 chiptune/remix album)
- Good Kid 3 (2023)
Singles
- "Nomu" (2015)
- "Atlas" (2016)
- "Witches" (2017)[14]
- "Tell Me You Know" (2018)
- "Slingshot" (2019)[14]
- "Nomu x Animal Crossing" (2020)
- "Everything Everything" (2020)
- "Drifting" (2020)
- "Down With the King" (2020)
- "Orbit" (2021)[1]
- "No Time to Explain" (2022)
- "First Rate Town" (2023)
- "Mimi's Delivery Service" (2023)
- "Ground" (2023)[13]
- "From the Start" (2023)
- "Bubbly" (2024)
- "Break" (2024)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Taveras, Moises (October 29, 2021). "Meet Good Kid, the Programmers-Turned-Indie Rock Band Defining Twitch's Sound". Paste. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ Heidt, Dustin (6 April 2023). "Good Kid's new EP marks the end of an era and the start of an exciting new one". Variance. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ "Fortnite's Newest Jam? 'Orbit' By Good Kid – ONErpm Blog Latest". October 19, 2021.
- ^ Staff, Wonderland (September 9, 2022). "Good Kid Deliver Their Nostalgic New Single, "No Time to Explain"". Wonderland.
- ^ "Good Kid Returns With New Song "No Time to Explain"". PM Studio. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ Good Kid [@goodkidband] (October 27, 2022). "NO TIME TO EXPLAIN MADE IT INTO FORTNITE RADIO!!!!! Thanks @EpicGames and @FortniteGame for making this happen! https://t.co/T2akQ6WJ5k" (Tweet). Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Good Kid [@goodkidband] (January 27, 2023). "FIRST RATE TOWN IS OUT NOW ON ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS 🥳 Listen to it here: https://t.co/Q1Hq6zAaPa https://t.co/A73wvGY6Uo" (Tweet). Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Good Kid [@goodkidband] (February 3, 2023). "📣⚡️TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT⚡️📣 This spring we're heading to the USA and Toronto for our 3rd headlining tour: RETURN OF THE KID ⚔️ General admission and VIP tickets are available NOW at the link in our bio! All shows are for all ages! https://t.co/xmlzmNjBXL" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Good Kid [@goodkidband] (March 17, 2023). ""Mimi's Delivery Service" is OUT NOW!!! 🔧✨🐱 You can listen to our new single on any streaming platform or at the link in our bio!!! We're proud of how this one came out and we hope you love it just as much as we do! Mimi's Delivery Service is about watching someone you… https://t.co/97QiJcTr1G https://t.co/hpwKjhqv8w" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Good Kid [@goodkidband] (April 14, 2023). "Our third EP is out and we are so stoked to FINALLY share it with the world!!! 🌎 Good Kid 3 contains both our oldest and newest sound, and is the culmination of everyone's sweat, goop, and tears over the past 3 years. We are so proud of this EP and we couldn't have done it… https://t.co/QWnvyHULy2 https://t.co/g8jixZx9sC" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Good Kid [@goodkidband] (April 12, 2023). "It's been a long time coming, "Madeleine" will be officially released with our new EP "Good Kid 3" THIS FRIDAY!!! You can pre-save it now at the link in our bio! https://t.co/paAXQ9vRCd" (Tweet). Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Gregory, Allie (June 20, 2023). "Portugal. The Man Announce Canadian Tour with Good Kid". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ a b Good Kid [@goodkidband] (13 October 2023). "YEEEEEHAWWW 🤠🐎🌵 GROUND IS OUT NOW on all streaming platforms! We never thought this song would see the light of day, after all, there was a reason why we were forbidden from recording it… link in bio" (Tweet). Retrieved 2023-10-13 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c d e Arkhangorodsky, Paula (25 November 2019). "Good Kid — The Riveting Sequel We've All Been Waiting For". Medium.
- ^ "Mel the Scottish Fold". Instagram. Retrieved 2024-01-06.