In a career that’s lasted over 40 years now, King’s X have been regarded as the next big thing, a band ahead of their time – and an unsellable commodity. In 2011 bassist/vocalist Doug Pinnick told Prog about their longevity, how their music had changed, and their hopes for the future.
Known for strong vocal harmonies, complex yet hummable arrangements and emotionally uplifting lyrics, veteran US trio King’s X have experienced a career of enormous highs and demoralising lows, their first three albums being particularly cherished.
The line-up of bassist/vocalist Doug Pinnick, guitarist Ty Tabor and drummer Jerry Gaskill has somehow remained constant through it all. But then, as Pinnick explains, time has taught King’s X to be comfortable with underdog status.
You’ve just returned to the Electric Ballroom, the same venue at which King’s X shot the Live Love In London DVD two years ago.
That was a great show. No matter how bad or good we play, I gauge every performance by the reaction of the crowd. We always expect the best here in London, and London always gives it to us.
Can you explain the affinity that King’s X feels with London?
It dates back to Kerrang! magazine putting us on their cover even before our first album [Out Of The Silent Planet, 1988] was released. That was such a very big deal. We came to the UK as part of our first European tour and sold out the Marquee Club. Back at home we’d been playing shows but nobody was coming to see us. For London to embrace us they way they did and say that we were okay is something we’ve never forgotten.
You once said that, before being signed by Megaforce/Atlantic, the record labels told King’s X they were the most totally uncommercial, unsellable band they’d ever heard.
We still are! It’s probably why we never sold millions of records. But we have a loyal following that still loves us, and who will allow us to keep on doing what we do for the rest of our lives.
You certainly make challenging hard rock music – but are you a fan of progressive rock?
I am, especially the early stuff – Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, Kansas, Gentle Giant and Genesis. I stole my bass tone from Chris Squire of Yes; if I ever get to meet him I’ll tell him that. I saw Yes play an awesome outdoor show in 1972; so many great early prog shows.
My roots go back into lots of different genres – including soul, jazz and blues – but prog is a big part of what we do. We don’t write as proggy as we used to; we’re older and lazier, but you can hear it a lot on those early albums.
With more and more experimental rock bands such as Porcupine Tree, Coheed And Cambria and The Mars Volta breaking through, have you been aware of a paradigm shift during the past few years?
Yes, absolutely. My younger friends all went nuts when Coheed came out. They’d bring over those records and we’d listen to them together. It’s great that a new generation of twentysomethings is discovering the music all over again. However, as much I love and appreciate the newer prog, it’s the older bands that I’m really familiar with.
We might do a straight-up Beatles-style pop record, or make a record that consists of just one song
Were King’s X ahead of their time?
People say we were. I’ve recently been playing some stuff that we wrote even before getting a record deal and it still sounds modern – so perhaps so.
That’s a tantalising tidbit. Would you consider recording the songs concerned?
Yeah. I’ve got a pool of about 500 songs that nobody has heard yet, so maybe we would.
Is there any chance of re-embracing the format of a classic-sounding King’s X record?
Never say never. That’s what I love about playing rock music – there are no rules. We might do a straight-up Beatles-style pop record, or make a record that consists of just one song. We’ll see what happens.
You came close to suffering a breakdown after the band split with Atlantic Records...
[Interrupting] Oh... no, no, no. I never had a problem with Atlantic. What happened was that I hit a midlife crisis. My mother and father hadn’t raised me well, and I’d been through a lot of religious trauma. Then I woke up one day and realised I was alone in life.
Writing songs about the situation was what helped me through. The Ear Candy album [1996] allowed me to reconcile many issues. I still call myself a recovering Christian!
Looking back at the era in which the band was fêted as The Next Big Thing, would you have done anything differently?
I’d have done everything differently. But that being said, I’m sitting here and I’m pretty happy with my career. It might not have gone how we wanted it to but I’m still doing what I want to do. I don’t answer to anybody and I haven’t had to do a 9 to 5 job in 40 years. For me, that’s real success.
It might not have gone how we wanted it to but I’m still doing what I want to do
The last King’s X album, XV, was the band’s first since 1996 to dent the US Top 200. But that was three years ago.
There will definitely be a new record. We haven’t talked about when we’ll do it, but we will. The three of us will get together in a room and have fun – drink and smoke. Do like the Rolling Stones did; play, play, play till you find something that works. We usually put demos together first. Not this time – it’s a clean slate.
You don’t lose any sleep over maintaining the upwards curve?
No, not at all. We’d be happy if we got a hit and sold a lot of records – of course we would – but finding new fans isn’t something that we worry about anymore. Honestly, we just want to make good music for our fans, and continue to give them what they want from us. We just hope that next time they’ll bring along their friends!
