Kingsfoil interview: indie and loving it

by Keri Franz

I can’t stop talking about these guys. Jordan Davis, Tristan Martin, Joe Cipollini, and Tim Warren are Kingsfoil, the unsigned, central Pennsylvania rock band that are stuck in my CD player. As the band stands with the aforementioned members, they have released their first full-length album, On Our Own Together, earlier this year. They seem to be taking everything super seriously. With the help of a few other local bands, they have managed to completely sell out the infamous World Café Live in Philadelphia both upstairs and downstairs. Not too shabby considering that place is a tough venue to fill. Either way, each new endeavor the Kingsfoil boys take on seems to make them increasingly popular and marketable. I talked to singer Jordan Davis shortly following the release about working with a new producer, what the album title means to him, and why Kingsfoil is greater than Chipotle.

The first full length album for Kingsfoil, as it stands now (with Joe, Jordan, Tristan, and Tim), was released not too long ago. Together, you four guys released the EP, Bear in the Attic, in 2005. What took you so long to release a new CD?

We put out a series of singles, like “Trees” and The Double Single, but we also were unfocused in that we were writing songs without the money to [record them]. At that point, no one was really making a full album. They were just doing EPs and singles. But there was a certain point where we were trying to find an identity with an album and not keep putting out singles. We needed to come up with a new batch of songs that [represented what] we were about musically because we had grown a lot since Bear. It was just something we had to do as a band.

Were the processes of writing and instrumentation done together by the four of you as a band?

Doing the instrumentation was the most cohesive we’ve ever done it. We were more comfortable with each other this time around. Everybody was given ideas of structures. I wrote songs by myself and with Tristan, and we would bring those to everybody. We would all come together and look at it and kind of go this is great and then everyone would go through their own parts, like we usually do.

I think it’s pretty amazing that you can all write your own thing separately and come together and make it work.

And with hopefully a sound that goes together, that isn’t really disjointed. At the same time, we didn’t want it to be an album full of the same type of song. I think we successfully did that.

And there are 14 songs on this one! We’re so spoiled here! Especially with those couple acoustic songs at the end…

I know! “If You Love Something Push It Away” was one of my favorite lyrics I’ve written for a song ever, and it think it still is. We were keeping it in our back pocket, and then it felt like it could go on the record. It ended up fitting with the whole vibe, and I’m really glad it got to be on the record.

The album is promoting a sense of togetherness, I’m assuming. What is the message that you are trying to portray as Kingsfoil?

There are a lot of different things. The idea of it is that we all have different insecurities and we all end up feeling alone in a different way. It doesn’t matter how you feel alone or how you feel different from other people, it’s all the same. As soon as people figure that out, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to fix them or fix their problems, but it’s gonna put them in perspective a little bit. I think that’s important for a lot of people. There are a lot of different levels. We’ve always been really good friends, but we’re also very different. We’re a really different group of people in our own lives. We all have different beliefs about stuff and different things we’re into but, at the same time, we have a really strong connection and friendship beyond the band. The album title has a lot of personal validity to what we are.

You were working with producer, Dustin Burnett, on the record. How did you meet up with him?

Two years ago, we met him at the Dewey Beach Music Conference (which is down in Dewey Beach, DE). We won a contest and did a couple songs with him for free. That’s when we did The Double Single, which consisted of “Love Is a Carnival Goldfish” and “Demons.” We just got along really well, simple as that. He’s on the same page musically as us, and he’s a young guy who’s really driven. That was something we were looking for and not like someone who’s done a lot of records who’s just in it for the money. He’s also super talented and good at what he does. It worked out so well that we wanted to go back and do the record with him.

What was it like working with him?

We did pre-production all last summer. He flew in from Nashville, and we worked on songs and structures. That helped a lot because, when we got in the studio, we weren’t wasting a lot of time. We all went into it knowing we had to have an open mind. We had to listen to him, as well as trust him and each other’s opinions. The biggest disagreements we had were that he wanted me to change something and I went with it and changed some stuff and some stuff I held on to. At a certain point, you just know that that person really likes sometime and it’s important enough for you to let go and to let them have it. And it goes both ways. A lot of bands don’t think they need a producer and some don’t. But, if you can put your ego aside (and that’s the biggest problem with a lot of bands) and you can trust somebody, you’re ultimately going to have a record that sounds better and sounds more mature and cohesive.

