Audio Karate

Audio Karate came out of Chicago in the early 2000s with a sound that mixed punk energy and melodic rock. Their debut album 'A Whole Lotta Weight' arrived in 2002, and the title track got some radio play. The band was fronted by Dre Robinson, whose lyrics had an introspective quality that sometimes got them labeled as emo, a tag they weren't entirely comfortable with at first.

Robinson left the band in 2006, and Audio Karate went through some lineup changes after that. They kept recording, putting out albums like 'Survival' in 2007 and 'California' in 2009. Their later work showed some shifts in sound while staying rooted in that punk-rock foundation. Songs like 'Aim To Please' and 'Betrayed' give a good sense of their approach, direct, tuneful, and a little rough around the edges.