Toy Bombs

[Toy Bombs], which has appeared at SXSW and was chosen by Billboard in 2008 as the No. 1 indie band in the western U.S., has been compared to the Cold War Kids. The band's infectious, hook-laden licks had the people at Life bouncing in front of the stage. - Variety Magazine

I had the pleasure last night of attending an art show at the office of our friends at E.B. Lane (check out their art show details here on the E.B. Lane blog). The food from Jennifer’s Catering that was delectable and a super sweet waitress even brought our videographer and me a little vegetarian tray because we’re both veggies. Sidebar: shrimp and grits minus shrimp is still delicious! There was a dessert room full of chocolate and teeny whoopie pies and lemon pies; mojito, wine and Four Peaks brewski bars and TONS of cool art on all the walls. Awesome office full of interesting people. Great turnout! Still jealous of the lucky guests who walked away with the grand prize Vegas Vacay at the Tropicana.

But I’ve left out my favorite part…


Melanie McBride (E.B. Lane’s VP and Director of PR) happens to have a hot little son in an LA-based indie rock band called Toy Bombs, who performed. We loved them! Picture hipsters in black suits with pink shirts and white shoes, smacking themselves around with maracas. In a good way. Check them out here. We bought their E.P. and have been listening to it all day.
- Arizona Foothill Magazine

video of performance - Huffington Post

video of performance - Huffington Post

Living in Athens, we’re used to bands coming to us — moving here to hone their craft or touring incessantly to our storied clubs.
So it’s easy to forget that for many bands, even in cities larger than Athens, a hometown scene can feel stifling.
That’s why Toy Bombs, originally from Salt Lake City chose to hightail it to Los Angeles.
“It was like a big fish type thing,” said Brandon McBride, one-half of the band’s core membership. For three years in a row, the Toy Bombs, in their older incarnation, Kid Theodore, consistently ranked first, second or third best band in the state, according to Salt Lake City’s alt weekly. The Mormon state loved their mix of indie pop and danceable punk, a sound that’s been steadily growing artier (think TV on the Radio) and garagier (think TV on the Radio).
But the move to California brought caused shifts in the band’s lineup, which ended up benefiting McBride and Toy Bombs’ main songwriter, Cole Barnson.
“When our last band broke up, two of the guys quit the band two weeks before a national tour,” he said. They hobbled through the tour with the soon-to-depart rhythm section, and when they returned home to Los Angeles and started writing new material, figuring they needed to find a new bass player and drummer. But they realized with all the talented musicians in Los Angeles, they might not need permanent backing.
At this point, they’ve settled, basically, on a fixed drummer and bassist. But it’s hard to tell who is propelling the song beat-wise, as the Toy Bombs rhythm section still wears animal masks and goes by the names Sasha the Cat and Rocko the Bear.
Toy Bombs also eschews the typical music business format, opting instead to release its music themselves, produce itself and manage itself. And despite the workload of both art and business, McBride and Barnson manage to stay sane.
“We have a good balance,” McBride said. If he or Barnson gets fatigued keeping both sides of the business afloat, the other picks up the slack. It’s not impossible, he said, to be both creative and enterprising. “If you want to be successful, you have to work hard.”
And the members of Toy Bombs don’t think that success and independence are mutually exclusive.
“We don’t want to do the label thing unless they can put us a full step ahead of where we are now,” McBride said. “When we are on the road, we are playing with Sub Pop bands who are booked by the biggest agencies in the country. We are playing the same show, but they are in debt to their record label. For us, we’re doing all right on our own.”
— André Gallant, Staff - Athens Online; Athen Banner-Herald

?The Toy Bombs - The Thirsty Nickel
You know those hungover early SX afternoons, when you'd rather kill yourself than go into some loud, cornball 6th Street bar? This time I ignored that impulse, a rockabilly-mod looking foursome having sucked me off the street into a place called The Thirsty Nickel. Their trick? Sheer playing-their-asses-off-for-a-record-deal energy. Turns out they were Los Angeles garage rock outfit Toy Bombs, in the midst of 15 minutes of pure bouncing off the walls inspiration, before a crowd smaller than the Rolling Stones' craft service squad. It was incredibly melodic in an acoustically-challenged room, and the players emerged fully soaked in sweat, imploring the small crowd to come see their next show, though they had no idea where it was. It was the performance of their lives. Or, even more likely, they play like that every time. -- Ben Westhoff - OC Weekly

Earlier this month, we at KEXP received an email informing us that “one of the biggest bands in Utah” (I know, right) “is heading to Seattle on Aug 30.” Needless to say, we were impressed. No, actually we forgot about it, until, sure enough, on August 30, there was a band at our doorstep… literally.

Salt Lake City band Kid Theodore, who gained some music blog buzz last year with their debut “goodnight… goodnight,” set up shop on the sidewalk outside of the station and performed for passersby and KEXP-folk on their way to lunch. The band, who seemed to play songs mostly from their new album, didn’t seem to care that they’d garner much more attention somewhere else, where there was a bit more traffic — say, Pike Place Market — and let it all rip, kicking the air, dipping the standup, and even climbing the walls.

Though the band describes their own sound as “very eclectic, energetic… similar to The Doors, The Kinks, & Spoon,” you might find yourself comparing them favorably to Cold War Kids. Major props to these guys for taking a chance.

If you’d like to check them out, they’ll be at the Comet Tavern tonight. Otherwise, check their MySpace page for where they’ll be next. Spokane, they’re coming for you!

- Jim Beckmann

Every time Kid T. comes to town it's a rompin' party.

Kid Theodore plays an unexpectedly dexterous blend of jazz-tinged, Latin-groovin', '50s swingin', shake-what-yo-mama-gave-ya rock.

The fellas in the band rotate around on nearly everything except drums and almost everyone sings. Every member brings a different dynamic to the live show so it's like watching three mini-bands that breakdown and recombine to form a megaband.

Kid Theodore is made up of drummer Chad Vigil; keyboardist, percussionist and vocalist Austin McBride; guitarist, bassist, percussionist and vocalist Cole Barnson; keyboardist and percussionist Matt Barton; bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, percussionist, trumpeter and vocalist Ryan Darton; and the band's true multi-instrumentalist and latest addition to Kid Theodore, Brandon McBride, who plays out-there sounds on hand percussion, keys, guitar, glockenspiel and more.

Kid T. always gets the crowd hand-clapping, toe-tapping and dancing to the beat, sometimes going as far as throwing rhythm toys into the audience.

The band's new album, "Hello Rainey," is full of numbers that promise to get you out of your seat.

Tonight Kid T. is heading a three-pronged beast of a bill. Seattle post-dub-electronica trio Library Science brings down-tempo laptop dopeness to set things off. Then former local ethereal rock band For Years Blue comes through for a show between playing Pig Out in the Park and Bumbershoot.

This is the stand-out show during a month of mouth-watering morsels at the winery presented by Platform Booking.
- Isamu Jordan

Bands with more than five members always run the risk of sounding bloated and self-indulgent, adding extraneous instruments just because they can. So it’s refreshing when a sextet like Kid Theodore creates one of the most cohesive and organic local albums in recent memory. Whether adding cabaret-style piano and Latin percussion to some ’50s-era, jazz-inspired pop, or giving a hellishly-fun choir to the song “Fashion-Able,” Hello Rainey never lets us forget that all six musicians are crucial and important to its sound. Seedy undertones on tracks like “Tomorrows Guide to Healthy Living,” and “Greetings from the Grave” are so sly that they make the use of any glockenspiel forgivable. (KidTheodore.com) - Salt Lake City Weekly