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Celebrating Chicago's The Kind!



There are few people in the music industry that I loathe more than Lee Abrams. He, of course, is the worthless fat-ass responsible for implementing uniform radio playlists across the country, thereby erasing any possibility of commercial rock radio stations having any sort of "local flavor" whatsoever.

By that, I mean one capable of great commercial impact. WXRT's Local Anesthetic has been great exposure for many a local band, but 'twas a time when a station like WLS could pluck a local band from obscurity and turn them into regional Top 40 hit makers.

Thanks to Abrams, you can now drive cross-country without your ears ever knowing that the stations have changed.  Instead of a playlist full of regional favorites interspersed with national acts, you get the same ten songs in Denver as you do in Danville.

See, long before radio became one indistinguishable Morning Zoo with more commercials than songs and began hiring DJ's who didn't seem to know or care what song just played, local stations were a great way to get a feel for the city. When you were in Chicago, you could turn to WLS or The Loop and hear bands specific to that region. When you were in Cleveland, the stations had a totally different vibe and their fair share of local heroes getting airplay alongside national hit makers.



Thus, it was during those heady days of radio that I tuned into Larry Lujack's legendary radio show on Chicago's powerhouse rock station, WLS, and first heard "Loved By You" by a local band called The Kind.  At the time, I didn't know they were local, though. They were treated like any other band given access to the airwaves and, to my ears, sounded like a band destined for greatness.

A week or so later, at my local Wonderland Discount store in Dowagiac, MI, I was taking a glance at the Top 40 singles list and saw "The Kind - Loved By You". I immediately asked the guy behind the counter for a copy of said single and immediately noticed that the 45 rpm record I held in my hands didn't carry the logo of any major label, but, rather, the band's own 360 Records imprint.

My first thought was that of amazement: Wow, a local Chicago band scoring a big hit without the help of a major label?

Being a kid stuck in small-town Michigan, I was not able to keep fully abreast of happenings on the Chicago scene so my knowledge of The Kind was sketchy at best, and, sadly, remains so to this day. I did have the good fortune of attending a Duran Duran concert in Chicago where, unbeknownst to me, The Kind were the opening act. They took the stage with no introduction and immediately began delivering one thick, hook-filled slice of rock after the other.



After a couple songs, it began to dawn on me that these guys sounded just a tad familiar to my ears. I then became completely enthralled in their performance, wondering if, in fact, they were who I thought they were. I then heard the familiar intro to "Loved By You" and watched the otherwise disinterested Duran Duran crowd suddenly jump to life. "Hey, we know that song", they seemed to be saying as their eyes darted from the glossy Duran Duran programs they'd procured in the lobby to the five guys on the stage.

A week or so later, I grabbed a copy of their new album, Pain And Pleasure, when it landed in the bins at Wonderland and played the crap out of it for the next several months. I never heard another peep from the band and, by the time I moved to Chicago in 1986, they'd long since gone their separate ways.

What boggles my mind is that a band that enjoyed this level of regional success never got picked up by a major label while dozens of arguably less worthy acts got signed left and right. At the time, I remember there being a huge bias against Chicago acts by the major labels, but, for the life of me, I never knew why. Was it because past major label efforts by the likes of Off Broadway and Shoes had failed to set the charts on fire? Was it because A&R scouts were too lazy to venture beyond NYC or LA when searching for "the next big thing"?

By the early 90's, of course, Nirvana and Chicago's own Smashing Pumpkins brought alternative rock to the masses, thereby creating a signing frenzy that saw just about any Chicago band that had been together longer than two weeks land a major label deal.

Today, of course, The Kind remain almost a figment of my imagination. As a band that existed in a time when vinyl records and cassettes were the formats of choice, their music has yet to be made available in any digital format whatsoever, simply fading into the ethers like smoke from a cigarette snuffed out decades ago.

21 Comments

  1. Hi there!
    I'm so happy I stumbled across this site and the great music of The Kind!
    I grew up in the Chicago area back in the early 80s, and heard their music on WLS. I bought both of their albums when they came out (both of which I still have!), but unfortunately, I was too young to ever see them play live.
    I read, sadly, that the lead singer/guitarist for the band died in 1993 while working on an escalator.
    Apparently, two other members of the band play in a cover band around the Chicagoland area - I think the band is called The Legends, but don't quote me to that.

    Anyway - thank you again for making these songs available to listen to. I've enjoyed the trip down memory lane....

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  2. Last I heard Frank Sberno, drummer, was teaching tennis in Palm Springs, CA. I loved seeing the gong in the video. He had that when playing in 2 other bands, Feast and Balls.

