In 2011, a teen named Josh Kmak (aka Joshua Scott and Josh Duhs), the nephew of drummer Joel Kmak (the Penetrators, Manual Scan, the Farmers), debuted his solo project the Nformals, which later evolved into Shady Francos. Josh's other uncle, bassist/vocalist Jeff Kmak, played in a post–Beat Farmers group with Jerry Raney and Joey Harris called Powerthud, and then later joined Harris to form Joey Harris and the Mentals.
Josh’s dad Johnny Kmak likewise played music but took it in a different direction. In the 1990s, he formed Johnny and the Goiters, dedicated to becoming the worst beer bar band ever, a pursuit that some say was successful.
"In 2011," Josh says, "I heard this lo-fi garage rock and I was completely taken over by it. That’s when I became who I am.” He began writing the songs that would eventually fuel Shady Francos, a band he later left (though it continued with new members).
In early 2016, he started work on a side project he calls Creepseed, a collection of surf-ish rock ballads with somber undertones and loads of reverb. The initial Creepseed tracks were recorded at Earthling Studios.
Kmak describes himself as a riff master. As for his vocal similarity to Kurt Cobain, “I used to be scared of singing, [but] something happened when I was 18 or 19,” says Josh. “I came out of my shell. I started yelling, and I liked it.”
His debut solo album The Undertone was released in December 2016.