Beloved Genre-Benders Karate Make a Fitting Comeback Its one of the decades feel-good music stories: How the legendary alumni acts rediscovery led to rereleases, live reunions, a great new album, Make It Fit.
By
John Mirisola
October 24, 2024
Left to right: Geoff Farina, Jeff Goddard, and Gavin McCarthy of Karate
Image courtesy of Shawn Brackbill / shawnbrackbill.com
If youre looking for one of the feel-good music stories of the 2020s, consider the unlikely reappearance of legendary jazz-punk pioneers Karate some two decades after the band called it quits.
Lost, Found: A Brief History of Karates Dark AgeFrom 1993 until their breakup in 2004, Karate, led by guitarist and singer Geoff Farina BM '91, cultivated a sound that was completely its own. The band floated across the borders of indie rock, punk, jazz, and all their interrelated subgenres-emo, slowcore, post-rock, and so on. Along the way it amassed a loyal league of fans from all of those camps and from adventurous listeners everywhere in between.
But in the years since Karates breakup, the bands music really did become the stuff of legend. Its label neglected its catalog, let the releases fall out of print, failed to make the albums available on most streaming services, and wouldnt release the masters. It was a good decade where you couldnt get our music, says Farina. It was upsetting.
Listen to the first track from Karates 1998 release, The Bed Is in the Ocean.
Through those years, those who knew about Karate, well, they knew. Everybody else never had the chance. Until, as this century seems to go: the internet got involved. But in this narrow case, that was a good thing.
Whatever happens on the internet happened to us, Farina says, and people got more and more interested in our records.
Then in the fall of 2020, an article in the Chicago Reader asked the question on every Karate fans mind: Why isnt anyone reissuing Karate records?
Ken [Shipley] from Numero [Group] saw that, and called me, and all this kind of happened, Farina says. Over the next few years, prestige archival record label the Numero Group rereleased all six of the bands albums in physical and streaming formats, to widespread critical acclaim. Its been a little bit of a vindication, says Farina, to see so many old fans reconnect with these albums, and to see their music connect with new audiences.
Whatever the Style, Karate Make It Fit
The rereleases led to a reunion tour in 2022 with Karates long-time lineup of Farina, bassist Jeff Goddard '88, and drummer Gavin McCarthy BM '02. More shows and festival dates followed in the years since. All of this led, this October, to their first new album in 20 years, Make It Fit, on which they drive home a point theyve made persuasively since their early days playing Boston clubs and colleges: We always sound like Karate, no matter what we do, as Farina says.
Theres a timeless quality to these new songs. You can still hear the DIY punk and indie influences that have been with the band since its inception, but these touch-points are mixed liberally with echoes of everything from the literate pub rock of Elvis Costello to vocal jazz balladry, to Thin Lizzy, to midcentury rock n roll, plus dozens of others. Its the logical next step for a band that left genre distinctions behind somewhere in the mid-nineties, then took a 20-year beat, but never stopped digging through record crates for new sounds to inspire them.
Well try anything, says Farina, who also teaches courses on songwriting and music history at DePaul University in Chicago, and whose other musical projects range from jazz to Americana to Italian folk-punk. We just sort of do whats interesting to us musically at the time. When I write songs . . . if something feels right when I play it and sing it, then it doesnt matter what the genre is. I just try to make it work.
The State of the Guitar SoloOne distinctive through-line in that omnivorous Karate sound: the guitar solos. This might seem natural for a Berklee-trained musician who spent his weekends in the library . . . trying to transcribe Coltrane solos. But taking a solo was a transgressive impulse within the scenes that Karate frequented. Almost all of the bands we were peers with in the '90s were not into guitar solos, Farina says.
Those solos, often the clearest line you can trace back to the bands affection for jazz, have set the band apart even as the State of the Guitar Solo has waned and waxed in rock music.
Farina admits, with something of a wink, that its just been something Ive always tried to do-in some ways, I think, inappropriately, in some songs or some records. . . . Its kind of a challenge I put in front of myself-doing something besides singing and just playing rhythm guitar. But he adds that on Make It Fit, they made an extra effort to coordinate the band more closely during those sections: I really tried to make it sound as if were always playing together.
Guitar Playing Styles to Explore and Master
From classical and jazz to hard rock and the avant-garde, take a tour of the instrument's near-limitless potential.
Boston BeginningsWhile Farina isnt clear where Karates reunion will lead-were just doing it year by year-he still recalls fondly where his musical career really kicked off. Surprise: Its Berklee. It was such a great time, he says. I still think about arriving in Boston in 1988. He fell into the citys indie scene, going to shows at the Middle East and the Rathskeller-an iconic venue that closed in 1997-and frequenting the numerous record shops and music stores surrounding campus in those days. Its this Boston indie scene that Karate would step into in the '90s.
But just as importantly, Farina says, was arriving at Berklee and understanding how terrible a musician I was. He was stunned by his classmates musical skills and the skills of my instruct
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
15/10/2025
Across the world, early-career reporters are interrogating systems that shape daily life, from mortuaries and classrooms to the corridors of legal education and...
15/10/2025
St. Louis Blues Pay Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in New Pregame Open VideoThe NHL franchise worked with production firms 2WEI and 4th Floor CreativeBy Mark J Burns,...
15/10/2025
Cobalt Digital, G3DVu, Proxima Vision, and Telos Alliance Renew Premier Sponsors...
15/10/2025
By Paige Bethmann
Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she'd been for a few weeks. When I arrived, the nurs...
