Kid Deposit Triumph: Sound barriers

Kid Deposit Triumph overcomes hurdles to conquer Vegas scene

By Brock Radke

The biggest compliment Radley Griego ever received about his band was that it sounds like I don't know what.

"We get kids coming up to us after a show to tell us they like what we sound like," he said. "They say, `I don't know what you guys are but it's good.'"

Most musicians hate categorization, and Griego, the fast-talking bass player with local band Kid Deposit Triumph, is no different. While his group could clearly be lumped into the hybrid genre of metalcore, he likes to think he and his four bandmates have something a little more distinctive to offer. And he's right.

There's plenty of throat-shedding screams, double-bass beats and winding guitar lines at a KDT show, but the barely year-old band's true success is making good on the unfulfilled promise of its peers: They play melodic, heavy music without copping to pop-punk.

"We do our best to write music to make people think," says Griego, who also contributes some back-up screams behind vocalist Mike Otto. "Kid Deposit Triumph came together as just an idea without any particular style or genre. We just take everything we have, blend it up and see what it comes out."

KDT may use the same blend--different parts of hardcore, metal, punk rock and emo--as other less interesting bands, but what comes out is compelling, urgent and clearly created by musicians unafraid to display some passion and bombast. Case in point: One of its most impressive songs, the one that closes with a hand-clapping, sing-along chorus, is called "I Don't Mean to Impose, but I Am the Ocean." It's no wonder that the young band has already cobbled together a significant following.

"Our biggest asset is our street team. We've got this group of kids that goes around [passing out] fliers for shows," Griego says. "They're all in high school and we're older, so it helps us break into that scene.

"We get a very interesting crowd. We're starting to get those metal, hardcore kids that come all in black, but we also get this random, diverse collection of kids from different scenes. It's weird."

It also helps that KDT was formed from the ashes of two promising young hardcore bands, Sorry About Tomorrow and Sad Machine. The two groups routinely played Vegas' few all-ages venues together until Sad Machine broke up. Creative differences led to a new creative output.

The new direction needed a new name. Since the band depends on Otto for lyrics, it makes sense that they borrowed one of the lead singer's ideas for a new moniker.

"Kid Deposit Triumph is a story Mike wrote in high school about overcoming obstacles," says Griego, as if it all makes perfect sense. "It's kind of an abstract idea."

The group is already on its way to conquering two giant rock obstacles, establishing a signature sound and cultivating an audience. But things are never easy for a Vegas band looking to make a dent in Sin City and beyond. Griego names the Huntridge as his favorite venue in town, but the place is closed for renovation and no one seems to know when it will open.

"It's not necessarily hard to find venues to play in, because I think we've gotten to the point where people know us," he says. "But as far as the local [all-ages] scene, there are a lot of good bands and only a few places they can play."

One of those places is turning out to be Henderson's Roadhouse Casino, which will host KDT and Hemlock this weekend. Griego says they will be playing several songs from their upcoming independent album, which is almost finished. After that, the goal is to get on the road and spread the music beyond Vegas. "We just want to get the CD out there and let the music speak for itself," he says.