Monday, 30 March 2009 16:00
from left to right: Matthew Followill [ lead guitar ], Jared Followill [ bass ], Nathan Followill [ drums ] & Caleb Followill [ vocals & rhythm guitar ].
The KINGS OF LEON, have written their autobiography in three classic syllables. Posted backstage on the Kings' New Zealand tour, a single piece of paper fiercely refutes all ideals of Southern hospitality. Photos of the Followill's faces are captioned, "Don't F with". However, despite being treated like genuine rock & roll royalty (orange juice in champagne glasses!)... these Kings, are not as pretentious as the media and they themselves, would like you to think. Sure, they rule... and don't they know it. But don't mistake deadpan humour, for an in-proportionate ego.
Caleb (vocals & rhythm guitar), Jared (bass), Matthew (lead guitar) & Nathan (drums), poker-faced their way through a press conference, against local media on their latest touring trip...
"I find that I can be more honest, if I'm a little altered."
- Caleb Followill
- Caleb Followill
CALEB: They're all really proud of us. Basically the family, they're all claiming to be named Leon at this point. All of our family has been behind us 100 percent. They miss that we don't get to spend much time with them anymore...
NATHAN: ... But they appreciate how nice the Christmas presents are getting now. So, they're not complaining too much.
Playing favourites?
CALEB: A lot of my favourite songs of ours, sometimes they don't even make it onto the albums. A lot of times when you're making an album, you make an effort to put the songs on there that are going to crossover to territories that you haven't touched on yet. But, I like country music. So, I like songs like 'Wicker Chair' and 'Talhihina Sky'.
MATTHEW: Your favourites change. When you make a new record, you'll have a favourite off that record. Then you'll make another record.
JARED: I think as a whole, we like 'Manhattan' a lot. 'True Love Way', 'Ragoo', 'Knocked Up'.
CALEB: 'Molly's Chambers'.
JARED: *whispers* We hate that song.
Caleb, calling Caleb... on 'Cold Desert'.
CALEB: Jared had been messing around with this little bass line. I happened to go to his house and he was playing it. I came in with four chords and started humming a melody. He was like, no that's terrible. "I think it's a fast song, or faster than that." I was like, oh really? So, just had to wait it out. One day we were in the studio and true story... We'd gotten into the studio and we were discussing what songs should be cut from the album. Someone said 'Cold Desert' and I was like, what are you talking about? Cold Desert? "Yeah, we should go back and listen to the recording." I was like, when did we record 'Cold Desert'? It was on a night that I'd really had a lot. We went in there and we just recorded three songs back to back, to back. One of them was 'Cold Desert'. When we listened back to it, I literally got emotional and was tearing up. It was such a sad song and I had made up the lyrics out of the top of my head. So when I listened back to it, it was pretty much me talking to myself. Telling myself, that I needed to change my ways a little bit... or needed to get some help.
Self-taught musicians... it's the Kings of Leon way.
JARED: Maybe creative. But definitely worse players, than if we had been taught.
CALEB: Definitely more creative. A lot of bands that we know, they did take lessons and what-not. But, I think that when you're like that... you get a little more formulaic. You write hit songs like, oh no... now the next song has to be the same kind of song. For us, we don't ever want to make the same song twice. Plus, everyday we hear something that's really old. Or something that's really new. When we hear it we think, man. How do we give our take on that? That type of music, or that kind of emotion. We're still inspired everyday to keep writing songs. We can't wait for everyone to hear what we have next.
Bungy-jumping, anyone?... Jared quips, "do you guys literally just jump off the bridge?"
JARED: We got offered that. I thought about doing it. But I don't want to get up there and back down. That would be the worst. It would take so much time out of my day to walk up there and just say, no I can't do it.
MATTHEW: I would love to do it. But I'm just scared I'd hurt my back and then you guys would be mad cuz we wouldn't be able to play the show.
JARED: Whatever, he's scared.
CALEB: As long as I get paid, I don't care what happens to me.
Boy-with-Southern-accent, say what?
MATTHEW: I think hair cuts are a normal thing. We just thought, it's time for a change.
JARED: It gets really hot in Tennessee.
NATHAN: I actually cut my hair, just took all of our cuttings and glued them together. Made a wig out of it. So I'm actually wearing all four of our hair, right now.
CALEB: I did take meds for my shoulder. But then they inspired me to write songs. So, I took them for a little longer. I find that I can be more honest, if I'm a little altered. So, I'm always drinking a little bit when I'm writing. But yeah, that's when my pain meds were involved... and who knows what's next.
North Head, Auckland / "Cement cave things"...
JARED: In 2004, I stayed up until sunrise and went over there at eight in the morning. So wasted. I went through all those little things and got lost. So I definitely do, remember New Zealand.
The original, King Leon.
CALEB: He definitely doesn't leave the house.
NATHAN: Mostly, he gets up at two. Not, what he gets up to.
