CALLING ALL CREOLIANS!!!!! NEWS ALERT! Oh no, THE KID has discovered NFTs!!!! Help! All those unreleased songs in his treasure chest, buried in Maui for ages, will now be unleashed upon the world. All you cryptocurrency savvy fans out there who have more money than sense, check out the rare items that are now available on Rarible.com. And for those of you who live in the dark ages, and enjoy it there, google THE NFT REVOLUTION in MUSIC, and you’ll see what we’re yappin’ about. See you in the marketplace!
Check out the latest drop! The Kid and Dear Addy have reunited to collaborate on a new exciting piece of digital art, and you can get your hands on it (if you own cryptocurrency!). Own a piece of the 80s!
This 30 second NFT Digital Art piece “Got to be a Man,” by Kid Creole & The Coconuts co-founders, August Darnell and Adriana Kaegi, is the beginning of a new collaboration, in an exciting new space. Place your bids now and own a piece of the 80s!
The Kid, otherwise known as August Darnell is very excited to be launching his first Lyric Book series:
CALL ME MISTER LYRICAL
The first volume in this Lyric Book series covers the cleverly written lyrics from the re-released Off The Coast of Me – 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition.
Call Me Mister Lyrical – Volume One
The debate about whether the music or the lyric is the most important aspect of a song has been going on since the first caveman added grunts to his partner’s humming. My opinion is this: they are equal. Each element has the power to diminish or glorify the other. A.D.
We hope you will enjoy this very first published Lyric Book by August Darnell. Darnell has always been widely reviewed about his lyrics and we feel the contents of this book portray his inspired lyrics perfectly.
The book is available in Kindle and Paperback versions from Amazon. You can pre-order the Kindle version now, set for worldwide release on April 5th. You can purchase the paperback version which is ready to ship now! (Order from your own country’s Amazon store)
This edition covers the lyrics from Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places. It also contains the original holographs (handwritten lyrics) from when Darnell first wrote and created the songs! Enjoy!
With his brother, Stony Browder Jr, Darnell formed Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band in the mid-70s, and had a hit almost immediately with the slinky, subversive big band/disco hybrid ‘Cherchez La Femme’. Hugely underrated as a lyricist (who else would write pop songs about being unable to get it up, disowning a child, or use the word ‘slut’ in a chorus?), his string of hits with his own band, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, in the early Eighties – as well as the fruits of his stint as in-house producer at Ze Records – still sound brilliantly bizarre. In other times, Darnell might have been called a wit; his best songs are dazzlingly witty: they can also be sarcastic, ambiguous, deceptively eager to please. It’s pop as a moving target, brighty-coloured – even garish, but rich with shades of grey.
AD: Absolutely Ab-so-lute-ly! I went just the opposite way. That was intentional, in the same way that Kid Creole wasn’t what people expected a band like that to be at that time. That’s how crazy songs like ‘Mr Softee’ [about impotence] came about, crazy self-punishing songs. Ridiculous songs like ‘There But For The Grace of God’ [by Machine], with ridiculous lyrics that everyone got offended by. That goes all the way back to ‘Cherchez La Femme.’ The hook-line, where I got hate-mail was ‘They’re all the same, the sluts and the saints.’ Hate-mail came in: ‘how could you say such a thing?’ but the point is, Hey, at least I got your attention didn’t I? There’s always going to be double-entendres, there’s always going to be word-play – but most importantly there’s going to be things in the live show that jar you, upset you, that are going to make you say, ‘Why is that that way.’ America is the only place in the world where I’ve had people say, ‘Why aren’t there any sisters on stage singing?’ I say, ‘Wait a minute – this is the Coconuts, this is the image. Blond, blue eyes – sorry if that offends you. My wife chose two girls who look like her, that’s the image.’ A.D.
With Kid Creole, there’s always something weird going on – and it’s much more evident. There’s always an unease, a dislocation.
