XK SCENARIO
XK SCENARIO

Another day in the life of XK.
Show April 25th @quarryhousetavern
9:30PM
With
@miraclebloodmusic @consumerculturemusic
Tix Available On Quarry House Tavern Website
📹/Edit - @ethioblacklion_

Yes. New Music. No not music from the album that we've been laboring away on for a BRICK.
NEW MUSIC FOR THE ALBUM THAT COMES AFTER THIS ONE.
As some of you can tell we have that ADD issue where you start working on something new before you finish the thing you started. But don't trip, NEW AND PERFORMED LIVE FOR THE FIRST TIME music from the in-progress album will ALSO be performed at the show.
Which show? Man pay attention fool.
Quarry House Tavern @quarryhousetavern (April 25th.)
Doors 830 Music 930
Alongside @consumerculturemusic and @miraclebloodmusic
Also to those wondering, we will not be playing with a live drummer and instead will be joined by @secretwilderness on the drum machine. There's a funny story as to how this happened which I will retell at this show.
The album is still being worked on
🎥/Edit - @alex.menick
📹 - @ethioblacklion_

After 8 months of training we're back from our self imposed exile with new works.
We're playing at @quarryhousetavern with @consumerculturemusic and @miraclebloodmusic
April 25th
930 PM
$15
All Ages
Apologies to all our friends and fans that we ghosted. We needed some time away to reflect on and refine what we wanted from XK. We came away with a juxtaposing conclusion. Our ambition has grown even larger, but our desire has waned.
From this we realized that it was in the illogical that we find logic. That the only way to go where we wanted is by going back to where we didn't want to stay.
Ok to some of y'all this might sound like some wax on wax off BS, but it feels right to us. In our whole artistic career, we've thrived in the clash and serenity between similar oppositions. So it makes sense that we now are finding peace in chaos.
And it was only through the music that we were able to wrestle with these simply complicated emotions. Music that we want to share with y'all.
So roll thru, we got something to say.
*The album is still being worked on
🎥 - @alex.menick

