Following the tragic death of Michael Jackson, the Jacksons are once again receiving attention. Michael and his brothers are probably the best known familial pop act in history, but there are plenty of others, from the Bee Gees to Hanson and the Jonas Brothers. Among the latest entries is the British teenage trio of Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, who despite their young age, specialize in styles of music that were popular decades before their births.
Kitty Durham, 16, sings, but also plays drums, harmonica, ukulele, banjo, trombone, and guitar. Daisy, 21, the group's elder statesmen, sings, plays drums, piano, accordion and xylophone. Lewis, 18, the middle child and lone male in the combo, sings, plays guitar, lap steel guitar, banjo, piano, and drums. Together, the trio plays a mix of rockabilly, swing, blues, country, and good ol' fashioned rock 'n' roll. Check out this clip of the trio performing live at Germany's recent Rock am Ring festival.
Although you may not have heard of Kitty, Daisy & Lewis until now, chances are you'll be hearing more from them in the future. Chris Martin recently hand picked the band to open Coldplay's entire U.S. tour alongside such other support acts as Amadou & Mariam and Elbow. In the U.K., the group has supported the likes of Billy Bragg, Mark Ronson, and Razorlight. You might have also caught them in Dustin Hoffman film Last Chance Harvey playing a group of buskers.
As is the case with most family bands, a love of music appears to be in Kitty, Daisy & Lewis' blood. Their mother, Ingrid Weiss, was once the drummer in the all-girl post-punk band the Raincoats, loved so much by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain that their albums were reissued during Nirvana's early '90s heyday by Geffen and the bands even toured together. Now Ingrid and Graeme Durham--her husband and the father of Kitty, Daisy & Lewis--play with their children as support musicians handling double bass and guitar, respectively.
The trio credits their father with introducing the siblings to music by singing a mix of rockabilly, swing and old-time rock 'n' roll numbers to his offspring. "We knew a lot of the songs from him rather than from the original singers," Lewis told Craig McLean of the Telegraph. "Then we would hear Louis Prima records, Elvis, Johnny Cash. Dad taught me a few guitar chords and I worked it out from there."
Look for Kitty, Daisy & Lewis on tour with Coldplay beginning Friday (July 10) in Portland, Oregon and you can also catch them on Aug. 2 at the All Points West Festival in Jersey City, New Jersey. The band's self-titled American debut, which has already received raves overseas, streets in the U.S. on Aug. 11. Until then, check out this live performance of "Mean Son Of A Gun," one of several fine tracks included in the album, shot by a fan back in 2008.