The Classic Kids

The Classic Kids Bring Retro Sound to Latest Release

by Jacquari Harris
| December 14, 2015 6:31 pm CST

Being a classic means that you’re timeless with quality and style. You won’t expire anytime soon and in fact, you still have a lot to say. And that’s how I like to describe the retro-pop band The Classic Kids. They’re a young band that includes Eric James (bass/vocals), Matty Boy (guitar/vocals), Max Dean (guitar) and Mikey G (drums).

The guys recently released their first single “Just Begun,” that is a pop-rock jam with a feel-good vibe. The band’s sound is similar to All American Rejects, but with their own unique stamp on fashion, vocals and instrumentation.

Eric recently spoke with me about their new single and music video.

JMG: You guys have been together since 2013, but how did you meet?
Eric James: Well, me, Matt and Max were in a previous band, and through mutual friends we met our drummer Mike. He had a lot of passion for music, so he came to fit in really well. We trust our gut instinct. It’s been great ever since.

Why did you decide to name yourselves The Classic Kids?
We were in development at the time. We had created about fives songs and we knew pretty much the vibe that we’re going for with this project. We have a lot of retro influences with the music, so we kind of wanted to have a name that really did that. We felt that name really suited us well.

Your debut single, “Just Begun” is out now. What was it about this song that made you want to put it out first?
We just really loved the upbeat sound and the whole vibe of the song. We knew pretty much from the get-go that we wanted to have this as our release single right out of the gate. Like I said, we were in development and we did some songs after, but we kept having a feeling that there’s something special about this song so we decided to go with that one for the release.

The video for “Just Begun” featured musician Afika NX. He was one of the main attractions as he was walking through the city listing to music. What’s the concept of the video?
Basically we reached out to our director Steve, he was actually a huge force behind the idea. He pitched the idea to a band before. He talked to us about it, we retooled it a bit. Afika loved the idea. He actually works for our producer and he was more than willing to do it. He did a great job. He was a natural behind the camera. I think he really made the video come to life.

After watching the video and seeing the four of you, you guys do have a unique style that ties in with the name of the group. How would you describe your style?
We like Halston and that sort of thing. We like to dress really well. It’s a retro style, with a little bit of everything. We definitely like to have our appearance match our sound.

Who are some bands that have inspired you to become the group that you are now?
So many, even with bands that aren’t even like what we do. But they influenced us to get out there and put some passion behind the vision for what we want. Some bands that have always inspired me are The Doors, the Eagles, and then maybe more recent like Nirvana. It’s just bands that put on something unique and really inspire us to do the same.
And those are some really great footsteps to follow.

Will you guys be going on tour anytime soon?
We definitely intend on touring. We currently don’t have a tour in the works, but we do believe it will be happening in the future very soon.