Couple the virtuosic rock guitar flourishes of Ty Tabor, the deep, groaning bass lines and strong, soulful vocals of Doug Pinnick and pounding drum work of Jerry Gaskill with beautifully crafted melodies, complex arrangements and seamless harmonies, and you have the soaring, original sound that is King's X. From their 1988 debut Out of the Silent Planet to last year's Please Come Home . . . Mr. Bulbous, King's X continues the trend of creating groundbreaking, critically-heralded music with their ninth studio album, Manic Moonlight due in stores September 25th.
I recently had the privilege of querying guitarist Ty Tabor about the origin of King's X's unique sound, their survival as a band after 20 years, their disdain for Christian-rock categorization and the direction of Manic Moonlight.
PopMatters: King's X has been together for twenty-one years. Did you ever envision that the band would last this long?
Ty Tabor: Believe it or not, I was foolish enough to actually believe it would. All of us were. I think all of us actually saw it as a band that could be our career for life.
PM: How was King's X able to avoid the personal/professional conflicts that obviously take its toll on so many great bands?
TT: We haven't really avoided any of them, we just luckily made it through 'em. We've definitely paid some hard dues and been through some dramatic pangs along the way. I guess we just always believed in what we were doing and just happened to very much like playing together as a band. We felt like we'd found the band we [were] always hoping to find when we started playing together. We still, to some extent, feel that way about it and so we just keep making records as long as we still enjoy doing it.
A big part of it is just liking the people you're playing with, and respecting them, and allowing everyone in the band to be themselves, and realizing that that is a strength and not a weakness -- to have the different influences coming together to make a new thing that stands alone outside of such individuals. I can't stress enough how important it is for the people in the band, to be people that like each other and have a chemistry together. Because it doesn't matter how good the chops are, you don't create magic unless there is something way beyond that -- between the people. I always stress that is more important than getting the best guitarist on the block.
PM: Over your long career, is there a defining moment or an important event that stands out?
TT: The first few years of the band, we were doing some pretty wacky music, we were definitely doing some really out-there, experimental, freaky stuff -- at the same time, a lot of the stuff [we] were doing was like three-chord punk music, sort of like Foo Fighters stuff is now, but back then was considered really radical, strange stuff. There was a period of time, after a few years of playing clubs and really getting nowhere, and trying to be original, that I just got tired of trying to be original. For instance, if U2 was big at the moment, we would write something with that kind of flavor, and that was just the wrong approach. So what I did was started writing some music for myself that I wasn't playing for the band, it was just stuff that myself and a couple of friends were working on. We did a lot writing and recording outside of King's X, just for our own personal enjoyment, as an outlet. One song that I wrote was called "Pleiades" and it was something that, when we finished, I really loved it. I actually like the original demo better than the version that ended up on the record. What happened was, that King's X was on a flight going to Virginia and on the plane, I finally decided to play some of this stuff for Doug and Jerry, because I had just been keeping it to myself. They listened to it on their headphones and both of them freaked out. It really was a defining moment for the band. It was the moment that King's X started as King's X. Because that type of free-form writing had nothing to do with what was popular at the time, it really had an impact on Doug and Jerry. It really inspired Doug in a big way. That was the turning point for us. We started writing stuff in an entirely different headspace at that point and that's what really became King's X.
PM: I saw where King's X was included in VH-1's Top 100 Hard Rock Acts Of All Time. The show interviewed guitarists Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple) and Vernon Reid (Living Color) who regarded the music of King's X as both groundbreaking and influential. The list of your admirers within the business reads like a Who's Who of rock. How does it feel to have your music held in such high esteem by your peers?
TT: Well, it's a great honor! We're very lucky that within the industry, people have just held us with great esteem over the years. I didn't even know that Ritchie (Blackmore) liked us. I had talked to a couple of other guys in (Deep) Purple before, like Roger (Glover), the bass player and he had expressed huge admiration for the band, which just bowled me over -- I was just stunned that Ritchie had even heard of us in the first place.
PM: You guys participate in a number of outside projects. Does the freedom to do these projects have a positive effect on the music you make with King's X?
