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One of Carbondale’s most well-known non-local bands will make its way to Booby’s Saturday night.
Kentucky Nightmare, from Bloomington, Ind., will play with Carbondale natives Secondary Modern. It will be Kentucky Nightmare’s sixth trip to Carbondale, said the band’s leader singer Simon Moore.
David Brown, of Secondary Modern, said he came across Kentucky Modern online and asked them to trade off some shows.
“Bloomington is not far from here, so I asked them to play a show at Hangar 9,” Brown said. “That went really well, and people liked them.”
Moore said he enjoys Carbondale because it has a good music scene. Because the band has been in Carbondale a few times, it has some loyal fans, he said.
“The atmosphere is really enthusiastic,” Moore said. “There’s just a lot of kids that love music.”
Brown said Kentucky Nightmare could draw a bigger crowd than any other out-of-town band because of its past performances in Carbondale. He said the band could even attract as many fans as most local bands.
“They have played a show here before where they were … playing with a band they were not really too well-suited with,” Brown said. “It wasn’t a good drawing band they were traveling with, and people still came just to see them.”
Matt McGuire, of Secondary Modern, said his band fits well with Kentucky Nightmare for a live show. However, there is more pressure on both bands because a tour can be grueling, he said.
“When they’re on tour, you have to keep their spirits up and everything,” McGuire said. “Any downtime during the tour should be relaxing.”
Brown said there is more pressure, but it is less stressful when a band has been to a town, knows where to hang out and knows the people.
“It’s easier if you’re friends with them,” Brown said. “I’ve known them longer than any out-of-town bands that we play with.”
McGuire said he enjoys when bands come into town because of the variety.
“We love all these bands that are in this town, but to have someone come in and play songs you don’t hear on a monthly basis is refreshing,” McGuire said.
Kentucky Nightmare has been able to reach a wider audience thanks to its record label, Standard Recording Company, Moore said.
Kevin Phillips, co-owner of Standard Recording, said the label has been with the band for about two years and helped re-release its first album, “Take Her Favour.”
“I had been listening to their music 10 times a day and was just in love with the song writing,” Phillips said. “We sort of sent out an invitation to meet up and make friends over dinner, and the relationship seemed to click.”
Brown said the record label is relatively small, but has had a good amount of success, most notably by originally signing the popular band Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s.
Moore said he had unrealistically high expectations when he signed, but he has enjoyed his time with Standard Recording, and his band is doing well in a tough music industry.
Phillips said he has a great relationship with Kentucky Nightmare and loves the energy the band uses in its music.
“Simon and crew write some beautiful and thoughtful songs,” Phillips said. “With them, the original lineup had this certain charisma that was infectious.”
Travis Bean can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275
