Kings of Leon

Kings of Leon

Kings of Leon are a Grammy nomiated American rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band is made up of three brothers – Caleb Followill (lead singer/rhythm guitar), Nathan Followill (drums/backup vocals), Jared Followill (bass guitar/backup vocals/synthesizer) – and their first cousin Matthew Followill (lead guitar/backup vocals). The band's sound derives from southern rock, garage rock, hard rock and blues. They have released four full-length albums. The group's name is derived from Nathan, Caleb and Jared's father and grandfather, both named Leon. In terms of chart positions the band has been far more popular in Europe (notably in the UK and in the Republic of Ireland) than their homeland.

History

Holy Roller Novocaine and Youth and Young Manhood: 2000-2003

Kings of Leon's first release, The Holy Roller Novocaine EP came out in 2003. Four of its five songs would later be released on Youth and Young Manhood, with the songs "California Waiting" and "Wasted Time" being remade. The EP also contained the B-side "Wicker Chair". All the songs were co-written by Angelo Petraglia.

Their debut album, Youth and Young Manhood, was a success, particularly outside the United States where they were dubbed one of the driving forces behind the so-called "new rock revolution" by the European press. Their stakes rose when they were chosen by popular rock bands The Strokes and U2 to tour with them. According to Jared, the title of the album was taken from their father's Bible. All songs were again co-written by Petraglia, who also contributed guitar and co-produced the album with Ethan Johns. The songs "Molly's Chambers", "Red Morning Light", and "Holy Roller Novocaine" were used in various video games, movies, and TV advertisements. "Holy Roller Novocaine" was also used in the films Stuck on You, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby . The first single, "Molly's Chambers" became a hit overseas.

Aha Shake Heartbreak: 2004-2005

Main article: Aha Shake Heartbreak

The band's second album Aha Shake Heartbreak was released in the United Kingdom in October 2004 and in the United States in February 2005. Building on the southern-infused garage rock of their first album, the album broadened the band's domestic and international audience. "The Bucket", "Four Kicks", and "King of the Rodeo" were all released as singles, with the "The Bucket" rising into the Top 20 in Britain. "Taper Jean Girl" was used in the 2007 movie, Disturbia. The band also garnered accolades from several of their rock peers, including Isaac Brock (musician) of Modest Mouse, Chris Naughtly, Owen Plant of Oasis, Kelly Jones of Stereophonics, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Radiohead, and Bob Dylan. The band toured with Pearl Jam and Bob Dylan for much of 2005 and 2006. The album was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns with Jacquire King handling the recording and mixing duties.

Because of the Times: 2006-2007

Main article: Because of the Times

In March 2006 Kings of Leon were back in the studio, working on their third album. Drummer Nathan Followill told NME: "Man, we're sitting on a bunch of songs right now that we wish we could let the world hear!". The band's third album was titled Because of the Times, which may be a reference to a large UPC ministers conference of the same name held in Alexandria, Louisiana that the brothers often attended.

The album was released on April 2, 2007 in the UK, and a day later in the US. NME said that the album "cemented Kings of Leon as one of the great American bands of our time" and Entertainment Weekly called Because of the Times "an epic wide-screen movie of a CD and the band's best to date." Another reviewer described Because of the Times as, "an accomplished album of unbelievable beauty and familiar, loveable grit. Kings of Leon is maturing wonderfully and with patience, not forcing anything musically or lyrically that doesn’t sound natural."

The album debuted at #1 in the UK and Ireland and entered the US charts at #25, selling approximately 70,000 copies in its first week of release. The album was preceded by the single "On Call", which became a hit in Britain and Ireland. The album showed a clear evolution from the band's previous work, as the band's trademark dirty, southern-fried swagger was replaced with a more mature, polished sound. Other singles from the album were "Fans" and "Charmer." The album was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns.

Only by the Night: 2008-present

Main article: Only by the Night

In early 2008, frontman Caleb Followill confirmed to UK magazine NME that the band was working on tracks for a fourth album. In an interview, Jared Followill said the album would "rock harder" and that they were "ready to tackle their southern roots...again." Recording began in February 2008 after the band completed its 2007 tour. In their latest Rolling Stone interview the band cited an array of influences for the new record, including Crystal Castles, My Morning Jacket, and Radiohead. The album was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Jacquire King. King was also responsible for all the recording and mixing engineer duties.

