December 4, 2025 • 25 mins
From the beautiful tapestry of Southern California’s high desert comes the most explosive and diverse rock band known as Kings Of Karma.
Combining styles ranging from Led Zeppelin to The Rolling Stones, to even the Foo Fighters, the band takes uniqueness to a new universe. Formed in 2012 by longtime friends and previous band mates Chris Gates, Joe Berry and Spencer Nicholas. Kings Of Karma is conceived as an outlet of expression for musical freedom. Three different backgrounds as multi instrumentalist, songwriters and composers unite into a tasteful modern vintage soul approach on the Blues and Rock N Roll.
Chris Gates - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keys
Spencer Nicholas - Guitar, Vocals
Joe Berry - Bass, Vocals, Guitar
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.
Combining styles ranging from Led Zeppelin to The Rolling Stones, to even the Foo Fighters, the band takes uniqueness to a new universe. Formed in 2012 by longtime friends and previous band mates Chris Gates, Joe Berry and Spencer Nicholas. Kings Of Karma is conceived as an outlet of expression for musical freedom. Three different backgrounds as multi instrumentalist, songwriters and composers unite into a tasteful modern vintage soul approach on the Blues and Rock N Roll.
Chris Gates - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keys
Spencer Nicholas - Guitar, Vocals
Joe Berry - Bass, Vocals, Guitar
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Since twenty sixteen, I've been blessed with the opportunity to
share conversations with those that have been featured on NBC's
The Voice. Sure, we'd put them up on the platform,
but then most people were going, so where's it at?
So now we finally centralized it for you. Every performer
from twenty sixteen forward ero dot net a r r
oe dot Net enjoy the exploration. Hey, what's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Man? I'm man, what's going on? Brother? Oh?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Looking forward to sharing a conversation with you, because you
guys are onto something here that is just so attractive
as we wrap up the year and go into a
brand new world of sound.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yes, sir, I'm glad you feel that way.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Well, I mean, what did you guys feel, because I
know what I have been feeling, you know, just by
you know, starting it all over. Do it again, listen
to it again, Listen for something that you think you missed.
I mean, we break it down as radio people, but
for you who had to build it up before we
could break it down.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes, sir, I'm assuming we're talking about falling to pieces.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Oh yes, oh yes.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yes, you know it's funny because that song was never
supposed to be a single. It was, yeah, we were
getting ready. We're getting ready to start writing a new
album because we released start our new album at the
beginning of this year called Bite the Bullet, and we've
just been writing on that. And our producer was like, hey,
(01:21):
you know, just because how social media and everything works now,
it's not about putting an album out waiting two years
to put another one out. Nowadays it's like, yeah, you
can put an album out, but you've got to constantly
put out singles and kind of keep yourself relevant constantly.
So time, the time and age is so different compared
(01:43):
to how music was done before, So now people are
just pumping out singles all the time. So it was
suggested to us, like, hey, we should put out another
single in the fall, and I said, all right, And
I was looking at a bunch of songs, you know,
kind of that I have in a sense ready to go.
And I showed it to the band, a bunch of songs,
(02:04):
and everyone voted, falling to pieces. They're like, let's do
this one. I'm like, really, yeah, I don't feel like
it's a single. I specifically wrote it just to be
a badass song on an album, like an album, filler
and producer, and everybody's like, no, man, the chorus, it's
too catchy, it will get stuck in your head. The
melody line, I think this is the winner, And everybody
(02:26):
in the band was like, yeah, I think this is
the winner. So I'm like, Okay, I guess let's do
this one.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Do you think it's because part of the attraction is
the fact that it has that kind of a bluesy
overtone to it, and we all are just so attracted
to that kind of stuff. And then when you bring
in that rock touch, Oh my god, it's such a
blend of the right sound.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yes, sir, I personally think we love groove, so we
love anything that grooves. And let's be honest as human beans.
