Ugly Kid Joe’s Klaus Eichstadt On The New “Rad Wings Of Destiny” Album, Future Band Plans & How Pretty Boy Floyd Thinks Of UKJ

Formed in Isla Vista, California in 1989, Ugly Kid Joe rose to prominence with its debut EP, 1991’s As Ugly As They Wanna Be. Reportedly the first EP to ever go platinum, As Ugly As They Wanna Be was followed up the multi-platinum-selling debut album America’s Least Wanted in 1992, thanks to the hits “Cats In The Cradle” and “Everything About You.” Ugly Kid Joe split up in 1997, ultimately reforming in 2010. 2012 brought the Stairway To Hell EP, and several new UKJ albums have followed since then.

Earlier this month, Ugly Kid Joe — comprised of Whitfield Crane on vocals, Klaus Eichstadt and Dave Fortman on guitar and Cordell Crockett on bass and drummer Zac Morris — released its first new album in seven years, Rad Wings Of Destiny. Rad Wings saw the band once again teaming up with producer Mark Dodson, who was behind the desk for 1992’s America’s Least Wanted; America’s Least Wanted notably celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. The 10-track album includes the radio singles “That Ain’t Livin’,” “Kill The Pain,” “Long Road” and the currently-charting new single “Failure.”

On October 26, 2022, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ugly Kid Joe guitarist and co-founder Klaus Eichstadt via Zoom, which you can watch here. Besides future band plans, we discussed the irony of former Judas Priest producer Mark Dodson on working on Sad Wings, how Pretty Boy Floyd thought of Ugly Kid Joe, and how comedy often finds its way into the quintet’s music and album titles. More on Eichstadt, Ugly Kid Joe and Rad Wings Of Destiny can be found online by clicking here, here and here.

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Tags: California, Judas Priest, Klaus Eichstadt, Pretty Boy Floyd, Ugly Kid Joe, Whitfield Crane

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."