Belgium’s notorious punk rock ‘n’ roll export, The Kids, return to North America this month for a string of Northern California shows anchored by a headlining appearance at DEBAUCH-a-ReNO in Reno, NV, and concluding in Sacramento as headliners for the Sacramento Trash Jubilee. These select U.S. dates mark the first bout of U.S. shows for The Kids since their 2016 Los Angeles one-off at Berserktown and the first U.S. mini-tour the band have embarked upon since reuniting in the late 1990s.
The Kids are forever tied to the mid-1970s first wave of European punk rock and the impact their 1978 issued no frills, heavy-handed debut S/T, and equally describable follow-up Naughty Kids records bestowed and influenced underground rock n’ roll heard today. So much so that frontman Ludo Mariman confirms live staples of the band’s set currently cut mostly off these records with “Bloody Belgium,” “This Is Rock n’ Roll,” “Rock Over Belgium, and “Jesus Christ Didn’t Exist” among a handful of songs across from their later catalog.
Formed in 1976 initially as The Crash amid the swelling U.K. punk movement, a trip to London the same year by Mariman to see the commotion in person and a Ramones gig gave him all the reasons to change The Crash into The Kids and go into a newfound direction, compensating the band’s then-musicianship (or lack of at the time, as Marmian recalls) with balls-to-the-wall drive.
Mariman, alongside the De Haes brothers Eddy (drums) and his little brother, Danny (bass, twelve years old!), released their eponymous debut in 1978. With new guitarist Luc van de Poel in the fold, the Naughty Kids album saw the light eight months later and catapulted the band into home country notoriety, leading to opening slots with Iggy Pop and Patti Smith and occasional touring around EEC-era Europe.
1979 – 1984 saw The Kids release Living In The 21st Century, Black Out, a live LP, and concluding with Gotcha! before splitting up due to what Mariman saw as the beginning of punk rock’s ugly commercialization around Europe, with the big record and fashion companies capitalizing on the cultural movement, consequently bringing disillusionment among the band.
A second era for The Kids began in 1996 on the heels of the proliferation of the internet age when a surge of interest in the band from younger punks reignited a spark for the classic Naughty Kids lineup to perform again; Mariman expanded below.
“Some punk fans from Paris triggered the band’s reformation, who one day stood at my door and begged me to reform The Kids and play in Paris so they could see us live and play as support. They told me the band was well-known thanks to the Internet. One of them was Cecilia Meneau (The No-Talents, Sex Crime, Wild Wild Records), who has lived in Portland, Oregon, for many years. So we decided to reform for a year and went to Paris and eventually more concerts in Belgium and around Europe. After that year, the De Haes brothers stopped playing in the band, but Luc (van de Poel) and I wanted to continue, so we found another bass player and drummer and kept playing onward.”
Since that reformation, The Kids were commissioned to compose a movie soundtrack (Dief), and a surge of interest from around the world brought the Belgium rockers regular gigging around Europe and their first runs in Asia and North America with festival appearances at Scumbash, We’re Loud, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Groezerock, SXSW, Sjock, and Brakrock. Their own record label, Ghost Records, has issued the Freedom Liberty Democracy mini-album, and a slew of record labels from around the world have reissued their back catalog to appease the global punk n’ roll collectors.
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THE KIDS US TOUR
June 17th – DEBAUCH-a-ReNO (Reno, NV) – w/The Mummies, The Troublemakers, Lo-Lite, The Okmoniks, and more. – Tickets are available here.
June 20th – Thee Stork Club (Oakland, CA) w/Lo-Lite and Slick! – Tickets are available here.
June 21st – Thee Stork Club (Oakland, CA) w/West Coast and Croissant – Tickets are available here.
June 24th – Harlow’s (Sacramento, CA) – Tickets are available here
*Sacramento Trash Jubilee – The Kids, The Troublemakers, The Control Freaks, The Snares & Trash Rock DJs.
