King’s X

JULY '08

Harder Beat Magazine Online

Go tell somebody

by Travis Tutwiler

“I want one of those songs that at first everyone loves — and then everybody hates — because they’re sick of it,” says King’s X front man Doug Pinnick, with a chuckle. “I have this goal to write that song that everyone in the world deems a great song. They can say it for a week or two for all I care.”

Pinnick and his cohorts – Ty Tabor (guitar/vocals) and Jerry Gaskill (drums/vocals) – have released their 15th record aptly titled XV. With this new disc, Doug may be closer to achieving that goal. Working once again with famed producer, Michael Wagener (Extreme, Dokken, Skid Row), King’s X has captured that classic mix of rock, soul, pop and funk that’s made them a Texas favorite for nearly 20 years.

“Michael’s great to work with,” advises Pinnick. “The way we work is sort of like you just take us into the studio, turn the knobs and say what sounds good and what doesn’t. He says that we learn and pick up things so fast, he really doesn’t have to work hard.” Doug says the recording process is “more like fun than anything else. Michael always tells people we’re just easy to work with but with him, it’s easy and fun because whatever he says is usually really, really good.”

XV has been getting great reviews and debuted at No. 145 on the Billboard charts. “We did it and I’m happy with it, but I just didn’t realize how excited people had gotten over it. They were literally just freaking out. For me, personally, we didn’t do anything different than we usually do,” comments Pinnick. “I write a bunch of songs, Ty writes some songs, Jerry writes some songs and we bring them back to the studio. We learn a song in about two takes for the basic track, fine tune it and make it the best we think it is and move on to the next one.”

So what makes this record so much different than previous efforts? “I know one thing for sure. It’s got a wider variety of tunes than normal,” states Doug. “Jerry and Ty are both singing a little bit more than normal, which is good because they wrote a couple of songs for the record.” As for Pinnick’s writing he says, “On my solo record and this (XV) record I wrote 20 songs. None are longer than three minutes, and I’m happy with them. I just want to lay back and groove and have some fun.”

Groove is definitely evident in the standout track “Go Tell Somebody.” “When we got done with tracking all the music,” Pinnick explains, “Michael said, ‘Hey guys we need you to write one song together.’ So Ty came up with the guitar part, I kicked in with the bass and Jerry added drums and we wrote it. It’s one of my favorite songs because it really doesn’t address anything other than it’s a plain old song of ‘if you like rock and roll, then go tell somebody.’ It ain’t got nothing to do with religion, people’s feelings, love, hate, self hate and all that kind of crap to sing about.”

”Alight” is an up-tempo rocker that will get you moving. “In the middle is ‘Gonna have a good time tonight, ya’ll.’ I was just into my Billy Idol kind of thing,” he confesses. “I was rockin’ on “Rebel Yell” and “Crazy Bitch” (Buckcherry) and thinking that’s why I like rock and roll. Just straight up, no frills, no screw ups. Just give it to you.”

Whether it’s the simplicity of “Blue,” the Led Zeppelin-esqe “Move,” Jerry’s Patron-inspired “Julie” or Ty’s soulful “I Don’t Know,” you’ll find yourself immersed in the classic sounds you’ve come to know from the Texas trio, while being overcome by a freshness you get when you discover a new band.

King’s X will be making a stop at the Dallas House Of Blues on August 20 in support of Extreme. “We can’t wait to get out there, because we’re gonna do a lot of the new stuff,” relates Pinnick. “We’re real proud of this record, and we think we’ve got some cool tunes.”

So how does Doug feel about making a stop in Big D? “Dallas F*cking Rocks!” he says, exuberantly. “Five million people and it’s just one of my favorite places to come and play. No joke. London, Dallas and Amsterdam are my three favorite places when it comes to just excitement,”

Make sure you pick up a copy of XV, because once you hear it for yourself, you’ll definitely want to Go Tell Somebody about it!