Dan's Papers - June 29, 2007 - preview: kin at the stephen talkhouse

The talented two-brothers-and-a-drummer band, The Kin, are set to play Amagansett's Stephen Talkhouse for a third time on July 6.

The brothers are a promising and critically respected band with a loyal fan base and successful tours, playing at such venues as the Bowery Ballroom and the Knitting Factory in New York City. But growing up in Adelaide, southern Australia, Isaac and Thorry Koren, were just two boys with a love for music. Their parents reciprocated and encouraged their musical passion and the boys grew up to the sounds of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.

"Our father would wake us up at 9 a.m. on every Saturday morning by blasting Pink Floyds 'Dark Side of the Moon.' And at 13, Nirvana changed my life," Isaac said.

Six years ago the brothers moved to New York City, where their musical careers took off. They played the bar circuit, quickly developing an intimate sound. The boys wrote all of their own music and played multiple instruments, with Thorry usually on the guitar and string instruments and Isaac usually on the keyboard and piano. They took on the roles of dual lead singers, as well. Early in their career, they had additional band members on the drums, keyboard and bass, with whom they recorded several albums.

But after playing acoustic shows without any other band members, the boys began to realize that their greatest musical ability might just be shared between the two of them. "Our 2006 tour took us in a different direction," Isaac said.

But the boys decided they still needed a drummer. It didn't take them very long to find one - they met "Shake-a-leg" when they were waiting for the subway in New York City and he impressed them with his stick-free skills. Shake-a-leg, once an independent drummer playing the subway circuit with only his hands and feet, ultimately recorded and plays with the brothers as part of The Kin (still without drumsticks).

The brothers then decided to experiment with recording without a band to find their new sound. The experiment took place in a rented farmhouse in Buck's County, Pennsylvania with rented instruments including old pianos, banjos and other exotic string instruments. Every sound on the album was made with organic instruments and, with a little help from Pro Tools, the boys had found and recorded their new sound.

That sound can be found on their upcoming album Rise and Fall, slated for a September 11th, 2007, release. Isaac says some of his favorite tracks on the album were "purely accidental, at 3 a.m., after some wine, we didn't even know we were recording."

The Kin has been voraciously touring the Northeast recently, playing everywhere from the University of Maryland to Newbury Street in Boston to a free show in the Ralph Lauren Rugby store in Greenwich Village.

The brothers love summers in the Hamptons and have had great experiences at the Stephen Talkhouse.

"We love Sag Harbor and Montauk. Sometimes we feel bad for the locals, because they get inundated over the summer, but it's handled pretty well," Isaac said. Thorry and Isaac have also spent weekends camping in Southampton and eating scones from Espresso.

Spending so much time with a sibling has driven many other bands crazy, but Isaac says they have no Oasis complexes.

"We actually love to argue, we get really into it, but we always let it go. We have never resorted to fists, although we've probably come pretty close."

That relationship translates onstage where they boys' voices compete, creating a beautiful and bombastic sound. The brothers are passionate about their music, and are two of the most genuine guys in music. They look forward to returning to the Hamptons and say audiences at the Talkhouse can expect a more personal and powerful experience.