Great Ty Tabor (Kings X) interview...

[Diamondjimi]

Ty discusses Kings X and gear.

[jhale667]

King's X ROCKS. Saw this on FB yesterday, but haven't had time to watch them yet. Thanks for posting them DJ!

[Diamondjimi]

Cheers!

Ever caught them live?

Their sound is stripped down but massive.
8/12 string bass and gritty Strat . A golden combination. Plus, their harmony vocals are brilliant.
Their solo albums are worth checking out too...

[jhale667]

Cheers!

Ever caught them live?

Their sound is stripped down but massive.
8/12 string bass and gritty Strat . A golden combination. Plus, their harmony vocals are brilliant.
Their solo albums are worth checking out too...

Yes! I've seen them several times, actually - and they've never failed to impress. They're one of those rare bands that becomes more than the sum of their parts when they play together...they actually become a living, breathing THING...amazing live band. I've met Ty a few times, very cool dude.

[ThrillsNSpills]

It's definitely good to see a band like this live that understands the power of well crafted 3 part harmony.

[jhale667]

It's definitely good to see a band like this live that understands the power of well crafted 3 part harmony.

There's a total Beatles vibe to their vocal harmonies too, which is ultra-cool considering how heavy some of their stuff is.

[Diamondjimi]

They're one of those rare bands that becomes more than the sum of their parts when they play together...they actually become a living, breathing THING...amazing live band. I'

Absolutely.
Very much like Rush or the Allman Brothers in that regard.

[indeedido]

I'm in the minority, I saw them open up for AC/DC in '91 and found them quite boring. The three piece was thin. I actually sat down and about went to sleep waiting for it to end.

[jhale667]

Finally had a chance to check this interview out in its entirety this morning. Reeeeally interesting. All I know is I totally want to pattern my still-embryonic home studio after Alien Beans from watching that.

[VAiN]

I'm in the minority, I saw them open up for AC/DC in '91 and found them quite boring. The three piece was thin. I actually sat down and about went to sleep waiting for it to end.

Agreed... I saw them in 89, I think... Are they still around? I haven't heard anything from them in the last 10-15 years...

[Diamondjimi]

Finally had a chance to check this interview out in its entirety this morning. Reeeeally interesting. All I know is I totally want to pattern my still-embryonic home studio after Alien Beans from watching that.

Great little setup Ty's got there. I liked how he discussed their career. Fuck, what a hard go these guys have had. They've never stopped paying their dues. With the massive amount of talent and tons of amazing songs they have, they still can't get through. Yet it boggles the mind to think bands like Nickleback or Limp Biskit are wealthy and living very comfortably while these guys have to come off the road and fend for themselves...
So, for any bands out there trying to get noticed, dumb your music down to it's lowest formulaic ,common denominator and you'll succeed... It's a sad fuckin state, ain't it!?

Agreed... I saw them in 89, I think... Are they still around? I haven't heard anything from them in the last 10-15 years...

Still out there doin there thing. I try and catch them whenever they come around. (missed them the last couple of times)
A friend of mine saw them last year. They played a club in London (Ontario) to a half filled room. He got to hang out with them before and after. Dug was saying this feels like their last time around...
Shit, my band played the same club to half capacity, and I thought it was kinda lame. I can imagine how these guys must feel....

They haven't called it a day though. So, if they come around be sure to get tickets and buy some merchandise. It's a bands bread and butter.

[Diamondjimi]

A great thing to do is bring along a couple of people who've never heard Kings X. Once they see them live they're blown away and are hooked on them.
Trust me they will thank you for it!

[jhale667]

Great little setup Ty's got there. I liked how he discussed their career. Fuck, what a hard go these guys have had. They've never stopped paying their dues. With the massive amount of talent and tons of amazing songs they have, they still can't get through. Yet it boggles the mind to think bands like Nickleback or Limp Biskit are wealthy and living very comfortably while these guys have to come off the road and fend for themselves...
So, for any bands out there trying to get noticed, dumb your music down to it's lowest formulaic ,common denominator and you'll succeed... It's a sad fuckin state, ain't it!?

That's kinda what soured me on the "biz"...working a music industry gig, seeing bands like them overlooked, and usually dropped by the majors...ignored for cookie-cutter bullshit. Also hearing about bands being "molded" into the "next/our (whoever)"...basically if they thought they sounded remotely like any other successful band, the strong-armed them into trying to sound like said band. At this time every female pop/rock artist was intimidated basically into trying to sound like Alanis Morrisette, and the search was on for more power-pop bands with chick singers to force into sounding like No Doubt (and even if you don't find either intolerable, fact is there's already one of each). Just stupid. Like Ty says in the video, once success on even a slightly higher level in the business comes, it ceases being all about ART.

Kinda soul-crushing if you think about it: you spend your entire career trying to develop your own sound, and think you're finally getting rewarded for all your hard work and dedication... then someone dangles a carrot in front of you, with the caveat being "Fuck you, now you're going to try to sound like (X)... oh, and you know that ballad you did? Yeah, we want 10 more of those. Don't like it? Fuck off and go back to playing in dive-bars again, we'll just call you a tax write-off. "

Sounds like they have a better situation with their label now at least.

Still out there doin there thing. I try and catch them whenever they come around. (missed them the last couple of times)
A friend of mine saw them last year. They played a club in London (Ontario) to a half filled room. He got to hang out with them before and after. Dug was saying this feels like their last time around...
Shit, my band played the same club to half capacity, and I thought it was kinda lame. I can imagine how these guys must feel....

They haven't called it a day though. So, if they come around be sure to get tickets and buy some merchandise. It's a bands bread and butter.

Hope I get to see them again before they call it quits, missed them last time they played in LA. But I can kinda see why it's getting to that point - they've been slugging it out since the mid-80s, and pretty sure Dug is in his 60s now...