Interviews: King Gorn

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Rock band, King Gorn, from the USA. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

There's a character in a Robert Howard book named Gorm. I thought it was a cool name and originally named the band that, but found out there was a band in Europe using that name who also played sort of psychedelic rock music, so the "King" prefix was added later. I like giving bands names and titles meant for people. I guess I'm just a Jethro Tull fan.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

I've always loved this stuff! I thought it wasn't possible to have a hammond organ band anymore, and then I found out a guy in LA named Harold Branch restores and resells old Hammonds and Leslies, so I went and bought one after writing this music and fully expecting to record it with a VST organ and MIDI.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Not all of us. Me and Erich (who played bass on the album) were going to record it together piece by piece after he first heard it. He plays bass and drums pretty well and I play guitar and could chop through the keyboard parts given enough takes. I ended up asking some other acquaintances if they'd want to play the music and I guess I was surprised when every person I showed the demos to seemed to really like them. The first gigging lineup is what you hear on the album.

4. Each band member favourite band?

I think the only albums we all agreed were perfect representations of the instrumentation were "Spectrum" by Billy Cobham and "Machine Head" by Deep Purple.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Everything. I love listening to modern pop music because there are so many creative ideas and new concepts being put to use, but I've always felt that, maybe, Dark Side of the Moon is the best produced album ever. So I listen to modern music for new ideas and creative inspiration, but strive to arrange it in a way that could sound closer to a high budget album done in the 70s.

6. Where was your last gig?

I don't really remember. I think it was at a cool little spot in San Diego called Bar Pink. After that, we were going to avoid playing until the album release. A label picked it up but the label's owner had an emergency procedure and I guess he had to drop some bands. I don't remember the whole timeline after that, but our keyboard player Saki quit the band around then, and everyone else is in a bunch of other projects, so I delayed the release until I could put the band back together with a new lineup. I definitely lagged on it a bit and lost track of time, and sort of set a deadline for myself to release it, rain or shine, full band or no. Here we are, pandemic! Not what I was expecting but I'm very excited to release this album. I hope we can play a few shows in the future.

7. Where would you like to act?

I think I'd most like to perform on a live TV show. They always seem to have the best sound and it's one of the biggest audiences you can get. In the USA, a show like The Tonight Show or Saturday Night Live would be a dream come true. I'd also really like to "perform" in a video game, kinda like what Marshmello did with Fortnite last year.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

I think it'd depend on what genre I'm working in. As far as famous (or relatively famous) artists go, I'd love to work with Daft Punk, Flemming Rasmussen, Hans Zimmer, Tangerine Dream, Goblin, Hammers of Misfortune, Mike Dean... The list goes on and on forever really.

9. Whom not?

There are many artists I'd never want to work with, and for that reason I don't want my name associated with them, so I'll choose not to mention any.

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

Of course! I think everyone has dealt with it at some point or another. The only good answer is making sure that you can play a lot better than you'll need to. My rule is that if something is difficult to play on a good day, it's going to be too hard to play onstage, so I try to practice my parts until they're all pretty easy for me. They still sometimes end up being a challenge onstage! I think that's what leads to stage fright most of the time.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

That depends on what kind of inspiration. I think the band that initially convinced me that organ-centered rock music is cool was probably Hammers of Misfortune. I got into them as a teenager as a result of researching Slough Feg, who I discovered through Leather Nun america. I actually had the pleasure of briefly joining Leather Nun america as the bassist many years later. Some of the slightly more well-known artists that have been big inspirations to the sound of this album are Pink Floyd, Ritchie Blackmore, Nobuo Uematsu, Jon Lorde, Ronnie James Dio, Uriah Heep, Orne, Goblin, Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer, Tommy Bolin, Mikael Åkerfeldt, King Diamond, Michiru Yamane, Akira Takasaki, Tangerine Dream, Mikkey Dee, The Sherman Brothers, and countless other artists I'm surely forgetting.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

In a band I used to play in, a lady came up to us after the show and said something like "I drove a long way to come to this show, one of you guys better fuck me." I've never heard someone say something so forward and so off-putting. She was standing next to her teenage daughter when she said it, too. I really didn't know how to react and it made me extremely uncomfortable.

13. What do you think of your fans?

I love that there are fans at all. I usually find that I have something in common with my fans because of how niche some of the music I create can be.

14. What do you think of our site?

I really like that you release compilations on Bandcamp. I don't see that very often and I think it's a really nice touch.

15. Something add?

I'm really happy this album is coming out and I'm really blown away by all the support I'm seeing from friends and strangers alike. I hope it makes people happy.