If you’ve been a serious fan of adventurous Cleveland music in the last two decades you might recognize Kris “skinny” Morron, who’s been a member of some of the most interesting and infectious bands of the new millennium: the Aprodesiactics, Mifune and the Revolution Brass Band, as well as the fluid, experimental Trepanning Trio (not a trio). He’s also written songs for such prominent local artists as Carlos Jones and Austin Walkin’ Cane.
So what’s he been up to lately? It’s complicated.
He says, “In January of 2017 I decided it was time to write without restrictions. I set up all of the instruments in my studio and just played. After a few weeks a theme was emerging. I was writing music that sounded like a 1970s Kung Fu movie that had never been made. I liked where the music was going so I decided I better know what the story was that I was trying to tell. ”
That gave birth to his latest project: an eight-issue comic book series with an original soundtrack by Morron called Peerless. As a starting point, he referred to a story created by his ad hoc band Way of the Warrior for the 2016 Lottery League, which throws together musicians who have never worked together to rehearse for two months and come up with a 15-minute set.
“Our band created a 10-minute story about The Fists of Fate, a mythical collection of Kung Fu masters who fought the deadly Tiger Clan,” he says. “I decided to explore that idea further and ended up with a story outline.”
He created a script and reached out to seasoned east-coast author Nick Macari for feedback. Macari saw so much potential he suggested that he’d like to work with Morron on developing his ideas. Now the series is written and illustrator Pablo Peppino is on board to do the interior art.
As for the soundtrack, Morron has brought on his former Mifune bandmate to produce. He says, “I want this music to sound like a rare ’70s funk record you found while deep diving in the crates of a record store. There isn’t anyone in Cleveland more capable of creating a vintage sound than Jake Fader.” Each issue will feature two songs performed by area musicians.
If you want to stay in the loop and make sure you snag one of the limited-edition initial printings, Morron has posted a Kickstarter campaign which has already reached its goal but has another week to go (through August 12). The first edition of the series will be released in October.