AD: We have a saying: my brother created this. We’d write a song, it was a pop song. A hook, a verse, a chorus, a bridge: standard. After we’d listened to it, we’d be sitting around in the studio, he’d have joint – he was never without a joint in his mouth – he’d say ‘Let’s fuck it up.’ Like the last song on I Wake Up Screaming, ‘Just Because I Love You’ – it’s so poppy, that you have to mess it up. There’s always something a little… off target. That’s how I get my kicks. Because at my age, you’d better get some kicks. I’ve been there, got the T-shirt, every accolade known to man, toured every country in the universe, but I still love song-writing. A.D.
August Darnell collaborates with his sons Dario Darnell and Lorne Ashley again. Hallelujah! This latest Kid Creole and the Coconuts single, Polygamy, is dedicated to 2021, which has already proven to be an unforgettable year. Onward music lovers – into the breach with heads held high!
“Having been signed to every label known to mankind (Island, Warner Bros., EMI, RCA, Sony, Sire, etc), I decided that I couldn’t do a job any worse than ‘they’ did. Cue – laughter!
Ok, to be fair, it wasn’t all bad. Chris Blackwell and Seymour Stein and Tommy Mottola were great believers in Creolism. I enjoyed enormous success with each of them at the helm. But when the industry exploded and physical copies of my great songs were no longer needed, I realized that the Record Company dinosaur was about to die again.
That’s when I decided to be my own dinosaur. I called upon my song-writing partner, Peter Schott and my wife, Eva Tudor-Jones and convinced them to join me on a foolish adventure called START YOUR OWN LABEL”.
August Darnell.
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‘Bogotà Affair‘ was the third single to be released from the Off the Coast of Me 40th Anniversary Edition album. ‘Calypso Pan American‘ is the latest release from the same album. Out on October 28th. The first single released off the album was ‘Mister Softee’, and the follow up single, released on July 10th, was the title track ‘Off The Coast Of Me’. Visit our label to stream, download and watch the videos.
Off The Coast Of Me (40th Anniversary Edition) OUT NOW
DELUXE ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Album OUT NOW
Stream on Spotify
Buy on iTunes
Stream on YouTube
Off The Coast Of Me was Kid Creole and the Coconuts’ first album release in 1980 on ZE Records. The Kid and Coati Mundi together decided to celebrate this debut album by releasing a 40th Anniversary Edition.
It, of course, has all the tracks from the original version (re-mastered) but you will also enjoy some very special never-before-released original demos, plus some cool upbeat Bootlegs by the Kid’s son, artist Youngr. But it also includes some recent singles from the band that you may have missed the first time round: Do Yourself a Favor, Checkin’ My Colonies, You Don’t Know Me and In a Place Like This.
Off The Coast Of Me was Kid Creole and the Coconuts’ first album release in 1980 on ZE Records. The album consisted of 8 songs: Side One: Mister Softee, Maladie d’Amour, Yolanda, Off The Coast Of Me Side Two: Darrio, Lili Marlene, Bogota Affair, Calypso Pan American.
Maladie d’Amour was the only
single released from this album.
The album was then reissued in 2003 by Rainman Records. This version included all the original songs but also had 5 bonus tracks added by Universal Island Records: There But for the Grace of God Go I, He’s Not Such a Bad Guy After All, Darrio (12” B-side), Yolanda (12” Mix) and Maladie d’Amour (Mutant Disco Version).
Off The Coast Of Me received some fantastic reviews. Here’s what they
said the first time round:
Andre S. Grindle 5.0 out of 5 stars On The Coast Of A New Sound During the time I was first becoming aware of Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, One of the things I came to understand is that its band leader August Darnell eventually decided to shift the priorities towards actually having a trio of female backup vocalists rather than a female lead singer. The results were the Coconuts. And Darnell apparently re-christened himself Kid Creole. This 1980 album was discussed in the reading I was doing as being an important transitional album. All the same? Took awhile to locate it in a used vinyl bin. And today am very happy I did.
