Thinking back, I think I first heard of Joseph King in NYC, but I remember that I first saw him live in Austin - at a SXSW day party, a tip from Tommy, the booker at the Rockwood. Now leading his band Deadbeat Darling, there is a new album - Weight Of Wandering - to promote and shows this Saturday at Antone's in Austin and then next Friday at Bowery Ballroom in NYC. So, ahead of those gigs, here is the back story of the original man in tights ...
Photo by John-Floyd Pardieu
Indie Sounds: OK Joseph, let's start at the beginning ...
Joseph King: So I began playing guitar and attempting to sing and write songs at about age 12, though I've been told it was a less than pleasant experience for those subjected to my early prodigy. As far as influences, my older brother gave me my first guitar and vocal lesson, and I suppose a few of my first musical influences would have to be Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Marley, and the Fleetwood Mac Rumours album. My first real experiences as a performer though came as a dancer as opposed to a musician ...
I took modern ballet classes in high school (in San Antonio, Texas), at first as a supplemental activity to athletics (I was a "serious" basketball player), and then because I loved performance and wearing tights. Songwriting was at the time definitely the creative pursuit I enjoyed most, but was not my central focus as of yet ...
IS: How did you get into making music as a serious endeavor?
Joseph: I ended up going to Stanford University, and there found myself quickly losing interest in the kind of academic pursuits that would eventually lead to any sort of professional career. The would-be Econ major was now a Religious Studies major, and was much more likely to be found writing songs and smoking as much Northern Cali grass as humanly possible than going to class.
I put together my first fledgling band then, and within a year was playing shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and up and down the California Coast. I think we were really bad, and probably a bit cheesy as well, for which I take all the blame.
Directly upon graduating, I moved with the band to San Francisco, bought a little RV for touring, and began booking six week tours throughout the West Coast, Southwest and Texas. We lived in a three bedroom house with a couple of my other more eccentric friends - six of us total. The other guys included a house/trance DJ, and a guy who was my "booking agent/manager" as well as a horticulturalist specializing in "fungus" at the time.
It was quite the bohemian scene - upstairs rattling with the incessant thump of trance music, the garage filled with the loud vibrations of band practice, and a 70 gallon aquarium filled with, well ... We found ourselves chasing the ghosts of beatniks down the streets of North Beach and Haight, in between tours that took us to dive bars in Ogden, Utah and Flagstaff, Arizona, among many other American metropolises. It was quite a fun experience, and I definitely logged many highway miles, but I am not so sure if we weren't spinning our wheels most of the time.
IS: Then you moved to Austin ... why?
Joseph: The band, which was by now called Canvas, had played through Austin a couple of times and had some really great shows there. We got accepted into SXSW in 1999, and basically packed all our shit into the RV and moved down during the festival. We found a band house in South Austin, replaced a couple of the members who stayed behind, and started playing the club scene in Austin. Being from South Texas, it was sort of like coming home for me, but it was also really the band thrusting itself straight into the middle of a thriving music scene.
Joseph back at SXSW in 2007
IS: You had a couple of bands .. tell us about them ...
Joseph: Canvas was my sole project and musical identity for about seven years. We had a really great run, and truly lived the local rockstar lifestyle. We put out two EPs and three full lengths, and developed a crazy cult following throughout Texas and the Midwest. Our music was a bit heavier and on the tribal side, and our shows incorporated fire dancers and performance art. We were invited to play all sorts of festivals, from the Toadies farewell show in Waterloo Park to pagan festivals in the middle of nowhere to biker rallies in the middle of the West Texas desert. We earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the hardest-partying bands around, but we also worked our asses off and toured incessantly.
Our Austin shows were always packed, and so were the after parties. Man, if my dog Killer could talk ... We toured with some amazing bands then too ... Blue October, Spoonfed Tribe, Goudie, and got a little bit of radio love as well. We had label interest and definite regional success, but ultimately I think we missed our window for a myriad of reasons, many of which were arguably our own fault. Besides that, my musical taste began to diverge from the rest of the band's, so it wasn't long till it was going to come unraveled.
