KINGS
Richmond, VA | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | INDIE
Music
Press
Feb. 27, 2015
Kelli Strawbridge and Devonne Harris of KINGS have a presence. When youâre with them, you feel like youâre part of something different... something big. Described as the heart and soul of the Jellowstone Records family, the KINGS manifesto is that music is royal, music is KING. Their self-titled record debut will be released on March 3rd, and theyâre all about bringing vintage R & B back to RVA, and back to life.
KINGS was born out of an accidental collaboration. Devonne gave Kelli a mix CD of his own recordings and Ohblivâs music. There was a Donny Hathaway-esque ballad on the CD written by Devonne, and Kelli threw his own vocals over it. This new sound excited both musicians and ignited something big.
Kelli says, âI eventually played it for Devonne and he was into it. So, we got into messing with stuff, and thatâs how it came around. It was kind of an accident. We didnât have a name for it, didnât have a concept for it, but once we came up with the song âStrange Love,â it really sounded like old school R & B.â
As I sit across from Kelli, he is the definition of cool. He is comfortable in his skin, and knows exactly what he stands for. And our interview continues...
Why was KINGS created?
âI think of all of those guys that havenât been recognized... I think of them as kings, as royalty, but without the recognition that artists like Prince and Michael Jackson receive. This is what KINGS represents. We are gonna pay tribute to those guys, the unknowns, and really bring that spirit. It is more of a recording project for me to overcome my issues around getting into the studio and really getting out of my own head. Originally, there was no label, there was no nothing. It was just Devonne and myself.â
Who writes the songs?
âDevonne had one track he did a long time ago, and I wrote lyrics to that. Same with 'Strange Love.' Pretty spontaneously and quickly. He gave me five tracks, and I used lyrics and music I had written to add to his tracks. Mostly itâs a lot of collaboration. Also, jamming. We will be jamming on shit, and suddenly it becomes something.â
And Reggie Pace joins us for a drink. Talk about a presence. Reggie is the accomplished founder and creator of Jellowstone Records. He's also an acclaimed musician who performs with NO BS Brass, Bon Iver, Pace Cadets, and more.
Reggie says, âThis is big, really. KINGS was one of the groups that the Jellowstone label was created on. This is one of the original projects thatâs going to have a LOT of records. I can envision several KINGS records. KINGS is the backbone. And Devonne, heâs the backbone. This is our R & B thing. People were behind this music so fast, it really caught me off guard. It just happened. Itâs organic. People are behind it.â
Kelli adds, âThis record breaks a lot of rules. It brings back old rules that used to be accounted for. Having a baffle in front of drums, mic bleeding, recording the tape, a lot of forgotten methods. We are using them on the record. Even now, people might throw a little taste of an old method onto the record, but it gets glossed over. On our record, you can really hear the distortion. Itâs raw. Itâs special. We took our time with it.â
A few days later I sat down with Devonne Harris, also known as DJ Harrison. Devonne is part of so many musical groups that itâs hard to keep up with him. KINGS, Butcher Brown, Pace Cadets, Charles Owens Trio, Marcus Tenney Trio, and many more. He is evidently self-aware and has his own swagger. He is also introspective, thoughtful, and authentic in person. Devonne has composed the majority of the music for KINGS, and is also the mastermind behind the recording process. He has been recording for over half of his young life.
âIâve been recording at my house since I was thirteen years old. I have a box of four-track cassette tapes, and no one has even heard them. Itâs modest, but Iâve always liked the old school sound of recording on tapes.â
Devonne considers himself to be a studio rat. He lives and breathes music, and he feels that recording music provides an aural diary; a place to capture a moment, an experience, a transition. The music he is creating is attracting national attention. In fact, his band Butcher Brown will be playing at SXSW this year, as well as his solo act, DJ Harrison.
