The members of Kick and the Hug lived through a different time in Boulder, CO, when the vibrant live music scene, and plentiful basement apartments, was a great place for a musician to make a living. The band is scattered across the country now, stretching all the way from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, and Denver. Such is the case these days; they collaborate via file sharing...but when it's time to get in a room and create the real thing, Boulder seems as good a place as any to congregate and create, with its proximity to nature and the creativity that flows through the city. Lead singer /guitar player Doug Murray and Sam Young (drummer, keys) played together in the early 90's Boulder stalwart the Winebottles, before Young went on to serve stints with the Samples and Devotchka. The band is also joined by multi-instrumentalist Mike Ferguson on bass, strings, and vocals. The band's sound is glued together by lead guitarist and in-house producer Tyler Skye. Skye is picking up steam as a producer and is best known for his work with indie upstarts FRND CRCL and The Idea. 
KNTH knows how to take a song from the rehearsal room to the world, and they are preparing to do just that with their debut self-release, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Kick and the Hug." The title of the album suggests an introduction, not just to the band and the music, but to what they hope becomes the LIVE experience. Murray rambles (as he often does on stage between songs), "Before we decided to self-release, we shopped the record to some contacts in the music industry. They were all encouraging about the songs but passed for lack of social numbers. We thought it was ironic that they would look to the social-media analytics of a new band, that has never played a single show, in the middle of a pandemic. This is going to be a long, slow process of building up a fan base, one by one until the rooms are full of people who want to hear our songs. We're not in a hurry. By the time the rooms are full I assume the social numbers will be in line, but by then, I don't know, by then will we really care about the music industry? We're really into this whole ‘direct relationship with the audience’ thing. What a cool time to be in a band. We used to lick stamps... now you just push a button and send everyone a little love letter announcing your show, and the world gets it in one second. God Bless.” 
Kick and the Hug is unapologetically passionate about the creative and connective parts of music—the ‘your music changed my life’ exchanges with real people, not the ‘I love your post!’ comment from a username account. 
So, without further ado... please welcome… 
Kick and the Hug