Riding a genre resurgence, KCeMO is the live cover band bringing the year 2007 back to the stage

KCeMO at Power & Light // photo by Matthew Jack

Kansas City’s first and (so far) only emo cover band, cleverly named KCeMO as a blend of the KCMO acronym and “emo,” kicked off with a Craigslist ad a year and a half ago, and the rest has been a whirlwind.

Bassist and backup vocalist Carlos Garcia and drummer Freddie Aguirre knew each other from being in the music scene since their teens. They met guitarist Paul Herman through acquaintances just a few years ago and put a band together. The idea to make it an emo cover band came from going to Emo Night at Riot Room (rest in power). 

“I just remember being like, ‘Oh, we can do this live,’” says Garcia. “And then we just already knew songs that were, like, pop punk.”

They looked at how successful emo cover bands had been in other cities and realized KC had a need for one. Within a few months, they’d announced their first show at Riot Room. But then COVID hit, and everything went on the back burner for a while.

During their extended break, they realized they needed a fourth member to round out the band and take things to the next level, so they put out the Craigslist ad, recruiting Jon Groves as their new lead vocalist and second guitarist—and it was from there that they took off.

“It felt the most natural to play the most fun to play versus just doing the typical cover stuff, which I do enjoy, but it just feels more natural to play the stuff that I grew up listening to and enjoy a big part of your childhood,” says Groves.

Their setlists encompass a wide range of emo bands, including All Time Low, Yellowcard, The Used, AFI, New Found Glory, Jimmy Eat World, and more. Initially, they started with around 40 songs in their rotation, and that number’s gone up to around 150.

“The first few shows, we’d get tipped with song names, and if we didn’t know them, we just made it a goal to learn them and start,” says Garcia. “I mean, that’s honestly the majority of our setlist, just from fan requests. So it’s kind of made it a people’s band.”

Their sets can get quite lengthy, often going on for at least three hours, and they don’t take any breaks in between.

“We did our first show—it was weird. We did what every typical band does and take a break every 45 minutes, and we were just, like, antsy,” says Garcia. “We’re just like, let’s go. Let’s never do this again. And we didn’t. We just play nonstop from beginning to end. We feel like we keep the crowd—we don’t want to lose anybody or the momentum.”

This method appears to work very well for them. At their Oct. 5 show at Tin Roof, the crowd and the energy built up throughout the night, which began at 9 p.m. and lasted past midnight. Being a Thursday night in Westport, attendance was a bit thin at the beginning, but within an hour, a decent-sized crowd had filled the room and gathered around the stage, with several more people sitting at the bar bobbing their heads along. Some of the people appeared to have come specifically for Emo Night, but many were bar patrons who had just been passing through and decided to stick around for the rest—something the guys say happens frequently at their shows and earns them new fans.

The crowd sang, screamed, and head-banged along to a wide range of emo hits, from “Check Yes Juliet” by We the Kings to “I’m (Not) Okay” by My Chemical Romance to “Ohio Is For Lovers” by Hawthorne Heights, with all of the songs sounding remarkably similar to their original renditions.

KCeMO kept the vibes going all night, hammering out song after song in quick succession, only taking breaks to crack a few jokes. They even invited members of the audience to sing and jam along to different songs during the set—a display of how they are “the people’s band” that made the show feel more like an intimate get-together.

KCeMO at Tin Roof in Westport Oct. 5 // photo by Emily Jacobs

Along with the Emo Nights just being a blast, knowing that the setlist will be different every time and that the song they requested might get played keeps people coming and has built up a loyal fanbase for KCeMO, with some fans coming to nearly every show since the beginning. Their fanbase is also widely varied, from freshly-turned 21-year-olds to people in their 30s, along with kids and teenagers that come to the occasional all-ages shows.

“There’s been a few comments and posts where [people] are like, ‘We love that you guys can get to bring kids and adults together,’” Garcia says. “We have a few kids that have come up on stage with us and stuff and it’s just been awesome.”

Outside of the band, the guys have kids of their own who sing along to the songs. With weekday 9-5 jobs as well, they keep busy. However, they say that their jobs are fairly flexible, allowing them to work from home frequently, and their families have been incredibly supportive. 

One running joke with the band has to do with Garcia’s mom. Garcia says that he didn’t have sleepovers much growing up because all of the boys had a crush on her, so the guys will change the lyrics of “Stacy’s Mom” to “Carlos’s Mom.” Their Oct. 6 show in Power and Light was the first show that Garcia’s mom attended, and the band played the song for her, getting hundreds of people to sing along.

“She loved every minute,” says Garcia. “She loved that attention. And I never heard her cuss really, and I got her to say ‘fuck’ onstage.”

The guys frequently joke around during their sets, including a great deal of toilet humor in the spirit of blink-182, one of their primary inspirations. Their stage presence is genuine, with the guys cracking jokes and playing pranks on each other behind the scenes, as well as keeping up a banter and roasting each other when they sat down with The Pitch.

“Our web history is flagged by the FBI for sure,” jokes Garcia.

They’ve all become very close with each other and make time to hang out outside of practice and shows. Some of their favorite pastimes include going to get tacos and movie nights.

“Anything inappropriate, the stuff that, like, they’re trying to blacklist,” says Herman of their go-to comedies.

Garcia, Herman, Groves, and Aguirre (left to right) grab tacos at Cancun Fiesta Fresh at The Pitch’s suggestion after their interview. // Courtesy of KCeMO

Circling back to blink-182, they’re not just inspired by them—they have an alter-ego tribute band called drink-182. They’ll play all of the hit songs, and then also get into some deep cuts that the most dedicated blink fans will appreciate, and dress up like the blink-182 members in the “First Date” music video. So far, they’ve played three shows as drink-182, but hope to play more with the release of the new album, and they’ve toyed with similar ideas for other bands such as My Chemical Romance and Taking Back Sunday.

Another side project of KCeMO is Emo Vs. Screamo Nights is pulling some heavier hits from their own favorites and fan requests that they wouldn’t usually play on the regular Emo Nights, such as Underoath and Killswitch Engage.

“They’re probably some of my favorite ones just because we get to bust out all the heavy, headbanger stuff that’s not the bubblegum pop punk,” says Garcia.

So far, KCeMO has mostly stuck to doing shows in KC, but they’ve ventured outside the city for shows in Lawrence, St. Joe, Topeka, and Omaha—where they’ll be returning to next month for a show. With families and full-time day jobs, touring around the country isn’t really in the cards. But they’ve thought about heading out to other cities within a somewhat reasonable driving distance, such as Columbia, STL, St. Paul, and even Denver. 

“A big motivating factor is having the OG fans and the new fans,” says Groves. “The new fans that keep sticking around, they keep coming back, keep coming back, and making new fans. It’s really fun.”

KCeMO’s next Emo Night is Oct. 27 at The Levee, and they play every first Thursday of the month at Tin Roof. For a full list of dates and to sign up for updates on new show dates, visit their website. You can also keep up with them on Facebook and Instagram.