{"id":32094,"date":"2019-07-09T09:38:59","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T13:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=32094"},"modified":"2019-07-09T09:39:05","modified_gmt":"2019-07-09T13:39:05","slug":"on-stage-common-kings-push-musical-boundaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=32094","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Common Kings push musical boundaries"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Common Kings<\/p><\/div>\n

When Sublime with Rome brings the tour supporting its brand-new album \u201cBlessings\u201d to the Mann Center (5201 Parkside Avenue, Philadelphia. https:\/\/manncenter.org<\/a>) on July 9, fans would do well to get there early enough to hear the opening act \u2013 Common Kings.<\/p>\n

Common Kings are a multi-cultural pop\/rock band with vocals inspired by soul music and a heavy reggae influence. The four band members have island roots, but none are from Jamaica — or even the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

All four have Polynesian roots —\u00a0guitarist Taumata Grey (Samoa), bassist Ivan Kirimaua (Fiji\/Kiribati), drummer Jerome Taito (Tonga) and lead singer Sasualei \u201cJR King\u201d Maliga (Samoa\/Hawai\u2018i). They all live now in Orange County, California.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s discography includes \u201c#Weontour Soundtrack,\u201d EP (2013), \u201cSummer Anthem\u201d EP (2013), \u201cHits & Mrs.\u201d EP (2015), \u201cLost in Paradise\u201d (2017), and \u201cOne Day\u201d EP (2018).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of new music coming soon,\u201d said Maliga, during a phone interview last week as the band travelled across Wyoming on its way to a show in Chicago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re putting on the final touches now. We recorded it at our own studio in Orange County. We\u2019re probably going to drop a few singles and get everybody excited and then hit them with the full album.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn this tour, we\u2019ve already played one of the songs that will be a single and it got a great response. We\u2019ll probably play a few more new ones before the tour is over. We\u2019re still playing a lot from \u2018One Day\u2019 and \u2018Lost in Paradise.\u2019 And, we also do some older stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

A concert by Common Kings is a South Pacific show \u2013 but totally different that the Broadway show \u201cSouth Pacific.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe band started a few years ago,\u201d said Kirimaua. \u201cWe met through mutual friends. We all got together at my house in Newport Beach at a barbecue and started jamming. We\u2019re Pacific Islanders and we all stick together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taito said, \u201cWe actually started just jamming. After that, we learned a few songs. We got offered a gig at a luau at San Diego State University. From there, we started doing cover gigs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout six years ago, we became Common Kings. As Common Kings, we became more committed to our own music. It\u2019s \u2018feel good\u2019 music — a true representation of who we are. Everything is all about feeling good and having a good time. We do a lot of songwriting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grey said, \u201cObviously, our Polynesian families and friends supported us in the beginning. Then, it gradually moved to a wider audience and a wider variety of people — white, black, Asian and Hispanic. And, we\u2019ve picked up a younger audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

A major factor that brought younger fans to Common Kings was two of the band\u2019s early two tours — direct support for Justin\u00a0Timberlake\u00a0and opening for platinum girl group 5th Harmony. They also played on Meghan Trainor\u2019s Untouchable Tour and Matisyahu\u2019s 2017 Fall Tour. Now, they reach out to a new audience as the opener for Sublime with Rome.<\/p>\n

\u201cSublime with Rome play great music,\u201d said Maliga. \u201cEverybody is coming out and singing their hearts out. It\u2019s been great fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up in Orange County, we hear all the songs they\u2019re playing that were big for them when we were younger \u2013 one song after another. For us, it\u2019s nostalgia the whole way. And, their fans are enjoying our performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The current tour for the Grammy Award-nominated band comes hot on the heels of their critically-acclaimed EP \u201cOne Day\u201d on Mensch House Records \u2013 an EP that features appearances hat includes features from\u00a0Stephen Marley, \u00a1Mayday!\u00a0and\u00a0Kat Dahlia.<\/p>\n

