Coheed and Cambria have built their entire career around whimsical science-fiction concepts that explore space, love, loss, war, and all things prog. Though the band have gotten considerably brighter in their poppier tendencies and dropped their Amory Wars conceptual universe for last year’s The Color Before The Sun, the band still exudes a space rock and sci-fi aesthetic, and fans no doubt expect a return to conceptual storytelling at some point in the future.
Despite the recent detour away from sci-fi epics, frontman Claudio Sanchez hasn’t given up entirely. In an attempt to pen a rock opera a la Ziggy Stardust, Sanchez stumbled into what he calls a “fantastic journey with a lesson” that would “appeal to a child’s fascination” and began to develop a children’s picture book that would eventually become Kid Crazy and the Kilowatt King.
The story itself is adorable as it is absurd. The official synopsis tells of “a young boy who thirsts for adventure in the bustling and colorful City of Ever. In the story, a robot named Denunzio Spatta Gots warns Kid of the grumpy Kilowatt King, who forces visitors to the city to sing for him. The two set sail in a car made of bread through beautiful and bizarre landscapes, passing extraordinary sights like candy bar men, robot travelers, and dancing elephants. When Kid eventually comes face to face with the curmudgony king, he decides it’s time someone teaches the rotten ruler a lesson about the power of the word, ‘please’.”
Along with the book release comes an original song, “A Friend To Enemies.” Fortunately for those who cannot justify purchasing a children’s picture book, a live acoustic rendition of the song was uploaded to Coheed and Cambria’s Facebook page and can be viewed below:
Presumably, Sanchez’ willingness and enthusiasm in producing a children’s story such as Kid Crazy was directly influenced by his (relatively) recent fatherhood. An admirable source of inspiration as any, it isn’t the first time it came into play in his art; The Color Before The Sun featured the track “Atlas”, an ode to (and named after) Claudio’s son.
As a father with the pipe-dream of introducing my children to our realm of music, it’s encouraging to see children’s merchandise like this come to fruition — especially after MerchBabies came and went just before I had my own kids. Fans of quirky children’s stories and Coheed and Cambria alike can purchase Kid Crazy and the Kilowatt King at this location in a variety of formats and bundles, including a 7″ vinyl audiobook.
In other Coheed news, the band are currently writing and demoing new music on the road with Saves the Day and Polyphia. The state of Coheed and Amory Wars remains to be seen, but you can catch the band on the remaining dates below:
10/11 – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
10/12 – Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
10/14 – Port Chester, NY – Capitol Theatre
10/15 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom