Jordan Krimston Video Premiere: ‘Need You When You're Gone'

Jordan Krimston -- one of the hardest working musicians in San Diego -- goes solo

There are few local musicians more prolific and hard-working than Jordan Krimston. The onetime San Diego School of Rock whiz kid and former frontman of Big Bad Buffalo is currently a member of the groups Band Argument, Miss New Buddha, Weatherbox and the Obsessives. If all that weren't enough, Krimston is now stepping out on his own.

It was only a matter of time, right? A talented musician from an early age, Krimston has mastered every role thrown at him in various band settings and while his respective groups are always highly impressive and vast in scope, his upcoming debut solo EP, "Turn the Page" (due out on Sept. 6), is some of the finest music he's ever written.

Recorded in Philadelphia earlier this year on friends' couches and in creative warehouses, the all-too-brief five-track effort ranges from delicate acoustic-and-synth odes and Death Cab-esque indie-rock to angular post-punk and blitzkreig quirk-pop. Throughout it all, Krimston's impossibly stitched a hushed fragility into an EP otherwise rife with strange, mangled instrumentation and whirling complexity. [Find the song on his Bandcamp here]

In a recent interview with SoundDiego, the singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist (who just recently became old enough to enjoy a beer at the venues he routinely plays at) explained the depth and ideology behind his new effort.

"'Going solo' is an accurate term for what I’m doing, yet it doesn’t totally represent the heart of what’s going on with these songs," Krimston said. "The chords, narratives and parts were written by me, sure -- but inspiration is probably the most important part of doing anything creatively, and my net of friends and family are super inspiring. I’m lucky to have lots of friends that have helped me shape this first release of mine. The DIY spirit will always exist and haunt me, but my current vibe is to 'Do It As A Community.'

"This whole EP is about artistic rebirth, or moving forward in general, and I think one of the biggest things I learned while recording this was to embrace the artistic community around one's self."

Surprisingly (or maybe not), Krimston chose the shortest song on the album as the EP's first single and music video -- a succinct, exquisite piece of mathy pop (complete with vocoder!) -- that can only be criticized as being over too damned quick. All the more reason to put it on repeat, right? SoundDiego is honored to premiere it here.

"Corrine James made the music video for 'Need You When You’re Gone,' and she is truly a genius," Krimston enthused. "The way she is able to capture how music feels in visual form is something that is beyond me, but I have immense appreciation for it. Everybody reading this needs to go check out all of her work and the amazing world she has created through her projects [Starshine Mountain], you will not regret it!"

After four East Coast tour dates lined up in September to coincide with the release of "Turn the Page," Krimston hits the road for a full U.S. tour with the Obsessives in October and will open the band's West Coast shows as a solo act. Be sure to catch him if you can. 

Jordan Krimston 2019 East Coast Tour Dates

  • Sept. 19: Brooklyn, NY at Brooklyn Bazaar
  • Sept. 20: Philadelphia, PA at Lizard Lounge 215
  • Sept. 21: Washington, D.C. at Songbyrd
  • Sept. 22: Charlottesville, VA at Tea Bazaar

Dustin Lothspeich is SoundDiego's senior associate editor, a San Diego Music Award-winning musician, and talent buyer at The Merrow. Follow his updates on Twitter or contact him directly. Full disclosure: He had the honor of playing with Jordan Krimston in a Weezer cover band at the Casbah on Halloween 2015...and it was glorious.

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