Kid Koala March 30, 2007

Friday March 30 at Drunken Unicorn
doors open at 9pm
admission $10
all ages

"I was never able to sing, I was never able to write songs. But I always got a kick out of piecing together stories with bits of records."

Eric San aka Kid Koala is a one-of-a-kind sort of turntablist. Theres the fact that hes an illustrator, graphic artist, film maker, puppet master and musician. Theres the fact that he always wear shorts. Then theres the fact that he sees his chosen means of expression not as a way of showing that he can do faster crabs than anyone else, but as a way of telling stories.

And here he is, with another story, a semi-autobiographical one, obviously, as its undoubtedly true that if your mom had a favourite DJ, it would be Kid Koala. And if you want to take that as a snap, well then be our guest. This fresh-faced Kanadian Kasanova can play it however you like. Maam.

Although there is the romance, silent movie comedy and swing that your mother may well smile at and even shake her booty to, the enthralling deftness and complexity youd expect from Kid Koala is also here - woven together with classic hip hop beats, breaks and generous swathes of heavy guitars.

It looks back to the seminal Scratchcratchratchatch cassette of a decade ago and the Kids first full release, Scratch Happy Land (as well as referencing his multimedia project Nufonia Must Fall). But it also, in ways we wont even explain yet, hints at the many projects Mr San has to come. There are references throughout to a book about a clarinet-playing mosquito that Eric is currently working on, plus to the musical puppet show he has in development (honest). And there are also some tests from a new group called Slew.

But dont worry too much about second-guessing stuff that will become clear later. Instead focus on the small but perfectly formed delights of Your Moms Favorite DJ. Try to follow the stories, headnod to the beats (Eric has always liked his beats), develop your own Charlie Chaplin routines, snigger at the vocal samples, marvel at the dextrousness of the vinyl manipulation, but most of all, enjoy the complete ease and class with which the whole thing is put together.

Official Website: http://www.tightbros.net