In 1996, fifth graders Kevin McGorey, Paul Rambo, and Matt Carlson decided to start a band. They took their name—Visual Purple—from an episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy. Their music was inspired by The Kinks, R.E.M., and Nirvana, but they sounded more like Bee Thousand-era Guided By Voices, fronted by a chipmunk.
Cassette
Kevin’s dad Chris McGorey is also a musician, and he recorded Visual Purple’s six original songs on his cassette 4-track with a single microphone. And though the trio of tweens fizzled out before middle school, only playing a handful of shows, listening to Visual Purple’s self-titled cassette still feels like taking a swig from the fountain of youth.
It’s easy to love Visual Purple just for existing, but their songs are a cut above the average kid band. “Noise” starts the tape with a jangly, detuned refrain that could well be sung from the perspective of the band’s pissed-off neighbor. “Ghost” gets weird—slathering warped, warbling effects on McGorey’s voice to conjure the titular poltergeist—but not as weird as the anguished freeform instrumental jam, “Sneakers.” The tape ends with “Polar Ice Caps,” a prescient song about the dangers of climate change. (It was probably inspired by Bill Nye, too.)
Cassette
McGorey has continued down a musical path—playing with The Word Play until the late ‘00s, before shifting focus to his solo project, Vinny Moonshine. But this preteen rock trio is where it all began. “People’s reactions to it seem to be genuine joy, so I like that,” he told The Guardian. Today, Visual Purple still sounds unique, catchy, and charmingly childish: Perfect to inspire the next generation.