“Mister Softee” starts off the album with an upbeat pop/funk number led by tingly percussion and a low rhythm guitar. “Maladie D’Amour” is a finely orchestrated disco friendly mid tempo soul stomp-with some rhythm guitar and clavinet riffing on the refrains. “Yolanda” and “Darrio” are deeply grooving boogie numbers with some wonderfully processed bass/guitar on the former while the title song is a stripped down calypso with a distant,echoed vocal lead. “Lil Marlene” combines the boogie and calypso influences together while “Bogota Affair” has a strong salsa pop flavor. “Calypso Pan American” ends the album with a vibraphone charged boogie rhythm yet again.
One thing about this album I noticed immediately is that, for the most part it goes right for the jugular of the Afro-Latin, percussive pop/funk sound, with a harder rhythmic stomp than the more sweetly orchestrated music of Darnell’s original group. It was as I’d read a transitional album. There are some disco era elements of this album. But for the most part? This album has a more mic’d and raw production style than the extremely slick studio sound that it very easily could have very well with. In terms of the songwriting? It’s definitely leaning towards shorter pop structures as well. So it comes down to being an excellent introduction for them. ———————————————————- Robert Christgau wrote: Off the Coast of Me [Antilles, 1980] Reformed high school teacher August Darnell having split with black-sheep bro Stoney Browder, the music thins out–Dr. Buzzard’s progressive retro is hard to top, Darnell’s naturally sarcastic voice short on bottom. So the not exactly all-embracing “Calypso Pan-American” and “Off the Coast of Me” neither justify nor transcend their distanced tone (typically, the title tune affects a megaphone filter), while comedy numbers like “Bogota Affair” (the effete Creole as cuckold), “Mr. Softee” (the effete Creole as limp-dick), and “Darrio . . .” (the effete Creole as new-waver) are simple and strong. When clever means this clever, maybe we should settle. B+ ——————————————————————– CC.T said: Oh yeah the music. Shucks, it’s The Kid Guy’s a deity of a band leader. Lyrics with wit, eclectic Disco Caribbe sounds +, for the ear. Dance that defies gravity and showmanship par excellence for the eye. ZE stable studio wizard too. Ok maybe didn’t influence the music world nor broadway BUT didja ever see ’em live in person at a small venue ? Nuff sed! ————————————————————– John Verity wrote: A Zillion Stars, or more An absolutely, positively, totally, and completely great album, one of the best ever released. So smart, such musicianship, such sly lyrics, and what a beat. Listen once and you’ll be hooked, and dancing for the rest of time. No kidding. I ain’t exaggerating. If you disagree, your money back. “Off the Coast of Me” is one of the most delicious and sexy songs you’ll ever hear. It will make you wet, with perspiration. ————————————————————-
This now brings us to 2020, where the Kid and Coati Mundi together decided to celebrate this debut album by releasing a 40th Anniversary Edition.
To be released on 2C2C Musicto the U.S. market, the Kid’s very own record label, this version includes 17 tracks in total. It, of course, includes all the tracks from the original version but has some special never-before-released original demos, plus some cool upbeat Bootlegs by the Kid’s son, artist Youngr.
The first single released was ‘Mister Softee’, and the follow up single, due for release on July 10th, will be the title track ‘Off The Coast Of Me’.
