[Cover photo credit to Maria Carbonell]
Kurt Baker of the Kurt Baker Combo, The Leftovers, and more, has released a new single “Yeah? Yeah!” along with a new cover of “Keep It Tight”, the Power Pop track from Single Bullet Theory, via Little Steven Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records.
Baker’s latest LP, After Party, arrived in late summer and since then, Baker has been releasing a series of singles with Wicked Cool, some of which are “obscure tracks” from his back catalog.
Since late summer Baker has worked with Little Steven Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Record to digitally release obscure and unreleased tracks from his back catalog, and that’s included releasing a 7-inch single of “Keep It Tight”. In other related news, Baker is getting his old band back together to tour, having been separated by the pandemic for some time.
Baker’s cover of “Keep It Tight” was selected by Van Zandt as the “Coolest Song in the World” on The Underground Garage and though the vinyl has already sold out, there may be some copies available at upcoming shows. “Keep It Tight” has also received a European-set video directed and produced by Thibault Bouznad-Villena in Toulouse, France.
Baker comments on the video:
“Toulouse is a wonderful French city, and it’s a place that I now have many family and friends. During this past summer, I spent many wonderful afternoons walking around the centre-ville and enjoying the sun and the Garonne river, so we decided to film a fun and energetic clip to match the song “Keep It Tight”. It’s a video that celebrates being out and about, singing, jumping… breathing! I think we are lucky to all be here and it’s important to enjoy each day to the max… I try to keep my music upbeat and positive so this clip definitely matches that vibe. Many thanks to Thibault Bouznad-Villena for producing and directing the clip!”
Baker discovered the song “Keep It Tight” when he bought an LP by a band he’d never heard of, Single Bullet Theory, in a used record store for a dollar. He says that listening to that record, “changed my music journey forever”.
He tells the story:
“This too was the kind of music I strived or even was destined to make. As this was years ago, I had to find a friend at a studio that could dub down the vinyl to a CD-R. I had to have this Single Bullet Theory with me at all times for listening. It was that exact CD-R that I popped in the car player when I first went to pick up my best buddy and songwriting partner Wyatt at the airport on his first trip to Maine on a trip that we would write many songs and spend many good days hangin’ and partyin’. He was also blown away by the sounds of Single Bullet Theory, and especially the song “Keep It Tight”. Needless to say, it’s been an inspiration to us for many years and many albums, but especially on our last full-length album “After Party”.
You can catch Kurt Baker on tour with the Kurt Baker Band in December:
Dec 2nd NYC @ TvEye w/ The Wanders, The Foxsisters
Dec 3rd BOSTON @ Jungle w/ Fatal Flaw, Dutch Tulips
Dec 4th PROVIDENCE @ Askew w/ Fatal Flaw, Hope Anchor
