Vista Kicks returned to Sacramento in November with a new album. The band — originally from Roseville and comprised of childhood friends Derek Thomas, Sam Plecker, Trevor Sutton and Nolan LeVine — wrapped up a West Coast tour in 2017 to support of their debut full-length album "Booty Shakers Ball."
The band initially performed under the name Babe, but decided to change after their first record.
“It’s different for every caterpillar," says singer Derek Thomas. "We needed to change the name, we needed something that was open ended. That didn’t mean anything else. Babe we would always get the response, ‘Oh like the pig’. And you would search it on google and all kinds of things would come out of the woodwork. We chose Vista Kicks because it was open and didn’t mean anything and it was cool.”
The next challenge was coming up with the album title "Booty Shakers Ball."
“For me, I was trying to name the record like a place," says guitarist Sam Plecker. "Kind of like the Rolling Stones ‘Beggars Banquet.’ That’s interesting, Beggars Banquet. We kind of coined our own music, our own genre, Vista Kicks as booty shaking Rock and Roll.”
Vista Kicks attribute their rapid development to the ambitious tour schedule.
“I think touring is a lot like training for the Olympics," says drummer Nolan LeVine. "Actually, I have no idea what it's like training for the Olympics. But it is tough, it’s the hours playing and driving that stretches you thin. You have to push harder than you’ve ever pushed when your circumstances are your baseline needs of sleeping and getting your rest are sort of taken away from you. And you still have to rise above and beyond that. So it gives us a chance to grow our muscles when performing.”
Vista Kicks have two shows in the Bay Area on January 19 in Sebastapol and January 20 in San Francisco before they go on a national tour next spring.