Here’s the track list:
Mister Softee
Maladie d’Amour
Yolanda
Off the Coast of Me
Dario, Can You Get Me into Studio
54
Lili Marlene
Bogota Affair
Calypso Pan American
Adnaloy
He’s Not Such a Bad Guy After All
Off The Coast of Me (Youngr Bootleg)
Yolanda (Youngr Bootleg)
Dario, Can You Get Me Into Studio 54 (Youngr Bootleg)
Dedicated to Stony Browder
Jr., without whom this journey would never have even started
OFF
THE COAST OF ME – 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Produced by August Darnell, Coati Mundi and Adriana Kaegi for 2C2C Music
TRACK LISTING:
Mister Softee
Maladie D’amour
Yolanda
Off the Coast of Me
Dario, Can You Get Me into Studio
54
Lili Marlene
Bogota Affair
Calypso Pan American
Adnaloy
He’s Not Such a Bad Guy After All
Off The Coast of Me (Youngr Bootleg)
Yolanda (Youngr Bootleg)
Dario, Can You Get Me Into Studio 54 (Youngr Bootleg)
Bogota Affair (Youngr Bootleg)
Mister Softee (Live at the Rock Lounge 1981)
Off The Coast of Me (Original Demo)
Bogota Affair (Original Demo)
CREDITS: 1) Engineers: Bob Blank, Julian McBrowne, Lars Henrik Nissen, Dario Darnell 2) Studios: Blank Tapes, Chappell Studios, LN Sound, Llama Land Studios 3) Photography: John Rynski, Eva Tudor-Jones 4) Art Direction: Nadine Ballard
5) The Musicians: August
Darnell, Coati Mundi, Peter Schott, Winston Grennan, Marc Mazur, Stony Browder
Jr., Carol Colman, Andrew Lloyd, Freddie
Harris, Charlie
Lagond, Danny
Kahn, Sam Burtis, Jay
Stovall, Dario Darnell
6) The
Singers: August Darnell, Coati Mundi, Don Armando Bonilla, Adriana Kaegi, Lourdes
Cotto, Lori Eastside, Frank Passalacqua, Fonda
Rae, Brooksie Wells
SPECIAL THANKS:
Ron Rainey, the most honest MANAGER I have ever known Eva Tudor-Jones, my wife, who almost killed me by turning me into a Vegan (for 18 months) My 2020 Band: Dave Imby, Mike Gorman, Oroh Angiama, Mark Anthony Jones, Chris Storr, Barnaby Dickinson, Edgar Jones, Otto Williams, Tim Vine, Jamie McCredie, Lorne Ashley, George Hogg My 2020 Coconuts: Sarah McGrath, Roos Van Rossum, Charlotte De Graaf
Michael Zilkha, who believed in the TRIP long before the Banana Boat left the dock. Maripol, who insisted we be a part of the movie Downtown 81.
TESTIMONIALS:
Adriana: “I guess my greatest contribution to
the band, besides doing all the choreography and designing all the outfits and
providing a European flair to the backing vocals is… I refused to let August
call the band Kid Creole and the Cold Cuts! He thanks me to this day.”
Coati Mundi: “Dr.Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band got me on drugs and Kid Creole & The Coconuts got me off them”.
And a special thank you from Coati Mundi: Grande GRACIAS a mi hermana, Marina y especialmente mis padres, Cruz* y Flora*. Tu amor y apoyo me ha sostenido toda la vida. (*QEPD).
Why did I choose Mister Softeeto be the first single from the OFF THE COAST OF ME (40th Anniversary Edition) album?
Well, I didn’t. That album is chock-full of potential singles. So I went about it in a democratic way (for a change). I reached out to Coati Mundi and the original Coconuts (Adriana Kaegi, Cheryl Poirier and Roni Griffith) and we voted on it.
Mister Softee won by a landslide. I know why. The Coconuts adore the sentiment of the song – cutting the Kid down to size has always been their favorite preoccupation. Hope you enjoy it as much as THEY do. Hachachacha! August Darnell
Mister Softee is the first single release from Off The Coast of Me: 40th Anniversary Edition. The album is set for release on June 11th, with the single being released on April 30th.
The single and the album will be available on 2C2C Music label.
This photo of Coconuts Cheryl Poirier, Roni Griffith and Adriana Kaegi was taken backstage before a show in Florida in October, 1980. The band had launched in January and after numerous raucous New York club dates and some solo northeast gigs, Kid Creole opened for the Talking Heads and then the B-52’s on a brief tour heading down the coast to Florida. The wild crowd response at each of these shows for a wholly unknown opening act was thrilling and told us definitively that this band could reach an audience further than east coast clubs. Coati Mundi shaved his head around this time and began wearing ever more surreal outfits on stage, just as other theatrical elements in the show started to expand. In shooting this photo, as I sometimes did, I turned the camera upside-down so that the flash would light the faces subtly from below, erasing shadows and enhancing the drama and sex appeal. The effect was particularly striking in this image which has long been a favorite of mine – and not only because two of the great loves of my life are in this photo.
