Rod Kim
Wilmington, Delaware, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
Rod Kim is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter who continuously fronts stages with his sweet pop vocals, leaving girls swooning over his sweet and promising lyrics. - Oops! Recordings
On March 9, Rod Kim will be releasing a digital single of his upbeat, quirky pop-rock song, “Tomorrow She’s Mine.” Later in the month, this song will also become available as a playable song on the Harmonix/MTV Games video game “Rock Band” for Xbox 360. The track was produced by veteran music producer Ritchie Rubini (MTV “The Hills, Fox “So You Think You Can Dance,” MTV “True Life,” MTV “Parental Control,” Pearl Jam, Sting, Bruce Springsteen) and features guest musicians Jamie Orlando (formerly of Wind Up Records’ recording artist “The Crash Motive”) and Ian Walsh (Plus 5 Records recording artist). This is the second collaboration between Howard County native Kim and critically acclaimed producer Rubini.
Kim was born in Kokomo, graduated from Eastern Jr.-Sr. High School in 2001, and now resides on the East Coast where he is pursuing a full-time music career and is currently on a nationwide tour spanning the East and West Coasts.
Original Post: http://www.kokomoperspective.com/news/article_c871c0bc-2704-11df-8153-001cc4c03286.html - Kokomo Perspective
I love the way (Rod’s) voice soars...memorable and intriguing... - Taxi
Effortlessly beautiful and courageous. - Ben Ereht
Interesting lyrical concepts! - Indie-Music.com
Last year, singer/songwriter Rod Kim decided to pack up his keyboard, quit his day job, and embark on a yearlong tour across the country. Having previously released an independent LP, A Fortunate Consequence and a live album, Live From LaDue Auditorium, Kim's latest offering is a six song EP aptly titled Tour 2010. The EP features two brand new recordings, a song from each of his previous releases, a remix, and a Christmas song. Kim specializes in lovelorn piano pop songs ala Ben Folds. His songs read like journal entries, and though it is clear he has experienced heartbreak, he remains upbeat and hopeful. Kim's melodies are simple and catchy, and while he may be moving in a more polished, commercial direction, his lyrics continue to speak to listeners on a personal level. His Tour 2010 EP shows where he has been and where he is going as an artist and is a perfect introduction to his music. The resounding theme throughout his songs is that love, both romantic and spiritual, can change a man's life. I look forward to great things from this artist, and I hope that someday soon he gets his "happy ending."
- Review date: 4/23/10, written by Laura Love of Jesusfreakhideout.com - jesusfreakhideout.com
Discography
Live From LaDue Auditorium (2005)
A Fortunate Consequence (2008)
By Now (Radio Version) (2009)
We Wish You A Merry Christmas (2009)
Tomorrow She's Mine (2010)
Tour 2010 EP (2010)
All About You - A Singles Collection, Vol. 1 (2010)
Photos
Bio
Currently touring from the US from the Atlantic to the Pacific!
Has appeared at Popfest 2009, Popfest 2010, DBMC 2009, Spark Summer Series, World Cafe Live, Beta HiFi Music Festival and many more!
***Rod Kim's "Tomorrow She's Mine" featured on ROCK BAND for XBox 360***
“I always had a thing for rock-operas,” tells the quirky pop-rocker Rod Kim, “And I was born in a city called Kokomo and raised by a very religious Korean father and a Korean mother that learned her English in Ebonics.”
This is the norm for Rod Kim: a series of humorous twists seemingly plucked from the screenplay of a dark indie comedy. His art reflects this unconventionally “normal” life. Rod went from growing up in a small town to going on to produce hundreds of indie records spanning genres of rock, hip-hop, blues and more. Thousands of studio hours later, Rod was encouraged to tour and record the songs that he had been writing over the years. After an unprecedented live performance at the historic LaDue Auditorium near St. Louis (which was bootlegged and quickly released as “Live From LaDue Auditorium”), preparations began for the first studio project. “Live From LaDue Auditorium” showcased Rod’s earnest songwriting and heartbreaking delivery, but he wanted to spend more time in the cathartic moments with his debut studio project. Every buzz, crackle, hum, melody, vocal arrangement and harmony was carefully orchestrated to deliver the moment that inspired the tune.
Exactly three years to the date of the live performance, the new studio album, “A Fortunate Consequence,” released on March 11, 2008 to positive critical acclaim. Digital and CD sales spanned world-wide from the UK , Asia the US and more. Following a brief “listening party” tour that spanned from the Midwest to the East Coast, Rod toured the Midwest, East Coast and the UK in venues ranging from capacities of 80 to 800 as a core member of “The Commuter Tour,” a consortium of touring indie musicians.
In January 2009, Rod was selected from a national screening to perform and compete in “Beta Hi-Fi: New Songs 4 The New Year” sponsored by World Café Live, WXPN and Songwriter’s Circle of New York and was voted the winner of week two. Coverage of this event was reported by media such as NBC Philadelphia all the way to hometown newspapers and radio along his touring routes.
Rod debuted his new single, “By Now (Radio Version)”, produced by Ritchie Rubini (MTV “The Hills, Fox “So You Think You Can Dance”, MTV “True Life”, MTV “Parental Control”, Pearl Jam, Sting, Bruce Springsteen), internationally in August 2009 as a digital single and on radio at 93.7FM WSTW.
Rod Kim’s latest single, “Tomorrow She’s Mine” was also produced by Rubini and will be featured on the popular XBox 360 video game “Rock Band” by Harmonix/MTV Games as well as digital media outlets such as iTunes, Amazon.com, etc. The new upbeat tune shows more promise and optimism for Rod than ever, with all of his new experiences and opportunities on the road, how could he help it?
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