âI have different creative avenues I like to explore. Itâs important to push boundaries. The art of music is being saved, but the audience participation portion has changed. Going to the record store, buying the record, listening to the record, looking at the record credits while listening to it... really taking it in--doesnât happen as much anymore. Thatâs what I want to bring back. The desire to really listen and soak it all in.â
Also on the KINGS record is Keith Askey, a Grammy award winning guitar player, and close friend to Kelli and Devonne. Keith plays in many groups in Richmond, and is stoked to be on the KINGS record as well. Heâs humble and genuine for sure. He joined us for part of the interview. I asked him what draws him to Jellowstone Records, and to KINGS.
âWe are people first. We are just friends, really. We go out and eat pho together. Itâs the right people, and the right fit. Everybody happens to be really good at what they do, but everybodyâs pushing each other to be better. I try to be modest, but if I am talking about the group as a whole, my ego is through the roof. The confidence is there. And really, everybodyâs just really funky.â
Keith talks more about how rehearsals at Jellowstone are just fun. This group of musicians works hard, and takes music seriously, but loves to have fun and works to remain grounded and humble, never forgetting their roots.
Jumping back to Devonne. We discuss his roots, history, and music in Richmond. âWeâre living in the capital of the confederacy; a little old civil war town. Iâve always had this theory that music comes from the river. With Richmond having so much history--a center for the slave trade, being the epicenter, itâs like the roots of the gospel are in the soil, in the water. Thereâs history everywhere. If you can find a connection to that, youâll feel really grateful, and the music really helps that too. Because this is where it all comes from. Music comes from people and their roots. Music is true and real for people who believe in it.â
One thing Devonne said really struck me. He grew up with a single mom, in the hood, pretty poor. He said that when you grow up with nothing, you appreciate everything. âMy life has been great. With all the shit Iâve been through, my life has been great. Everything inspires me to do everything.â
When I asked Devonne about his dream for KINGS he responds, âFor KINGS, a world tour. Richmond is an up and coming place. I have felt it since I moved here. RVA music is on the rise. Just watch out.â
Butcher Brown and additional Jellowstone Records key players often join KINGS in recording and also in live shows. You can see most of their collaborators in the video for âStrange Love.â Keith Askey, Andrew Randazzo, Corey Fonville, Armando Munoz, Reggie Pace, Marcus Tenney, CJ Boisseau, Charles Owens, to name a few. Their record was produced at Jellowstone Records, and mastered at Montrose Studios. This is a homegrown record, for sure. KINGS self-titled debut record will be released on March 3, 2015.
If you havenât heard KINGS live, you need to. KINGS will be playing on March 6th at Sound of Music, with Butcher Brown opening. Doors open at 9 PM, admission is $5. CDs will be available for purchase. For more info, click here.
by Erin Frye - RVA magazine
Feb. 26, 2015
2014 was a big year for independent record label Jellowstone Records. Founded by multi-instrumentalist, jazz musician, and hip-hop producer Devonne Harris (a.k.a. DJ Harrison) and multi-instrumentalist and producer Reginald Pace in June of 2014, the label has single handedly created one of the most exciting new music scenes in the country, based in Richmond, Virginia, with its roster full of forward thinking Jazz, Hip-Hop, R&B, and Funk acts. 2014 saw the label release four fantastic studio albums: DJ Harrisonâs Stashboxxx, Butcher Brownâs All Purpose Music, Trio Of Justiceâs Without Hesitation, and PaceCadetsâ Virginia Up In Ya.
Butcher Brown, the labelâs genre defying group, which has, on different occasions, been described as âelectro-soulâ and âfunk and rock with 5% jazzâ, has been making big waves in the music world in particular, from playing at prestigious jazz festivals across the country, to being the backing band on acclaimed jazz trumpeter Nicholas Paytonâs most recent record (Numbers), to their guitarist Keith Askey playing guitar on Kendrick Lamarâs Grammy award winning single âIâ.
The labelâs next project slated for an album release is the group Kings, the first act in the Jellowstone records roster to show how the labelâs forward thinking sound will work through the lens of an R&B/funk record. I was lucky enough to be allowed to hear the record in advance to review it, and I also got to go over to the Jellowstone headquarters and interview Kings frontman and mastermind Kelli Strawbridge, along with Devonne Harris and Butcher Brown drummer Corey Fonville. Check that out after the review and cop the self-titled Kings album when it drops 3/3/15.
