It is inspiring what one can accomplish when they set out to follow their dream. John King was an unsigned artist when he left his hometown of Habersham County, Georgia to open for numerous award-winning artists and play over 150 dates in a year.
John’s musical taste was inspired by rock like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and The Black Crowes. Combine that with being energized by Garth Brooks‘ demeanor and entertaining skills , John knew what he and the band wanted to create.
Learning how to play guitar, discovering his knack for songwriting and ‘settling into the position of lead singer,’ studying music at the University of Georgia all brought John to the realization that country music was his thing.
The payoff of all this growth and hard work was being noticed by Doug Johnson in 2012. Doug Johnson is Vice President of A&R at Black River Entertainment. John was signed on for a publishing deal with Black River Publishing. In 2013, John was added to Black River Entertainment as a artist, signed with a booking agency (William Morris Endeavor) and is recording and touring. He also just made his Opry debut on September 27th. John King and the band are here to stay.
GCO: You have opened up for Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert, Kip Moore, Florida Georgia Line to name a few. If you were able to do a song with any current or past music artist/band, who would it be and what song would you choose to do? And why these choices?
JK: If I could choose, I think it would be really cool to do my song “Something In The Water” with Little Big Town. They are just an amazing group…their harmonies are unreal and on top of it, they are just sweet people. There’s a lot of songs I’d love to hear them sing with me on lol!!
Also, if I could ever do a song with Garth Brooks that’d be a blast too!
GCO: I saw you and the band perform on Long Island at Eisenhower Park. You sang ‘Ramblin Man’ and it was a fantastic performance. You talked about being influenced by the Allman Bros.. What, in particular, about them was it that inspired you? How would you describe your style of country?
JK: What I love about the Allman Bros is that gritty, Southern Rock/Country sound. They really originated their own unique sound with the twin guitars. I just really respect guys like Skynyrd and the Allmans who were able to blend aspects of Country and Rock together….my 2 favorite genres!!
GCO: In your tour travels, what is one place that you’ve been to that you had always hoped to visit? Were you able to do any of the tourist things? And is there a place you want to visit that is on your Bucket List?
JK: I was really happy I got to go visit Maine. That’s an area I’ve always heard was a beautiful place and IT WAS! We even got to see a lighthouse that was absolutely gorgeous.
I would really love to visit Alaska one day. Especially around the Lake Victoria area. That’s on my bucket list of places to see for sure!
GCO: Was there ever a concert performance where you were concerned about the reception you would receive and then pleasantly surprised by the crowd response?
JK: Yes of course. We have played just about every place, in every kind of situation you can imagine. When we first opened for Colt Ford, I was a little anxious to see how his crowd would react since our sound is so different from his. I love what Colt does and he has such an amazing fan base. Luckily, we went on stage gave it all we had and they loved it!!
GCO: Is there one song that is extremely difficult for you to sing in concert or that you can’t perform publicly because it is too emotional for you?
JK: I have a song called “Got You Baby” that’s going to be on the record. I wrote the song for my beautiful wife as a love letter to her before we got married. I always get a little emotional when I sing it but I think it makes it that much more believable for the audience. People can tell when your heart is into a song and that song has all of mine.
GCO: You travel with your band. Let’s tell everyone the names of these great musicians. Traveling together, you must have some pretty funny stories. Is there one that you can share with us?
JK: My band guys are Andrew King (younger bro on drums), Parker Smith (guitars), Bobby Pinkston (Bass) and Mikei Gray (guitars).We have a ton of really funny stories. Recently we were on our way back from the show in Long Island (which you were at lol!!) and we had a check engine light come on in the van.. After about 30 minutes we lost all power and ended up going dead on the side of the road. We diagnosed the problem and found out it was a busted alternator… so when the parts store opened me and my brother/drummer Andrew popped the old one off and put a brand new one on in the parking lot lol! Fired it up and drove her home!
GCO: As a Long Islander, I was thrilled to see that you are part of the Country Cruise being promoted by MyCountry 96.1. They are celebrating their 4th year on the air and you are performing along with the LoCash Cowboys. Quite a coup! What are your thoughts on doing a cruise? And how do I go about getting squeezed into someone’s luggage so I can be a stowaway?
JK: I am so excited to do this cruise! I’ve never been on one so it’ll be another bucket list item to check off. We are gonna put on a killer show for all the listeners…and I’ll try my best to squeeze you in my suitcase lol!!
Y’all can check out the John King Band’s new single Tonight, Tonight below, and then get yourself his EP, since every song on here is a favorite of mine. And it will be for you too. I promise. John is a very down to earth guy. He and the band have developed an easy rapport with their fans. Next time you have the opportunity to catch them live….go. Tell em that Elise and GotCountryOnline sent you. You won’t want the music to end!
To stay connected with the John King Band and stay current with tour and music info, check out his various social media: Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
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