15/10/2025
Two years ago, Spotify set out to grow the entire publishing industry by making ...
15/10/2025
People turn to DJ for a listening experience that feels personal, dynamic, and j...
15/10/2025
Las personas recurren a DJ para vivir una experiencia de escucha personal, din m...
15/10/2025
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen and luminary actor Jeremy Allen White came togethe...
15/10/2025
At Spotify, we're all about supporting rising talent and helping them connec...
15/10/2025
New SBS Documentary Series THE CANCER KILLERS Premieres 4 November on SBS & SBS ...
15/10/2025
SBS celebrates the Festivals of Lights with bold, illuminating stories across th...
15/10/2025
One of humanity's most profound questions continues: Is there any place in our galaxy suitable for life beyond Earth? NASA intends to find out, with the hel...
15/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
15/10/2025
Scality, a global leader in cyber-resilient storage software for the AI era, today announced the advancement of its comprehensive AI ecosystem certification pro...
15/10/2025
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today unveiled key highlights of the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat, scheduled for Feb. 15 19 at the Westin Rancho Mirage Go...
15/10/2025
At NAB Show New York 2025 (Stand 244), Interra Systems will showcase the future of media QC, monitoring, and captioning, highlighting its award-winning, AI- and...
15/10/2025
Grass Valley today announced that RMC BFM, part of the CMA-CGM Group and France's third-largest private media group, has chosen Grass Valley's productio...
15/10/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future of hybrid, s...
15/10/2025
Rakim to Join Berklee's Hip-Hop Hall of Fame at Signature Series Concert The rap icon becomes the latest inductee, following luminaries such as Roxanne Sh...
15/10/2025
Berklee Brings Live Music to the Head of the Charles Student artists will perform on multiple riverfront stages during the 60th anniversary of the world's...
15/10/2025
CobbTV, the government access television channel for Cobb County, Ga. recently acquired an automated playout system from Pebble, a global provider of automation...
15/10/2025
OSLO, Norway Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future...
15/10/2025
NEW YORK The NBA is making major changes to the NBA App and NBA TV as it takes control of them from TNT Sports, which has long managed the league's digital ...
15/10/2025
SAN MATEO, Calif. In what promises to be a major expansion of interactive features and personalized content on the DirecTV platform, the operator and Glance hav...
15/10/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has launched changes to its user interface (UI) that the streaming platform says will better showcase original programming on the platform...
15/10/2025
LOS ANGELES Software-defined data storage and data services provider OpenDrives has elevated Alex Dunfey to chief technology officer, responsible for driving th...
15/10/2025
Abu Dhabi, UAE October 15, 2025: Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-powe...
15/10/2025
Sheldon Nichols and Will Trickett to find and prepare more classic cars for budget conscious would-be owners from Wiser Films
UKTV have recommissioned the clas...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
Nick Cave
JPEG (275 KB)
Explore the creative univer...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
From breaking up with your partner to quitting your job - new polling shows some messages are just too scary to send
Over a fifth (...
15/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz unveils compact MXO 3 oscilloscopes with 4 and 8 channels: Advan...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Revenge Series The Resurrected' Captivates Audiences Across Asia
Entertainment
15 October 2025
GlobalTaiwan
Link copied to clipboard
...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Bringing the Best in VFX and Virtual Production Together as Eyeline
Jeffrey Shapiro
CEO, Eyeline
Business
15 October 2025
GlobalCanadaInd...
15/10/2025
Deployed by Astound Business Solutions, Harmonic's Primary Distribution Solution Ensures Outstanding Video Quality and Seamless Ad Insertion at the Edge
SA...
15/10/2025
Collaboration extends a trusted relationship as RMC BFM invests in scalable, fut...
15/10/2025
Series coming in 2026 stars Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'Mara released today
RT today released first look images of new comedy-drama ...
14/10/2025
SVG Europe Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAYNetworking event that preceded IBC2025 shone a light on elite live sports innovation acro...
14/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Author Rich Podolsky on Writing Madden & Summerall: How They Revo...
14/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Michael Reiners, Coordinating Producer, FloRacingThe Illinois State grad steers a vast schedule of motorsports events at tracks across the countr...
14/10/2025
Content protection: Getting the right management for your DRM By Neal Romanek
Friday, October 10, 2025 - 10:11
Print This Story
Eluvio power the EPCR'...
14/10/2025
As League Takes Over Ops, NBA TV and NBA App Add 60 Games, Weekday Studio Show, ...
14/10/2025
Time and effort: World's largest student-led broadcast prepares to go On Air...
14/10/2025
(L-R) Guest, Kimberly Robinson Jones, Geeta Gandbhir, Pamela Dias, and Takema Ro...
14/10/2025
Lossless ist jetzt mit Spotify Premium verf gbar.
Verlustfreies Audio war eine...
14/10/2025
La qualit Lossless est disponible sur Spotify Premium.
Le format sans perte de...
14/10/2025
For the seventh edition of Spotify and FC Barcelona's artist jersey series, ...
14/10/2025
Spotify is committed to bringing the best listening experience to all our users, and that includes parents and families. That's why we're expanding mana...
14/10/2025
Since its debut, the Spotify Original podcast Caso 63 has been more than just a story; it's been a cultural sensation. The science fiction thriller captivat...
Beloved Genre-Benders Karate Make a Fitting Comeback Its one of the decades feel-good music stories: How the legendary alumni acts rediscovery led to rereleases, live reunions, a great new album, Make It Fit.