TT: It has for me because it allows me to stretch out in some different ways which encouraged me as a player again to actually care about what I'm doing, because I had gotten into a rut. So by doing some of these extra things it was a real lift for me.
PM: Kerrang Magazine remarked in the late '80s in regards to King's X, "In five years there won't be an arena that can hold them". Why do you think that big-time, mainstream success has been so elusive?
TT: I used to wonder that same thing. Just recently I think I've been realizing some of the truth behind it, that maybe I didn't want to admit. But I think the reality of it, to some extent, is our own fault in a lot of ways. Anybody that's big, anybody you're seeing on magazines everyday and hearing on the radio, any of those people or bands, if they are in that position, then they are working year 'round, two or three year tours where literally that is everything in their life. And it takes that kind of dedication to be on top and there's just no getting around it. For King's X, around our third album Faith, Hope, Love (1990) we started selling a lot of records and we started getting MTV play, press and radio play, eventually going all the way to #3 in America on the radio. Around that time, we toured for eleven months straight and it really was starting to skyrocket and we were really set up for the next album to go ahead and blow it out the top. Unfortunately, what happened was that we had worked so hard on the third album, and a couple of us were married with kids, that it nearly caused us to quit the band -- we just couldn't quite handle dedicating our whole lives to it and having nothing else but that. And that's what it takes to keep it going up.
So around the fourth album King's X (1992), I started balking at touring, I started saying, "Look, I want time off". We had a tour with the Black Crowes offered at a time when they were huge and I turned it down because I was just too tired. I just couldn't handle it; I just had to go home. At that time, when we were most poised to do that, was at a time when I nearly quit the band and turned away from it all, and said, "I want out". So that had a devastating effect on the momentum of what our chances were to really make it roll on. And I have to take responsibility for that. Maybe I'm just not cut out for that or at least wasn't at the time. I think a large reason to it, in reality, is our own fault because we just quit working so hard and you've got to keep working if you want it to keep going. Instead, we chose a path of having a career -- making a living without killing ourselves, so that we could still have some kind of life. That's just a path we chose -- a path that, in the long run, has worked out for us. It has turned out to be a very good decision.
PM: Because of the prevalence of Christian/Biblical references in your lyrics -- especially earlier in your career -- King's X got labeled as a Christian rock band, even though you really didn't have anything to do with the Christian music community. How did you feel about being categorized in that way? Did it feel like a millstone around your neck to have that categorization floating over your head?
TT: I always hated it because the negative connotation of what Christian band means. King's X has always tried to distance ourselves from that industry, from that ideal as far as we possibly could because, in most instances, we have always been deeply opposed to it. The fact that some people write us off for that reason alone and were not even that at all -- has been kind of a drag. On the other hand, how do you ever really know how much something has affected you? We always looked at what we do as art -- just trying to be honest as people, blemishes and all.
PM: A staple of the King's X sound has always been your impeccable harmonies. Were the harmonies always [a] natural component of the music? Was there harmonic magic there from the beginning?
TT: I never thought of myself as a singer and neither did Jerry. In the early years, we didn't do a lot of harmonies. It was through the encouragement of our manager in the early days, Sam Taylor, to integrate more vocals, and he pushed us not to be afraid to sing. We just worked on it and all a sudden we found ourselves diggin' the idea of multi-layered vocals and melodies. After a while, we started feeling a little more comfortable with it.
PM: I'm really shocked by that. Given the complexity and beauty of the band's harmonies, I would have bet that that aspect of your music would have been the cornerstone of your sound from the beginning.
TT: I really wasn't. It was very unnatural to be honest.
PM: King's X left Atlantic Records after the recording of Ear Candy (1996) and although there was interest from other major labels, the band opted to sign with the independent Metal Blade label. What prompted that decision?
TT: There were a lot of people there (at Atlantic) that we liked -- really good people in the company. But the company, in general, has a philosophy of releasing a lot of different artists and just seeing if anything catches on. They're not in the business of trying to build careers. That is just an anti-philosophy for our band, because we're not a commercial-oriented band. We are more of a entity-of-its-own, fan-based type of band that has to be wisely handled. We started out on a small label (Megaforce) that understood us and worked hard; on that label we had more success than we did on Atlantic. When we got to Atlantic it almost kind of stopped at that point, partly because of what I said earlier that we have to take some blame for just running out of gas around that time. But Atlantic wasn't the best in the world at making something happen for a band -- it's just not their philosophy.
