Kinship

Local band Kinship has a sound formed at the intersection of the '90s and now.

Made up of brothers Juan and Jose Hernandez, plus Mike Swift and Chito Diaz, the band has been honing its sound and is unleashing some new material upon Fresno ears.

Kinship is playing at Starline, 831 E. Fern Ave., with Hot Shade, The Dirty Sanchez and HipeX. Doors open at 9 p.m. Tickets cost $10, or $7 in advance.

Here's your get-to-know Kinship guide:

Give us the quick backstory of Kinship. We're a group of music fans that met each other in the right place, at the right time, in the right band. We were formed out of three bands. The other bands we've been a part of were like first girlfriends in a way -- we learned what to do and what not to do. We all have great chemistry

You've described your sound as "Interpol meets a band of Mexican Surfers in Seattle." Explain. First of all, three quarters of our band speaks Spanish. We use instruments to help us deliver a hint of surfer reverb, and we also incorporate the aggressiveness of '90s alt rock. We also love a bunch of the stuff newer bands are doing, including the use of strong baselines. We are also not afraid to stray from formulaic "verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus" song structures.

Who are your influences? Like most open-minded musicians will tell you, we have been influenced by many types of music like classical, new wave, punk, Spanish romantics, and alternative rock, a little of everything. Yet, it's amazing that as a group of individuals of varying ages, we all listen to the Smiths and New Order. Go figure.

You have some new material you debuted recently. What are you up to? We have actually been concentrating on becoming a better and tighter band, by playing with timing, dynamics, and even adding a little keyboard into our home recording tracks. We believe our newest material will definitely show the direction we're going. We can honestly say that our material has a unique sound -- we simply do not sound like any other local band, for better or worse.

What's the best thing about your live show? The best thing about our show, aside from the music, is you never know what's going to happen. We've been described as "intense" and "spontaneous." In the past we have fought amongst ourselves, been so drunk some of us couldn't play, and broke our instruments on stage, all of which adds to our musical performance. We play without a net and are not afraid to fall every once in a while.


What's one odd fact about the band that people might not know? We all used to practice in a fantastic flower shop, previously owned by our good friends Kelly and Carmen Rogers. Another thing people don't apparently know is how incredibly good-looking and available we are.

For music and more: Go to myspace.com/kinship.

Know a local musician that more people should be familiar with? Send the who and why to Mike Osegueda, mosegueda@ fresnobee.com.
- Fresno Bee