The Kinde Trio

The Kinde Trio was a small instrumental jazz/funk band based in Rochester, NY. The name was a nod to the drummer whose last name is Kinde. Normally it’s pronounced “KIN dee”, but the band was usually pronounced “kind.”

The Trio was originally a guitar/bass/drum outfit. I joined on keyboards (primarily Fender Rhodes) about a year into their tenure. We decided to keep the same name so we were known as the trio of four. We played at small bars and coffee shops around the city - ACME Bar & Pizza, Java’s, The SPoT, Monty’s Krown - and made regular runs out to Buffalo and Ithaca. We would often play with our friends in the band Oshe, another local group.

Members of The Kinde Trio: (from left) Dan Ver Weire, David Kinde, Rob Servo, and me

Our old website described the music this way: “It’s rather hard to pin down the exact kind of music we played, but let’s give it a shot: it was instrumental, it was funky, it was interesting. Someone once told us that it reminded them of ‘surf music without the beach,’ whatever that means.” That still feels about right.

I am grateful to my friend Rob Servo, aka City Kitty who welcomed me into the band. Rob is a visual artist working in the international street art scene. While in the Trio, he created album art and promotional posters for the Trio and other touring bands. The header of this page is taken from one of his paintings.

The album art

Rob drew and designed both of our studio releases by hand. I still have the physical copies.

Grillin’ came first. The cover pairs a stitched-together face with a figure whose head is a jar of brains, holding a lit match.

Grillin’ - cover art by Rob Servo

The Grillin’ track list

The inside of the gatefold lists the credits in Rob’s lowercase hand - “dan verweire :: base :: half-assed vocals, justin craig-kuhn :: keez :: half-fast vocals, dave kinde :: drumbs :: halfling vocals, rob servo :: gitar :: vinyl :: the half-sleeve” - alongside a long, absurd thank-you list of everyone who ever came to a show.

Inside the Grillin’ gatefold

Doing Science came later. Same hand, different palette - kraft-paper browns, purple, and grass.

Doing Science - cover art by Rob Servo and Adrienne Stiles

The Doing Science track list

Inside the Doing Science gatefold

There was also a live release, Big Big Space, recorded at SPoT Coffee during the East End Fest in July 2003 - seven long tracks including a take on Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island.”

Playing in the band

As a budding keyboardist, I was happy to be in a band where I could begin to explore jazz. We all loved fusion, jazz, and rock, and were interested in combining elements of these genres. Everyone in the band was laid back, open minded, and positive.

We would practice at my place near the University of Rochester, not far from where the river intersects with the canal. I had a drumset and an acoustic piano in my tiny living room. I had to squeeze past them to get from my tiny bedroom to my tiny kitchen. I loved living in that little hut on Genesee St.

I learned a lot about jazz with the Trio and about how to be a better band member. I’m grateful to Rob, Dave, and Dan for the time we spent together musically and socially. I can still see us crammed into that little space by the door at ACME Pizza. That was fun.

Takeaways:

• Cherish the musical moments - they are fleeting
• Music is highly subjective
• A band is a tribe when it’s at its best