Anytime you feel a beat, whether it be a be
Ge song, funked, you know, or R and B or
anything like, if you have that groove that's locked in,
you just can't help yourself but move, tap your legs,
(03:10):
move your head something. It's just it's effect. It's it's
effective for sure. So you know, I just we just
had a great groove. It has a good melody line,
and then I just knew once people heard it, I
was like, I think they'll sing along. I think they'll
groove to this.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
M yeah, because I mean, you know, for the average listener,
this is This was the way I was trained in
radio that the program director says, you know how listeners
sing to their favorite songs. No, they go blah blah
blah blah, yeah blah blah. You know if they don't
know the words, but it doesn't matter because you've got
that groove going on in the background.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yes, they're yeah, and it's and it helps too, because
you know, the average listener a lot of the times too,
an average listener doesn't want to have to think too
hard and no offense. But like, there are those wonderful
songs as musicians and artists where we put all these
crazy ideas and you know, all these crazy things, and
(04:07):
there are people that will appreciate that, and musicians that
will appreciate the artistry you put in. But the daily
average listener just wants to sing along in their car
while they're stuck in traffic, and they want they kind
of just want that brain rot, something that's just gonna
catch them and then just want them wanting more like,
(04:29):
for instance, yeah, I'm assuming you've listened to the song
more than once, but ye. Like, for instance, that song
was technically a five and a half minute song and
our producer had us cut cut down to like three
and a half. There was originally a whole bridge section
he cut. He's like, no, man, this is too much.
(04:51):
Let's just get to the point. And then at the
very end of the song, as you hear it fading out,
that originally wasn't a thing. There was no fade out
or or anything. And when we were editing, uh, the
producer and engineer gave me a mix, and at the
end of that last chorus it started fading out. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
What's going on? Man? I don't like that. He goes, No,
(05:13):
I'm telling you, we're gonna fade it out here because
the listener is gonna want to play it again because
they were still singing and they wanted more and you
ended the song, so what are they gonna do. They're
gonna go back and repeat the song because they wanted more.
And I'm like, well, I guess, so, I guess that
will work.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Yeah, man, aren't you in a way creating and oh
my god, moment at a live performance because when they
get that longer version, it's like, oh my god, oh
my god. And then therefore then then all of a sudden,
then that live performance becomes something that, yeah, I made
the investment to be here.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yeah, exactly, and it's we've been having time doing it live.
We always, you know, every guess live, we try to
put on a crazy high energy show. There's you know,
we all got long hair, a lot of hair whipping
around the stage, and we want to give it to you.
(06:09):
Even even when we do the song, like we try
to put so much energy in it. So you listen
to the record, it's special, but go see us live,
it's even it's a whole different kind of special. Because
I've always said, like nothing's first. Then when you love
an artist and you love the album and then you
go them live and you're just like, you know what happened,
(06:31):
Like this isn't great, or the other way around, where
it's like they're so good live, but their records just
don't sell. They're just not good records. So it's like
I always try to keep real cautious about like make
sure you do such an excellent record, but make sure
you and your band are so good live where it's
(06:52):
just like, holy shit, have you seen Kings of Karma.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Which you know well, I mean, because I mean and
it's more than just that live performance and collection of
music on an album. I mean, the writing of the
lyrics is so important too, because when you look at
the song selfish Lover, go listen to those lyrics and
tell me that you're not moved by them?
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yeah, right, And it's it's always also too when you're
writing lyrics, because you know, I used to try to
be when I would write lyrics. You know, I try
to write my political songs. I try to do my
John Lennon. I tried to have real deep meaning on stuff.
And those are great songs too. But you know, obviously,
(07:32):
when when you're writing a single that's three and a
half minutes, you got a catchy chorus, you've got great hooks,
you got great lead guitar, great groove, and everything's slow,
you also want to try to just write a song
about stuff that people can relate to. And who hasn't
gotten their heart broken at some point in a vicious
way by somebody who meant a lot. We've all experienced it,
(07:57):
and Adele has even made an entire career of heartbreaks songs.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Oh wow, wow wow. You know you bring up John
Lennon's name. I have to ask you, were you channeling
John Lennon when you did You Win Again? Because this
is like a Beatles song meets Waylon Jennings.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
I like that. I haven't heard that one, but I
like that one. You know. Actually, honestly, if you want
to hear my true inspiration, yeah, it was. Actually I
was listening to Eric Clapton's first solo record in nineteen seventy.
It's a very forgotten about record. It was the record.
It was the first solo record he did after Blind
Faith and Cream, and he was just like, all right,
(08:34):
I'm sick of being in bands. I just want to
be I'm just going to do a solo record. So
he got with Uh, he got with Delaney and Bonnie
there and they went into record and it's a song
Lose Power off that record, and I loved the groove
of it, and it's very similar to You Win Again.
(08:54):
I just loved that really lazy ringo star Swampy Crew,
and I was just like, fuck man, I want to
write a song like that. So I started just kind
of messing around in an a chord in like a
blues feel, but I wanted that real like the verse does.