I also had another project in 2004 called Murder, My Sweet, which was more of a songwriting collaboration between a guitar player named Mark Younger-Smith (Billy Idol, Charlie Sexton) and myself. It was actually my first straight up 50/50 collaboration, and was really enjoyable. The music was kind of dark and electro, and we performed a few times live, but I left the project shortly after moving to NYC.
Photo by John-Floyd Pardieu
IS: What caused the move to NYC?
Joseph: So as I was saying before, towards the end of my Canvas days, I had started to feel like the project had run its course. Creatively, energetically, and from a growth perspective, I felt like we had flat-lined. As a frontman, i was finding it increasingly difficult to be what Canvas needed me to be, and as a songwriter, I was dying to pursue some influences that i wasn't really allowed to explore in Canvas.
During the summer of 2005, a yogi friend living in NYC (who happens to be the same "manager/horticulturalist" from back in my SF days) invited me to come stay with him for a week in his place in the East Village. A tiny music venue called Rockwood Music Hall had recently opened up on Allen Street, and they were willing to give an unknown songwriter from Austin an early Thursday night show. So during that stay I played my first Rockwood show, and made the decision to move to New York City by Fall. My girlfriend Katrina had just finished cullinary school, and we both had some ghosts to leave behind in Austin, not to mention a couple of nasty addictions on my part. Everyone seems to think its ridiculous to move to New York to clean up, but it made perfect sense to me.
I moved to NYC in October 2005, and spent the first six months recording demos of new material and playing solo shows. With a clean slate musically, I was able to embrace some of the dub/reggae and trip-hop influences that I had been dying to write towards. I discovered Alex Wong playing drums at Rockwood one night, and after a bit of cyber-stalking, invited him to play drums with me. Then I met Sanjay Jain through a mutual friend for whom he was playing bass. I convinced him to play with me as well, and the three of us played a series of shows in 2006 as the "Joseph King Trio". What a silly name ...
IS: And so began Deadbeat Darling ...
Joseph: I guess Deadbeat Darling begins with the addition of Mohit Bhansali to the band in early 2007. Everyone, including myself, wanted a proper band name instead of the Joseph King Trio. After much debate, we decided on Deadbeat Darling, a lyric from one of my songs which ironically, we don't even play anymore.
We started building a bit of a fanbase throughout the year, and packed out Rockwood, The Annex, Arlene's Grocery. We then recorded and released our first EP, belle epoch, at the end of 2007, with our first sold-out show at Piano's. We recorded the EP on our own and mixed it with Chris Coady (TV on the Radio, Blonde Redhead, Trail of Dead) at Staygold Studios in Williamsburg. This EP gave us a little directional sonically and vibe-wise, but I think lands somewhere in between a proper release and a really great demo. You should still buy it though ...
Download belle epoch @ iTunes
IS: And now there is an album called Weight Of Wandering .
Joseph: Weight Of Wandering was initially intended to be a six song EP. However, a series of unfortunate occurrences were threatening to delay the release, during which time I got the idea stuck firmly in my head that Deadbeat Darling was due to put out a full length LP. So, weeks before going to press last Fall, we decided to go back in and record four more songs. The entire process took just about a year, and was absolutely my favorite recording experience ever. We tracked the album all over the place, and had production contributions from several people.
To try to make a long story short, Alex and I were the primary producers, and we began by recording drums at his studio in Williamsburg, Angelhouse. Sanjay and I then recorded bass and keys at his apartment in Chelsea. For guitars, we enlisted the help of our dear friend and amazing artist Mishal Zeera, who joined us for a few marathon weekends in the basement of Mohit's parent's house in Long Island. Much whiskey was drank, few hours were slept. I then returned to Angelhouse to record vocals with Mishal, and maniacally comped my own lead vocal takes.