Work in progress
Track 1.
Contours
Photo by @rosedelightphotos

WE VIDEOTAPED THE FULL LIVE SESSION
AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE
LINK IN BIO
Song name : Ecce Homo
___________________________________________________________________
Yea, we making up for lost time.
The pestering pestilence is presently presenting its presence you feel me? By meandering around this moribund marketplace of misanthropes one 'members to make a message of mirth. Only then can vital vitality vitalize the vacuumed vessel of this world.
And if you disagree meet us at @bob_and_ediths_diner we finna throw hands after some 🅱️offee and a patty melt 💯
XK Scenario:
Kaleab Elias @ethioblacklion_ - Lyrics, Vocals, Piano
Alex Menick @alex.menick - Guitar
Additional Musicians:
Francis Beringer @causticcasanova - Bass
Lucas Kirby @conniptioh - Drums
Engineers:
Mike Weitman @mikeweitman @weitmanstudios - Recording, Mixing, Mastering, Production
Pablo Cabrera @pabloforhire @analogapproach - Recording (Piano)
Kaleab and Alex - Production
All songs written by XK Scenario
Recorded Live at Weitman Studios
(Piano recorded at Analog Approach)
Video filmed and edited by - Alex Menick
WE ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THE NEXT RELEASE OF THE LIVE SERIES
Tone Paints 2
IS OUT NOW EVERYWHERE
LINK IN BIO
___________________________________________________________________
Sooo.... Kept you waiting huh?
Sorry we've been M.I.A for the past couple of weeks. Ya boy was getting turnt off that sake and Nikka whisky in Nihon.
But vacation over, the boys are grinding again. PAUSE ⏸️
This new tape is an apology from us for disappearing on y'all. Like a deadbeat father coming back with some gifts. We promise we won't lie to y'all again... hopefully.
If this music makes y'all feel any sort of way, tell it to the world. These algorithms DO NOT like our art at all. So the only way to push through it is by y'all screaming about us. Don't let these tech troglodyte losers control the culture.
We are still working on the new album.
Credits:
XK Scenario:
Kaleab Elias @ethioblacklion_ - Lyrics, Vocals, Piano
Alex Menick @alex.menick - Guitar
Additional Musicians:
Francis Beringer @causticcasanova - Bass
Lucas Kirby @conniptioh - Drums
Engineers:
Mike Weitman @mikeweitman @weitmanstudios - Recording, Mixing, Mastering, Production
Pablo Cabrera @pabloforhire @analogapproach - Recording (Piano)
Kaleab and Alex - Production
Design:
Rebecca Grierson @i.i.n.d.i.i - Album Cover
Alex Menick - Album Typography
All songs written by XK Scenario
Recorded Live at Weitman Studios
Piano recorded at Analog Approach
This summer was 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Lotta moves made, lotta friends made, lotta SHOWS played. Def the best period of time we've had as a band yet.
630 ALBUM ANNOUNCEMENT SHOW 🕡
MLK Punk Library Show 📚
THE ATLANTIS SHOW🔱
COMET PING PONG 🍕
Atlas Brew Works 🪦
Now with all this momentum yall think we'd chill out and catch a breather?
HELL NAH. Son we rampin UP. The new ALBUM has INCREASED in scope. We're dumping MORE money into recording. We're losing SLEEP trying to balance writing+recording with our day jobs.
AAAND. Yall are gonna be seeing even MORE of us. Mf we boutta pop up on your timeline like those local MILF in your area ads you get when you trying to torrent Oldboy [2003] off of untrustworthy websites.
So FINAL WARNING. BETTER UNFOLLOW AND BLOCK US NOW IF YOU DONT WANNA BE IMMERSED IN ALL THIS GOODNESS. ⏸️
Ps. We didnt know this till the show but atlas was shutting down shows at that location. So we were the final band to ever play the spot. Was also our first time ever playing there. Grand Opening, Grand Closing.
Photos by
@lndustry47
@ktsimonian
@thisdogllhunt
@film_and_gender
LETS GOOOOOO!!!!!!!
The @washingtonpost finally mentioned us in an article!!!!!
Well not any actual text, but a Big Beautiful Colour photo is great too.
The MLK Library show really was a special show. But that is why we need more of it, so it doesn't feel special or unique. Events like it should be normal.
We all should be able to go out to shows that have great music, great people, and strangers from places we've never been. So we can learn from one another, and realize that even with all our differences and individualities we also got a lot in common. And that we can all mosh together.
WHICH BTW, THAT MOSHPIT THEY MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE. WE STARTED IT. WITH OUR MUSIC AND SEXY MOVES.
Photo by - @annaroselayden
Article by - @sophia.solano
AMAZING SHOW LAST WEEKEND
Thanks to @crushfund and @film_and_gender for sharing the stage with us. We all tore the roof off of @cometpingpong
NEXT SHOW IS THIS SUN [AUG 31ST 7PM] @atlasbrewworks (Ivy City)
With
@whitebeastband @infinityknives x @brianennals and @ohvioletofficial
This will be our last show till october. So if yall been meaning to catch us, or have some friends yall have been evangelizing to about us, this is your last chance to get in on the XK experience till then.
TIX LINK IN BIO
Photos and edit by @thisdogllhunt

You know when you're reading an article on a band and the journalist starts making all these wild ass statements about the music? Just GLAZING the hell outta them. Then you go to check out the band and it ends up being a double pack of straight ASS 🤮.
WELL NOT US. Any amazing thing you hear about us is TRUE. VERIFIED. STANDS UP TO SCRUTINY. Wish we could say the same about other things in this country 🫣.
If yall want more proof of our amazingness.
ROLL THROUGH AUG 23RD
ALL AGES SHOW
@cometpingpong
Playing with outta town homies @film_and_gender and @crushfund
9PM
TIX LINK IN BIO
XK SCENARIO ARTICLE IN BIO
Footage by - @ktsimonian
Edit by - @alex.menick
Video text by - @izzerzz_

Can't speak for too long. In the middle of packing up for our show at @theatlantis_dc
Aug 13th AKA TONIGHT
6PM
WE ARE OPENING. SO HELP ME GOD IF YOU SHOW UP LATE AND MISS OUR SET WE WILL KNOW, AND WE WILL FIND YOU.
Also excited to be playing alongside headliner @oceansleeper and support @garzi and @sagebandnj
TIX IN BIO
Shot by @alex.menick
Edited by @ethioblacklion_
Starring @xk_scenario
Thx to @theatlantis_dc for letting us roll thru and make this vid last second.

