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Post by Mr. Hendrickson™ on Jul 19, 2004 0:08:48 GMT -5
Website: www.kottonmouthkings.comPremise: This band is about 'Legalizing Freedom' which means the legalization of marijuana. Which I believe in heavily. This band has been around since 1995 on the underground circuit and thats where they love it. They have great albums one which I now own (Royal Highness). I want all of you to go to their site and see what their about in your own eyes. I am sure you have seen their logo before around so you have heard of them! So do it you wont be disappointed!
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Post by Mr. Hendrickson™ on Jul 21, 2004 22:08:26 GMT -5
I guess no one knows about KMK! So here is a little about them:
The Kottonmouth Kings are a self-titled “psychedelic hip-hop punk rock” band straight out of Orange County, California. They are most strongly known for their attraction and support of the plant Marijuana, but they are also known for their peaceful and positive aspects on life. They have been touring on and off (one or more times a year) for the past 7 years. KMK has five full length LPs, an EP, and a Japanese Import album entitled Stash Box. The Kottonmouth Kings have thus far experienced many hardships, from death to losing members. Surprisingly throughout all of their hardships, drugs have nothing to do with them. The roots of Kottonmouth Kings start in the punk rock band the Humble Gods.
Brad Xavier first got into the punk music scene in the late 80’s with a band he fronted named Doggy Style. Soon after, Brad (with another band named Double Freaks) was signed to Easy E’s Ruthless Records. Later, in the mid-90’s Brad X, his brother Spike X, future Kottonmouth King member; Lou Gaez, Lou’s brother Ricky Vodka, and Doug Carrion of Descendents fame; created the punk music legends, the Humble Gods. In 1995, the Humble Gods released their debut self-titled album on Tacklebox Records. During the point of creation, Brad met a few young talents.
Wil Perry, a basketball coach in Placentia, California; was coach for Dustin Miller, a star of the high school team at the time, and former student, Brad Xavier. During the time Brad was a student, him and Wil became close friends, and after Brad’s graduation, he stayed in touch with Wil. It was through Wil that Brad X met 17-year-old Dustin Miller and Tim McNutt, and 19-year-old Steven Thronson. After the first time Brad heard the three kids rap, he knew it could happen.
Brad helped form the Artist Groove Network to help promote underground bands and DJs (as well as sneak under-aged friends like Dustin, Tim, and Steve into 21+ clubs). The band became known as PTB a.k.a. P-Town Ballers (even though P-Town, Placentia, was where Tim and Dustin resided, Steve came from Riverside; also in California). The PTB played their first show at a Cal State Fullerton Fraternity (Phi Kappa Tau – The Barn) on May 25, 1995.
Life was good for Brad X until disaster struck. Rob Harris, a close friend and roommate at the time of Brad’s, died on December 14, 1995. Rob was a two-time world champion sky surfer; he died after his parachute failed to open while filming a Mountain Dew commercial. It was three days before Rob’s 29th birthday. The loss was devastating for Brad. Rob was also the DJ for PTB. After his death, Brad had an empty void in his life. In hopes of filling that void, he invited Tim, Dustin, and Steve to move in with him so they could work on music full time.
By the end of the year, after Rob’s death, Humble Gods bassist Spike X began to disintegrate. The band embarked on a US tour in the mid winter. This tour proved to be one tour too many for the previously road weary Spike and one morning, after a brief meeting with the band, he quit Humble Gods. Jason Thrisk of Pennywise fame soon took up as the Humble Gods bassist. They recorded their debut record for Hollywood Records entitled No Heros. During this time, Brad X met Kevin Zinger (co-owner and C.E.O. of SRH Clothing and legendary promoter). Zinger booked Humble Gods on a Blink 182 show, and became good friends with Brad X.
Soon after the recordings of No Heros, Jason was found in his Hermosa Beach home, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. No Heros was his last recording. The band was crippled and wondered if they were best to move on with their lives. The album No Heros was released on 1996; the album was dedicated in the memories of Rob Harris and Jason Thrisk. After developing the slogan, “Live While You Live” Humble Gods agreed to press on. They recruited punk rock legend Bianca Halstead a.k.a. Bianca Butthole as their new bassist. After extensive touring in the US and Canada, Disney was starting to take heat for bands like Insane Clown Posse and Humble Gods, so they dropped them off of Hollywood Records. That was game over. Humble Gods decided to take a well-deserved hiatus.
