Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

GNR in their DNA

The Montell Jordans put the rock back in party rock

The Montell Jordans pay homage to the rock culture of party bands like Guns N’ Roses, “real drums, guitar solos, chorus, and hooks.”
The Montell Jordans pay homage to the rock culture of party bands like Guns N’ Roses, “real drums, guitar solos, chorus, and hooks.”

For the Montell Jordans, news that Guns N’ Roses is regrouping at Coachella could go either way.

“I know that time in history will never be re-created,” says guitarist Ryan Baghai. “But we want to pay homage to that rock-and-roll culture. Those guys were rock stars. We loved that culture even though we know how cheesy it was.”

That’s why Baghai and singer/rhythm guitarist Tim Kilcourse formed the Montell Jordans. From the suggestive cover of their new album, Sweater Puppies, to their retro-rock songs, there is a little GNR in their DNA.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Video:

"I'm Not Your father, But You Can Call me Daddy"

...by the Montell Jordans

...by the Montell Jordans

“Guns N’ Roses is just one of our influences,” says Kilcourse. “Our goal is to bring back the rock-and-roll culture from that era with real drums, guitar solos, chorus, and hooks.”

But seeing GNR almost 30 years later?

“I don’t know,” says Baghai. “I have an image of them in 1987, around Appetite for Destruction. It could go really wrong. They are all in their 50s now. I don’t want to be alive to see a Guns N’ Roses nostalgia act.”

Kilcourse says too many bands nowadays don’t seem to be having fun.

“We think people want to rock again,” Kilcourse says. “We have found from playing around that there is a market for that. I used to do the indie/folk/pop thing in a band that was inspired by Kings of Leon. But it didn’t come naturally. This is more true to what we are about. Our goal is to get a fun party vibe that makes girls take their tops off at concerts again.”

Next month the band shoots a video for a Sweater Puppies tune called “I’m Not Your Father, But You Can Call Me Daddy.” To direct, Kilcourse says the band is flying out a longtime friend who now lives in Brooklyn: Miles Soboleski.

“He was a videographer on all the videos that Fall Out Boy made for their [2013] album Save Rock and Roll that had cameos by Elton John, Tommy Lee, and Courtney Love. We’re going to shoot it at an old creepy cabin we found in Julian. We’re using the girl who was on the cover of our album as the main actor. The video is about her being captured by a murderer/rapist, but in the end there’s a twist. It turns out she’s the murderer. It was inspired by an episode of Dateline we saw.”

So far, they have not heard from the rapper-turned-preacher they named themselves after.

Place

Casbah

2501 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego

“We couldn’t think of a band name,” says Kilcourse. “I jokingly said, ‘This is how we do it.’ Then came, ‘Why not the Montell Jordans?’ Everyone chuckled when they heard it. The only confusion we get is when people ask us, ‘Are you an R&B band or a New Jack City band?’”

The Montell Jordans’ CD-release party for Sweater Puppies is Monday, February 1, at the Casbah.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Fr. Robert Maldondo was qualified by the call

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church pastor tried to pull a Jonah
Next Article

City late to extricate foxtails from Fiesta Island

Noxious seeds found in chest walls and hearts, and even the brain cavity of dead dogs
The Montell Jordans pay homage to the rock culture of party bands like Guns N’ Roses, “real drums, guitar solos, chorus, and hooks.”
The Montell Jordans pay homage to the rock culture of party bands like Guns N’ Roses, “real drums, guitar solos, chorus, and hooks.”

For the Montell Jordans, news that Guns N’ Roses is regrouping at Coachella could go either way.

“I know that time in history will never be re-created,” says guitarist Ryan Baghai. “But we want to pay homage to that rock-and-roll culture. Those guys were rock stars. We loved that culture even though we know how cheesy it was.”

That’s why Baghai and singer/rhythm guitarist Tim Kilcourse formed the Montell Jordans. From the suggestive cover of their new album, Sweater Puppies, to their retro-rock songs, there is a little GNR in their DNA.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Video:

"I'm Not Your father, But You Can Call me Daddy"

...by the Montell Jordans

...by the Montell Jordans

“Guns N’ Roses is just one of our influences,” says Kilcourse. “Our goal is to bring back the rock-and-roll culture from that era with real drums, guitar solos, chorus, and hooks.”

But seeing GNR almost 30 years later?

“I don’t know,” says Baghai. “I have an image of them in 1987, around Appetite for Destruction. It could go really wrong. They are all in their 50s now. I don’t want to be alive to see a Guns N’ Roses nostalgia act.”

Kilcourse says too many bands nowadays don’t seem to be having fun.

“We think people want to rock again,” Kilcourse says. “We have found from playing around that there is a market for that. I used to do the indie/folk/pop thing in a band that was inspired by Kings of Leon. But it didn’t come naturally. This is more true to what we are about. Our goal is to get a fun party vibe that makes girls take their tops off at concerts again.”

Next month the band shoots a video for a Sweater Puppies tune called “I’m Not Your Father, But You Can Call Me Daddy.” To direct, Kilcourse says the band is flying out a longtime friend who now lives in Brooklyn: Miles Soboleski.

“He was a videographer on all the videos that Fall Out Boy made for their [2013] album Save Rock and Roll that had cameos by Elton John, Tommy Lee, and Courtney Love. We’re going to shoot it at an old creepy cabin we found in Julian. We’re using the girl who was on the cover of our album as the main actor. The video is about her being captured by a murderer/rapist, but in the end there’s a twist. It turns out she’s the murderer. It was inspired by an episode of Dateline we saw.”

So far, they have not heard from the rapper-turned-preacher they named themselves after.

Place

Casbah

2501 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego

“We couldn’t think of a band name,” says Kilcourse. “I jokingly said, ‘This is how we do it.’ Then came, ‘Why not the Montell Jordans?’ Everyone chuckled when they heard it. The only confusion we get is when people ask us, ‘Are you an R&B band or a New Jack City band?’”

The Montell Jordans’ CD-release party for Sweater Puppies is Monday, February 1, at the Casbah.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

City late to extricate foxtails from Fiesta Island

Noxious seeds found in chest walls and hearts, and even the brain cavity of dead dogs
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Save Ferris brings a clapping crowd to the Belly Up

Maybe the band was a bigger deal than I had remembered
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.