| I Voted for Kodos | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | IV4K |
| Origin | Madison, Wisconsin, United States |
| Genres | Ska punk, pop punk, rock |
| Years active | 1999–2007 |
| Labels | Snapdragon Records (US) Kick Rock Music (Japan) |
| Associated acts | (firefight), Remember the Maine |
| Website | IV4K.com |
| Past members | |
| Rick Bisenius Lee Gordon Tyler Christensen Chris Holoyda Ross Gilliland Troy Riechenberger Nick Rydell |
|
I Voted for Kodos (often abbreviated IV4K) was a ska punk and pop punk band, signed to Snapdragon Records.
Contents |
They were founded in Madison, Wisconsin in 1999, after singer-trombonist Rick Bisenius met guitarist Chris Holoyda at a Reel Big Fish concert.[1] They began playing together when the members were in high school/college.[2] Their name comes from an episode of The Simpsons, "Treehouse of Horror VII", in which Homer Simpson says, "Don't blame me—I voted for Kodos."[3] Although known for their tongue-in-cheek material (they have noted that celery is the band's official vegetable), their song lyrics have also tackled serious issues such as murder and teenage depression.[1] Their first album, Close Enough for Ska, is considered the success story of a small independent record label, Close to Nothing, which was founded by three teenagers.[4]
The band members would begin shows with informal instruction on how to skank so that the audience would appreciate the style of dance associated with ska music.[1] They toured nationally in 2004, and placed number 7 in PureVolume's top ten unsigned bands in the US.[5] The band played the 2004–2006 Vans Warped Tours, and music critic Joe Lynch described their 2006 performance as "freewheeling and energetic".[6] During a separate national tour in early 2006, one music journalist wrote that the band "uses a hot horn section, plenty of guitar and on-the-mark lyrics to fuel a high-energy show."[7]
The band stopped working together in 2007, although Bisenius and Holyda continued to collaborate on a new band, Firefight, and Bisenius began a solo project, The Faster We Fall.[8]