Common Kings\u2019 style and music is a collection of inspirations with rock, reggae, and R&B influences that is orchestrated into an array of rocking beats, feel good vibes, and emotional fever. These influences originate from each band members love for various genres, and widespread knowledge of music.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the new album, we\u2019re going a little more hip hop,\u201d said Maliga. \u201cIt\u2019s a good mix of hip hop and alternative. Fans will be hearing a couple of them as our tour goes along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Common Kings — https:\/\/youtu.be\/gH4O5Qrz5gU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The July 9 show at the Mann Center, which has Sublime with Rome as the headliner and SOJA and Serenation as openers, will start at 5 p.m. Tickets are $43.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Spirits Having Fun<\/p><\/div>\n

When Spirits Having Fun perform \u2013 whether in the recording studio or live onstage \u2013 it\u2019s also \u201chumans having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band – Katie McShane (guitar, vocals), Jesse Heasly (bass), Andrew Clinkman (guitar, vocals) and Phil Sudderberg (drums) \u2013 make music that is fun and challenging at the same time. The four talented musicians will bring their distinctive sound to life in a show at Johnny Brenda\u2019s (1201 North Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-739-9684, www.johnnybrendas.com<\/a>) on July 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, it\u2019s rock music,\u201d said Clinkman, during a phone interview last week from his home in Indianapolis, Indiana. \u201cIt\u2019s rock music with strong riffs, pop hooks and room to breathe. A lot of us do improvised free jazz too. We try to keep it elastic as much as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coming from such eclectic backgrounds as jazz and composition, ska and punk, folk and synthpop, the members of Spirits Having Fun \u00a0are at home with improvisation, but only\/especially because of their affinity for each other, musically.\u00a0They refer to it as \u201cCollaborative magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spirits Having Fun released its debut album \u201cAuto-Portrait,\u201d in June via Ramp Local.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur first record came out last Friday,\u201d said Clinkman. \u201cWe re very familiar with the tunes because we\u2019ve been playing them for a long time. The album was recorded in August 2017. We recorded it at a studio in Chicago called Jamdek.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s self-produced and the engineer was Dave Vettraino. We booked one day in the studio. We tracked all the instrumentals in one 12-hour session and then Katie tracked the vocals in New York. We mixed it three months later and then mastered it in spring 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s impressive that the band was tight enough to cut a full album in one day \u2013 especially considering the band had been in existence for only eight months with half of the members living in New York and the other half in Chicago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live in Chicago and so does Phil,\u201d said Clinkman. \u201cJesse and Katie live in New York. Jesse and I lived in Boston for seven years and we had a band there. In 2013, I moved to Chicago and had a band with Phil. Katie moved to Boston and she and Jesse had a band. They moved to New York two years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2016, we came up with the idea for this band. In December 2016, Katie and Jesse came to Chicago for the first time. Since then, we\u2019ve been Chicago\/New York band. A lot of times, we\u2019ll develop ideas on our own. Most of the stuff on our current record Katie had conceived as full songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we\u2019ve developed, we\u2019re working more together. We get together every few months to work things out. Jesse and Katie come to Chicago and we\u2019ll practice for a few days and then play a couple shows. This will be our second time to play Philly. The first time was a house show in May 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Spirits Having Fun — https:\/\/youtu.be\/r87CUSh6ups<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Johnny Brenda\u2019s, which has Likes, JOBS, Spin Off as opening acts, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

We Were Promised Jetpacks<\/p><\/div>\n

We Were Promised Jetpacks will return to Philadelphia \u2013 and return to the past \u2013 when it headlines a show on July 10 at Union Transfer (1026 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, 215-232-2100, www.utphilly.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Scottish rockers \u2013 Adam Thompson (vocals, guitar), Sean Smith (bass), and Darren Lackie (drums) — will return to the city where they recorded the most recent album, \u201cThe More I Sleep The Less I Dream,\u201d and the city where they recorded a live EP earlier in their career.<\/p>\n

We Were Promised Jetpacks\u2019 show will also feature a return to the band\u2019s first album, \u201cThese Four Walls,\u201d which was released in June 2009. Long a sought-after collectors\u2019 item, We Were Promised Jetpacks\u2019 debut LP, \u201cThese Four Walls,\u201d had a scant U.S. vinyl release that appeared only as imports in 2009.<\/p>\n