While Brad was dealing with all of this, his creation, the PTB went through a make over. Shortly after their first show, they learned PTB also stood for something not to be proud of, so they made a name change to Cottonmouth and soon to the Kottonmouth Kings. Tim decided he enjoyed the name Johnny Richter more than his own, and adapted that as his name. Steve went by his initials (ST) which became Saint Dog or sometimes, Saint Vicious. Dustin developed the nickname D-Loc (D as in Dustin and Loc, short for the Spanish word for crazy, loco). Brad X received the nickname, Daddy X, most likely due to his age over the others and being in charge all the time. Daddy X or X, introduced the band to Robert Adams, whom was also a close friend of Rob Harris, and Brad had known from DJ’ing for over a decade in underground clubs. Robert a.k.a. DJ Bobby-B became the band’s DJ. X also introduced Pakelika, a dancer famous in the underground scene for his self-invented hydro-mechanic dancing style. Lou Geaz a.k.a. Lou Dog, created a fully functional drum set on a low rider tricycle just to rock the live shows, though he wasn’t an official member.
In Late 1997, The 3 members of Cottonmouth were living in X’s apartment in Hollywood. They lived off a budget of 5 dollars a day, and were desperately promoting and trying to get a record deal. Johnny Richter also had some trouble with the Hollywood police. He departed from the band and went back to Orange County to lay low. X (whom would sometimes join the guys on stage) eventually joined the group as a replacement for Richter and became a permanent member.
Soon, Ben Gordon of Interscope Records (famous for signing Jurassic 5) approached the band with great interest. Within a month, every record label seemed to want the once ridiculed “Honky” rappers to sign with their label. But the band turned them down for another offer that gave the band and management more creative freedom.
This is where Gary Gersh came in. He was the president of Capitol Records (and famous for signing grunge legend, Nirvana). Gersh also had great interest in the Kottonmouth Kings. He also worked with the Beastie Boys on their joint venture label, Grand Royal. Due to more legal issues, the band changed their name from “Cottonmouth” to “Kottonmouth Kings.” After this, Kevin Zinger became the manager of the Kottonmouth Kings. Brad X and Kevin Zinger took the money from Capital Records and established Suburban Noize Records to release albums on their own. On SubNoize, they released their first EP, Stoners Reeking Havoc on February 24, 1998. Shortly after the release, the Kings began work on their full-length album, Royal Highness for Capitol Records. By this time, the Kings were drawing good sized crowds, and got the reputation of the shows being a good party. Gersh agreed to do a joint venture between Suburban Noize and Capitol with Royal Highness as their debut (August 11, 1998). Suburban Noize decided to release 11 tracks that Capital did not want and released Hidden Stash, with a limited 30,000-copy pressing.
The Kings started to hit it. “Suburban Life” (off Royal Highness) was featured on the Scream 2: Soundtrack and made the airwaves with appearances on MTV with its Scream-themed music video, as well as radio waves. Soon after, the song “Dog’s Life” (Featuring Dog Boy of Too Rude, and also from Royal Highness) was released and with the help of L.A.’s KROQ radio station, it made 30 spins a week, this lead to the tread of playing the song all across the country. This too had a music video. Later, in 1999, the song would be featured on David Spade’s movie “Lost & Found” and they would release another music video for this song, a Lost & Found-themed one.
They had constant touring with bands such as ICP, as well as headlining their own tours. DJ Bobby-B released a solo DJ compilation album entitled 99 Rips Beyond and dedicated that in memory of DJ Rob Harris. Johnny Richter was a constant guest at the shows, and even toured with the Kings in late 1999 as a solo artist. During the 1999 summer tour, Daddy X and D-Loc started having creative differences with Saint. Capitol Records also was not happy with Saint’s disrespect and rudeness to reporters on the tour. Saint was then let go of his contract. Johnny Richter helped make the loss less problematic as he rejoined the band in the vacant MC slot. Lou Dog also joined the band as the drummer.
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Post by Mr. Hendrickson™ on Jul 21, 2004 22:09:30 GMT -5
The major problem would soon be revealed. Roy Lott replaced Gersh as the label president at Capitol. His first move as president was axing all joint venture labels, including Suburban Noize.
But that did not disturb the Kings, and soon they were recording the group’s second album, High Society. This album was released on June 27, 2000; it ended up matching their debut’s impressive sales peak with a quarter million copies sold.
