Alum David Kitz and his band Princeton find their musical niche with their second album
Courtesy of PALEY FAIRMAN
UCLA alumnus David Kitz and his band Princeton recently finished a residency at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, promoting its second album “Remembrance of Things to Come,” which was released Tuesday.
By Alicja Bronowicki
Feb. 22, 2012 12:15 a.m.
David Kitz always knew he would be in a band. But he never thought he would end up with indie pop group Princeton, especially after the UCLA alumnus played in a hard-core band at Santa Monica High School.
Kitz said he was reintroduced to the members of Princeton while on a date and, after seeing a few of their performances, he was asked to try out.
“It was really a crazy coincidence. We had all gone to high school together, but we didn’t know each other because we (were) a few years apart,” Kitz said.
Ben Usen, keyboardist for Princeton, said the group always had trouble finding a drummer that fit in with the band and its indie style of music. Three of the four band members had been friends since childhood, growing up on the same street.
“We remembered David from high school and that he was the drummer in a hard-core band. … David ended up being the perfect fit. We have a lot of things in common and he’s a talented drummer,” Usen said.
When Kitz joined Princeton in 2008 the band had already been on tour with artists such as Vampire Weekend. Like Ringo Starr from the Beatles, Kitz said he had to quickly learn all of the band’s songs and adjust to its style before going on tour with Princeton.
Princeton has since opened for bands such as Phoenix and Ra Ra Riot, as well as headlined many of its own shows.
“It’s fun to be on tour with a band that you can just hang out with all the time, because on a lot of tours, you don’t necessarily get to interact with them,” Kitz said. “It’s nice to work with bands you respect musically because there is always a lot to learn from them.”
Kitz, who took a quarter off from UCLA in 2008 to tour with the band in London, said that he had dreamed of being in a band since he was 12.
“I’m lucky I had that dream and was able to pursue it. A lot of it is luck, a lot of it’s hard work and a lot of it (is) being at the right place at the right time,” Kitz said.
Princeton most recently finished its residency at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, promoting its second album, “Remembrance of Things to Come,” which was released Tuesday.
“It’s a lot different than the first (album). The first album, we had so many ideas. … It was almost an overkill, but it was a learning experience,” Usen said. “This album, we had a clear vision of how we wanted to sound and how we wanted to record it.”
Usen said that a lot of the inspiration came from ideas that twin brother bandmates, Jesse and Matt Kivel, had at the time. The bandmates fused classical minimalism and genres such as disco and dance into pop arrangements.
Jenna Reisig, a former student at Santa Monica High School, said she remembers first hearing about the local band through classmates and teachers in 2007, and that she has been a fan ever since.
“I love their music. It’s different from anything you hear on the radio, it’s authentic and you can tell they aren’t just guys in a band, they are artists. … I’m excited about this next album,” said Reisig.
Kitz said that the challenges and hardships the band has faced to produce its next album has made the entire process more rewarding.
“We definitely still have a long road ahead of us, but we are grateful for where we are now, for our fans and people who are out there listening,” Kitz said.