The age of XK Scenario is arriving
ARE YALL HOPPING ON THE BUS WITH US?
Cause we aint stopping till we get to where we want to be. And where is it that we want to be?
We want a land of proud creatives, of proud artists, of proud people that make this world a more interesting place. And to make these fools, cowards, and weaklings — who try to destroy this sacred gift of creation — shrink back to the dirt where they belong.
Yea this sounds combative, confrontational, maybe a little extra. But man what's the alternative? To chill out? To act in a more acceptable manner?
Hell nah. That's boring. This is more fun.
Footage by @ktsimonian
Mosh footage by @rachel.d.latte
Edit by @alex.menick
First things first. Thanks to @dcpubliclibrary @dcpunkarchive @mtpleasantlibraryfriends and @rediscoverfirebooking for having us. Was great to see all those different people from different walks of life all come together and mosh in one crowd. That was the type of audience we've always wanted to perform to.
Second, we're used to bad things happening in clusters. For the first time in a LONG time we got the opposite happening. I guess someone put in a word to someone else after seeing our performance, but we got asked if we'd be able to perform at @theatlantis_dc with @oceansleeper @sagebandnj and @garzi on Aug 13th.
And of course we said yes.
Now this is a pretty big deal to us, cause we'll be real. We were NOT expecting a band like us, who makes music like us, who talks like us, and who acts like us to get offered even an opening slot at a venue like The Atlantis at our current level. The fact that the movers and shakers in this city saw what we did and said "yea we can def make money off of this" goes to show that it dont matter how weird your art is, as long as you believe in it hard enough, others will too.
We got a hell of a lot of shows coming up in Aug. So we'll be making a full flyer for the show dates soon.
TIX LINK IN BIO
Pictures by @lndustry47
We are playing the @dcpubliclibrary Rooftop Punk Show alongside the VERY old friends @springsilvergram and new friends @petrichordc on
Wed, July 23rd at 6:30PM FREE SHOW BTW.
Now yes, some of yall might be thinking. Wait, arent yall playing with Spring Silver at Hice Mice like 3 days before the show? Yes we are. We didnt know that we were gonna be playing with each other at this show till today. Guess they knew that they needed to get the best bands in the DMV to start off this series of shows.
And yes it's at a Library. I know the idea of reading, books, and knowledge terrify some of you. But don't worry, we don't insult people who arent educated — cause we all start off as uneducated. We only insult people who don't have any curiosity. Think about that 🤔
Damn, guess this hater got proven wrong. 😂
Ay but in all seriousness. This amazing E.P. ANNOUNCEMENT show was only possible cause of everyone involved.
The big man @id_singer and his team who set it up after we asked him. @taisha_estrada and @misc.rocks who both agreed to tear up the room alongside us. AND YOU 👉 the people who showed up for some good ass music. And not to be presumptuous, but we think yall got that good ass music.
This "little" band is gonna keep working on that new E.P. and will be revealing more details like the name, slivers of the tracks, and the concept it's based on. Yea, this is a concept E.P. we trying to bring literacy back. Stay tuned for more.🫡
Photos by @ktsimonian

At least they aint calling us @limpbizkit
Aite, inflammatory advertising aside. We are influenced by artists like
The MC5, Flobots, King Crimson, The Mars Volta, Nas, Aceyalone, Ka, The Doors, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Mulatu Astatke, Alemayehu Eshete, MAGMA, James Brown, Rakim, Pharoah Sanders, Fela Kuti, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Muddy Waters, The Rolling Stones, Death, Bad Brains, Scream, Gorillaz, Gil-Scott-Heron, Hieroglyphics, Mos Def, early Eminem, and yes, even Rage Against the Machine.
Now look at all those influences. We take from a wide history of musicians from different eras and genres. Of all the art we take from, is Rage the only one that deserve the focus? Like we said, we love em. But we're doing more than "just Rage."
Song: Blank Tombstones
Band: XK Scenario
XK Scenario:
Kaleab Elias(@ethioblacklion_ ) - Lyrics, Vocals
Alex Menick(@alex.menick ) - Guitar, Video
Additional Musicians:
Ryan West - Drums
Zack Be(@bezackbe ) - Bass
Camera/Engineer:
Brian Macdonald(@brianmacdp ) - Camera
Keith (@filmic_standard ) - Camera
Shesh Batni(@sheshnb ) - Camera, Video
Ananth Batni(@ananthbatni ) - Camera, Recording, Mixing
Pablo Cabrera(@pabloforhire ) - Mixing, Mastering

