ROCK IS FINALLY making its much-anticipated comeback.
Look to this month's issue of Rolling Stone magazine for proof, as rock's newest bad boys, The Vines, grace the cover. Look at last week's MTV Video Music Awards, which featured a lack in pop performances. Heck, Britney and 'N Sync didn't even take home a coveted moon man this year. What's the world coming to?
| The Reign Kings at the Back to School Bash, with Cousins of the Wize, Sixth Year Senior and Pomagic, 7 p.m., Saturday, at Bash on Ash, 230 W. Fifth St., Tempe. $5-$7. 480-966-8200. |
As pop and rap-rock take a back seat, rock is taking center stage. And that's just fine with The Reign Kings' lead vocalist Scott Briggs.
"It's nice to see that our scene is kind of developing,'' he says. "Hopefully something other than the rap-metal thing will kind of evolve. I think there's more to Phoenix than Bionic Jive and all these other bands. They're great bands but I think there's more out there.''
The Reign Kings, along with Briggs, is comprised of Jim Hornaday (guitar), Chris Kurtz (guitar), Scott Kusmirek (drums) and Rhonda Wooder (bass). The group formed a solid lineup in March with members who stem from local groups like The Newmans, Bit O' Jane, The Elliots and The Amigos. After a bit of band hopping, Briggs and Kusmirek say they finally found the right fit.
"They've been able to take what I've always wanted to do with music and kind of get out of that whole desert rock thing," Briggs, the founding member, says of his new lineup. "It's kind of evolved a little bit more.''
Kusmirek describes the group's sound as "emotional rock,'' but don't lump this band in with emo acts like Jimmy Eat World or the Get Up Kids. Check out their live show and you'll see the difference. In fact, Kusmirek says that their live performance is where it's at.
"Our show is a little bit different than the usual local band that you go see at a bar,'' he says. "It kind of has that national sound to it, just the way that we choreograph everything out.
"The only way I can describe what we're doing with our live show is if you went to a U2 and a Pink Floyd concert at the same time,'' he says. "Rather than pay $5 to see a band up there playing and go get drunk, I want people to leave the show saying, 'Wow.'"
And according to Kusmirek, the audience did just that when the band recently opened for Junior Brown and Dishwalla.
"[Junior Brown] was really scary,'' he says. "It was the first 'OK, we're going to get beat up.' It ended up being fine. The next thing you know, the place went crazy. They loved it. It was great to see that crowd react to the stuff we're doing now.'' Kusmirek says that opening for Dishwalla was the band's best show to date. "That was the perfect crowd for us,'' he says.
While they're in the process of booking a few more prominent shows, The Reign Kings are currently working on an EP, which they hope to release before Christmas.
"We're trying to do demos and EPs instead of spending twenty grand on a record because we're hoping that maybe something will happen,'' Kusmirek says.
In the meantime, if you'd like to see the band in action, check them out at the Bash on Ash this weekend, where they'll share an eclectic billing with fellow locals Cousins of the Wize, Pomagic and Sixth Year Senior.
And though they're on a bill with some more exuberant groups, Kusmirek says, "we're not a party band. We're a little mellower. We're not jumping around, drinking beer and partying. The party for us is off stage.''
Reach the reporter at kelly.wilson@asu.edu.
