I stayed up and watched The Faint on Jimmy Kimmel last night. What a strange show. I turned it on just as Andy Dick came on, for apparently no reason. He wasn’t promoting anything, didn’t have really anything to talk about except the Michael Jackson trial and his bible study group. After that, we got something like 30 minutes of commercials, then an idiotic “live report from Neverland,” then what seemed like another 30 minutes of commercials, then The Faint. I thought the band did as well as they could considering the studio’s limitations. The Faint went ahead and used their A/V screens — both set up behind the stage — but used a front- instead of a rear-screen projector. With the stage’s low ceiling, that meant that the band obscured the video throughout the performance. At one time, Todd looked like he was actually bothered by the projector lights being shot right into his eyes. The sound was pretty bad. They played “Paranoiattack” first, and Todd’s vocals sounded almost, uh, too live. The mix was somewhat horrible, so the vocals and instruments sounded strangely separated, almost karaoke-esque. After another zillion commercials, they “played the show off” with “I Disappear,” which sounded a little better. Overall, the whole thing felt awkward and slightly forced, but I guess that’s the nature of performing on late-night network chat-shows. Hardly an accurate representation of what The Faint sound or look like live.

News for Kite Pilot fans — Drummer Corey Broman left the band last month so he could focus on his glass-blowing business — Glass Harmony (if you look at the photo in this Kite Pilot story, you’ll see the band fending off the heat from Broman’s glass kiln/oven-thing). Before he left, Broman finished up his parts on Kite Pilot’s upcoming 10-track full-length, tentatively titled Mercy Will Close It’s Doors, which heads off to Doug Van Sloun for Mastering in mid-July. Taking over the drumming chores for Broman is Jeremy Stanosheck, formerly of Coast of Nebraska, which I’m told has broken up. Stanosheck filled in for Broman before, when Corey was out on tour with Statistics. I have to assume Broman also won’t be touring with Statistics in the future. You can check out the new line-up when Kite Pilot plays with The Potomac Accord and Landing on the Moon (Oliver Morgan’s new project) this Saturday at Sokol Underground.

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