The Album Review
The album opens with some resonant and warm keys, followed by lush horns and backing vocals over a short spoken intro by Kelli Strawbridge, setting the stage for the rest of the record. The intro immediately segues into the darting bassline of the following track, âPerfectâ, featuring light and playful vocals by Kelli, a gorgeous, thick, and synthy hook, and some soulful saxophone playing by Richmond jazz scene figurehead and Jellowstone regular Marcus Tenney. This track and the two following it share a pretty similar feeling, all upbeat and high energy cuts, with the thumping, bassy track âSingle Man Hours,â in which the intensity of Kelliâs at times wailing, James Brown-esque vocals starts to increase, in addition the smooth, sweet, and romantic âInnocent numberâ making for an exciting opening to the album.
After the synth heavy, and for lack of a better word, dreamy, âI Dream Of Genie,â a track with some excellently timed, 80âs reminiscent keyboards, comes one of the stand out songs on the album: the infectious single âStrange Loveâ. Starting off with some light, airy, and upbeat chords by guitarist Keith Askey. Fast paced drums and passionate vocals soon join in, transitioning perfectly into a thumping and well executed chorus of deep, chanting, vocals and bass, and a stewing, ominous mix of horns, keys, guitars, drums, and backing vocals, with an excellent vocoded bridge to top it off; in other words, catchy as hell. The track paints a humorous and vivid sonic picture of a man in a club getting in over his head with a girl he doesnât know and the strange events that follow. This song is definitely something special, and its followed up by three of the other best cuts on the record: âExhaleâ, a smooth and beautiful ballad, âCreamyâ, a track which blends experimental hip-hop production (in the vein of new producers like Knxwledge, Ohbliv, and DJ Harrison himself) with the funkiest bassline on the record, (something that could easily find its way onto an old Bootsy Collins track), and âStimulateâ, a track that showcases some beautiful reversed grooves, a lush hook, and perhaps the most passionate vocals on the entire album. Although the chorus on the final track âSweet Serenadeâ is lyrically less interesting and more repetitive than many of the other choruses on the album, the soft and comforting grooves serve as a good ending for a great album.
Kings is a well sequenced album that definitely merits a front to back listen, with thick, bassy grooves, excellent production throughout, and stellar track after stellar track. Front man Kelli Strawbridge is a versatile vocalist, switching back and forth seamlessly between the smoother, more romantic cuts and the record, and the grittier, more hard hitting ones. He may not showcase the flashy, indulgent, and masturbatory runs and vocal range showboating that is expected out of the archetypal R&B singer, but he makes up for it with plenty of tone, personality, charisma, grit, and soul. As Kelli reiterates in the following interview: its about playing the music, and none of the bullshit that seems to get in the way of that nowadays.
This record manages to defy the normal expectations of what an R&B singer should sound like and what an R&B record should sound like, while simultaneously invoking the same raw and inventive feeling you get from listening to a classic R&B or funk record from the 70âs or 80âs. Its another win for Jellowstone, and another reason why you should be paying close attention to what this label, and Kings, will be doing in the coming years.
The Interview
IF YOU COULD SUM UP THE CONCEPT OF KINGS IN A SENTENCE OR TWO HOW WOULD YOU DO IT?
Kelli Strawbridge: To me it literally is a tribute to the living and also forgotten masters of R&B and funk music. They should be considered royalty. They should be considered kings, queens of it. They should be in the rock and roll hall of fame, all of the above.
WHATâS YOUR MUSICAL BACKGROUND? WHEN DID YOU START PLAYING?
KS: In 1993 I got my first drum set, I was around 13 and that was the time that I switched over from being just a Michael Jackson lover to more of a listener. I became a listener of Prince, and then thatâs when I first got an Al Green greatest hits album, and I Want You by Marvin Gaye, so pretty much right after that I became addicted to Fender Rhodes, I became addicted to that sound. I became addicted to drums, drum machines. All of that. So that was all around 94, 95.
