Cinematic is the word most often used to describe Minneapolis based Coyote Kid (Formerly known as Marah in the Mainsail), which is comprised of Austin Durry (vocals/guitar), Cassandra Valentine (vocals/keyboard), Austin Wilder (bass/vocals), John Baumgartner (trombone) and Kian Dziak (drums). The sound is dark and mysterious at it’s core. With layers upon layers of dynamic turns, from the hopeful highs to the guttural darkness. Between Durry’s true grit voice, and Cassandra’s tender subtlety, you’ll find a vast array of narrative and stylistic possibilities. With imposing and wild jungle drums, soaring brass horns, growling bass, and shimmering spaghetti western guitars, this band has all of the tools it needs to paint an epic picture. The band creates large-scale concept albums that incorporate cinematic and narrative elements as tools to craft their tales, drawing comparisons to Murder By Death, My Chemical Romance and Gogol Bordello with a spaghetti-western, Tarantino twist. The band debuted their full-length album Thaumatrope in 2015 and has gained notoriety in the Midwest while continuing to grow their fanbase nationwide. They have since signed with Minneapolis label Last Triumph Records, releasing Thaumatrope on vinyl. The band released their sophomore album Bone Crown in 2017, bringing their unique blend of musical influences to the alternative music scene. The band has been carving their place in the music industry for years. Performing at SXSW in 2016 and 2017, and the iconic First Avenue mainroom in their home town, as well as countless venues and festivals across the country. Revitalized with an all new name and presentation, Coyote Kid is poised and ready to explode onto the world-stage with their unique genre bending sound.
Today sees the premiere of their new single and video for “Strange Days”. “Growing up my mother told stories of her schizophrenic father (my biological grandfather) – stories of sudden outbursts of unstable rage, that all culminated in a kidnapping and hostage situation, 20 years in prison, and eventually his suicide. I only met him once as a young child, but I’ve always had a lingering fear that I could have the same mental illness in me. I think that fear played a heavy role in inspiring this song. We wanted “Strange Days” to feel like a steady descent into madness. The first verse starts off with a steady jam, but with an unseen, underlying darkness, until the stability unravels into the hard-hitting chorus. The second verse returns to stability, but now with a suspicious twist, until the second chorus hits and takes off into complete mayhem, suddenly snapping down into the creeping darkness of the bridge. We incorporated lots of weird sounds into the bridge: like rustling chains; heavy, metallic breathing through the trombone; and scraping the tops of cymbals; this all around the growing instability of one guitar string slowly being bent up and down. Eventually this leads to a short-lived breath of relief, until the final chorus steps in, now fully unhinged”, says Durry. To celebrate the release of the single and video, Coyote Kid is hosting an intimate (and undoubtedly rowdy) show in their hometown of Minneapolis at Mortimer’s Bar on Saturday, September 14th. You can find information about the event HERE. You can follow Coyote Kid and stay up-to-date on all upcoming news and tour dates via the following links:
Website | Instagram | Spotify | SoundCloud | iTunes/Apple Music | YouTube | Deezer | Google Play | Bandcamp
