90’s Kids made the move from Athens, Ohio to Columbus and brought the nostalgic “feel-good pop rock” sound of the 90’s with them.
The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Corey Mouch and Robby MacAskill and keyboardist Matt King who met while attending Ohio University.
King describes their sound as “feel good pop-rock”— a fresh style they brought to the Columbus music scene from Athens,Ohio where the bandmates met and formed 90’s Kids, according to Mouch.
“Corey and I were in a fraternity together — I lived with him sophomore year in the frat house, back in the glory days,” MacAskill said. “We lived together senior year too, and that is when this all started.”
That was when 90’s Kids became more than just an idea.
“I met Matt through a friend of a friend and we jammed a couple times and got together, nothing really came of it until senior year when I had songs written,” Mouch said.
The bandmates decided on their name, not just because they were all ‘90s babies, but from experiencing a feeling of nostalgia brought on by growing up in an “in-between” era, before the mass use of technology, but also witnessing technology become a dominant tool in music production.
“We didn’t grow up in the age of pure analog, but we also didn’t grow up with iPhones in our hands from the cradle,” Mouch said. “So we’re at this cool age where we understand what it’s like to not have all this technology.”
That feeling of nostalgia is where 90’s Kids found inspiration for their sound, along with religiously listening to ’80s and ’90s rock bands like The Police, Tears for Peers and contemporary indie pop bands like The 1975 and Walk The Moon.
In February, 90’s Kids’ energetic sound began attracting attention from other bands and they started landing their first gigs.
“We ended up getting a really good show offer in February with Orphan The Poet and Captain Kidd,” King said.
Pop-rock band 90’s Kids. Credit: Courtesy of 90’s Kids.
Mouch said he remembers when they booked that show, MacAskill didn’t even have an amp for his guitar yet.
“We didn’t have like half of the stuff we needed,” MacAskill said. “I was at Guitar Center when we got the show offer looking at possible amps because I knew at some point we would play and Eric Blaha, the guitarist of Captain Kidd, texted us and was like ‘Hey do you guys want to play this show?’ so I bought an amp there.”
Mouch said the band’s use of synthesizers, guitars, drums and keyboard gave them a signature bright and charming pop sound that distinguishes them from other bands in Columbus.
“The pop [scene] around Columbus is more laid back and chill, pop stuff you would hear on playlists like house pop,” Mouch said. “We are energetic, like hit-you-in-the-face pop rock alternative music.”
90’s Kids’ growing popularity has since landed them gigs with bands like Clubhouse, Harbour and Wildlife, which has further helped them connect with other bands and establish their niche within the Columbus music scene.
“In general, all of these shows have been great to help us make connections and meet people in the industry,” Mouch said.
Mouch said the band is focusing on preparing for their first headlining show in Columbus on Oct. 12, at Big Room Bar with Telehope, Golds and Something Else, where they will be releasing merchandise for the first time.
In the meantime, the band is working on new music and plans to release a new song towards the end of September.
Video by Katie Hamilton (.1193)
