Tatt-tunes

“Saturday Girl” by THE FEDS

Failsafe -

I got an e-mail today that came pretty close to breaking my heart. Gooding, one of my favorite non-mainstream indie bands and one of the most entertaining acts to watch (EVER), will be no more. The group is playing a couple of last shows on November 24 and 25 in Wichita, Kan., their hometown. The e-mail gave no explanation as to why Gooding, Billy Driver and Jesse Reichenberger won’t be playing together anymore, and it seems sort of strange that they would break up less than half a year after the release of their latest CD, “Tiny Heart Attacks.” The e-mail, which was from band manager Keith Clingman, made one thing perfectly clear, though: this is not just a hiatus, it is a final farewell. And if that’s so, Gooding will be sorely missed by many people.

Kunek is a six-person Stillwater band with a completely unique sound that can probably best be described as ambient and ethereal progressive indie rock. The group originally began two years ago as an instrumental band with three members, but with the addition of three other members and singer Jesse Tabish’s heartfelt vocals, the music became that much more meaningful. The instrumental sound combines guitar, bass, percussion, keyboards, accordion, harmonica, cello and lapsteel at any given time. The band recently re-released a remastered version of its debut album, “Flight of the Flynns.” They have been touring extensively across the United States, and gaining tons of recognition and fans along the way. Their music is beautiful (albeit not exactly my cup of tea) and Kunek will probably be the next big band to come from Stillwater (forget those Rejects guys!!).