Kakagi is, left to right, Jacob Brodovsky, Jesse Popeski, Jonathan Corobow and Max Brodovsky. (photo by Jen Doerksen)
The band Kakagi (pronounced ke-KA-gi) is coming to Vancouver next month as part of a tour that includes several B.C. stops.
Officially formed in September 2015, Kakagi is Jacob Brodovsky (guitar and vocals), his brother, Max Brodovsky (drums), Jonathan Corobow (bass) and Jesse Popeski (guitar). The four Winnipeg-area musicians met and first started jamming together when they were campers at B’nai Brith Camp in Kenora, Ont. Lake Kakagi is 100-plus kilometres south of Kenora.
“When me, Max and Jonathan were all staff (at BB), we all started playing together,” said Jacob Brodovsky. “We’ve been playing now for two-and-a-half years. Jesse and I played in the band in high school, from around ages 12 to 18. And then, Max and John always jammed together in high school, so it worked out nicely.”
The four each went their own way in university, but, once they finished school, they came back together to form the band.
“We are all either done with school or are taking a break, to be able to focus on this full-time … so the timing was good to do some heavier touring,” said Brodovsky.
Kakagi’s music is reminiscent of Neil Young, on the folk rock or indie rock spectrum.
Being a young band, Kakagi has so far been playing mainly locally, but they headed east on tour in July – Toronto, Ottawa, Peterborough and Sault Ste. Marie – and will head out west in September. The tour is called Staying Up Late, and is in support of their first EP, which they recorded in Winnipeg over the winter.
“I think we’re getting a better hang of being an actual touring band, figuring out how to make that sustainable, how much forward planning is needed to make that possible,” Brodovsky said.
After the western leg of the tour, he said, “we’ll probably head back to Winnipeg to do some song writing. We’ll be putting out another EP in January 2019, called High Hopes. That’s pretty much in the can. We just have to do a little fixing on it. Then, we’ll head to Montreal in the spring to record our first full-length album.”
Kakagi has wanted to play in Vancouver for some time now and are happy to have created enough of a buzz with their music to warrant the trip.
“We know a bunch of people in Vancouver, and it’s also one of the bigger markets in the country, so it’s a good city to get our footing,” said Brodovsky. “There is a lot of (music) industry in Vancouver. Also, we just love B.C., so we’re making the tour as long as possible to be in Vancouver and to the island.”
Kakagi will be at the Roxy in Vancouver on Sept. 5 and at Wheelies in Victoria on Sept. 8. They are also playing in Kelowna, Nelson and other B.C. communities. For more information, visit kakagimusic.com.
Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.