DVC student Kyle Paquin has found himself as the newest front man of Bay Area alternative band Modern Day Kids.
Despite the pop-punk and alternative rock sound of MDK, Paquin personal main inspiration comes from God. “He gave me the ability to sing, write songs, and perform for people. I am inspired to give a little back to him by developing these talents.”
Paquin started singing when while in his church’s youth worship band. It wasn’t until later – when he was presented with his first 1982 Les Paul Ultra in eighth grade – that he started getting serious about music.
“I wanted to start a band after I realized I wasn’t very good at writing church music,” Paquin said. “Six years later and I’m in a slammin‘ band.”
Besides Paquin, San Ramon-centered Modern Day Kids consists of bass player Matt Salavitch, drummer Keller O’Rourke and guitar player Nick Hays.
After letting go of their previous lead singer, Salavitch, O’Rourke and Hays called Paquin after seeing him perform at a local show in Martinez. The rest is history.
The love they have for their music is shown through their dedication of practicing 10 or more hours per week. They feel an obligation to play and create great music for their fan base that is growing.
While Modern Day kids are classified as pop-punk many of their influences aren’t. Vocalist Kyle lists bands like Led Zepplin, John Mayer Trio, and Mayday Parade as some of the bands influences.
Currently, the band is working on a music video, which will be directed by shot by O’Rourke’s father, Kevin, for their latest song written by the lead guitarist Nick Hays called “Her Poison.”
“While it sounds evil the song has a positive connotation,” Paquin said. “Everyone has diverse styles which makes our music sound different.”
The band’s favorite show happened to be at San Ramon country concert for discovery counseling center.
They said “We had a lot of technical issues but overall had our own dressing room and people threw themselves towards the stage, it was super strange but really cool.”
Modern Day Kids are going to be playing a set at Heartlands Guitars on Dec. 2 and are planning on playing a chill low key set.
Later tour dates are going to come up on their Facebook page.
As Paquin looks towards future MDK tour dates, he said it will “rock your face and will blow your soul into a better direction.”
Further information about the band can be found www.mdkrocks.com.
Editor-in-chief Julius Rea contributed to this article.