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  3. I grew up in the nearby suburbs of Chicago most of my life and was highly active in the music scene. I played drums for a number of bands but took a 2 year break to learn more about my 2nd passion which was live sound mixing. I became the soundman for EYZ, which incidentally won the WLUP local band contest and got their song “Alibis” captured live on the WLUP record that year. We even had the rare honor of opening for Survivor when they were pushing their first album and partied with them afterwards. We played the local clubs such as the Thirsty Whale and B’ginnings and we frequented other places like Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn and Mother’s on Rush st downtown to check out the competition. I had the privilege of seeing live performances by Off Broadway, The Hounds, Rory Gallagher, FM (from Canada) among a slew of others. I thank WXRT for keeping me abreast of the local talent and where they were playing, not to mention the Illinois Entertainer magazine.
    After my time spent in 78/79 with EYZ I made a connection with a production company and started photographing live rock shows. My most memorable was being on stage with “The Kind” and the opening act “Bitch” which was an all-girl band with the exception of Tom Orsi who just happened to be the keyboard player for EYZ before we dissolved. The Kind put on a great show and I believed I was in the presence of future greatness. Unfortunately it didn’t happen.
    Eventually I returned to the drums and began frequenting a music store in Naperville. I was their often enough to make an acquaintance with the owner Mark Gardener. After nearly a year of being a customer, we were reminiscing about the music scene in the late 70”s which led to my discovery that Mark was the bass player for The Kind. He said he wished he had more photos of their performances and without exposing my secret I left the store. The next day I returned with the original photos I had taken nearly 5 years earlier. He offered to pay for them but I gave them as a gift. It was my way of offering homage to the stellar effort they gave.

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  4. I just bought tickets to see Duran Duran on their Paper Gods tour. I started thinking about the previous shows I have been to and their opening acts. My first concert was Duran in 84. I always wondered what happened to The Kind. Great post!

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  5. We have so much history in our city! Chicago all the way.

    Does anyone else feel like music is a kind of time travel? I feel like I can listen to music and it takes me back to a time in my past!

    Jasmine V | Belgravia Group

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  6. Larry Lujack is why I think I cannot listen to the radio anymore. I grew up listening to him and in the many years since his retirement, NO DJ has come close to being as good as Lujack was.

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  7. Frank Capek was the lead guitarist for The Kind and he is now my guitar teacher. he plays in a local band called Five Guys Named Moe. Frank is awesome and I'm extremely grateful to have him as my teacher and mentor with the guitar.

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    Replies
    1. Could you ask him if that's a hamper on the cover.

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    2. Could you ask him if that's a hamper on the cover.

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  8. Total Insanity is in the new Motley Crue movie on Netflix called "The Dirt". It plays in the background at about 10 minutes into the movie.

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  9. Great article. I saw The Kind in the early eighties. I’m pretty sure it was with Off Broadway or The Elvis Brothers.

    I can’t think of any other reason I would have both of their albums.

    I left Peoria after school(84) and headed back to NYC. I am so glad I kept and still have their releases. I also just learned about Frank’s tragic accident.

    It’s 38 years since they released their debut album and I am sitting here today realizing “I’ve Been Around” so long.

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  10. I played in a wedding band during the mid-80s around Chicago and Mark Gardner subbed with us for a number of gigs. It was great playing with a well-known, really talented musician. He was also the manager of Naperville Music for quite a few years but moved out of the area several years ago. Very nice guy and a great player.

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  11. Thanks for the entertaining post. I grew up in the Chicago burbs, graduating HS in 1985, but was not familiar with The Kind. I recently brought home my older brothers record collection that he has not touched in years and found both of their LP's. He also has a record of Rockford locals that he picked up while attending Rockford College. It's amazing that such talented local bands didn't get any national success. I'm really enjoying discovering The Kind in 2020.

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  12. By any chance...I loved a local band called the Crickle... and then heard they changed their name to the kind. Is this possible?

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  13. I'm in the process of moving and found 2 "The Kind" Guitar picks that I got at one of their concerts. One is Frank's, the other is Mark's

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  14. I loved the Kind. Happily, their two studio albums are now on Spotify.

    https://open.spotify.com/artist/7lPriRDOomrOvPM6gqEGev?si=Vgw7_9riSVeKR9cwvB3Pbg&dl_branch=1

    A new compilation of the earlier, late 70s Incarnation of The Kind (with the WXRT song "She'll Make It Right") is also now on Spotify:

    https://open.spotify.com/artist/7a8sIzgqf2dWvdie0S1Aeu?si=ydd9DsGaTeWJFlvAs3PgmQ&dl_branch=1

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  15. https://www.facebook.com/BlackParrotMusic/posts/342592847880456

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