New year, new playlists, new Headline Acts! A warm welcome to genuine newcomers The King Rooks as the kick off our Headline Act feature for 2022. If your band wants to feature, then drop us a line via our contact page. After you’ve read all about this bunch of course…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re from Folkestone in Kent. Three of us all live in Folkestone with one member living in a nearby town.
How did you meet?
Jack, Jacob and George all used to be colleagues, working at the same secondary school. That’s where the idea to start a band together blossomed. Then things got a bit more serious with the band when we looked to start gigging and recording, so that’s when Matt joined us. Matt and Jack used to go to school together in Folkestone.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Only around six months. Jack, Jacob and George had been jamming and trying some things out prior to that, but the four of us have been The King Rooks since May 2021.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
There’s three influences of the band name. 1, Jack was a keen Chess player at primary school, so ‘King’ and ‘Rooks’ came from that. 2, Jacob is an avid bird watcher in his spare time, so also another ‘Rooks’ influence. 3, There’s a great butcher local to us called Rooks. So I guess it’s a combination of all three.
What are your influences?
We all have really diverse influences. Jacob comes from more of an Indie background. Jack is influenced by the Post-Punk era. George is a big fan of Classic Rock and Matt’s roots are in the Indie and Rock scenes.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We like to think of our sound as big, fat, catchy Rock n’ Roll. Catchy riffs and groovy melodies along with some huge choruses. A band that you can dance to and really loosen up listening to.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Our lyrics are influenced from all walks of life. Although they tend to sit on the gloomy side of life.
If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Only three shows so far. But we aim to play with lots of energy, big smiles and make sure we have fun. If we have fun, the audience tends to have fun with us and that’s the main thing.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
We were playing a show in Dover, and suddenly we heard this massive noise come from the audience. Only a couple of us caught what happened, but basically someone in the crowd got a bit too excited and decided to elbow drop through a table, right in the middle of the floor. Dover is wild!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
We use a whole host of different gear, some notable brands are: Sonor drums, Fender guitars, Epiphone guitars, G&L guitars, Reverend guitars, Marshall Amplifiers, Blackstar amplifiers, Panama amplifiers, Ashdown amplifiers, Boss pedals, Rotosound strings (also based in Kent) and much more! We’re not fussy on brands, if it’s good gear, we’ll use it.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
There’s a few things we’re promoting right now. Firstly, our debut singles that were released in October 2021. We’ve had some great radio plays and some good reviews on them, so you should definitely check them out. Second, our first headline show and our first show in London. It’s on January 15th at The Beehive and this is one you won’t want to miss, ticket links can be found on all our social medias. We’re really excited to be playing in London, so let’s hope Boris doesn’t ruin it for all of us. And finally, some new music releases due early 2022, in the form of a new single and some live recordings.
What are your plans for the next 6 months or so?
We’re hoping the start of 2022 will be great for us. January is starting with our headline show at The Beehive in London. Then we’ll be back in the studio in February to record our new single with Dan Lucas at Anchor Baby Recordings. Also look out for recorded live versions of some of our songs early next year too. As well as getting out to play as many live shows as possible for all your wonderful people.
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!
There’s tons of bands we’d love to play shows with, but I think The Wombats would be a great one, we all have a soft spot for them. Then to open up with us we’d bring along some local guys like Moon Hooligan or The Vegasettes.
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Catch The King Rooks Live in Bromley-by-Bow on January 15th. Tickets on sale now.
If you want to check out more new music, then fire up our Headline Act playlists on Spotify and YouTube!
The King Rooks: facebook | twitter | soundcloud | spotify | youtube