Kid Detective to unveil new direction on EP

January 12, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Less than a year ago, local act Kid Detective — Kalin Sankey (vocals), Jason Nutt (guitar, vocals), Tyler Barnes (guitar), Jimmy Niemczura (bass) and Christopher McClelland (percussion/drums) — changed musical genres from pop-punk to a progressive-hard-core sound.

“What happened was we got a lot of heat for playing that style of music,” said Cortland native Nutt, a 2003 Lakeview High School graduate. “We didn’t like playing that style of pop-punk. I write the songs, so I decided to write melodies and guitar parts for something I like. I guess it’s better songwriting, because it’s not cookie cutter. It’s like a story. Everything goes somewhere. You feel ups and downs, and that’s what tugs at your heart more than just verse-chorus-verse stuff you hear on the radio.”

Tugging at your heart is what Kid Detective has planned for its new EP, which is due out in the spring. The band’s favorite tracks are the dynamic “From Headache To Heartache” and the bluesy “The Things That Go Through My Head.”

Granted, you can’t judge a song by its title, but those two may take the cake for the most emo-sounding names ever.

“There’s a lot of singing, but it’s not like screamo either,” Nutt said. “I’d say progressive rock. It is kind of proggy. I’m not sure I’d call it emo, but that’s fine. Some parts of ‘From Headache To Heartache’ are quiet and melodic, while other parts are really loud and angry. It builds up to that. It’s not just a loud screaming noise in your face all of the time. And ‘The Things That Go Through My Head,’ that song doesn’t have any screaming. It’s a lot more bluesy and has Southern-rock guitar parts. It’s our singer Kalin’s way of saying [expletive] off to all of his past relationships.”

In addition to its original tracks, the quintet often plays around with an oddball cover of Patrick Swayze’s ’80s hit “She’s Like the Wind.” The band’s next Youngstown gig is Saturday at The Lemon Grove.

As far as the future is concerned, Nutt said the act is desperately attempting to book gigs out of town. The hope is over the next few months they’ll travel around Ohio’s perimeter or even venture into Michigan and New York for shows.

“With Youngstown, it’s not that it’s a good place or bad place,” Nutt said. “It’s a place that easily lets you get caught up in the moment that Youngstown will be the only place for you. There are a lot of people playing in the area who have no intentions of going anywhere else. What you have to know is if you want to make anything of yourself as a band, you have to leave the area. A lot of bands think they can keep playing in the area over and over again.”

He added, “I’m not sure about the long-term goals of our band. I just know for now it’s really fun to play.”