After a nine-year run with the Kronkmen and countless local and out-of-the-area shows, Vester decided over the weekend to step away from the band, citing personnel reasons. The Blender caught up with Vester this afternoon and he told us he has no ill will toward any other Kronkman and wouldn't close the door on the possibility of returning to the crew under certain circumstances. Still, without Vester, the future of a revamped Kronkmen is definitely up in the air.
In the Blender's opinion, the Kronkmen were a staple of the local music scene and well known for their insane stage antics and general hilarity in and out of music. Anyone who caught the band on 92.7FM's Highway 97 program in March heard Vester and company giving a hilarious interview in which they claimed, among other things, that Vester was once the band's "dancer" and had been living in a now defunct disco in Redmond. Classic Kronk, right there.
But it seems we've hardly heard the last of Vester. He is now devoting his attention to his industrial music project, Warm Gadget, which is a collaboration with former Vihara member Colton Williams. The two have been writing a recording for some time now and have a record slated for a September release on L.A.'s Mechanizm Records. Warm Gadget is also working a live show, recruiting Eric Metzger to take up bass duties and bringing local music mainstay Jared Forqueran on for drumming duties.
The sound is similar to Nine Inch Nails, but as Vester puts it, "it has less of the 'I hate my mom stuff.'"