HOW DID KINGS START? HOW DID YOU LINK UP WITH ALL THE JELLOWSTONE DUDES? HAVE YOU KNOWN THEM FOR A WHILE?
KS: Iâve known Devonne for about 8 years. â07 I met you?
Devonne Harris: â06. I saw you play at that jam session â06. It was my first night that I spent in the dorms at college.
KS: Yeah I met Devonne at â06, I saw him play and everyone was already flipping out about him. Then I started hearing some of his music and I was like âok this just isnât fairâ. We ended up hanging out; I ended up doing some stuff at his old studio, Jesse Jackson studios. He gave me an old beat disc with 10 of his tracks and 10 of Ohblivâs tracks, and one of them had âI Dream Of Genieâ on it. And that just freaked me the fuck out. One weird drunken morning I threw some vocals on it. And then I played it for Devonne. But you should finish from here âcause I donât remember. Is that what happened?
DH: Yeah. I mean, you played the song for me, and you said you wanted to redo the vocals [at Jellowstone] and that became the first track of the Kings record. And then you came through, you had some musical ideas on your machine, and next thing you know we just ended up chopping it up and then âCreamyâ came about.
KS: And then you had âStrange Love.â The thing was that it wasnât named Kings at the time, we were just getting up for sessions and hanging out and doing music, and then the concept just started coming because each song was different sounding. We were hitting the Prince stuff or we were hitting this Cameo thing, and weâre hitting all these different influences of our childhood or whatever even though weâre slightly different generations. Iâm older than Devonne but we pretty much all came up listening to the same music from our parents, the church-
DH: All wax.
KS: And we exposed each other to a bunch of music we hadnât heard. It came about very spontaneously.
SO THE RECORDING PROCESS WAS OVER A REALLY LONG TIME? TRACKS JUST KEPT PILING UP?
KS: Exactly. Over about two years. We started about November/October of 2012, and a lot of it came together in 2013 and the first half of 2014. And then after that we just started mixing it. Plus Devonneâs just been updating the studio constantly, so by the time we finished recording, there were so many new things about Jellowstone to enhance the music that it was an awesome process just to see that all come together.
DH: And let me just add this. The sound of the record? Thatâs totally on purpose. Thatâs exactly what we wanted. Youâre gonna get the whole âclean Pro Toolsâ heads, and theyâre gonna be like âSomethingâs sounds wrong with this record. It sounds too muddy. Its too squeezed, too compressed.â And its just like, look man, thatâs the sound from back in the day, whether you like it or not. So that sound is totally on purpose.
WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES KINGS STAND OUT FROM OTHER JELLOWSTONE PROJECTS THAT HAVE COME OUT SO FAR?
KS: Well itâs the first R&B album, if you will, from the label. Itâs the first one that is completely focused on vocals. Thereâs not really any Hip-Hop on it. Maybe you could say there is a slight hip-hop influence on it, but I could say more that the record is meant to influence, if you will. So its totally based on vocals, I mean even everybody that you would know as a rapper does something musical in a whole ânother way on the album. So you get to see a whole ânother light, you get to see Armando [Armando Muñoz, Richmond based rapper and Jellowstone regular] in a whole different way than you would from the Mighty Monde record or whatever, because heâs a great singer, and he just spits out concepts constantly. Like heâs the one who came up with âCreamy,â we were just listening to it and he says âit sounds so⊠creamyâ and I was like oh! And then we went and finished it.
DH: Of course it was âit sounds so creamyâ and it ended up turning into âgirl you so creamy.â
Corey Fonville: As you can tell the record is about⊠sex.
KS: Yeah, a little bitâŠ
DH: Its not about sex, Corey, its about love!
KS: Of course you can see where Coreyâs mind at⊠skirts. Yeah, thatâs the basic deal of it. Its totally focused on that. Its straight up focused on songs, and it looks like thatâs what Jellowstone is gonna be more focused on in 2015. I donât really call myself a singer, its just more about vocals. The Butcher Brown album is probably one of the most melodic albums instrumentally to come out in years, for sure. So thatâs definitely whatâs happening with the Jellowstone label this year. More melody. And theres hopefully some melodies that people can catch in the Kings record.
