A series of interviews reveals how loved – and how big – the power trio could have been
Fans of the band King’s X, myself included, have been asking for decades why this trio of talented musicians never became a household name. This collection of interviews goes a long way into explaining how the band narrowly missed fame and fortune more than a handful of times.
King’s X – The Discogrophy
Author Greg Prato wrote this documentary largely from simply compiling a ton of interviews. Either with the band members, promoters, engineers, sound guys, or other musicians who call the trio an influence, the opinions he gathered really explain the band’s history.
Along the way, he gets a track-by-track series of opinions of every song on every album the band recorded, beginning with “Out of the Silent Planet” and going all of the way through “XV.” He even gets each individual breakdown of their solo projects. Many of the songs map directly to where each songwriter was struggling at that time.
King’s X – The History
If nothing else, Prato’s book is a study in maturity. Each member of King’s X has grown up from an idealistic youngster to an experienced musician burned by the churn-them-up-and-spit-them-out machine. Their lyrics reflect that experience.
Not all of their memories come from the music world. Doug explains how long he waited to come out of the closet due to his upbringing. Jerry went through incredible physical and emotional torment during his time with the band. Ty is more reserved but his commentary still reveals times of betrayal.
King’s X is a band that narrowly missed worldwide exposure often. This book explains their circumstances often. It also provides some great context into the lyrics that fans might have heard for years but never quite understood.
King’s X – The Praise
Prato interviewed a ton of musicians for this project. As it turns out, musicians love King’s X. (That’s not news. Anyone who has read an interview with a metal/grunge/punk/anything musician in 20 years have read the band’s name dropped.)
Just a few names cited in the book: Kip Winger (Winger), Mick Mars (Motley Crue), Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam), Bumblefoot, Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme), Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Marty Friedman (Megadeth), George Lynch (Dokken), and John Myung (Dream Theater.)
Conclusion
Throughout the book, the sentiment is the same. King’s X should have been the next U2. Their writing and style is timeless. Music students will be listening and covering King’s X decades after we’re all dead. The band was simply too talented and blossomed too early for the A&R guys to figure it out. Instead of being the Beatles 2.0, they wrote some of the best unknown songs ever written and toiled in poverty for the majority of their careers. These guys deserved (and deserve) better, because they are some of the best musicians who ever played.
Grab your copy of the book over at Amazon – and then go buy their entire catalog. You will not be disappointed.