Kicked in the Hard Rock

Last summer, I helped organize the annual Rock Off during Peters Twp. Community Day. In a change of format, we awarded two prizes: one to the best "under-21" band, and the other for the best "over-21."

The winner in the latter category was Kicked, which bowled over the judges with the interplay between lead guitar, acoustic guitar and saxophone. The musicians showed they know how to play together and feed off each other, the sign of a tight band.

A highlight of their repertoire is the epic "Babylon," written by guitarists Chuck Dressler and Justin Thompson. The song culminates with a guitar-saxophone duet in which Chuck and sax man Jarod Wachtel match each other note-for-note.

I filmed the Rock Off version of "Babylon" on a JVC Everio recorder with built-in stereo microphones. It sort of captured the energy of the performance, but I felt I could do a lot better with more advanced equipment. So I was happy to try again on Saturday at the Hard Rock Cafe at Station Square.

Thanks to Hard Rock soundman Josh, who helped me tremendously with patching my audio from the board, I was able to capture a stellar take of "Babylon." Even though it clocks in at more than 11 minutes (I love long jams) and I realize that might stretch the limits of many a computer, I'm posting it here for your enjoyment. I'll mix video of some shorter Kicked tunes when I get a chance.

In the meantime, here's "Babylon"