Kingsfoil Interview

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Kingsfoil before their sold out show at World Cafe Live on December 23rd (read my review here).  Read what they had to say about their new album, what's next, and their thoughts on burritos.

Me: All right, so I read that the band started as just Jordan and Tristan, correct?

Jordan: Correct.

Me: How did you two meet?

Jordan: We grew up together. Our families were friends, so we’ve known each other our whole lives basically. Well, pretty much.  Since I’ve had memories anyway.

Me: How did Tim and Joe fit in?

Jordan: Um, Joe was playing in another band and we played a lot of shows together and his bands broke up or disbonded… And he joined the band with our old bass player at the time and then our old bass player left and Tim joined… That’s what we really say is the true Kingsfoil. We’ve been together for around four years.

Me: So what made you decide to go from your acoustic duo to a four-person band?

Jordan: We just wanted to play rock and roll.

Tristan: Yeah, just to sort of take that next step.

Me: So the name, what does it mean? Where did it come from?

Jordan:  Um, it has a meaning. What is the meaning Tim? I thought you came up with something behind this?

Tim: It means “healing. Yes it does, it means “healing.”

Jordan: (laughter) It’s too late.

Tim: No, it means “healing,” Jordan! That’s what it means.

Jordan: Okay, just put that in, but the real thing is it’s from Lord of the Rings, but we wanted to like, not have it that… but it’s too late because everybody knows that.  Well we just like the sound of the name, to be honest. But that’s where it is from.

Me: So you guys are from York, have you always lived there?

Jordan: I grew up in Maryland, but yes. We’ve probably lived in that area our whole lives.

Me: Any considerations to relocate? Say, Philly, where there’s a bigger music scene?

Jordan: …If it was like the right situation I think we would. We all love like warmer weather. Whether it be, I don’t know, LA, or Florida, or whatever.

Joe: Philly’s not really a move in that direction.

Me: No, it’s not.

Jordan: But we’re sort of in a nice spot that we can come here. We can go to Baltimore, New York, D.C., and all that, you know, without making it a huge trip. It’s pretty attainable for us.

Me: So you’re new album, On Our Own Together, tell me about it.

Jordan: Um, it’s our first full-length album as a band.

Tristan: Mhm, it’s pretty exciting.

Jordan: We did it all on our own, self funded, and uh…

Tristan: Together.

Jordan: And uh, yeah… we’ve sort of been a band that’s never like jumped ahead.   We’ve always kind of made it like a slow climb.  Well, it is a slow climb up.

Tristan: Played it safe.

Jordan: Yeah, we’ve played it safe but in a good way I think… so this was like, we really kind of took our time writing these songs and really, really felt like they were just so much better than anything we had written. That was kind of exciting for all of us I think. To put something out like that.

Me: What was the inspiration for the album?

Joe: Life.

Jordan: Yeah, I mean, there’s like, a ton of different stuff. Probably like family, family issues, love obviously, just life questions in general I think.  There’s kind of a lot lyrically in that.  And it comes out with how we play, too, I would say.

Me: So was that process like working on a full-length album versus your EPs?

Joe: Bigger version. Bigger like…

Tristan: A lot more fun.

Joe: Yeah it was more fun knowing we had a goal in mind but the one thing about the album was that we had been evolving our own writing style over the last like the trial and error of all the stuff we had been working up to that point, but then as we really honed in on like, how our sound was evolving, and we had sort of tested two of the songs with that producer already… That was like the initiation I think. At that point by the time we... did Demons and Goldfish, that was like really when we started writing smarter and better and geared up for like a full-length album.  Writing wise, that’s really how when we turned the corner I think. And then it was just a matter of putting it together in that caliber that we could put in an album.

Jordan: There’s really something to be said for that, like for working on a whole collection of songs… definitely the industry now is like, all about singles, and a lot of people don’t buy albums as much anymore, but it is, and it’s always going to be important to kind of have this collection of songs that go together. I think that’s probably never going to change for bands because it’s like a time they’ve gone through, and that was definitely how this worked out. All the songs go together really well.

Me: I agree, I think albums are really important. So what’s next for Kingsfoil?

Jordan: Um, what’s next?

Tim: I don’t know.

Me: Any set plans, or what do you hope to accomplish?

Jordan: We’re working on some stuff with a management company and moving forward in that kind of direction to kind of get some more support behind us and ultimately hopefully touring at some point whether it be the spring or the summer would be our ideal. So that’s kind of the [plan]. We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback. We’ve started to get a lot of opportunities from the record, so we’re going to just see where it takes us.

Me: That sounds like a great plan.  Well, now I have some fun questions.  According to your Facebook page, you guys like burritos. What are your favorites, and who makes the best?

Joe: There is a very clear split.

Jordan: Yeah, we are a very eclectic band. Half of us eat meat and the other half doesn’t. But as far as burrito places, I hate Chipotle, and everybody else loves it.

Tim, Joe, Tristan: I don’t love it.

Tim: We hate Qdoba.

Jordan: Oh yeah Qdoba sucks. Sorry, Qdoba. I like burrito places that are like local. I like a little mom and pop burrito place.

Joe: I’m a Roburrito’s loyal

Jordan: I like Roburrito’s.  Yeah, we get excited about burritos.

Me: I can see that.

Joe: We like food in general. You opened up a can of worms there.

Me: What were the last CDs that all of you purchased?

Jordan: Go around the room, starting with Tim, go!

Tim: I’m not starting.

Jordan: You have to start!

Tim: I have to think about it!

Joe: Mutemath - Armistice.

Me: That’s a good one.

Jordan: I just bought Leonard Cohen – New Skin for an Old Ceremony.

Tristan: Fran Healy’s new CD, I guess it’s his first solo CD.

Jordan: Tim, did you just get the new Kesha?

Tim: I didn’t buy the whole album though!

Joe: I could give you a new one. It could be the Switchfoot album. Cause I bought them at the same time.

Jordan: Yeah I bought Leonard Cohen, Bonnie Wright, and… a vinyl [of] Christmas songs by that guy who plays the piano for Charlie Brown.

Tim: That’s an awesome smattery of records.

Me: Well my last question is what was the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you guys while performing?

Jordan: Ooh, that’s a good one. Um, there’s a couple of personal things.  I had a rip in my pants at a bad spot and during the set it got larger and larger until at the end it was just really awkward.  It was like I was feeling a draft.  But that didn’t involve any of them. 

Tristan: I’ve fallen a couple of times.

Tim: I’ve smashed my head into a speaker.

Joe: But those aren’t embarrassing cause those are like in the rock out moment.

Jordan: Actually there is a really good video - you can almost find it and laugh your ass off – [I’m thinking] I’m like really cool and rockin’ out and I bring my head up and I hit the microphone like really hard and it’s really loud.  And you hear this boom and the whole mic flies. It’s pretty bad.

Me: So collectively you guys are pretty coordinated.


Edited by: Becky S.