Norbert Mazari, Chris Blackard, and Mark Yeske formed the ASTRAL KITCHEN in 1990. They started as a power trio, with straight-ahead rock and roll rhythms, and clever heady lyrics. When recording the first CD, ASTRAL KITCHEN simply wanted to get their music out so they could play. Everyone sang on that CD, in fact Mark’s quirky voice, and Chris’s classic sounding vocals is what made that album interesting To this day, ASTRAL KITCHEN is still selling thousands of downloads of the first CD. This was truly the beginning of a classic band.
In 2003, with the release of Dirty Things, the band took on a savvy sound that explored some of the pop culture sounds of the day. Drawing from influences like Pink Floyd, Bowie, Beck, and other “retro” sounding bands, ASTRAL KITCHEN proved again, that they were ahead of the curve. The Dirty Things project was intended to recruit new and fresh blood to the music. The CD was recorded with just Norbert and Blackard doing all the parts. Soon a live band was assembled with crack musicians that really brought the music to life.
At the end of the Dirty Things tour, the line up was destined to change again as the members of the touring band went their own ways to pursue personal projects. Norbert and Blackard began working on material for a new CD. With a collection of new songs written, they went to the recording studio to begin the pre production of what was to become Diabolic Design. With most of the tracks recorded, ASTRAL KITCHEN began recruiting for the new Diabolic Design touring line-up. The first to sign on was lead guitarist Joel Williams. According to Blackard, “At first, when I met Joel, I thought that he might be too deeply planted in traditional Blues, but it did not take long to hear him gear it up for power rockers like Breakthrough, and Diabolic Design”. Williams, a Chicago transplant who lived in the South for many years, a self-proclaimed “southern fried rocker” and faithful music lover joined Astral Kitchen in the spring of 2005. With the majority of the CD finished Joel laid down the final tracks for the title cut, and it’s sister cut, Breakthrough. In the winter of 2005, ASTRAL KITCHEN hired a second guitarist, Bruce Robinson, to hold up some of the multi-guitar arrangements and to help out with keyboards. Bruce’s extensive background in classic metal/rock provided the contrast needed to really support the whole sound the band was looking for. Bruce also played lead guitar on the last two tracks of Diabolic Design, Giving It All Away and Do or Die.
After the release of Diabolic Design in April 2006, ASTRAL KITCHEN is currently playing support dates for the new CD with overwhelmingly positive responses. The ASTRAL KITCHEN fans have embraced the new material and the new life that the current line-up has brought to the old material. Be sure to catch ASTRAL KITCHEN live to experience the power and energy that they unleash.
http://www.astralkitchen.com
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