They announced that they would be touring Ireland and Great Britain with their new album material in December 2008. This is following headline sets at T In The Park in Perth and Kinross, Scotland and Oxegen Festival in Co. Kildare Ireland in July, V Festival in mid-August and the set they performed headlining the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2008. In September 2008, they performed on the BBC2 TV show Later with Jools Holland.

The song "Crawl" from this album was released as a free download on the band's website on July 28th. On August 5, 2008 the first single "Sex on Fire" was released on their MySpace page and subsequently released to radio. "Sex on Fire" was then released as a single for download in the UK on the 8th of September. The song became the band's first top 10 hit and first British number 1 and it also reached the top spot in Ireland.

On September 28, 2008, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1, with sales of over 220,000 copies.

In early 2009 Kings of Leon will return to Australia and New Zealand for headlining shows in support of Only By The Night. Large arena tours will be held in the Australian cities of Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Newcastle and Perth; as well as the New Zealand cities of Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. This will be the second time the Kings of Leon have headlined in Australasia since their headlining tour in early 2008, not including their Big Day Out festival appearances in 2004 and 2006.

Kings of leon originally started in the year 2000, and have been a great success since.

Background, influences and style

Jared and Caleb were born in Tennessee, while Matthew and Nathan were born in Oklahoma. Matthew is the three brothers' cousin. The brothers spent much of their youth travelling around the South with their father, Leon, a traveling United Pentecostal Church preacher and their mother, who taught them when they were not in school. According to Rolling Stone magazine, "While Leon preached at churches and tent revivals throughout the Deep South, the boys attended and were occasionally enlisted to bang on some drums. They were home-schooled or enrolled in small parochial schools. Except for a five-year stretch when they settled in Jackson, Tennessee, the Followills spent their childhoods driving through the South, camping for a week or two wherever Leon was scheduled to preach."

They all go by their middle names in the band; Anthony (Caleb) Followill, Michael (Jared) Followill, Ivan (Nathan) Followill, and Cameron (Matthew) Followill.

Although it was rumoured their father was defrocked, in an article for Q Magazine in July 2007 Leon himself stated "I was not defrocked, I was forced to resign." After various jobs, the brothers moved to Nashville in 1998. They formed a band in 2000 with their cousin Matthew. The band claim that their music was influenced equally by their religious upbringing and Jack Daniel's. Brothers Nathan and Caleb originally sang country music and later moved to playing rock and roll. They worked for a brief period of time with label and management group Pistol Creek Productions. They spent their time with this label mainly singing at rodeos. They also were members of the West Tennessee Mass Choir for a short time. Nathan, the eldest of the brothers, graduated from Christian Life Academy (a private school that is now defunct) in Henderson, TN. Caleb dropped out mid-senior year to pursue country music.

They were introduced to Nashville-based, Emmy-nominated singer/songwriter/producer Angelo Petraglia, who'd previously worked with artists such as Patty Griffin, Emmy Lou Harris, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Brooks and Dunn, and Be Your Own Pet. Petraglia would prove very important to the band, moving them in a more rock-oriented direction and co-writing many of their songs. Eventually Petraglia and the two Followill brothers went to New York City, along with manager Ken Levitan. They played for nine labels in two days, the two brothers singing, accompanied by Petraglia on guitar. Out of the nine auditions, they got four offers and ended up signing with RCA records. They returned to Nashville and began writing what would become their first album, Youth and Young Manhood.

In an interview Caleb Followill cited Neil Young and Bob Dylan as some of the band's early influences. Caleb also stated though that "...because of the way we [the band members] grew up, we were really sheltered from music and we didn't know that much...", going on to say that the significant musical influences have only been in very recent years.

Discography

See also: Kings of Leon discography

• Youth and Young Manhood (2003)
• Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)
• Because of the Times (2007)
• Only by the Night (2008)

External links

• Official website
• Template:Myspace