For mixing, I flew down to Austin to work with my favorite Swede Lars Goransson, who did quite a lovely job I must say. We were joined at his studio by two of my best friends and fellow Austin songwriters Johnny Goudie and Casey McPherson, who added some oohs and aahs, and lots of love. We then returned to New York and mastered with Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering. Finito ...
Download the single Without A Trace @ Revtone
IS: You have big shows about to happen in Austin and NYC ...
Joseph: Yes sir - album release shows in both of my "home towns" if you will. First, Saturday, May 30th we are playing at Antone's in Austin, opening for Alpha Rev. Its going to be an amazing night - Alpha Rev is a great band and Casey (the lead singer/songwriter) is one of my best friends. He actually sang on a couple of tracks on Weight Of Wandering, and just finished recording his new album up here in New York. Lots of old friends will be out and about that night ...
Then, on Friday, June 5th, we are headlining the Bowery Ballroom for the first time. Honestly, this has to be one of the biggest shows of my career, and I think that goes for all the guys in Deadbeat Darling. We absolutely love Bowery Ballroom, and can't wait to host all of our friends and fans there. It's going to be a special night for sure.
IS: So how is this release going to bring you fame and fortune?
Joseph: That is a great question. How does a band make it in the music scene these days? I suppose it depends on what you consider as making it. As far as Deadbeat Darling goes, we've really focused all our efforts on trying to make the band as big as possible in New York City while keeping everything in house.
We feel like this city is the ultimate test market, and if we can break it here, we should be able to break it anywhere. That being said, I think we are at a point where we might start trying to put a team together after the record comes out. We've done a lot of the leg work already, and think it's an opportune time to invite some people with longer reach to the party. Who knows how things will shake out. As long as our fanbase keeps growing, and our music and show keeps getting better, I think good things will happen ...
IS: What are your favorite venues to play in Austin and NYC?
Joseph: In Austin, I will have to go with the venues i feel most at home at, which are Antone's and Momo's. I've played lots of big shows over the years at Antone's, and get a bit nostalgic when i see all the staff there. I held down a Monday night solo residency for over two years at Momo's, and know the inside of the bathroom stalls in the women's room quite well. Lots of fine memories there as well ...
As far as NYC goes, Bowery Ballroom is easily top of the list. It's absolutely the best sounding, most enjoyable room I've ever played. On the smaller tip, I would have to say Rockwood Music Hall - my first show in NYC, and what I would consider my home base here. Mercury Lounge is also on the list, as well as the new venue Cameo in WIlliamsburg.
IS: And what other acts from those cities do you like to go see?
Joseph: In Austin, I have a few clear cut favorites - Johnny Goudie, David Garza and Alpha Rev. I feel at home at a Johnny or David show no matter where it is, but I love spending an evening at the Continental Club, or perhaps one of the further our Red River clubs, like Mohawk.
In NYC, i definitely love a Giraffes show at Mercury every once in awhile, or maybe a late night live hip-hop hang at NuBlu. Mostly, I go watch my closest friends play, not because they are my friends but because they are really fucking good. Drew Nix, whose band Elephant Army just broke up, is one of my favorites. I am going to co-produce his solo album with him later this summer. Mishal Zeera is amazing as well.
IS: Finally, what's next for Joseph King and Deadbeat Darling?
Joseph: This summer bodes well. After these release shows, we have a few NYC events lined up as well as our first West Coast run at the end of July (LA, SF, Vegas). We also have our hat in the ring as a support act for a couple of bigger tours, which we are hoping will come through. I have eight or nine sketches for new songs, which we will start demoing in the next month or so as well. Besides all that, we'll be working the new album for the rest of the year and into next, and will hopefully get it into as many hands as possible.
Web: www.deadbeatdarling.com
MySpace: deadbeatdarlingmusic
Comments