Tom Burns and Michael Mark grew up in suburban Colonia, New Jersey, where they met as drummers in their high school marching band. They quickly found their musical influences and ambitions to be the same. Sick of the regimentation and humiliated by the tall, furry hats they wore, Tom and Michael eventually ditched school band and marched toward their own goal of playing in a rock group.
The result was 1994’s “Cherubia!” b/w “Lorraine,” a well-received indie rock record that demonstrated Tom and Michael’s growth as songwriters and players, and showed off some of their influences as well: Elvis Costello, Hüsker Dü and The Pixies were all represented. Tom (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Michael (drums, vocals) named their band THE KIMBALLS, after a girl whose record collection they admired.
After nearly a decade of performing both together and separately with other artists, in early 2006, THE KIMBALLS released their break-though LP, NUMBER ONE, on Dow Boy (pronounced Dough-boy) Records. One of the album’s standout tracks, “Heavy Load”, is featured on the soundtrack of THE BLOODSHED, award-winning director Alan Rowe Kelly’s critically acclaimed horror feature.
Since the release of their follow-up EP, GREAT FACE FOR RADIO in 2007, THE KIMBALLS have performed regularly in New York City, played several explosive shows in some of the most popular rock clubs in Dublin, Ireland, have been in frequent rotation and appeared in the weekly CMJ top ten charts on such stations as WMCX 88.9 FM (Monmouth University), WNTI 91.9 FM (Centenary College), WTSR 91.3FM (The College of New Jersey), WPSC 88.7 FM (William Paterson University) and 107.7 WRRC-FM (Rider University).
In 2009, THE KIMBALLS solidified their lineup by adding veteran power pop slugger Alan Tepper on bass and vocals. THE KIMBALLS are currently in the studio working on their next full-length album, which is scheduled to be released this year (2010).
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