– John Rynski, April 2020
MISTER SOFTEE LYRICS
(music and lyric: August Darnell)
You’re no good for
me!
I got a funny feelin’ baby that tonight you wanna sleep with me (don’t say it, you know you shouldn’t say it) But I got a ‘pointment in the mornin’, need at least eleven hours of sleep! (you said it, I asked you not to say it) I’m so sorry, babe
You’re a softee, by trade Mister Softee’s your name You’re a softee and hardly my type
Don’t say that, don’t say that! Don’t you make an issue over somethin’ that’s as small as this I’ll make it up to you tomorrow evenin’ babe if you insist Oh
You’re a softee, by trade Who you talkin’ to? Mister Softee’s your name You’re a softee and hardly my type Don’t say that, don’t say that
I’ve had enough in my life of sweet and sour goodnights I know you can’t satisfy but at least you could try You’re no good for me
Would you rather I forget about my livelihood and stay at home? (don’t say it, you know you shouldn’t say it) Well then you must give up your credit cards, must give up your Maud Frizons (you said it, I asked you not to say it) I’m so sorry, babe
You’re a softee, by trade Who you talkin’ to? Mister Softee’s your name There’s no sense squawkin’ ’bout it You’re a softee and hardly my type Don’t say that, don’t say that
I’ve had enough in my life of sweet and sour goodnight I know you can’t satisfy but at least you could try You’re no good for me
You got a funny way of showin’ me that baby you’re in love with me (don’t say it, you know you shouldn’t say it) Just because I need a little rest, you wanna torture me (you said it, I asked you not to say it)
You’re a softee, by trade Mister Softee’s your name You’re a softee, by trade Mister Softee’s your name
You’re the softee, my friend You’re soft in your head Softee my friend Soft in the head
You’re a softee, by trade Who you talkin’ to? Mister Softee’s your name There’s no sense squawkin’ ’bout it You’re a softee, by trade Don’t say that Mister Softee’s your name Don’t say that You’re the softee, my friend You’re soft, soft in the head You’re a softee, I’m sure Soft to the core
You’re a softee, by trade Who you talkin’ to? Mister Softee’s your name You’re a softee and hardly my type Don’t say that, don’t say that
THE ROOT-TOOT STORY OF KID CREOLE and the COCONUTS Chapter 12
Circa 1978:
TWO frustrated musicians escaped from Los Angeles, California and made their way back to New York City, their home. One guy actually drove a car from coast to coast. His name – August Darnell. The other guy flew in an airplane. His name – SugarCoated Andy. What were they doing in L.A.? Recording an album. Their band – Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band.
The bandleader, Stony Browder Jr. was a genius. But he was also a delightfully eccentric taskmaster. The album that should have taken 1 month to cut, took 6 months. The name of the album – Dr. Buzzard Meets King Penett! Check it out next time to have a headache.
August and SugarCoated were happy to get out of Dodge.
Once they reached their homes – August in Manhattan and SugarCoatedin Washington Heights – they decided that they had enough of the Dr. Buzzard lunacy. When they were summoned back to L.A. to help with the mix, they refused to go.August’s girlfriend pulled a Lady Macbethon him: “You should start your own band and stop being a splintered stool for your older brother.” (Oh, I neglected to say – Stony was August’s older brother) ‘Splintered stool’? Damn, that hurt!