Now the band\u2019s album, which was known for its explosive energy and knife-edge tension, has been re-released via FatCat. \u201cThese Four Walls 10th Anniversary\u201d featuresthe original 11 tracks along with unreleased tracks including demos, acoustic sessions and live tracks from a very early gig at Barfly in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided to revisit the album because it was our first album and helped us along the way of our passage as a band,\u201d said Thompson, during a phone interview Monday afternoon as he travelled from New York to the tour\u2019s opening show in Boston.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we thought about it, we also thought about playing it start-to-finish. We wanted to re-package it for our fans. It\u2019s been 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

We Were Promised Jetpacks\u2019 history goes back longer than 10 years. We Were Promised Jetpacks formed in Edinburgh, in 2003. The band played its first gig at its school’s \u201cBattle of the Bands\u201d competition — which it won.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe three of us were in the same high school together in Edinburgh,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cMe and Michael have been together since primary school. We put the band together when we were 16.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Strokes were a big influence. And, the Scottish band Biffy Clyro were an early influence. We liked fun bands \u2013 serious with a slight twist of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

We Were Promised Jetpacks have released four albums in the last decade \u2013 \u201cThese Four Walls\u201d in 2009, \u201cIn the Pit of the Stomach\u201d in 2011, \u201cE Rey Live In Philadelphia\u201d in 2104, \u201cUnraveling\u201d in 2014, and \u201cThe More I Sleep The Less I Dream\u201d in 2018. But the band\u2019s focus right now is on \u201cThese Four Walls.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s youthful energy (average age at the time was 21) explodes thunderously as colossal choruses fall into place. Every space is filled, tension bristling achingly in Adam Thompson’s vocal delivery as the rest of the band crashes around him with a perfect balance of force and harmony. The romanticism and accessibility of a pure pop sensibility is never hidden too deep.<\/p>\n

The product of Ken Thomas\u2019 (Sigur Ros, Cocteau Twins, David Bowie etc.) studio mastery and Peter Katis\u2019 (Frightened Rabbit, The Twilight Sad, The National etc.) mixing, the recording of \u201cThese Four Walls\u201d was almost entirely live with only minimal overdubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re rehearsing it now and it seems like simpler times,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cWith writing and making songs, the longer you do it, the more you think about it. Our early songs were more natural and simple \u2013 going back to a time when it was all fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t\u2019 remix any of the original tracks from \u2018These Four Walls.\u2019 We left them untouched. Then, we added bonus tracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo get ready to play the album live now, we went back and listened to the way we originally played them. There was a glockenspiel used on the original album and we got that back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the live show, we\u2019ll begin by playing the album start-to-finish. Then, we\u2019ll play other songs fans want to hear. We\u2019re going to play songs from all our albums.\u201d<\/p>\n

After this tour and looking back, We Were Promised Jet Packs will be looking to the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve started writing some music for the next album,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cWe usually have to write a bunch of stuff until we get something good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thompson hails from Edinburgh, the home of two of Scotland\u2019s storied football (soccer) clubs — Heart of Midlothian, founded in 1874, and Hibernian, founded in 1875. When asked \u2013 \u201cHearts of Hibs?,\u201d Thompson replied, \u201cHearts \u2013 they\u2019re the classiest team in Edinburgh.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band members moved from Edinburgh to Glasgow a little while ago but still regard Edinburgh as home. In the states, Philadelphia is one of their favorite cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always enjoyed going to Philly,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cWe\u2019ve done recording there and we\u2019ve played a lot of different venues there. Every time we\u2019ve played Philly, we\u2019ve had a great time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for We Were Promised Jetpacks \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/277VfNI1Dbg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Union Transfer, which has Suburban Living as the opener, will start at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times When Sublime with Rome brings the tour supporting its brand-new album \u201cBlessings\u201d to the Mann Center (5201 Parkside Avenue, Philadelphia. https:\/\/manncenter.org) on July 9, fans would do well to get there early enough to hear the opening act \u2013 Common Kings. Common Kings are a multi-cultural pop\/rock band […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[7195,6518,11337,11336],"class_list":["post-32094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-common-kings","tag-featured","tag-spirits-having-fun","tag-we-were-promised-jetpacks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32094"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32095,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32094\/revisions\/32095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}