Sincerity is a lost art.
When you being REAL it makes people uncomfortable sometimes. This discomfort is a good thing. It gives you a chance to REFLECT. To find out more about yourself, and it makes you THINK about things you wouldn't usually THINK about.
That's why we never worry about looking like "Tryhards" or being "Dramatic." Cause we'd rather be that than hide behind "irony" or "nonchalance." True strength comes from EXPRESSION.
Song - "Loss of Sanctity"
Band - "XK Scenario"
XK Scenario -
Kaleab Elias(@ethioblacklion_ ) - Lyrics, Vocals
Alex Menick(@alex.menick ) - Guitar, Video
Additional Musicians -
Lucas Kirby(@conniptioh ) - Drums
Jake Coasby - Bass
Engineers -
Pablo Cabrera(@pabloforhire ) - Recording, Mixing, Mastering
Mike Weitman(@mikeweitman ) - Recording
Recorded live at Weitman Studios

It's fun to constantly spit in the face of "normal music."
What does NORMAL even mean? Is normal just something that is widely accepted/widely known? What if there's something EVERYONE didn't know that they always wanted? Wouldn't that be normal?
But if it isn't known, or isn't accepted due to obscurity then it isn't normal. It's ABNORMAL, regardless of its potential to be accepted.
Man, we don't wanna think about all of that, we just wanna make some GOOD ASS music. And hopefully the GOODASSEDNESS of the music can resonate with people.
Song: "Drown Out The Hollow"
Band: "XK Scenario"
XK Scenario:
Kaleab Elias(@ethioblacklion_ ) - Lyrics, Vocals
Alex Menick(@alex.menick ) - Guitar, Video
Additional Musicians:
Lucas Kirby(@conniptioh ) - Drums
Jake Coasby - Bass
Engineers:
Pablo Cabrera(@pabloforhire ) - Recording, Mixing, Mastering
Mike Weitman(@mikeweitman ) - Recording
Recorded Live at "Weitman Studios"

ANOTHA PRACTICE SESSION OF THE WORLD'S MOST DIFFICULT SONG
This song is called Ecce Homo, off of our recent E.P.
"A Monument to All Our Tomorrows"
Sometimes we worry that because we make it look so easy people forget just how crazy this music really is. It's a combination of genres performed at a level which most people wouldn't bother to try to play at. And I don't blame em. This shi is DIFFICULT.
BUT, it is fun as hell. This is like the Dark Souls of music. Yea yall heard us, we saying that playing our music is a SOULSLIKE EXPERIENCE.
Song: Ecce Homo
Band: XK Scenario
XK Scenario -
Kaleab Elias(@ethioblacklion_ ) - Lyrics, Vocals
Alex Menick(@alex.menick ) - Guitar, Video
Additional Musicians -
Francis(@causticcasanova ) - Bass
Lucas Kirby(@conniptioh ) - Drums, Drum Camera
Engineer -
Pablo Cabrera(@pabloforhire ) - Practice Recording, Mix
Practiced and Recorded at Analog Approach Studio

Aint no such thing as halfway crooks.
If you love something, if you want it to succeed. YOU GOTTA GO IN. And we don't mean just hardwork. It means making decisions that seem unconventional, it means having faith when no one has faith in you, it means DOING YOU NO MATTER WHAT.
Dont get us wrong. This isn't another push for that hustle culture BS. This is about expression. About how when you're always you in all situations, more doors open than close. (Except in the corporate world, lie your way to that paycheck)
This dedication to authenticity is what allowed us, "XK Scenario" to become such a unique band. And it will continue to reflect in all the art we make as long as we exist.
Song: The End is Really F*cking Nigh
Band: XK Scenario
XK Scenario -
Kaleab Elias (@ethioblacklion_ ) Lyrics, Vocals
Alex Menick (@alex.menick ) Guitar, Video
Additional Musicians -
Ryan West - Drums
Zack Be (@bezackbe ) Bass
Technical/Video
Shesh (@sheshnb ) Camera, Video
Keith (@filmic_standard ) Camera
Brian (@brianmacdp) Camera
Ananth Batni (@ananthbatni ) Recording, Mix, Camera
Pablo Cabrera (@pabloforhire ) Mix, Master
Recorded LIVE at "The Classroom" (R.I.P)