King Washington, comprised of Tyson Kelly(guitarist/lead vocalist ), George Krikes(lead guitarist), Dylan Cronin(bassist) and Kyle Turek (Percussion), are all seasoned musicians and vocalists and has created a work infused of musical flavors, with influences ranging from classic acts like the Talking Heads, John Lennon, The Beach Boys, to contemporary talents Radiohead, REM, and The Negro Problem. King Washington has a chat with Frozen Aisle Magazine and talks about inspiration, musical influences, and the industry.




How did the band begin their career?

It all started shortly after Tyson graduated High School in 2005. Essentially, he had recorded a demo with a friend with about six original numbers. So they grabbed what musicians they knew, best friend on drums, cousin on bass and got it done. After which, they recorded a very rough Demo which got around and attracted Dylan Cronin, who is now our bass player, but started off on guitar. Through the years Dylan and Tyson got much closer and would start to harmonize and write on a regular basis, giving King Washington a new sound. Contributing to that new sound we would later find George Krikes, who met the band thru Spencer (manager and brother of lead singer Tyson) while attending USC. George was there as a Jazz Guitar major; a prime musician. And through a great deal of negotiations we managed to get him to join the band.

What musicians have guided you or inspired you over the years? How would describe your sound?

To name a few: The Beatles, Harry Chapin, Paul Simon, Tom Waits, and David Bowie are huge inspirations as songwriters and musicians. Tyson didn't really get into music until he was about 9. He was obsessed with Weird Al. Had two copies of all of his albums and knew every song. And because Weird Al mainly chose hit songs to do parodies of, it was his way of cheating through music of the 80's and knowing most of the songs that someone born in 1975 would know, or the music to the songs, at least. Eventually he expanded his horizon and got into The Beatles, The Negro Problem, The Talking Heads, Radiohead, The Flamming Lips, Cat Stevens, and Classical piano.
Our sound is a great mix of many things. Our vocals are immediately reminiscent of The Beatles or The Byrds type, and our songs are of the same caliber. Our acoustic side is really unlike any other. People have told us that certain songs sound like Radiohead, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Coldplay; the greatest compliment of all being that some our songs are completely unique to our sound.

Who do you compare yourself to in the music industry?

No one currently.

Could you describe the music-making process for the Grenadine EP and workflow for a song?

Some tracks were recorded with Paul Inder at his studio in Beverly Hills. Many teas were made and many long nights ensued. George was still in school and would find time between and after classes to head out there and make the most of the time… Some of the other tracks were recorded at George’s studio in Camarillo. I Get By is a very live recording, both guitars and drums were recorded live really as a rehearsal, but the vibe was undeniably awesome, so we stacked on two takes of vocals with all of us singing into one mic, and poof, I Get By.

For the writing of the Grenadine EP Tyson brought a lot of the basic song structure to the table, with the music and the melodies, but often lacking subject and lyrics. From there we evaluate harmonies and discuss what the song feels it should be about, or who should play what. Dylan usually puts down the great lyrics but the songs would not exist in their form with out heavy input from all of us.

Who has helped the band along the way?

Everyone whose ever been a member, or jumped in for shows when we needed them. Tyson’s father, who did just this when he was my age, believes in us and has helped us out through out the years. But mainly our fans who come out to shows. Also, Spencer Kelly has been a huge help as our manager. He’s gotten us gigs and has found us many opportunities along the way.

What is your favorite and least favorite thing about the music industry?

We love playing music, at great venues with great sound. Just being able to sing and harmonize and hear it projected perfectly out of the monitors is magical. We love having people come up to us after a show and tell us how much they loved our set. As for the industry, we love that it can help us reach lots of people, but do wish we were time machined back to the seventies where the record execs really cared about the music more than the numbers… We really believe that it is more of a money game than anything now, so it makes it much tougher for those of us that wish to dedicate our time solely to making music. On another note, the difficulty in getting people to come to shows if they've never heard you is harder than it seems. Especially in this town, the endless annoying promotions for so many bands, how can one tell which is worthy? We feel obligated to tell our friends about shows, but when that becomes the main reason we’re calling them on a regular basic you start to feel like a weasel.

How can fans-to-be gain access to your music?

For now, selling CD’s at shows and aimestreet.com are our only venues for selling our music. We can be heard and found on myspace and facebook. We will soon be up on iTunes in next couple weeks.

Where do you see your work going? What are your plans for future projects? What are you most excited about right now?

Our rate of progress has accelerated recently. We’re most excited about playing more shows and writing/recording more songs. We have a very natural process and our sound seems to innately morph itself over time; our vocals only get tighter and our songs better. We've got big plans, important plans. The future of King Washington is very exciting.

Any suggestions for people who want to form their own bands?

Get yourself a good demo together before you start playing shows so that people have something to walk away with (to potentially share with other people) if they dig you. Learn music first! And everyone sing!