Was there any difference between this time you recorded and back in the day when you recorded Bear In The Attic?

We did some of the tracking at Dustin’s house, and we got to mess around a little more than we did on Bear. We got to be spontaneous and sometimes that gets lost when you’re a younger band that doesn’t have a lot of money. It’s nice to be able to do a little bit of that. It was something different that we did on this album that we hadn’t done before.

Do you have any plans to do anything nationally?

We really don’t have any bounds at this point. We’re taking the record and seeing what kind of bites we can get with it. Whether it be building our team like a larger management company or a label or a booking company, really we’re just doing what we can with the album. It’s hasn’t been out long, and it’s already going really well. I know I see a lot of good stuff going down. We’re just not sure yet.

For people who don’t know who Kingsfoil is, why should they give your music a listen?

I’ll take myself out of this, but I think a lot of people forget there are so many bands that are put together and they’re just working on one good single. What they sometimes forget about is the rudimentary playing. I’ve been thinking a lot about Tim, Joe, and Tristan and how they are really legitimately good players [laughs]. So, I think that’s something that a lot of people take for granted and a lot of people don’t have. It’s not cocky; it’s just something that should be appreciated. On top of that, the songs that we have are not fake. There’s nothing fake or manufactured about any of the parts, any of the lyrics, or any of it. It’s all from our heart and because we want to do it, and we like to do it, and we have to do it. That’s why it’s worth listening to, because anything like that is gonna be worth listening to…unless you think we really suck or something.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Instead of going out to eat one night in the next couple months, just buy our album because I promise it will be so worth it. It’s ten dollars which is as much as it costs to buy a burrito at Chipotle. It lasts longer than a meal. Go hungry for a night for Kingsfoil!

Kingsfoil.com • iTunes • Twitter • Facebook

Kingsfoil interview

It was a cold November day when I decided to sit down with Jordan Davis to talk about his band.  We met in a local Starbucks, and as he walked in, there was no one screaming his name or acting like he was Brad Pitt. He was just an average guy that was in a local, unsigned band. He and his band, Kingsfoil, are based in York, Pennsylvania, and they have quite a fan base.  For having no record label to support them, it is remarkable how many people come out to support them. They are involved in the music because it is their passion.  Though the money would be nice, surely that is not their sole motivation. Comprised of Tristan Martin (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Joe Cipollini (drums), Tim Warren (bass), and Davis (vocals, guitar), Kingsfoil is a force to be reckoned with. As I talked with Davis, it became apparent that they are doing their thing in hopes that more people will find out about them. This is what he had to say about growing up, the music, and life being in a band.


Growing up, what inspired you to get into music? Like, was it always around you?

JD: It was always around. My dad’s a piano tuner, and my parents used to sing to us a lot to us in the car to me and my sister. I would always sing and annoy everyone else. I’d sing all the time and everyone kind of hated it. I would make up my own melodies and just sing to myself. When I was growing up, my parents played a lot of Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and The Beatles, so I really got into that. I love Bonnie Raitt. Also, I had a different growing up experience than most people do, and that affected my writing a little bit. I was home schooled so it was like I had so much time to be in my head like I think the music was different. My early songs kind of reflected that. There was a lot of trying to figure out who I was, but in a different light than someone that might have gone to high school. That’s not to say that I was a geek, well, maybe a little bit.

Fair enough! Who came up with the band name and where did it come from? I actually read this today, but I’ll let you answer it.

Ah yes, it’s from Lord of the Rings. Tristan actually came to me with it and he had found it in there-read it in there and kind of liked the sound of it you know, and I liked the sound of it. And that was before the movies came out a long time ago. I like the feeling that it gives when you say it.

How did the band start? That’s a loaded question, I think.

Tristan was actually in another band. I was in a band with two other guys called Essence, I think. Horrible band name. And that band broke up, and me and Tristan started doing stuff but he was still in this other band. It was actually with Chris Merritt. Tristan used to play drums for him. At that point, he was doing two bands and it was kind of rough for him, so finally, he quit Chris Merritt. Me and him just started playing a lot of acoustic shows, and then from then we added Joe and Darren, our old bass player. That was roughly 3 or 4 years ago. And then Darren left and we added Tim just less than 3 years ago. Something like that. You probably know this better than I do.

