 The Buchtelite, University of Akron October 9, 1997 Live Review Full Blown Kirk Goes Where No Band has Gone Before Full Blown Kirk headlined WENZ and Scene magazine's Friday Night Out at Peabody's Downunder with Porn Flakes and Helen Suez last Friday in the Flats. After an incredible show, I had an opportunity to chat with members about the band, their music, origins, and future. Hailing from the Kent area, Full Blown Kirk consists of vocalists Krista Tortora and Alison Scola, guitarist Jack Randall, Joe Minadeo on keyboards and bass, and drummer Dave Braun. While no one would officially comment on the name, the accepted story of the evening involved William Shatner in the captain's chair of the Enterprise with a pair of pointy ears sticking out from his lap. "I'd really hate to get sued by whichever movie studio represents them." quipped an anonymous member. Full Blown Kirk formed over a year ago when Minadeo, who was working at a gas station with Scola, mentioned he was trying to put a band together and was looking for a singer. "I told him that I could sing," Scola explained. "And we got together and jammed. It clicked immediately." Tortora and Randall were added through association with a mutual friend and Braun joined recently after returning to Kent from Arizona. "Everything gelled musically about a year ago," says Scola. Having had their second debut in June, the band is still just getting started. Mainly playing area venues in the Kent-Akron-Cleveland area, Full Blown Kirk was recently accepted to the Philadelphia Music Conference. While this is a chance to get their name out, in the music industry, FBK claims that it would be nice to be signed to a label, but it's not really a priority. "We're not doing this for the hype or to get recognition. We're just doing this because we love it," Scola added. There is no set creative hierarchy within the band. Everyone contributes at every level of the creative process. Braun, who also paints, sees music as a form of complete self-expression, "It's the only thing I do that when I am doing it, it is 100% me." Tortora, a college music major, has always connected with music. "It has been a constant throughout my life," she says. Minadeo found his niche with music when he realized he could do it well and get attention for it. Randall sees music visually and says that it is just another extension of visual art for him. For Scola music has touched her very deeply at different times in her life and certain events are linked to certain songs for her, and she wants to make music that effects effects others in the same way. Hoping to have a new double-tape album out by November, Full Blown Kirk has been spending a lot of time recently in the studio writing, recording and mixing. As for the live performance, they are one of the few fledging, local bands that I've seen that actually put on a stage show. They don't just play, they perform. "There's no point in playing a live show if there isn't a show," explains Scola. Scola and Tortora show up in full costume and don't stop moving from the time the music starts until they leave the stage. Employing whatever lighting the venue provides, as well as their own strobes and a few other props, FBK combines their live show and music into an experience that is much greater then the sum of its parts. -- Tony Rett |