In 2001, the Kottonmouth Kings released their Video experience named “the Dopeumentary.” This debuted at #8 on the Billboard’s top video sales, it is the most popular Underground Video ever made. The official Dopeumentary was filmed with Johnny Richter and featured videos for “Day Dreamin’ Fazes”, “Kings Blend”, “Peace Not Greed”, and “The Lottery” (with Richter) and “Suburban Life,” “Dog’s Life,” and “Bump” (with Saint).
Still touring, the Kings recorded and released their next album. Hidden Stash II: The Kream of the Krop on October 9, 2001. This album showed how much the band had grown over the years. They had become stronger and better with the experiences they had. D-Loc also ventured into his own solo DJ’ing career under the alias of Shaky Bonez. He released his debut “The Green Room.” DJ Bobby-B also released his second album entitled Built From Scratch. Pakelika reached out for some recording work, speaking for the first recorded time. He teamed up with the artist Grand Vanacular. Together they made a duo group called Disfunction and created their own record label, Slang Records. They recorded and pressed the album The Invisible Movement Has Begun, but because of the conflicts of interest between record labels, it was limited to a pressing of 1000, and soon after the duo and record company was disbanded.
At the end of the year, Brad and the Kings had a terrible loss. Bianca Halstead died on December 15, 2001 in a car accident. She was 36 years old at her time of death.
Touring and reaching the fans has always been an important part of the Kings ‘experience.’ They went through more relentless touring back and forth across the US and to Japan. Suburban Noize finally re-released Hidden Stash (2,000-copy limit) and sold it on the internet. Soon after, the King’s released, probably their biggest album, on October 8, 2002. It was the most controversial as far as fans go. It featured X and Richter singing vocals as well as rapping, and opened up the doors to the mainstream world with the single “Positive Vibes” being played on 96 KISS FM (a famous mainstream pop radio station). Many fans left Kottonmouth Kings because of this transition, but many other joined, and many stayed. Rollin’ Stoned (the album at hand) debuted at #51 on the Billboards. On October 22, the band released their second DVD entitled “Stoners Reeking Havoc.” This contained mostly concert footage.
The Kings are touring again, have plans to release a double CD entitled Classic Hits Live, which was music records during the Rollin’ Stoned tour (right after the album release). They also have plans for their next full-length album coming out in the fall. In addition, the Kottonmouth Kings are working on their third DVD entitled “Endless Highway.” This will feature 10 music videos, concert footage from the previous tour, and much more. It is promised to be the best DVD release so far from the Kings.
Pakelika went back to the studio under the Suburban Noize label and released his debut solo album entitled Another Cult Classic on April 22 of this year. That album features the DJ’ing of Bobby-B (as well as his productions). DJ Bobby-B and Shaky Bonez have a project they are working on; it is a DJ-duo named Tsunami Brothers. In addition, Johnny Richter and D-Loc are in the studio recording a duo album as Kingspade. Humble Gods are also back in the studio hoping to make a release later this year. Saint Dog has also recently re-signed with Suburban Noize Records as a solo artist. Over all, 2003 is a major year for the Kings. They have a lot going on together, alone, and with Suburban Noize.
Going from some kids just having fun, to High Times Band of the Year is impressive. However, once you look at the story of how they got there... who would have thought it wasn’t all about the weed?
Work Cited[/u]
"Bianca Butthole, 1965-2001" 2002. Food Chain Records. 15 May 2003 <http://www.foodchainrecords.com/bianca>
"Biography of the Humble Champion... Rob Harris." 13 September 2002. The Rob Harris Foundation. 15 May 2003 <http://www.robharris.org>
"The Story on Humble Gods." 15 May 2003. Suburban Noize Records. 15 May 2003 <http://www.suburbannoizerecords.com>
Kottonmouth Kings Stoners Reeking Havoc. DVD. Music by Kottonmouth Kings. Directed by Brad Xavier and Kevin Zinger. Produced by Kevin Zinger. Capitol Records. Suburban Noize Records, 22 October 2002.
The Kottonmouth Kings "Dopeumentary". DVD. Music by Kottonmouth Kings. Directed by Bill Wadsworth. Produced by Kevin Zinger. Capitol Records. Suburban Noize Records, 2001.
"The Unofficial Kottonmouth Kings Website." 12 April 2003. Creation Magic. 15 May 2003 <http://www.creationmagic.com/kmk>.