CALEB: I don't know. I haven't talked to him in a little while. Actually, today is my Mom's birthday. So I have to call her.
JARED: It's too late. I already talked to her. It's midnight there now. She's asleep...
CALEB: Happy birthday Mom.
MATTHEW: I missed my sister's birthday.
JARED: ... She said she really hoped you would call.
Roll, on.
JARED: Matt is obsessed with dice.
MATTHEW: We just play dice a lot, street style.
JARED: He bets with them a lot.
MATTHEW: I've lost a lot of money with this guy. *points to Jared*
JARED: It's kind of like pretend betting, cuz he never pays.
MATTHEW: I will. After this tour, when I get some money.
Taper Jean Boy? As vouched for, by Jared.
CALEB: Actually, it was an accident we even started wearing these. My mom used to alter our pants for us. Which basically just meant, making them snug on the legs. But they were never really tight at the bottom. She messed up a pair of Jared's pants and he walked out and he had on skin-tight pants. We all called him Peter Pan, at first. But then it was like, that looks pretty cool.
JARED: I went to a party and I didn't come home alone...
OMFG KINGS OF LEON ARE BREAKING UP! SRSLY WTF.
NATHAN: *deadpans* That one's true, actually. This is it. This is our last press conference.
CALEB: We can't really pay that much attention to it. It's fun to read. I wake up in the morning, first thing I do is get on my computer. (Find out) What did I do? But, it's just something to pass the time when you're on the road. The stuff we read is hilarious. The stuff we allegedly do?... We get up to some crazy stuff... but the stuff that they come up with, is way better than what we're actually doing.
NATHAN: But it's also great, cuz our Mom reads everything. So it's good for her to see two or three stories that are absolutely absurd, that she knows could never be true. That way, when they actually get it right... I'm like, c'mon mom. *throws hands up helplessly*
JARED: There's always one fact that's right in there. But then everything around it, is wrong. Like, we witnessed a fight backstage at the Brits. We had nothing to do with it. We just saw it, "shit there's a fight". It turned into, Caleb beat Matt up backstage.
MATTHEW: It never happened.
CALEB: I just saw on Wikipedia that in high school, I was really great at gymnastics and my Mom taught me how to get into music. That's amazing.
JARED: You know that's true.
CALEB: We all raise our hand at once.
JARED: I think whoever has the best success with the ladies, is whoever is single at the time. We usually have girlfriends and the one person that's single, you get your pick.
CALEB: It's been years since we got tons of ladies. Or, a year. There were good days though. But I'll be honest. Back then our standards weren't too high. It was like, "I slept with fourty girls". "Well I slept with fifty". "Yeah but they were all ugly".
King Of The Stripping Rodeo.
CALEB: It's our last show with The Stills and they're really good friends of ours. We've done one tour a year, for the last four years with them. Who knows. We might tour with them again. This could be the last one. So, we'll probably pull out some songs that they want to hear. I'm sure, they'll do the same for us. Hopefully, nothing stupid. Cuz I hate when for the last show, a band does something stupid. This one tour in America, a male stripping cowboy came onstage during the middle of 'King of the Rodeo'. That was annoying. The crowd was really wanting to hear that song and you just messed it up by having a stripper out there. But you never know. They could stuff do like that.
JARED: That was before security. We had no security back then. I've had a poster of Orlando Bloom on my bass head when I've walked out there. Things that replace a mic. We won't say what it is...
Holy. Ballin'?
CALEB: We were always into music with church, because that was our contribution to what our dad was doing. He was preaching and we were playing music. Afterwards, me and Nathan would get in the car with girls on the way to the pizza place. We would sing Boyz II Men. It was just for the ladies.
Just like everyone else in high school. Started discovering music. Being rebellious. Heard Pearl Jam. Tom Petty. Smoked pot with my uncle. Alright, here we go. No looking back.
CHARMER / Let me hear you scream.
CALEB: It's more of a loud scream. It's really a whisper. To be honest, that's one of the least that hurts my voice. It's just a really loud whisper. Songs like 'Black Thumbnail', they really hurt. My voice hurts a lot. Buy these little things called vocalzones that Tom Jones uses. They're little black capsules that soothe the throat. Nothing really makes it feel good, it still always hurts. But, the show must go on.
Just some old-fashioned garage-band, revelry.
CALEB: Playing in the garage, that was definitely a whole different thing. It was fun. We were all trying to get good. So, everyday someone would be the MVP (Most Valuable Player). Wow, Jared's getting better. Or, Nathan's getting better. Now, it's fun and beautiful whenever you get up there and hear the crowd and feel it. But a lot of days too, we'll walk off and everyone's buzzing and thinking it was the greatest show. But as soon as we go backstage, (we think) it could always get better. We have to treat it like work. We want it to be the best. In the garage, it wasn't about being the best. It was just kids having fun and getting the neighbours to complain.
KINGS OF LEON's 'Only By The Night': Tour Edition, is in-stores now.
