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Thanks for taking some time to chat with From the Green Room
1. What’s the name of the band?
Good morning from Tucson, AZ. This is Ryan Rosoff, singer/songwriter/guitarist for the band Little King. We’ve been making music since 1997, and the new single “Silver Tongue,” is available on 3/25 worldwide. It’s a celebration of 25 years of releases…I think it’s quite a good period at the end of a very long run-on sentence.
2. Where are you from?
I grew up in Seattle in the 1980’s, but all of the music we’ve made since the first album, Transmountain (1997), has been recorded in El Paso, Texas. So, the short answer is almost always El Paso.
I’ve moved around a lot, but our home studio is at Eddy Garcia’s place in EP. He is also the engineer and drummer for Little King. In addition, most of the musicians throughout the years who’ve appeared on our albums are El Pasoans. It’s not the biggest city, but man is the musical history and talent rich. At The Drive In (then Mars Volta and Sparta), Pissing Razors, Khaled, all the way back to Bobby Fuller…the city stacks up pretty well in the grand scheme of American Music.
The unique part of playing and recording in El Paso is that the proximity to the US/Mexican border is a huge influence on the players. Stylistically, there’s always been a great hardcore scene, and there’s also that Latin feel to a lot of music. That combo is pretty fun to work with, and while I wouldn’t ever classify Little King as Latin Rock, the undercurrent is definitely there.
3. What type of music do you play?
Shoot…you tell me! I like the term “dynamic rock,” as I know we go from pretty damn heavy to quite moody and mellow…sometimes in one song. The new song, “Silver Tongue,” has all of that and more. Because it is a celebration of our history as a push into the NEXT 25 years, I wanted to throw the whole kitchen sink in. And so we did, and the track is about 6 plus minutes long. I’m cool with that…so much to say!
Sometime ago, we were classified as Prog Rock, but the Prog community was kind of like “Ehhhhh…maybe not.” There are a ton of time sigs that hopefully flow well together, and it’s thematic and heavy. If you can’t find something in the new song that speaks to you, then perhaps we aren’t your favorite band! But I am pleased, and I think the almost-prog fanbase will rock out to it.
4. Introduce yourselves to the readers and tell us what you do in the band?
As I said, I’m Ryan, and I play guitar and sing. I’ve also written and produced all of Little King’s music (the name “Little King” is actually a Gaelic translation of “Ryan.”)
Manny Tejeda from Delaware by way of the Dominican Republic is on the bass for the new track, and he’s also played on the last two record, Occam’s Foil and Amuse De Q. The aforementioned Eddy Razor Garcia is the drummer, and he’s been the studio drummer since 2007.
5. This is probably a common question but one that most want to know, what musical
influences did you have growing up, and what are some now?
While it IS a common question, the answer is no less complicated than it was the first time I was asked!
We all grew up in different places and eras, a bit, although Eddy and I are closer in age and Manny is bringing up the rear. Ed and I both love Rush, Zeppelin, ACDC, and the older metal from the 80’s. Ed is in a Texas thrash band called Pissing Razors, and his influences probably run a bit “heavier” than mine. Manny is a 90’s kid, so he loves Deftones, Korn, etc. Pretty diverse, honestly, and you add in their Latin music roots, and you get a kind of weird hybrid of styles and influences.
I do love hip-hop, especially from the West Coast 90’s era. Also a huge fan of reggae, particularly Peter Tosh. Also recently listening to stuff like Don Shirley (the protagonist from the move “Green Book,”) Scott Walker, John Mellencamp, the Grateful Dead, Tool, and more. So much more…
6. Have you always been into music? Was it something that just came to you
naturally?
I was lucky to grow up on the world’s greatest rock station, KISW, 99.9 FM in Seattle. Man…I cannot tell you how much that influenced my neighborhood back in the 80’s. They had some great DJ’s like Steve Slaton and Bo Roberts who played weird stuff like Billy Thorpe and longer Rush tracks. Rock music was front and center, but no one really played in my family. My bro was a huge influence, too, though. He did play clarinet and then bass guitar, and I stole a ton of his records and had stereo wars with him in our house all the time. Poor mom and dad.
I heard “Xanadu” at about age 11, and then “Eruption” and “Run to the Hills” as well, and I was hooked. I NEEDED to know how to do that! So mom bought me a beat up old Takamine electric, and then my dad got a Washburn acoustic (which I still use) in about 1988. Slowly but surely, I started to learn chords and taugh myself some scales. Still hooked here in 2023!
7. What can we expect from the band in the rest of 2022 and beyond into 2023?
As I said, the new single “Silver Tongue” comes out on 3/25. “Silver Tongue” is the triumphant culmination of 25+ years of Little King releases. This single is a celebration of our history with a bone-jarring right cross into the future. Moody, groovy, heavy, and complex, “Silver Tongue” stands as the quintessential LK opus.
The band is the same as I mentioned before, and the team is the same as we used for the last album:
Engineered by: Eddy Razor Garcia at Krank Studios in El Paso, TX,,,Mixed by: Daniel Salcido at Command Space Audio in Los Angeles, CA…Mastered by: Maor Appelbaum at Maor Appelbaum Mastering, California, USA
We also filmed our live shows from last September, so I am editing audio and video as we speak. Hoping to have a good chunk of the shows available as a live video release in the late-spring. Very exciting stuff, as we’ve not released a live album before. From there, we will tour October 7-15 throughout the western US, then we will see our fans in November on the east coast. Would love to hit Europe, too…will see how things go.
8. For someone who wants to know more about the band, were can they find you at?
And were can they find your music?
Thanks for asking! We have everything you need over at www.littlekingtunes.com or on fb/ig/twitter/YouTube @littlekingtunes. All of our albums are available to stream on Apple Music, and the most recent stuff is also on Spotify etc. If you just search “Little King Silver Tongue,” you’ll find it. But yeah, the web site is a great place to get acquainted and learn more about what we’ve been grinding away on for a long time.
9. Let’s answer some fun questions, what is your all time favorite band?
Oh, I am a Rush geek for sure. Ed would say ACDC, I think, and Manny would probably say Deftones or Korn. You’ll have to ask them, though! Steely Dan and the Talking Heads also get honorable mention.
10. If you could tour with any band and open or have them open for you, who would
you choose?
Dave Grohl and I are of similar age and countenance, I think. Our music fits what he does, too. You know him? Have him holler. Would also love to open for Tool/A Perfect Circle, or maybe someone like Chevelle. Can’t really say too much more, but we will take it if it makes sense.
Thanks for chatting with me From the Green Room and look forward to chatting
again in the future.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
www.facebook.com/littlekingtunes
www.instagram.com/littlekingtunes
www.twitter.com/littlekingtunes
Little King Official – YouTube
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