Gentleman Savage

The Deli Readers' Kansas City Artists of 2012: #2 - Gentleman Savage

(Photo by Jason Comotto)

Gentleman Savage has only recently been making waves in the Kansas City music scene, but has already made an indelible impression. The second place group’s psych-pop sensibility appeals to wide audiences with its tightly composed hooks while channeling pop greats like The Beach Boys, The Zombies, and Big Star. The group, made up of Holden Simpson, Kyle Anthony, and Nick Talley, released its debut EP Open Eyes in October 2012 (see our review of the album). They are currently in the studio working on new material, which promises to be another solid release and expand its audience.
 
Note: Gentleman Savage placed third in Open Submissions poll for emerging Kansas City band.
 
Gentleman Savage will be performing at recordBar next Saturday, February 2, with The Casket Lottery and The Dead Girls.
 
 

Today I Realized from Gentleman Savage on Vimeo.

--Michelle Bacon
January 23, 2013    

Kansas City Best of 2012 Readers and Fans Poll is over! Dollar Fox wins!

Deli Readers,

The Deli Kansas City's Best of 2012 Readers and Fans' Poll for local emerging artists is over, thanks to all those who cast their vote in support of the emerging local bands and artists in our list of nominees. Congrats to Dollar Fox (pictured) for being The Deli Readers' Best Kansas City Artist of 2012.

Kudos also to Gentleman Savage and We Are Voices who placed in 2nd and 3rd position. The Reader's Poll full results are here, check out the top 10 below:

 
ARTIST
VOTES
 
1
Dollar Fox
 467
2
Gentleman Savage
451
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3
We Are Voices
329
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4
Bears and Company
189
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5
Cadillac Flambe
162
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6
Me Like Bees
160
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7
Clairaudients
141
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8
Shes A Keeper
120
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9
Dream Wolf
119
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10
Attic Wolves
86
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We'll soon publish the final overall composite chart, which will also include the point nominees accumulated from the jurors and Deli writers' votes, and will crown The Deli's Best Emerging Kansas City Artist of 2012.

Stay tuned!

The Deli's Staff

January 22, 2013    

Deli Best of KC Area 2012 for Emerging Artists - Submission Results!

We've tallied the results for the Open Submissions stage of our KC Area Year End Poll for Emerging Artists. All of the submissions were ranked by Deli Editors from other scenes, and the list of acts that have advanced to our Readers’/Fans’ Poll phase are below. We will also be releasing the list of nominees chosen by our local "scene expert" jurors very soon. 

Thanks to all of the talented artists who submitted their music to us. We hope to have a larger pool of entries next year!

Total submissions from the KC area scene: 32

Qualified to the final phase of the Best of Kansas City Poll:

1. Man Bear – 7.8 (out of 10)
2. We Are Voices – 7.5
3. Gentleman Savage – 7.5
4. Gemini Revolution – 7.3
5. The Elders – 7.3
6. Making Movies – 7.2
7. Attic Wolves – 7.2

Honorable Mentions: Hipshot Killer, The Empty Spaces, Dream Wolf, Radkey, Dollar Fox

Jurors: Dawn Reed (Deli Washington DC), Gracie Gutman (Deli SF), Paolo De Gregorio (Deli NYC).  

The Deli Staff

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January 07, 2013    

Album review: Gentleman Savage - Open Eyes (EP)

I always enjoy hearing new bands that fully understand their influences, but don’t crutch on them. True musicians don’t simply regurgitate what the greats of old have done—they nod their caps to their predecessors and then find a way to push the musical bar higher and higher. Gentleman Savage has figured that out. Its brand of bubbly, '60s-infused synth pop is a dynamic and powerful melting pot of old and new.
 
"Overlord": Two minutes and fifty-eight seconds of high-energy, guitar-driven pop. The song works itself up to a fever pitch in the middle through the playful interplay of a well-written, breakdown bridge. Followed by the closest thing to a "face-melting” guitar solo you can get in this style of music, the song ends by trailing off over the chorus. Definitely a solid opening track. I imagine it as straight off the soundtrack of the long overdue made-for-TV movie version of The Wonder Years.
 
"Open Eyes": This is my favorite song on the EP, as I am a sucker for the “chug” punk beat. It sounds like The Animals stumbling their way onto Oasis’s tour bus, only to quickly realize that they needn’t stay too long. Again, it features a great late song breakdown, with harmonized falsetto vocals leading the listener by his willing hand back into the final chorus. The vocals are a clear focus and strength of this band and they are used to greatest effect on this track.
 
"Death in the Springtime": The most “psychedelic” of the bunch, it’s also the hardest for me to put my finger on. The beginning immediately brings to mind the droning indie styles of Bat for Lashes or Feist. The stripped-down emotional choruses take me to nervously slow dancing in the high school gymnasium (well, at least how John Hughes would explain what dancing in a high school gym would sound like). But just when I accept my Simple Minds fate, Gentleman Savage once again picks up the intensity through a series of distorted strains. The effort bellows with a full head of dissonant steam until the falsetto harmony vocals once again emerge and offer a serene bridge of sunlight back down out of the clouds and all the way to the last satisfying chord.
 
The best part of this EP? It leaves you wanting more. It is a solid release worthy of many thorough listens. The music of Gentleman Savage comes out like Gemini Revolution, The Quivers, and Thee Water MoccaSins all wrapped up in one vintage psychedelic pop blanket (which, by the way, these four bands on a bill would be spectacular. Someone make that show happen. Do it. Do it now.).
 
Catch Gentleman Savage on November 9 at Czar with Molehill, The Future Kings, and Little Rosco (Facebook event here). And be sure to pick up a copy of Open Eyes, which is now available.

--Zach Hodson

Zach Hodson is a monster. He once stole a grilled cheese sandwich from a 4-year-old girl at her birthday party. He will only juggle if you pay him. I hear he punched Slimer right in his fat, green face. He knows the secrets to free energy, but refuses to release them until "Saved by the Bell: Fortysomethings" begins production.

He is also in Dolls on Fire and Drew Black & Dirty Electric, as well as contributing to various other Kansas City-based music, comedy, and art projects.

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October 15, 2012