CF: I always say, I was telling Kelly the other day, yeah, itâs the title of the Butcher Brown album, but it really is all-purpose music. His record, you can listen to it anywhere. You can listen to it in the car, when youâre chilling, cleaning up, washing clothes, doing whatever. You can listen to it. Thatâs the kind of album that you want to put out. Thatâs the kind of product you want. Anyone can appreciate and relate to it, whether youâre a musician or not.
IN A RECENT INTERVIEW (LEGENDARY PRODUCER AND RAPPER) DJ QUIK TALKED ABOUT HOW HE THINKS THE IDEA AND SOUND OF âFUNKâ HAS BECOME A NOVELTY. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ABOUT THAT. WHAT IS THE PLACE OF FUNK/SOUL/R&B IN MODERN MUSIC AND HOW DOES KINGS PLAY A ROLE IN MOVING IT FORWARD?
DH: ManâŠ
KS: That is such a fucking good question, Jesus Christ.
DH: Do you wanna take it?
KS: Nah, I just wanna say thank you for bringing up DJ Quik, because he is one of my favorites, and heâs one of the only motherfuckers still doing it to tape, and thatâs why his shit sounds so good. He is so underrated, itâs a damn shame. Iâll answer that question in a second but I would love for [Devonne] to answer it.
CF: I got something to say too.
KS: We all got something to say.
DH: My whole thing is, is that everybody whoâs apart of this record has a tradition of coming up and listening to records that were created by people, that were mixed by people. Iâm talking hand mixed. The mix was an actual thing thatâs been lost, it was an activity, you actually had to go and move knobs while the music was being recorded. It wasnât a thing where you just set automation or you set all your levels in a computer program and its ready to go. My whole thing with that is, yeah, the whole technology boom is great because everybodyâs connected to social media and everybody can have a chance to try and be a musician, but the problem with that is that everybody is going around and calling themselves musicians without doing the research and the study from the actual records and the techniques that everybody used before us. So the Kings record is just incorporating new techniques but with a lot of the older techniques in mind, like having the live band track out the whole track and having the vocal parts be one swift all away take, you know? So that element is kind of lost because you donât really have to know how to write music now a days, you can just get a computer program, and click, and all the sudden youâre a DJ. And so music, that was seen as such a sacred thing, is being put off as another everyday activity, just kinda like a game or a sport. And none of us think that thatâs the deal at all, as far as what it means to us. This Kings record is us trying to show everyone âhey when you learn the history and have the technology thatâs provided for us today then you can do a lot of great things with itâ and have it relate back to why people made music back in the day. Because weâre just trying to bring that back, the unity, the whole human aspect, weâre just trying to save that.
CF: Man, my issue with it is like, and its very similar to how I feel about a lot of traditional jazz now- and Iâm not trying to be one of those jazz purist people or those funk purist cats- but I feel like the standard of being able to play funk is not what it used to be. I feel like anybody is considered funky now. Back in the day you had to be on your A-game to be considered like âOh yeah this dude, he really has it together. Theyâre really soulful.â Being soulful back then, just like being able to sing back then, you really had to be able to sing. Now, its like anybodyâs a great singer. Beyonce would have been average. Iâm gonna keep it real, you can keep that on there too. She wouldâve been average back then. Especially when you had people like Chaka Kahn around at the time. Chaka Kahn was what Beyonce is now, and theyâre like night and day, you canât even compare them. Iâve noticed the same thing with jazz, with people being able to swing. What people consider swinging now its like, really? Ok. And itâs the same that goes for funk. Thereâs a couple guys keeping it alive, or who are real soulful, but Iâve just noticed that the stuff Iâve heard on the radio that people consider funk, when I hear it Iâm like, âok, this is just alright.â But then when a guy like DâAngelo comes back its like âfinally someoneâs doing it again.â Its changed, man. The standard of groove isnât the same, because I think itâs the lack of really studying. I think a lot the musicians havenât really studied the greats, the feel, and played along to those records and lived with that shit. So I think its very different now and thatâs why Quik said what he said.
