Jared Followill

Jared Followill

Michael Jared Followill (born November 20, 1986), also known as Jared Followill, is the bass guitarist of American rock band Kings of Leon. He is also the band's pianist. He is the brother to fellow band members, lead singer Caleb Followill and drummer Nathan Followill, and cousin to lead guitarist Matthew Followill.

Personal life

Followill was born to Betty-Ann and Ivan Leon Followill, a Pentecostal evangelist minister, who traveled around the American South. He and his brothers, fellow band members Nathan and Caleb grew up travelling with their father, often sleeping in churches, their car or friend's houses, and their mother Betty-Ann taught them when they were not in school. After several years of preaching around the south, their father left the church and Ivan and Betty-Ann divorced. However, Ivan remarried and is now dedicated to the work of the Lord, again.

He was asked to join the band when he was 14 years old although he had never played the bass prior to joining the band and originally did not want to be the bassist. He taught himself within a month before the recording of Youth and Young Manhood, when he was 16 years old.

Equipment

Basses

Followill mainly uses a Gibson Thunderbirds IV Alpine White, Ebony, but has now removed the scratchplate from the Ebony Thunderbird, creating an all-black look. He also smashed the Alpine White Thunderbird on the last gig of Kings of Leon's 2009 Australian tour. Jared prefers the Ebony Thunderbird, but used his Vintage White Thunderbird for live shows because it produced a better tone for the band as a whole. He is rarely seen with another bass but he can also be seen using a Gibson EB-3. Followill has also played a Fender Jazz Bass, a Gibson EB-0, and Fender Precision Bass on earlier Kings of Leon albums, but used Thunderbirds exclusively on Because Of The Times, Only By the Night and for recent live shows. All basses are strung with D'Addario medium nickel roundwounds

Effects

• BOSS TR-2 Tremolo
• BOSS ME-50 multi-effect
• BOSS DD-3 Digital Delay
• BOSS RV-5 Digital Reverb
• Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler

• Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro controller
• Electro-Harmonix Big Muff
• MXR M-133 Micro Amp
• Moog Little Phatty synthesizer
• microKORG

Amplification

• Avalon U5 DI preamp
• Ampeg SVT Classic heads
• Audio Kitchen Base Chopper heads (since Come Around Sundown)
• Ampeg SVT 8x10" cabinets
• Fender amplifier

Playing style

Jared Followill mainly plays with a pick, though he has stated that he finds finger style easier. He also uses his thumb to pluck the strings when he plays higher on the neck. He uses effects, particularly distortion, because he dislikes clean sounds. His tone is also heavy on higher frequencies because he tries to make his bass sound like a distorted baritone guitar. Followill cites influences such as Peter Hook of Joy Division and New Order, Kim Deal of The Pixies, and Nikolai Fraiture of The Strokes.

Discography

For a more comprehensive list, see Kings of Leon discography.

• Youth and Young Manhood (2003)
• Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)
• Because of the Times (2007)
• Only by the Night (2008)
• Come Around Sundown (2010)