(09:15):
I wanted that real swampy kind of groove, and then
I definitely wanted some like blues piano, and then it
kind of just I literally wrote you Win Again within
at least ten minutes. It was just one of those
special moments where you sat down at the perfect time,
your brain's working at the perfect you know, speed, and
(09:35):
you literally write a song and literally ten minutes lyrics
and everything. Not all songs are written that beautifully and fast,
but that was just one of those special moments where
I knew what I wanted and it came out and
it was just fantastic.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
You know, we need to do We need to team
you guys up with Aerosmith with a video, because I
think there's more than just young blood out there hooking
up with Aerosmith, and they need to em brace people
like yourself who aren't afraid to say yeah, Aerosmith was
part of my empowerment.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Yeah, I mean Aerosmith. I tell people all the time,
you know, if the Black Crows and Aerosmonth made a baby,
you get kills comment.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
I can hear that. Oh my god, I can totally
hear that.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Yeah, because like if you listen to the first song
on Bite the Bullet calls my name when the guys
made that riff, and we were we wrote Bite the
Bullet out in the desert, out in like Joshua Tree
here in southern California, and I wanted to go somewhere
super isolated where we had no phone service, no distractions, yep.
(10:40):
And we were told to write an album and find
a sound because we released our first album, Chemical Sunsets
in twenty twenty two, and it's a good album, but
you could tell it's a little too eclectic still because
I'm such a big white album fan that I have
a problem of writing a folk song and a rock song,
(11:01):
lose song, and a classical song and then too many
damn songs in one album. So it was suggested to us, like,
it's good, we see the direction you're going, but you
guys really need to dial it in a little bit
more behind like your sound. So I said, okay, let's go.
I talked to my partner show I like the John Lennon,
to Mike Paul McCartney, and I said, Joe, let's go
(11:24):
to the desert with the guys and let's see what
we come up with, and we damn near wrote in
twelve hours the entire bite the bullet wreck.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Man you're talking about calls my name. The thing is,
is that, to me, that's a rock anthem that's about
ready to hit those arenas in outdoor theaters and they're
going to be saying it back to you. Are you
prepared for that because their volume is going to be
much louder than your monitor.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Oh, it's starting to happen.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Any musician will tell you the most rewarding experience is
looking at the audience and singing an audience member, you know,
singing your lyrics back to you. It's the coolest feeling.
But when the guys wrote that, I got to the
rehearsal spot where we were writing and the riff, and
(12:08):
I was like, dude, that sounds like some like nineteen
seventy four Aerosmith, like get your Wings, like right before
Toys in the attic. It gave me that kind of
feel and I was like, all right, well, I gotta
write some I gotta write some Steven Tyler style vocals
to this, you know. So that was the inspiration there.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Please do not move. There's more with Chris Gates from
Kings of Karma coming up next. The name of the
single is Falling to Pieces. The name of the new
album Bite the Bullet. We're back with Chris from Kings
of Karma. So the song Gummy Bears and cigarettes were you?
Were you writing on that tour bus and you had
to hit a seven eleven very quickly? What's the story
behind that? Because I'll tell you what. I giggled like
(12:47):
a child when I was listening to that because I
just I just I just got off on it. I
really did.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
That's honestly. That's that's my baby's That's my favorite song
on the record. That was the one I put most time.
And yeah, and we have a music video to that
song also, it's on our YouTube channel. But that song
is the most important one to me. Actually. It's about
my now wife, who helps manage us and stuff like that.
(13:17):
She's kind of like the Sharon Osbourne to my aus.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Yeah, And when we first started dating, you know, we were,
oh my gosh, man, we probably had at least like
twelve gigs a month, and I was it's all. We
were driving all over the place every weekend. Every week
was somewhere different, Every night was a different location in California, somewhere.
So when we were dating, she was just in the
(13:42):
car with me all the time, going to all these shows.
And it's just kind of like a love song that
I wrote about us just hanging out and you know,
smoking and just chilling. But it's had a bag of
gummy bears in the car, you know, just on these
long road trips to these gigs, and so I'd just
(14:03):
be smoking cigarettes and eating gummy bears.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Were you inspired by Skinnered? Because it does have that
kind of a skinnered muscle shoals kind of a vibe
to it.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I was definitely. It's so funny you say that I
was actually very much going for a muscle Shols field.