August and SugarCoated were kindred spirits, you see. They both adhered to a strict teetotal lifestyle. And they both abhorred drugs. This alone made them the object of much abuse and derision from various minions, and especially from the bandleader (who believed that marijuana was more important than scrambled eggs in the morning; who knows, maybe it is!). It was truly time to jump ship. Aaaaah, bye bye good ship lollipop! Speaking of eggs… August was egged on by his Swiss Miss, Adriana Kaegi (aka Dear Addy). He decided to start his own band. But he was frightened. He had been Stony’s right-handman for years. It was scary to be the one who would now make all the decisions. He needed SugarCoated and Adriana to join forces with him. He could not do it alone. By this time, SugarCoated had amassed a quite impressive list of debt and needed to change his moniker to avoid collectors, loan sharks and his ex-girlfriend’s ex-husband (long story). Through a mutual amigo he then met Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Robert. Kerry shared that the “Coated and Andy” name-parts reminded her of a family pet she grew up with named Andrew who bit her mother Ethel on the leg. Andrew was a mammal called a coatimundi. VOILA!!! SugarCoated morphed into Coati Mundi.
And August’s nickname in High School was Mr. Sunshine. He wanted to call the band Mr. Sunshine and the Cold Cuts. Adriana said she would leave him and return to Zurich, Switzerland if he went ahead with such a stupid idea. Coati said, “I don’t care what we call the band! Let’s make music, not alimony or sandwiches!” That night, as fate would have it, an Elvis Presley film was on tv. August loved swivel-hipped Elvis. The name of the movie – King Creole. The next morning he proudly announced to his Swiss Miss, “The name of the band will be King Creole and the Cold Cuts!”Adriana Kaegi frowned. “Kid not King. Put your ego to rest. Cold Cuts – no fucking way! Try Coconuts!” She had ideas, you see. Ways to get paid. She was no fool.Coati did three knee spins and a split jump. He replied, “Vaya, que la música nos espera ansiosamente!”) The rest is history.
OFF THE COAST OF ME, the 40th Anniversary Edition will be available on the 2C2C Label. Release date = May 28
Brand new single from Kid Creole and the Coconuts Checkin’ My Colonies, out On September 17. Brilliantly produced by Youngr, written by August Darnell and co-written by Youngr and Lorne Ashley. The single is out on our very own label – 2C2C Music
This animated video was created by the super talented Emrah Tumer from Turkey. Fun fact: Emrah also created Youngr’s Stronger video – Stronger
Here’s the official music video for you to enjoy!
The song has already had a fantastic response from BBC Radio DJs who have been playing the track Checkin’ My Colonies on their shows up and down the country. August has been busy over the last month promoting the single and our new record label – 2C2C Music. He did a fabulous interview with Robert Elms – listen here
August also appeared on Lorraine on ITV. He was interviewed by the lovely Christine Lampard. Here’s the link in case you missed it – WATCH NOW
August will be live on BBC Radio 6 on September 18th on Lauren Laverne‘s breakfast show – be sure to tune in!
He’s done it again! August Darnell’s explosive screenplay, PARADISE, MY ASS, has been chosen as a finalist in the Lonely Seal International Film, Screenplay and Music festival. He’s a wonderful thing, baby!
Other Film Festivals August’s screenplays have been chosen for as a finalist include:
Oaxaca FilmFest X – PARADISE, MY ASS, will be competing with 10 other projects for Best Comedy! Also, the script will be competing for the main Award of the 2019 Global Script Challenge” Best Overall Script!! The annual event will take place in Oaxaca City from the 4th-10th of October.
The New Vision International Film Festival NVIFF – PARADISE, MY ASS This script has been selected for the Best Screenplay category along with 7 other scripts. The New Vision International Film Festival is a prestigious film festival, with a strong emphasis on discovering and encouraging new independent talent, supporting visionary films and bringing together all elements of film-making and storytelling, which includes fiction,non-fiction, animation and scripts. We showcase a wide arrange of genres from Drama to Documentary. The festival has a wide range of attendees which include high profile Emmy, Grammy and Tony winners. The International Competition will be held on Thursday the 26th of September 2019. The NVIFF Awards will be held at the Severiano Ballesteros Zaal: Borchlandweg 6 1114 BD Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
