Tag: Andrew Maslowsky

Looking Back — The Idiot Kids Process Past Trauma and Life Lessons on “Instants” Album

Jon-Mikal Bartee of The Idiot Kids. Photo – Kasper Ray

On Instants, Jon-Mikal Bartee didn’t plan to write from a deeply personal perspective.

Initially, the Detroit vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist wanted to take a fun and intuitive approach to writing and recording The Idiot Kids’ latest album.

“As I was working on this record, I was running with the initial ideas for the music and the riffs,” said Bartee, who fronts the punk/garage-rock band.

“I thought, ‘Just keep going. Take the demo and run with it,’ but the songwriting ended up being just as introspective and autobiographical as anything else I’ve written. I was trying to have fun with [the album], and then all of a sudden, I was writing more songs about addiction, suicide, and super heavy topics.”

What resulted is a cathartic album that explores acceptance, authenticity, and recovery. The nine tracks on Instants serve as a finite point in time for Bartee to process and heal from past trauma.

“These songs are about … what’s happening with me, or it’s me addressing old feelings, but from the perspective of [last] year. I can look back at it as a time capsule,” he said.

“It was all written here, and everything was finished in [that] year. Almost all of it was recorded in my apartment, and then it was mixed and mastered by me [there as well]. It’s an unintentional, very personal album.”

Outside of his home studio, Bartee brings the songs from Instants to life on stage with Andrew Maslowsky (drums, backing vocals), Jarrett Koral (bass, backing vocals), and Carmel Liburdi (bass, backing vocals). Together, they make up the live edition of The Idiot Kids.

“The Idiot Kids is still a band and not just a solo project,” he said. “Andrew Maslowsky has been with the band since 2017, and the other members rotate live, including Jarrett Koral, Carmel Liburdi, and other guests.”

I recently spoke with Bartee about the album and its creative process.

Continue reading “Looking Back — The Idiot Kids Process Past Trauma and Life Lessons on “Instants” Album” →

Dig Out – The Idiot Kids Mine Past Struggles and Make Room for the Future on ‘Chapels’ Album

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The Idiot Kids’ Nicholas Zambeck, Jon-Mikal Bartee and Andrew Maslowsky search for acceptance on “Chapels.” Photo – Jackleen Diana Eve

For Jon-Mikal Bartee, a new album with The Idiot Kids allows for a deep exploration of the past and a clear pathway for the future.

The lead vocalist-guitarist of the Detroit garage-punk trio mines personal experiences, thoughts and emotions related to sex, identity, addiction and trauma on Chapels. In turn, those excavations create more space for relief and renewal.

“That’s kind of what the whole album is about. Through trauma and addiction and all of that, trying to find acceptance. That’s just what it kind of turned into. It’s not like we sat down and said, ‘I want to write an album about my childhood,’” Bartee said.

“For me, listening to artists like Elliott Smith, Thom Yorke, Bob Dylan and people who talked about very personal things—sometimes in a more abstract way and sometimes a little more literally—that’s what I connected to. Just from hearing people talk about what they’re dealing with didn’t resonate in the same way as like putting it to a melody or a rhythm.”

Alongside bandmates Nicholas Zambeck (bass) and Andrew Maslowsky (drums, vocals), Bartee adopts that refreshing approach on Chapels, which features a dozen tracks filled with candid lyrics, earworm choruses and turbocharged punk-rock instrumentation.

“This is the kind of stuff, as a kid and as a teenager, I didn’t hear anyone talking about. Luckily, the world has come a long way in the last 20 years. But, at the same time, with more visibility, there’s also more hatred, so it’s kind of like this battling force back and forth,” said Bartee, who grew up in a religious family and came out as an adult.

“These are the songs I wish I had heard as a teenager or a young adult, and I was dealing with that internalized homophobia and religious trauma and whatnot. That’s why I ended up calling it Chapels because it all kind of went down to that.”

Continue reading “Dig Out – The Idiot Kids Mine Past Struggles and Make Room for the Future on ‘Chapels’ Album” →

The Soundcheck – The Idiot Kids, Dog Latin and Ally Evenson

The November edition of The Soundcheck spotlights looking inward to see how we’ve evolved over time and what the next life chapter might bring. There’s a refreshing honesty and authenticity that comes with sharing that growth and the unexpected wisdom that emerges from it—regardless of your age or experience.

The Idiot Kids, “Wilted Bloom” & “White Flags” 

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The Idiot Kids’ Nicholas Zambeck, Jon-Mikal Bartee and Andrew Maslowsky share honest reflections on their latest singles, “Wilted Bloom” and “White Flags.” Photo courtesy of The Idiot Kids

The Idiot Kids openly address overcoming addiction and missing past interactions with friends on “Wilted Bloom.”

The Detroit garage-punk trio of Jon-Mikal Bartee (vocals, guitar), Nicholas Zambeck (bass) and Andrew Maslowsky (drums, vocals) share those honest reflections on the new single from their upcoming album, Chapels, which drops Dec. 1.

“‘Wilted Bloom’ is more about that feeling of being an addict and seeing those things,” said Bartee, who’s now seven years sober. “I was driving around a few months ago, and I just saw someone smoking a cigarette with the windows down and the weather was incredible. I was like, ‘I miss it so much; I miss the meditative aspect of it.’”

Backed by fiery electric guitar, bass and drums, Bartee sings, “You’re just a weed inside my garden / Hoping that I’ll pluck you soon / You want me to feed upon your pollen / Well, I’ve got an appetite for you!”

Continue reading “The Soundcheck – The Idiot Kids, Dog Latin and Ally Evenson” →