That's so man. I really love how you are understanding
where I'm thinking. Yeah. So I'm a big rock historian
and I geek out on rock history and studios and
producers and all that. So you know, when I get
(14:34):
in my head, like you know, I want to write
a song that sounds like it was recorded at muscle sholes,
that was exactly what I was thinking. Wow.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Wow, So now you were told to go into it
one song at a time instead of delivering a full
album at a time. Well, what about the merch when
it comes to something like that, Because I was just
sitting here thinking about Calls my name. That's something that
you could plant on a damn T shirt or put
on a poster and sell the crap out of it
at a live show or even falling to pieces. In
other words, I identified the songs too on the shirt,
so people go, damn, what song is that? And then
(15:04):
they and then they hit Spotify or something and locate it.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
You know, it's funny because we're creating some right now.
I never thought about actually like merching out one of
the songs, but that's actually a great idea. Gummy Bears
and cigarettes T shirt would probably be really.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Yeah, oh yeah, you man, you put oh my god,
put some symbols up.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
There and everything. Hell, yes, yes, I love that. I
will you know, I'm gonna take that consideration, my friend.
You'll probably see a gummy Bears and cigarette shirt coming soon.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So know, you were talking about Eric Clapton here a
few minutes ago. So when with the song the Tempest
and that guitar were you were you channeling him on
that or who was the guitarist you were thinking of
when you brought this song for it, because man, it's
got some drama to it.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
So with the Tempest, Uh, surprisingly, our lead guitarist is
obsessed with Jack White Corporation. That's his main inspiration. Like
Paul McCartney to me, is like Jack White to our
lead guitarist, Jacob And if you listen to a lot
of his solos in the way he uses his effects
(16:06):
and his law, you could definitely tell he's very influenced
by Jack White. And we love The Rack and Teers,
which is I think one of Jack White's best projects
that he's ever been involved in. And so surprisingly that
riff I was actually really thinking about The Rack and Teers,
and Jack White wrote, uh god, yeah, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
You know you speak of of Paul McCartney and and
inside on on on Paul McCartney with me. First of all,
I just think I discovered Paul McCartney before I discovered
the Beatles. And the thing is is that people are
always asking me, will you would you talk with Paul McCartney.
I said no, I'm on a mission. I want to
talk to everybody around Paul McCartney because I think there's
a story there and it's being ignored. And I mean,
(16:53):
but I'm with you. I mean, when it comes to McCartney,
you can't ask for a more down to earth individual
when it comes to songwriting and just being being a person.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Yeah, I I personally think that. You know, when you
look at the centuries of music, you know, in the
eighteenth century you're looking at Beethoven, the seventeenth century, you're
looking at Mozart, and I will I definitely think, you know,
centuries from now, people will look at the twentieth century
and say, Lennon McCartney was the greatest songwriters of that century.
(17:25):
And the Beatles are the only reason why you and
I are on the phone right now, why and got
on this journey. And yes, you know, the Beatles are
definitely my main and I'm a Beatle historian. My obsession
with them is unhealthy. If you walk into my house,
it's a damn shrine. When you come in and get
(17:47):
my wife on board with that was a was a
good I even named my kids after Beatles. Yeah, we're
a Beatle family.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Are you Are you into the idea of maybe one
of these club DJs or one of the big names
like you know, you know, getting a song good, bad
and ugly with that funk beat and turning it into
a dance mix.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Oh yeah, dude, I think that'd be awesome. I think
any DJ that would any anytime, a DJ like that
would hit me up and be like, hey, I love
your song. I would love to turn it into my
own single and a mix. What do you think. I
love collaboration, yea. I love anybody that has great ideas
as an artist to take you know, our songs and
(18:30):
do something cool with this. So I would always be
super open to that.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
But see, that's what That's what I love about this
modern day age of music is that collaboration seems to
be the key word and everybody's doing it. There's one
day they're going to look back at this time period
and go they all got along. How is that even possible?
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Well? The cool thing with our band, you know, and
you know, we've been doing this for years, man, I've
I've been performing NonStop live without taking a break since
I was fourteen. I'm thirty five now, so it's it's
been a hustle. You know, We've we've done our Hamburg
years and it's growing and it's getting bigger and bigger
(19:11):
every year for us, and we're getting stoked. But yeah,
it's just playing live and just keeping going. Has just
been kind of like the fuel on, just trying to
create and push the envelope and do something new that
we haven't done before, and always just trying to find
new ways to keep your you know, the spark alive
(19:32):
and still trying to impress yourself. And it's like, yeah,
we we're entertainers, so it's like we're here to entertain everybody.
But at the end of the day too, like are
you impressed with yourself? Are you pushing yourself as an
artist or is it just like is it just a
money grab or something fun to do. It's not a
(19:52):
hobby for us.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
So so into that thought. So when you were talking
about doing twelve shows per month, who's up your stage?