KS: Thatâs the thing, when it comes to the sound of this record. Yeah, people as you can or have already heard, are gonna be like âthis doesnât sound like a funk recordâ or âthis doesnât sound like this.â Its because, these funk records, they havenât been paying attention to the sound anymore. The sound has gone out the window. Its about the look and its about all the other things that, the people who made these records that we listened to growing up, they didnât care about that. And just because you have six strings it doesnât mean you should play them all. I donât know if thatâs the right move, just to have more things in front of you to play.
CF: Some of the funkiest cats, one of richest drummers and one of the baddest drummers is known for using snare, kick, floor tom, and two cymbals. He has an afro, and his name is Questlove. That dude is like the funkiest cat. Chris Dave, Bernard Purdy, all the greats, going back-
KS: Chris Dave, people see that he has a whole bunch of stuff in front of him, and they donât understand that theyâre all snares. All he has is snares and cymbals, and heâs tuned them all into different sounds, but he doesnât play them all at the same time, he doesnât do all kinds of crazy stuff with them. Like, Corey barely plays fills on most of this record, and we werenât even like âwe donât want no fills,â its just about playing the music. I donât understand why thereâs this thing about what R&B is or isnât and ladadada. Iâll tell you what its not. For me, its not boring, preachy- this confessional, going all out- to just boring machine music. Thatâs not what R&B music is. It used to be a melding of the two. A melding of the electronic and the human. It could be just all human, or it could be all mechanical, but thereâs still a human element to it. And thatâs been completely taken out of music. Its been taken out of funk music, its been taken out of soul music. You have some of these so-called real R&B singers who are out there now and they donât want to talk about the Miguels and they donât want to talk about the other guys that are doing these techniques. Theyâre doing them. They might be way cleaner and major labely and whatever-
CF: Bruno Mars even. âUptown Funk.â
KS: Perfect example. It is what it is, but they are using those techniques.
DH: I feel like a great deal of that is Mark Ronson too.
KS: Its very much Mark Ronson. Bruno is a great name to sell the stuff, but itâs the person behind it, and itâs the sound. There is a sound on that record, and Iâll tell you what, it didnât take more than four fucking strings to make that.
CF: Its just like Daft Punk. Nile Rogers is the brain behind a lot of that shit.
KS: Daft Punk. Thatâs the perfect example. Why is this music selling? Why is this music making so much more of an impact? Because its been made in the way we remember and that we recognize. And people want to sterilize the music. They want to sterilize it, and literally what weâre doing with the Kings record is going in the opposite direction of that. Thereâs no autotune on it. You hear me in all kinds of vulnerable- Iâll call them vulnerable- states, because in this record I was learning so much. I was learning about my voice. I think [Devonne] was learning about his techniques and he was able to experiment on so many different things. So I think that this record will hopefully let people take more chances in their funk, in their soul, period. And that it doesnât have to just be one thing. You donât have to have autotune on it. And if you do have autotune on it? Be creative with it. Do something different with it. Throw it down on tape, it might sound even better. You know what Iâm saying? We just want people to take chances. Take risks. Take real risks.
CF: People tend to reject things they arenât used to hearing. Especially if they havenât heard it in a long time. If theyâre used to hearing this pro tools kind of stuff with this really clean sounding shit, and then they hear something more raw, that has this grit to it, they go âwhy does this sound so dirty?â They donât even listen to the music, theyâre not even paying attention to the songs or anything. They just immediately go to the sound and they arenât even giving it a chance.
KS: The thing about this album is that it is a tribute to all the things we love that have been long forgotten. This shit should be put on a higher level, not saying that we are the higher level, but weâre saying that these people are, and thatâs what they need to be. This is to them. They are royalty to us. Kings. Thatâs it.
by Greg Nachmanovitch - Atwood Magazine
BY PETER MCELHINNEY
April 28, 2015
Itâs a long trip from the back of the stage to the front â and an equally daunting journey from cover-band frontman to individual artist.
But this is Kelli Strawbridgeâs time.
