A little later than we normally post our BotD’s, here’s today’s all the way from sunny (probably) California!
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
San Diego, CA, USA!
How did you meet?
I (Francis) wrote the songs and started sending them to friends. I don’t think anyone else knew each other before we got together. I knew Dylan from the local scene and bands like Beekeeper and Fermentor that he plays drums in, I knew Erich from mutual friend circles and the videogame music tributes he’s involved with (Kirby’s Dream Band, Vic Viper, etc) and I knew Saki from the music program at UCSD.
How long have you been playing as a band?
I was jamming with some friends on some of these songs back in maybe 2015 and it didn’t work out. I started looking to put a full band together in 2016 and I think I originally asked Old Man Wizard and roommates to be the backing band. That didn’t work out either. The lineup on the album got together first in probably 2017. We recorded this album in 2018 while playing some live shows here in southern California, and then took a break to get the album out. Saki quit the band at some point in there so we haven’t played since. I tried to put a new lineup together and kept getting sidetracked or putting it off, so we decided to release the album and figure the rest out later. After the Covid-19 lockdown ends I’ll see if I can get some shows together in support of the album.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
It was originally called Gorm from a character in a Robert Howard story. Another band released an album under that name and bothered us after we got confused for them, so I decided to change it. King Gorm was the result. We’re not really named after the old King of Denmark, but the association doesn’t bother me.
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What are your influences?
Big ones for this project are probably Rainbow and Nobuo Uematsu for writing, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Billy Cobham for production.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Our music is written from a modern perspective and recorded on instruments that very few people seem to even bother using anymore. I totally understand why people stopped hauling B3s and Leslies to gigs, but they have a presence and sound unmatched by digital keyboards.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
The whole album follows a fictional story in a fictional world, so it’s all high fantasy type stuff.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Not sure how many shows we did, but it was always really fun. Mountains of keyboards and amplifiers, lights, fun outfits and stuff. Totally extra compared to the expectation in a small venue but I think we usually did a pretty good job pulling it off.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Seen: Everything about Daikaiju.
Done: The Dread Crew of Oddwood.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
I play a High Spirit custom guitar. Dylan usually uses Pearl drums and Meinl cymbals. I think Erich recorded with a Music Man and a Fender Jazz Bass. Saki used my keyboard gear, so we’d change it up a lot. The album was an ARP Odyssey, Mellotron, and Hammond A100. We also used to use an ARP Quartet and later on used a Minimoog Model D.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
New album! Self-Titled King Gorm. It’ll be out on July 31. I’m very proud of it and I think you’re going to love it if you’re a fan of stuff like Rainbow, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Yes, etc.
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What are your plans for the next 6 months or so?
Staying at home, mostly. The United States has failed miserably in its approach to the pandemic, so we’re basically fucked. I can work from home so I’m just going to stick with recording at my home studio, visiting with a select group of friends, and teaching lessons online. I’ll need work so bother me if you want me to mix your album, do session work, or teach you how to do that stuff over zoom/skype/etc. I’ll probably do some livestream shows, too.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
For King Gorm, I’d love to have King Diamond headline and Hammers of Misfortune open. Realistically we’d be the opener on that though!
King Gorm: facebook | instagram | bandcamp
