Kid
Goat
is a real American Rock and Roll band based in the very unreal American
environment of Washington, DC. With beautifully penned songs that
bring to mind the likes of Steve Earle and John Hiatt, it would be easy to
simply call Kid Goat an Alt-Country band, but the melding of the backgrounds
and styles of its members create a sound that can only be described as
straight forward rock and roll.
Singer/Songwriter Matt Aquiline was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, where Rock and Roll is a religion and Bruce Springsteen is its Messiah. In his youth, Aquiline worshiped at the altar of Springsteen, Neil Young and the great rock and roll bands of his hometown. From inception, Kid Goat’s mission was to bring the grooves of the E Street Band and the aggression of Crazy Horse to Aquiline’s songs. Drummer, Dan Barry, and bass player, Jerry Del Rosso, stepped in to take care of those grooves and Brett Guizzetti was happy to bring some aggression on guitar.
Barry, who also mans the kit for Cowlick Lucy, may be best known as the co-founder, with wife Maria, of the deej house concert series, a favorite venue for some of DC’s best musicians and touring acts alike because of their special attention to, of all things, the performers and the music.
Brett Guizzetti sings pretty in the band and is a really cool guy, but make no mistake, his guitar playing can be lethal. And don't be fooled by his unassuming manner, Brett has achieved cult local guitar hero status while playing in bands "of varying quality" in the area for nearly two decades, most recently Los Hermanos Rodriguez. He was also the driving force (cough) behind early aughts surf rock combo Colonel Klink.
Jerry Del Rosso is another well-traveled DC rock and roll veteran, as evidenced by his current contributions to three local bands; The Burning Hearts, the dullards and the venerable Kid Goat. If this writer knew anything about jazz, he would also comment on Jerry's contributions to the local jazz scene, which exist. Sadly, this writer knows nothing about jazz, and Jerry surely rocks in Kid Goat.
Belen Pifel adds the polish with her stunning and honest delivery of Aquiline’s lyrics, making the words and stories sound like her own, and her addition to the three part harmonies with Aquiline and Guizzetti. Her ability to become the character of the song is clearly a result of her years of theatre experience before she brought her talents to the rock and roll stage.
Kid Goat's music takes you on a journey through blues, country and rock-n-roll to a place that is pure Americana, complete with brutal honesty, familiar stories and social conscience. Whether it is the tension of edgy rock and roll, the longing and sadness of a country number or the humor in just a damn clever tune, Kid Goat is songs that feel like home played by musicians who feel at home.