18th & Addison Stop in the Steel City
Walking into a somewhat busy coffee shop in downtown Pittsburgh, 18th and Addison's Kait DiBenedetto and Tom Kunzman greeted us with fondness and familiarity - even though we had never actually met before.
Content with our Crazy Mocha coffees, I sat down with my friends Alyssa, Kait and Tom to learn the story behind this pop/rock/punk duo from New Jersey during their time in town on their first tour of the new year.
Previously, DiBenedetto had traveled around the country as a solo artist in "Just Kait" and as a member of Chad Gilbert's (New Found Glory) side project "What's Eating Gilbert" before joining up with Kunzman, who was performing in his old school pop-punk / pop-rock band "A Criminal Risk." What started off as a fun jam session quickly turned into something more serious and the group released their first album "Little Parasites," in 2015.
"We wanted people to get that we were a duo but we were gonna put out rock-n-roll, punk rock inspired records," Kunzman said, "not just a singer songwriter duo playing acoustically all the time."
A year after that release, the two sat down again to write their second album - one that they had hoped would be more eclectically inspired. They honed their craft by writing more than a dozen songs, each just as brutally honest as the next.
"Makeshift Monster," released in summer 2016, draws inspiration from some of the group's favorites bands and employs a variety of different tempos, feels and genres.
"As soon as we got the groove, we were like 'This is a record.'," Kunzman said. As far as writing these songs, the two agree that it was the one of the simplest and realist aspects of the group.
"It was almost like breathing; they just came (to us) and we didn't go crazy thinking it wasn't us," he said. "It's coming from us. It's us."
The duo set out to do what they had admired in some of their favorite bands.
"You can't put your finger on what Cheap Trick does or who Good Charolette is. That's the kind of shit we respect."
The album is a collection of eleven songs, each more personal and private than the last. DiBenedetto and Kunzman open up their heart to you and allow you to be right in the thick of it. They're music is deep and relatable, allowing you to connect with every word.
As far as their favorite songs on the albums, it changes often.
"Right now, 'Knives' is my favorite," DiBenedetto said. "It has elements that a lot of people like from beginning to end."
DiBenedetto notes that her choice fluxtuates depending on the reaction they receive during a live show. Getting a straight answer out of Kunzman, came with a little bit more of a challenge, but eventually he agreed with his partner.
"I love 'Knives,' because it's such an outlet," He said. "It was a really rough time in my personal life, and I had a way to write it and it was really aggressive."
"Knives" works as a full-force, no bullshit kind of song. That, along with "My Old Skin," are pages straight from a diary, ready for the entire world to hear. With the mixture of story telling and 'musical therapy,' fans get to see an even deeper look into the lives of 18th and Addison.
"I've never been so proud of anything we've put out," he said of the album as a whole.
The discussion quickly shifted from "Makeshift Monster," and into the tour and the live entertainment aspect of being in a band. Separately, the two have had their fair share of touring but starting from scratch and heading out on the road isn't always what it is hyped up to be. Touring takes hard work, dedication, perseverance and a complete and total love for what you're doing.
Through our almost hour and a half interview, I didn't hear DiBenedetto or Kunzman say anything to even suggest they were anything but grateful for the opportunity. Although not distinctly mentioned, I believe a strong part of that is because the duo were music fans above everything else and urge others to fully embrace the live music culture.
"That's the best thing about music, it brings so many people together, people you would have never met before in your life if you hadn't liked this one band or hadn't gone to this one show."
They ask people to come out to a show - even if they aren't huge 18th and Addison fans. The connections that you make at live shows are second to none. As I sat, I looked at my photographer sitting to my right, I couldn't help but agree. One night at a Wonder Years concert solidified our friendship for years to come.
Then, we talked about a rather hot button topic in the world today - politics. I would love to type out the conversation we had from this, but I don't feel that would truly do that justice. See the full politics talk here:
Over the course of the last few years, I've had the pleasure of interviewing many people from various parts of life. When it came to music journalism, my goal was simple: Show the passion of passionate people. If I'm speaking honestly, I've never met any two people more passionate about what they are doing than Tom and Kait. If you get a chance, I highly recommend checking them out when they are back on the road in February. You can hit them up on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and get your tickets now!
