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PHOTO COURTESY OF BAND

GOOD VIBES. From left to right, Dominique Stone, Chris Tussing and Kim Archer during a recent gig.

Kim Archer Band continues to mix it up

By John Larson

Kim Archer Band has been pleasing local audiences with their mix of rock, soul, blues and funk. The Puyallup-based group consists of Kim Archer on vocals and guitar, Dave McKibbin on guitar, Chris Tussing on drums and Dominique Stone on bass.

Archer is from Indiana, where she had a band. A musician she knew had moved to the Tacoma area and she came out to visit in 2004.

She hit an open mic night at the now-defunct Cole’s, a blues club in Ruston. She met McKibbin that evening. “It just felt so right. I knew this was where I was supposed to be,” Archer said. Four months later she moved here.

She was interested in living someplace with a bigger music scene. “I wanted to be a small fish in a big pond,” Archer remarked. “I wanted to challenge myself again.”

There are fewer venues for live music where she lived in Indiana compared to here, which led to a more competitive mindset among musicians. In contrast, bands playing a variety of styles of music have numerous venues to play in the Puget Sound region, which Archer thinks is why there is such strong camaraderie between bands.

Stone is originally from Spokane. He most recently played bass for Randy Oxford Band. Archer felt a good vibe as soon as she met Stone.

“He loves to play music like I do,” she said. “I always liked him as a person.”

She thinks his vocal harmonies and wide-ranging musical tastes will expand the group’s sound. “He brings a lot to the band.”

The band’s live set is heavy on cover tunes, some of which sound quite different from the original versions. “Fly Like An Eagle” by Steve Miller Band is an example; they give it a rather funky treatment. “We add our own flair to songs,” Archer said. “That is the cool thing about music. It is all open to interpretation.”

“That energizes us as a band,” Tussing said. “We take chances and we have fun. Everyone gets to be in our party.”

The band also has original material. Archer has been writing some new songs, which she said touch upon funk, Motown and ballads.

On one tune, “Rock A Dale,” McKibbin added some guitar parts inspired by surf guitar legend Dick Dale.

Archer is proud of the band’s ability to span musical genres. She would be happy to have one of their songs played on a country station and another on KMTT (The Mountain).

The band does not use processors and Archer avoids effects on her vocals. “I like organic, real sounds,” she said. “I like music to be raw and real.”

The band plans to scale back on gigs in January and February so they can learn some different cover tunes for future gigs. They also will be working on original material for an upcoming album.

Tussing noted the band members have their own home recording gear that they use to record their ideas to share with the others.

He noted they can do the pre-production work for an album themselves, which will save money for when they rent studio time. However, doing such initial recording has its consequences.

“It can be a double-edged sword,” he said. “When you listen to yourself you are harder on yourself.”

Kim Archer Band plays A Toast for Tails, a benefit show for animal welfare, at Thurston County Fairgrounds Oct. 25.

They play the Swiss in Tacoma at 6 p.m. Oct. 26 and a costume party at Hungry Goose Bistro in Puyallup at 9 p.m. Oct. 31.

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