ist mk II:
Kenton Hall: guitars, keyboards, vocals
John McCourt: bass
Flash: drums, percussion

In February 2000, at the ripe old age of 23, I left my wife, my friends and an unhappy former life surrounded by irate and psychopathic Jehovah's Witnesses and set about becoming what I had always imagined myself to be - a songwriter in the mould of Elvis Costello. I was ill-prepared for the sea change of the real world and despite the support of my new girlfriend I managed to have a startlingly complete nervous breakdown - peaking with a naked bout of breaking and entering near York. During the same period, our soon-to-be bass player Mark 'Detroit' Robbins had been playing in a number of bands that disappointed his highly-developed sense of what prevented him from vomiting, drummer Flash had take some time off from years of gigging and nearly succeeding with various outfits to own Porsches and be bald and lead guitarist/vocalist Jack Bomb After a mental wobble of his very own, he was back in the UK, recovering from a year in Australia with a young, mentally unstable woman with more dead grandmothers than most people have hot dinners.

A year later, Detroit and I met - he was self-loathingly on the verge of joining a U2 tribute band for the cash - and formed a duo (acoustic guitar and bass) - performing songs I had written - in acoustic clubs around Derbyshire where we both lived. I had recorded a five-track demo the previous year - intended for release by independent label, Pink Box Records, on 12" vinyl - but the musicians I intended to use as a band never clicked, nor made themselves simultaneously available for rehearsals more than once a millennium and my mental state left me unable to concentrate for long periods of time. The demo was still going to be released, however, entitled 'The Adult Tree' and performed by 'ist' - a name chosen due to the freedom it leant me to think up high-minded explanations for it (We eventually settled on 'lack of prejudice' as its official meaning) - and the decision was made between myself, Detroit and Pink Box's Chris Garland to put a touring band together. It didn't quite work out that way. One night in The Musician, an acoustic club in our eventual home of Leicester, led Detroit and myself to Jack Bomb, performing his own songs (notably 'Dragonfly') in wayward, yet intriguing style on the same open-mic bill as ourselves. My performance of 'Moment of Release' equally impressed the Bomb, and we exchanged numbers. The following week, an advertisement in the toilets of the same club led the three of us to Flash, who arrived 20 minutes later to discuss rehearsals and drink lager in his own inimitable fashion.

The first rehearsals very nearly never happened. The original Adult Tree demo was ramshackle to say the least, offending Flash and Jack's sense of musicality, though they took a leap of faith on one) the strength of the songs and two) the fact that they had nothing better to do that day. Within two rehearsals, the idea of a backing band for me was done away with and the songwriting democracy that exists today decided upon. The Adult Tree was re-recorded with the new band and pressed on a charming 12" picture disc that featured a naked woman up a tree, festooned with unravelled condoms.

We got a lot of gigs off that naked woman's back (so to speak) including a run of highly enjoyable dates at The Cavern Club, Liverpool. The first gig, however - pay attention, trivia buffs - was at The Railway Inn, Belper, Derbyshire. It is best forgotten. Detroit and I moved to Leicester to join Flash and Jack and work began in earnest, rehearsing, writing, recording, touring and raising money to make the album we had in our heads. Freudian Corduroy.

That seems like a long time ago now and a lot has happened. Jack Bomb retired his full-time membership of ist in order to form Vitriol ID.

Detroit, sadly, passed away on October 24th, 2016. I won't even attempt to put that into words.

And, yet, we soldier on... joined by the gracious and extremely Scottish John McCourt on bass guitar, and with a cast of excellent musicians, we are preparing to return the breach, with the first sessions for our second album, provisionally titled "King Martha" began on the 11th of December.

It's been nearly four years of heaven and hell. We have often sacrificed our peace of mind, our lives, our relationships and our ability to sleep at night with a clear conscience to be in this band. We've lived and breathed the desire to write songs that tap into the darker recesses of our respective personalities and, by extension, yours. We've fought off doubt, pain and self-loathing to realise that we do what we do if not better than, with more imagination, stamina and style than anyone else.

Or, if you prefer the short version: Here are a bunch of songs that deserve to be heard, even if the men that made them don't deserve to be tolerated.

Kenton Hal
July 2015/December 2016