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Post by brutal bob on Jul 22, 2004 20:13:59 GMT -5
My first impression is that Their music is alright- I wouldn't go to the shops to buy it-but I agree with the message they are trying to put across. Why should we get a criminal conviction for doing something that is harmless (in my case) to other people. If I go out and have a joint I'm not going to do something stupid, just enjoy myself and how does that make me a criminal-If I got caught I would be denied entry into the states if i wanted to go there. Anyway back to the topic Thank you foir bringing this band to my attention Lance I'll have a more in-depth look at this band and get a better idea of what these guys are like
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Post by Mr. Hendrickson™ on Jul 23, 2004 0:12:56 GMT -5
My first impression is that Their music is alright- I wouldn't go to the shops to buy it-but I agree with the message they are trying to put across. Why should we get a criminal conviction for doing something that is harmless (in my case) to other people. If I go out and have a joint I'm not going to do something stupid, just enjoy myself and how does that make me a criminal-If I got caught I would be denied entry into the states if i wanted to go there. Anyway back to the topic Thank you foir bringing this band to my attention Lance I'll have a more in-depth look at this band and get a better idea of what these guys are like Without a doubt it shouldnt be criminal. Hell it grows in the fucking wild so why, like I said in my blog, why do we ban a natural plant but still allow the mass murder of innocence. Anyways I say let me do what I want as long as I am not hurting you it should be fine. Why cant I mass produce water bongs? They can be used for tobacco as well. Anyways I am happy you'll take a better look into this band! I am happy for you! |
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Post by Breakdown on Jul 23, 2004 21:38:24 GMT -5
ok sorry... but i heard about them like 3 years ago... and sorry to tell ya but they suck... well thats just my opinion  |
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Post by Mr. Hendrickson™ on Jul 24, 2004 1:14:01 GMT -5
ok sorry... but i heard about them like 3 years ago... and sorry to tell ya but they suck... well thats just my opinion I'll disregard that comment. I never said they are the kings of the world, I enjoy their message. That means I like their music but dont think they are like the best artists in the world. I remember I heard of these guys back in 98 from a friend I liekd them then. Then I forgot about them like most potheads do and now I found them again. Ok I am lost.. Bye. |
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Post by Breakdown on Jul 24, 2004 1:35:01 GMT -5
haha cant stand up to me? thats what i thought... im sorry i just cant stand them for some reason... not much talent if u ask me...
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Post by Mr. Hendrickson™ on Jul 24, 2004 1:50:48 GMT -5
Oh I can stand up to you but I wont. I think that these guys speak to the masses about something I firmly believe in myself. So I dont need someone coming in and saying they suck. Everyone has a preference on waht they like. Either high or low its what they like. Cant tread on that like you cant tread on our american flag. I believe their message even though I think Daddy X is horrible and I prefer DLOC. Anyways I think KMK is awesome, my opinion and thus it is righteous in my world.
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Post by Breakdown on Jul 24, 2004 17:08:56 GMT -5
Oh I can stand up to you but I wont. I think that these guys speak to the masses about something I firmly believe in myself. So I dont need someone coming in and saying they suck. Everyone has a preference on waht they like. Either high or low its what they like. Cant tread on that like you cant tread on our american flag. I believe their message even though I think Daddy X is horrible and I prefer DLOC. Anyways I think KMK is awesome, my opinion and thus it is righteous in my world. well im proud that you're inspired by a bunch of no life stoners that bitch and whine cause its not legal... just stop bitching and move to canada... easy as that... |
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Post by Mr. Hendrickson™ on Jul 24, 2004 18:14:12 GMT -5
Yeah move to Canada or fight the government and get it legalized. I think it should be.. Well thats me.
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Post by Breakdown on Jul 24, 2004 19:07:37 GMT -5
so they have been around for what like 8 years... ummm well it looks like they are getting far... its a bunch of bullshit... but w/e im not gonna say anything... good luck... i thought you were alot smarter than that...
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Post by Mr. Hendrickson™ on Jul 24, 2004 19:17:03 GMT -5
I am alot smarter than that. I dont care if they are not mainstream, I know they are convroversial but hey they have some good beats. I love beats not neccesarilly al music. You know what I mean. I like to listen to rap beats but hate rap. I dont know its just me. Anyways I like KMK but not as much now because I am taking in what you are saying... I understand where you are coming from now.
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Post by Breakdown on Jul 24, 2004 19:20:29 GMT -5
idk... its just like they have no talent... and they try too hard... but idk thats just what i think... and if thats all they want to write about... than they arent good song writers at all...
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Post by Mr. Hendrickson™ on Jul 24, 2004 19:35:56 GMT -5
Well they also sing about sex too so its not all about marijuana. But yeah I understand. I am a better writer than they are and so are you.
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