For more than a decade heâs been laying down a percussive foundation on drums for Yo Mamaâs Brass Band, Charles Owenâs Trio and the Mekong Express, while honing charismatic stagecraft by channeling early James Brown in the tribute band the Big Payback.
The results of that long, hardworking apprenticeship are on full display in his new self-titled CD, âKingsâ from Jellowstone.
âI got frustrated when I realized that I hadnât put out anything,â Strawbridge says. âIâm surrounded by all of these people â Dusty Simmons, Daniel Clarke, D.J. Williams â who are doing all of these great projects. And I hadnât done anything.â
Most of all it was Devonne Harris. A fellow drummer, six years younger than Strawbridge, he came to town and almost immediately starting coloring outside the drum lines â playing keyboards, and, as DJ Harrison, putting out mix tapes of imaginative hip-hop-flavored beats. âI was intrigued,â Strawbridge says.
Despite the difference in age and that they played the same instrument, they became friends and collaborators. âYou donât meet many people that write that much, let alone play so many instruments,â Strawbridge says. âHeâs amazing â itâs not fair.â
Strawbridgeâs individualistic songs grew organically from Harrisâ deeply layered instrumental mixes. The songs range from funky modern to evocations of romantic soul of the â70s, floating over a dense, decidedly modern sonic understructure.
âWe are just trying to emulate good music,â Strawbridge says. âSome of it is Donny Hathaway, some kind of trippy. There doesnât have to be a reason for it. Happy accidents are all over the record.â
âI love Kelli,â says Reggie Pace, co-leader of the No BS Brass band and, with Harris, founder of the Jellowstone Records. âHeâs not following the typical R&B recycling approach. His sound is so cool and unique.â
The album features a crowd of area musicians, including all the members of Butcher Brown, vocalist Armando Munoz, and master trumpeter and rapper Marcus Tenney. Although many of the tracks were long-recorded, the addition of lyrics reshapes their context. And there werenât a lot of takes.
âThe songs came in this form,â Strawbridge says. âI definitely wanted to keep simple, lyrically, while leaving a bit of bite that makes you want to come back to [it]. It was like a workshop to get my writing together, to figure out what kind of stories I want to tell. There is a different feel, different character to every track.â
The result is raw and personal, as much honest sweat as studio gloss. âThe music I hear, the music I love, is soulful because it is not perfect,â Strawbridge says. âIt is chock full of moments, little things. You have to leave that. You have to leave your stamp.â
Strawbridge embodies the blue-collar ethos of Jellowstone. He may play James Brown with total commitment, but thereâs more to the music than fame.
âThis record is not only a tribute the legends but to the forgotten ones,â he says. âThey might never have been the guy. There is always someone in the back who was ready all the time, but they never got their shot.â
âI know itâs a risk, but I just want to do my music,â Strawbridge says. âSend it out to the universe. Itâs gratifying to see that people are enjoying it.â - Style Weekly
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
âKINGS is a concept by musician Kelli Strawbridge (KSTRAW), created in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Devonne Harris aka DJ Harrison. This is the debut project from KSTRAW, who has cut his teeth playing drums for 20 years with the finest musicians from all over the world, sharing the stage with instrumentalists trumpeter Rex Richardson & Grammy winning artists Terrance Simean & Snarky Puppy.
The focus of KINGS is old-school R&B: Classic Linndrum, synths, and funky guitars. Even the sound palette is kept to the rawest of quality. Influences include Prince, Larry Blackmon, Kashif, Marvin Gaye, OâBryan, The Whispers, Al Green, Stevie Wonder. Ya know..... the KINGS!!!"
The KINGS band includes Corey Fonville (Christian Scott), Devonne Harris (producer, keyboardist, DJ), Keith Askey (Kendrick Lamar, won a Grammy in 2015 for "i"), Reggie Pace (No BS brass, Bon Iver), Marcus Tenney (No BS Brass), Andrew Randazzo (Butcher Brown), Armando Munoz (Mighty Monde, Flavor Project) & Charles Owens (Charles Owens Trio).
Band Members
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