The Kickback “A lot of people are able to see something beautiful and ap- "We weren’t given a jet, and I won’t get a bathful of Mounpreciate it,” says Billy Yost, as he roams the halls of the
tain Dew, but the record label is taking a substantial risk.”
The Art Institute of Chicago. He’s talking about Julian Records, which signed The KickHe’s among suits and alarms warning patrons to step
back in April. After recording their debut album with
away from the artwork. And he’s not getting much out
Spoon’s Jim Eno as producer in summer 2013, the band
of the museum.
has been working toward a release ever since. That release is now scheduled for late summer.
“When I see something beautiful — and I think this is a serious character flaw — I want it,” he explains. “So
And while the inside of Yost’s brain is fun and fulfill-
many people are able to take something beautiful and let
ing to rent as an interviewer, it’s the songs he and the
it enrich their spirit. I want to find some way to make
band create that make this story worth its salt. Shrewd
it better. Which is the most arrogant thing you could
rock songs with nuclear choruses countered by quieter,
ever say, really.”
smoke-clearing sections.
But Yost isn’t arrogant. He is, let’s say, intensely self-
Behind the emotional fervency, the pop-culture refer-
aware. Leading The Kickback through nearly 10 years
ences, and the musicianship echoed by The Kickback’s
since its inception at the University of South Dakota, Yost
other three band members is the never-dying dream of
often weighs his accomplishments with doubt.
a kid from Beresford, S.D. And what’s not to appreciate about that?
Take this feather in a cap Yost has pined for since the beginning: the coveted record deal.
IMAGE BY DAVID BURLACU