After we did Ear Candy we realized that if we didn't get off of label, that we were just gonna quit. It came down to either we have [to] get off of this label or the band is over. So we called our manager and asked him to fly to New York and do whatever he had to do to get them to drop us. And that's exactly what he did. So they graciously let us out at that point, in which we were very thankful to them. It was very nice for them to do that because they certainly didn't have to. We had known the people at Metal Blade throughout our career as a band and they were huge supporters of King's X. It was a situation more similar to the way we started and we felt more comfortable with that and decided to go with them.
PM: Have they given you the freedom to do what you what want to do and just be happy playing music?
TT: Totally. They are so encouraging in that manner, in being hands-off and letting us do what we want -- it really saved the band from breaking up.
PM: Your last album Please Come Home . . . Mr. Bulbous was a little heavier, darker and more experimental than your previous outings. I've heard that your listening to Jeff Buckley influenced the record.
TT: Yeah, just the pure freedom of his expression was very inspiring -- a no rules approach sort of thing.
PM: The band's approach to writing and recording has changed as well. Your Metal Blade debut Tapehead (1998) saw the band discard the approach of bringing in pre-written material, instead opting for writing together in the studio. Has that proven to be more beneficial and do you continue that trend on the new record, Manic Moonlight?
TT: Yeah. The new record was done exactly in the same way. It may not be the way we always do things; we may do it different next time around. But for now it seems to be what's working for us to make us all enjoy what we're doing. By doing things from the ground up as a real band, makes it exciting to find out what it's going to be when it's done.
PM: Ty, you produced the band's new album, Manic Moonlight? How rewarding is it to have that kind of freedom, which is a luxury that's hard to come by on a major label?
TT: Immensely rewarding. It gives me [the] chance to learn more about the craft of producing, which I'm very into and which I really love. It has always been my favorite part of it all. Metal Blade is just supportive, period. If the band feels they want to have a producer or if they want to do it themselves, they're the kind of label that says, "do whatever you feel is right".
PM: Can you shed some light on Manic Moonlight, where the title comes from and what we might expect musically?
TT: The title is from the second song on the record which happens to be called "Manic Moonlight". I came up with several different covers with different titles on each cover. The cover that we ended up choosing happened to be the one that Manic Moonlight was the title of. It also happened to fit the mood of the album. As far as the music is concerned, it is very different from Mr. Bulbous. It's another turn in a strange direction.
PM: We received the three song advance of Manic Moonlight from Metal Blade…
TT: By the way, those three songs are probably the most straight-ahead, normal songs on the record. The record really goes off into much more bizarre areas than those three songs represent. It was tough for us to put three songs on the disc that represent the album because each one of them is more varied and goes into some bizarre areas -- moody areas.
PM: "False Alarm" appears destined to be a King's X classic and "Believe" has more of a Dogman-period feel to it. Would you agree?
TT: Yes. Just the fact that it has a funk backbone to it and there was some funk on Dogman (1996).
PM: What are the band's tour plans?
TT: We go out around October 10th and we'll go right up until the holidays.
PM: You guys maintain a great relationship with your fans. I've seen the three of you tirelessly signing autographs, mugging for pictures and talking [to] fans after shows. How important is it to maintain that kind communication with your fans?
TT: In terms of record sales, I don't know. But for us, it's just the fact that these people are so supportive that we genuinely like to show our thanks.
PM: What is on your plate at the moment?
TT: I'm finishing my solo album and then I'm going to finish the JellyJam thing I'm working on which is me on guitar and lead vocals, John Myung (Dream Theater) on bass and Rod Morgenstein (The Dregs, Winger) on drums, then King's X will be hitting the road about that time.
PM: Any last words?
TT: To be honest, we are just thrilled that after all these years we're still making albums, people are still coming to the shows and we're actually able to support ourselves for over twenty years making music.
