Here's a little band history for those of you who weren't around at the time. Impish started in early 2001 when Croe, Gearz & Fingaz (aka Andrés) started writing some silly pop punk songs in Croe's garage. We also did some punk covers of old songs like California Dreaming & Stepping Stone. Things got rolling when Gearz got kicked out of school & Croe graduated: practices and gigs were regular. We had our first gig at a Rosslyn Youth Rally. We played a show at least once a week for about 3 months in 2001.
Impish was a fresh sound & presence on the scene used to mediocre, introverted performances. Few bands at the time were trying to write songs or music. The rock scene was totally open for creativity… Impish seized the opportunity, sparing little time for planning or afterthought & just bust out their shit. The reaction was mainly shock from a still reserved audience, but wherever we went, those who cared to listen were always amped. We organized a good deal of small DIY shows were it was our goal to bring the our live rock scene to life. It was the best of times sharing the stage with bands like: Scarf Atrocity, Mess, The Promiscuous Apes, Guru, Kotow, and Hedrush. The actual lineup was never so solid after the first few shows, particularly on bass. We maintained great relationships with the artists of other bands who were always willing to fill in or collaborate with us.
Impish was for a time, a band spearheading a punk movement. This was evident in the sound bands started to adopt a in the years after 2003 & in the cooperation in putting on the shows that ‘summer of youth.’ We made t-shirts, patches, pamphlets & a comp CD with BKSP and some live SA punk stuff. I still see kids sporting Impish t-shirts around Nairobi. There was great enthusiasm from the kids who came to those shows. However, enthusiasm in the movement waned when the pressure was on to entertain rather than just to have a good time.
The songs of Impish reflect the pressure on our youth from our community and within. It was tough but we garnered our creative energy for some recording & got by with a little help from our friends to put out the record you are listening to today. The first recordings were made on a dj program in Gearz’ bedroom when none of us knew a damn thing about recording. Things improved when Gearz set up toilet studio & enlisted the help of Nor Nor. There were a lot of disasters, the only successful multi-tracks were ‘Uprising’ and ‘Civilized.’ Everthing else is live sessions, which is really the fundamental element of the sound that inspired