About The Whole Bolivian Army
Let's start with the short version: Boy meets girl. Girl says she can sing. Boy invites girl to mom's basement for quick tryout with newly forming band. Girl opens mouth to sing. Boy falls in love. The Whole Bolivian Army is born! (Cue soundtrack...)
The girl eventually married the boy, and today Mary Beth Kite (vocals) and Matt Kite (guitar) are the only remaining members of the original lineup. Gibson Kite, their son, became TWBA's full-time drummer in 2018.
Based out of Tacoma, WA, TWBA has been playing to Northwest audiences since 1993 and has survived grunge, Y2K, and the departure of the Seattle Super Sonics, among other adventures. The band has shared stages large (Seattle's mural amphitheater) and small (the fabled Crocodile Café) with Seattle luminaries ranging from Harvey Danger to Goodness.
TWBA's music has its roots planted firmly in the "modern rock" and "alternative" sound that aired on college radio in the '80s and '90s with the likes of The Sundays and Throwing Muses. Comparisons run the gamut, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a band that sounds like The Whole Bolivian Army-according to its fans, the Northwest's best-kept secret.
TWBA runs its own label, Gargantuan Records, and has played an active role in the Northwest music community for the last several years. Along with spawning Wilmafest (a foofy-free, estrogen-fortified version of Lilith Fair) and Gargantuan Productions (a short-lived musicians' co-op), the band has donated performances and/or recordings to Amnesty International, Students Against Violence Everywhere, the Bread Alone Project, Home Alive, Northwest Harvest, the Saint Hussy Scholarship Fund, Seattle Peace Concerts, and the Washington State Arthritis Foundation.