More Info on Kitchens Of DistinctionSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Kitchens of Distinction| image = Kitchens of Distinction.JPG| caption = Kitchens of Distinction| image_size = | background = group_or_band| origin = South London , England | genre = Alternative rock , dream pop , shoegazing | years_active = 19861996| label = One Little Indian A& M Records | associated_acts = Kitchens O.D. Fruit, Stephen Hero| past_members = Patrick Fitzgerald Julian Swales Dan Goodwin Kitchens of Distinction (sometimes shortened colloquially to KOD ) were a three-person alternative rock / dream pop band formed in Tooting , South London , England in 1986. They released four studio albums and a handful of singles and EPs before disbanding in 1996.
History
Dan Goodwin ( drum kit|drums ) met Julian Swales ( electric guitar|guitar ) at college in 1980, and Swales met Patrick Fitzgerald ( lead vocals|vocals / bass guitar ) at a party in 1985. http://www.indian.co.uk/kitchensofdistinction/ One Little Indian - KOD bio The trio began rehearsing together that same year, taking their name from a company of the same name that specialised in home decor and kitchen and plumbing fixtures, http://www.nme.com/artists/kitchens-of-distinction Kitchens of Distinction bio on NME.com after Swales spotted one of their advertisements on the side of a bus while riding his bike. The Kitchens' first Single (music)|single , "The Last Gasp Death Shuffle" (which featured Swales on lead vocals and bass, as well as guitar,Patrick states in the liner notes for Capsule: The Best of KOD 1988-94 (pg. 4, in the notes for "Prize") that he was unable to learn the bassline soon enough to record the song, and Julian sang it instead. was recorded in just one day on an Multitrack recording|eight-track in a Kennington basement, and was released in December 1987 on the band's own Gold Rush Records. It was named a single of the week in the NME ,Strong, Martin C.:"The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", 1999, Canongate, ISBN 0-86241-913-1 and led to the band signing with the British Independent music|indie label One Little Indian Records ; it was around this time that Fitzgerald, a medical doctor , put his career on hold to devote himself fully to the band. http://www.billcarney.com/kod/bio.asp The Death of Cool - Kitchens of Distinction - Biography Their first singles for One Little Indian, 1988's "Prize" and 1989's "The 3rd Time We Opened the Capsule", made it onto the " NME Writers' 100 Best Indie Singles Ever" list, published 25 July 1992.
Their first full-length album , Love Is Hell (Kitchens of Distinction album)|Love Is Hell , was released in April 1989. Fitzgerald's impassioned, wordy, often bluntly personal vocals careened over what sounded like a mass of swirling guitars, though the band only had one guitarist. Swales' chiming, effects pedal|effects -laden style of playing drew him comparisons to the guitarists of The Chameleons , Cocteau Twins , and A R Kane . KOD's melodic yet abstract sound was a precursor to the shoegazing scene of the late 1980s/early 1990s.
Despite the promising start, the band faced a subdued reception from the mainstream music industry, generally due to their lyrical content. For instance, "Margaret's Injection", on the 1989 Elephantine EP, was a fantasy about killing then- Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher . Also, Fitzgerald was openly Homosexuality|gay , and his lyrics were unapologetic, especially on tracks like "Prize" and "Within the Daze of Passion". Even the more indie-focused television programs like Snub TV and Rapido failed to give them much coverage, although Snub TV played the video for their 1991 single " Drive That Fast ". Likewise, they were not offered a John Peel radio session, although they eventually did get one after asking Peel personally, following a Glastonbury Festival|Glastonbury performance which he appreciated.
Kitchens of Distinction sometimes performed "secret" gigs under the alter ego Toilets of Destruction. http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/indiehits/k.htm Indie Hits "K" - Kitchens of Distinction An example was at The Bull & Gate in Kentish Town on 6 August 1990, where the band appeared in Drag (clothing)|drag and played ABBA , David Bowie , and Bauhaus (band)|Bauhaus covers.
In 1990, they signed with A& M Records in the US, and went into the Recording studio|studio with Record producer|producer Hugh Jones (producer)|Hugh Jones ( Simple Minds , Echo & the Bunnymen , The Undertones ). Their second album, Strange Free World , was released in February 1991, and spawned some moderately successful singles in " Drive That Fast " and "Quick as Rainbows", both of which were very well received by Campus radio|college radio in the US. The band went back into the studio in 1992, again with Jones at the helm, and their third album The Death of Cool came out in August that year; it was named in honour of the passing of Miles Davis , who had released an influential album titled The Birth of the Cool in 1950. http://www.billcarney.com/kod/interviews.asp The Death of Cool - Kitchens of Distinction - Interviews ("Protection as Purpose" section) A& M balked at the band's choice of "Breathing Fear" for the first single, due to its touchy subject matter ( gay bashing ), so "Smiling" became the album's initial single in the US. The band toured extensively, including a high-profile slot opening for their US labelmate Suzanne Vega , whose album 99.9F° came out within a few weeks of theirs.