How did Joe come into the picture?

Joe was in a band called Squeeze Theorem that was out of Millersville and my sister went to Millersville so we used to play a lot of shows there. When that band broke up, we were like “let’s try it out” and at first didn’t want to play full band because we liked the acoustic thing. It was a really big step for us. It was horrible at first but then it got better.

How did Tim come to be the new bass player?

Tim found our “looking for a bass player” flyer in a music store near him and sent us an email. And he turned out to be the perfect fit. We’re super lucky.

How do you feel about being with a major label, and do you think that it changes bands for better or worse or not at all?

That’s actually a cool question. I think it can definitely change you for the worst if you’re not careful. A good example might be Death Cab for Cutie. They released a lot of CDs on their own label, a small label, and then they released their last CD on a major label and they still were able to keep their creativity and their freedom. So as long as you don’t sell out, or let them dictate how you’re gonna do it and how you’re gonna write, then it’s not a bad thing. But that happens so much and it definitely can affect you in a bad way.

You cater to a younger audience. What do you think the reason is?

I think it’s just Tim’s good looks (laughs). No, I think we’ve always written about stuff that’s accessible to younger crowds. A lot of relationship type stuff and we’ve always been sort of open with our fans and like you know we want to be able to talk to them and be friends with them. As much as they’re our fans they should be our friends. In that way, a lot of young people were kind of drawn to us. We also started out pretty young doing this and we were like 14 or 15 so you know there’s people that age that were there when we were that age. They’ve grown up with us but as we’ve grown we still get younger fans. It’s really awesome that our young fans from long ago are still coming to shows and there are new young fans thrown in there too.

How do you react then to “star struck fans”? Does it bother you when there are a lot of people asking for photos and signatures?

No, it doesn’t bother me at all. It’s flattering obviously and we never want to let it get to our heads. It’s something we’ve always said because there’s always somebody better than you. We just feel lucky that people do like our music, and we try to do whatever we can to help them and make them happy. Make them feel like we gave them some time. So it’s not annoying at all. And I don’t want us to ever come off like we’re too cool for school. We’re gonna try to cater to them because they spent the money and time to come out and appreciate us and listen to us, so the least we can do is talk to them and say thank you.

How far has the band traveled geographically? Who did you tour with?

As far as me and Tristan, we went to the west coast. That was our first tour as a duo. As a full band, though, we went to Florida and back. But the thing with us is that we’re in a good position location-wise with New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Baltimore all being so close. We can drive there on the weekend without spending a whole lot on gas, or hotels, or anything else.

You didn’t have a TV as a kid, right? How has that influenced you and your writing and musical ability?

It was just a different childhood. One of the main things is that I ended up reading a lot, I was read to a lot, and I liked reading a lot more than most so that had a big impact one me. I got to read a lot of books and learned a lot from it. You can’t really get that from television. I love television. I still don’t have one though. I think it made me a little more unique basically.

How would you describe the band’s sound?

We’ve always had trouble with that. It’s hard to compare us to people. There’ve been random comparisons like Coldplay. I think we’re just indie rock that likes melody. The melody is important to us. We play indie pop rock. The pop is the melody part, not the pop candy stuff. That’s what we want pop to mean-the melody that someone wants to sing, that we feel good singing.

Why should people give your music a listen?

Besides being awesome? No, it’s genuine and not at all put together or staged or coerced at all. We’re proud of our music and it’s exactly what we want. We don’t cater to anything, and we don’t copy anything. We just play what feels right and it shows. You can tell when bands aren’t being real, and people still listen to them. But, if you’re smart, you’re gonna know. Anyone’s gonna know. You don’t have to have some amazing musical taste to know. You just feel it. When it’s good it’s good and you don’t have to know anything about music. You just know if your heart, you’re like, “this is good.”



iProng Magazine #42: Black Eyed Peas interview, the iProng 50 and more

iProng Magazine 42: Black Eyed Peas, iPhone 3.0 and 3GS, iProng 50 and more

iProng Magazine has released its 42nd issue featuring a cover story interview with the Black Eyed Peas along with the iProng 50 Awards, hands-on with iPhone 3.0, and reviews of TweetDeck and ooTunes. Also interviewed: Butterfly Boucher, Davy Knowles, Endless Hallway, Gretel, Kingsfoil and more.

Tap here to read this issue