Later in 1993, KOD began work on their fourth album, co-producing it themselves with Audio engineering|engineer Pete Bartlett . One Little Indian rejected the album twice, and eventually, both label and band agreed to bring in up-and-coming producer Pascal Gabriel to work on a couple of tracks. One of the label's complaints about the album as the band originally submitted it was that they felt it lacked a potential hit single, so Gabriel produced a new song ("Come on Now") that the band had written after the rest of the album had already been recorded; Gabriel also remix ed two of the album's other tracks (the opener "Sand on Fire" and first single "Now It's Time to Say Goodbye"). The resulting album, Cowboys and Aliens (album)|Cowboys and Aliens , was released in the UK in October 1994, and although the band admitted that they enjoyed working with Gabriel, the changes did nothing to help the album's dismal sales. When the album saw its US release in early 1995, it was largely ignored by the same alternative rock radio and media that had championed them just a few years before. By the end of 1995, both A& M and OLI had dropped the band.
Shortening their name to Kitchens O.D. and signing to the London -based indie label Fierce Panda Records , they issued a single, "Feel My Genie" in May 1996, which was named "Single of the Week" by Melody Maker , but they officially disbanded that summer after a farewell gig at Kings Cross, London|London's Kings Cross . http://www.indian.co.uk/kitchensofdistinction/ One Little Indian - KOD bio (bottom of page)
Post dissolution
Fitzgerald continued to record and release music under the name Fruit (not to be confused with the Australia n Fruit (band)|band of the same name ), a project that also featured guest vocals from Miki Berenyi of Lush (band)|Lush and Isabel Monteiro of Drugstore (band)|Drugstore . He also formed Lost Girls , a project with 4AD recording artist Heidi Berry ; one single titled "Needle's Eye" was released. Since 2000, he has been recording as Stephen Hero , and has put out several releases under that name. The latest is Apparition in the Woods , released in November 2009.
Despite rumours of a collaboration with Terry Bickers (of The House of Love and Levitation (band)|Levitation ),Citation needed|date=March 2007 Swales moved into writing scores for film, theatre, and dance.
Members
Patrick Fitzgerald (born 7 April 1964, Basel , Switzerland ) - vocals, bass guitar
Julian Swales (born 23 March 1964, Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire , United Kingdom ) - guitar, vocals (occasionally)
Daniel Goodwin (born 22 July 1964, Salamanca , Spain ) - drums, percussion
Discography
Albums
Year
Album details
Peak chart positions
UK cite web
1989
Love Is Hell
Released: April 1989
Label: One Little Indian Records|One Little Indian (TPLP9)
2 "Feel My Genie"/"To Love a Star" was released under the name Kitchens O.D.
Non-album tracks
" Martin Niemφller|Pastor Niemφller 's Lament (Never Again)" - found on Allmusic|class=album|id=r241901|pure_url=yes The Disagreement of the People , a compilation album of artists against the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (November 1995, Cooking Vinyl )
Cover songs
"The White Horses" (1994; B-side to the UK single of "Now It's Time to Say Goodbye" and the US single for the song "Cowboys and Aliens")
* Kitchens covered the Theme music|theme song from the 1960s television series The White Horses (originally performed by Jackie Lee; it was a UK top 10 hit during April 1968). Featuring a rare lead vocal by Swales, it was first included on a free cassette given away with a UK music paper before being issued as a B-side.
References
reflist
External links
http://www.billcarney.com/kod/ The Death of Cool: a KOD fansite
http://www.stephenhero.co.uk/ Stephen Hero - official website
http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php? a=kitchens_of_distinction Trouser Press entry for KOD
DEFAULTSORT:Kitchens Of Distinction Category:English rock music groups Category:English alternative rock groups Category:Shoegazing musical groups Category:Musical groups from London Category:One Little Indian Records artists Category:LGBT musicians from the United Kingdom Category:LGBT-themed musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1986 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1996
de:Kitchens of Distinction pl:Kitchens of Distinction pt:Kitchens of Distinction