Because I mean, because I'm a performer and it's it's
like that stage to me is the mecca. In other words,
it has got to be perfect so that I can
make that connection and there can be no walls or
rivers in front of me between me and them on
the other side.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, I mean, we probably don't gig that hard lately.
This was you know, we did that. We we giged
like that for like ten years, and it was just everywhere.
It was just a matter to get in front of
an audience. And of course, you know at those kind
of gigs, you have to play like three or four
hours long, and you play your songs, but then you
(20:38):
got to play led Zeppelin, you gotta play, gotta play CCR,
you gotta play the doors. You got to keep people entertained.
And I've always looked at every band had to start
off doing covers, you know, to find their their voice,
their sound, and you know, smart to do covers, you
know when you're still developing. And we still like to
(20:59):
do cover every once in a while because it keeps
us sharp, and it keeps us working, and it keeps
just you know, other than just our stuff. You gotta
just entertain people, and it helps you kind of create
your show, especially as like a front man, Like what
kind of movements am I doing? Am I? What am
I taking my microphone stand and throwing it around like
(21:19):
a prop, you know, like it gives you, it gives
you a chance to kind of develop, you know, what
kind of moves I'm gonna do when I'm playing a
lead guitar solo or something like that, or the drummer's
gonna have a drum solo right after this bridge, you know.
And it's just creating a show, creating the total entertainment factor.
So people come and go, holy shit, yep, these guys
(21:40):
are amazing. We gotta go see him again. I gotta
tell my friends wow, you know. And so that's just
where we're at right now. Where's trying to turn heads
everywhere we go.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
God, I used to speak or dive and then one
performance nobody reacted and I went o, God, I'm done. Now,
I'm not doing that ever again. I didn't like the
way that he didn't react. So it's like speaker diving
off the map.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Yeah, it's it's funny too because there they'll, don't get
me wrong, there'll be those gigs where you feel like
you're just kind of background music at a bar, yeah,
or something like that. But you know, I will say this.
The cool thing is because you know, we always put
our original songs within a night of covers and stuff
like that, and the thing that we've noticed is that
(22:23):
it seems like people actually dig our music more than
the covers.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
How about that, huh.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
And that's always that's always a great feeling where it'says like,
of course everyone loves ACDC. They know that song, they
sang along and then you do your song right after
and they're actually on the dance floor dancing to Sugar Mama. Yeah,
and you're like wow, you know.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Wow, Well, I think that song Sugar Mama should be
in a movie. I mean, because it's that it's got
that movie soundtrack kind of vibe about it.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
I agree with you. And when we when Joe and
I wrote that song, you know, I don't know if
you've really listened to the lyrics or read the lyrics,
but it's it's a hilarious song. It's a true story,
it's a it's totally it's very comedy. When we wrote
the lyrics, we wanted to be really witty about our
comedy with it, but it just has that groove and
(23:10):
we knew when we were writing it like this is
that commercial kind of like you know, and it has
all it has all the formulas to be a radio hit. Yeah,
it's three minutes. It has that catchy, punchy chorus that
has the groove, it has the melodies like it hits
you right in the face and then goes home. You know,
(23:30):
it's just it's such a good song and we're we
love it so much. It's one of our favorites to
play live.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Wow, where can people go to find out more about
what you guys are doing, where you're playing and most
importantly merch sell that merch.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Yeah, so right now, we just launched our brand new website,
Kingsakarma dot com. Simple. We are in the process this
year before the year ends to have a total brand
new merch store ready to go. Nice. So we were
literally almost done with the finished touches about launching our
merch store with our website. But you can go to
(24:08):
Kingsakarma dot com. Uh. The best thing I would say
to do if you want to keep up with following
where we're playing every week and everything. I always tell
people go to our Instagram. Oh yeah, it's Kings of
Kings of Karma Official. Look for that blue check mark
that's us and all the long hair and uh, that's
how you can keep up with where we're playing, where
(24:28):
we're going, that's that's where we you know, definitely keep
up with fans and stuff.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
The hardest, dude, can you talk about that long hair.
Mineus in the middle of my back and people still
look at me, you vagrant boy. What I'm going? Yeah,
this is the way it was was in the back
in the sixties when you had the long hair. It's attitude.
But I hope I'm upsetting you in a big way.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Yeah, yes, sir, if you get it. You can't be
a rock and rollvan with no long hair. A rock
and roll van, is that?
Speaker 1 (24:57):
That's right, that's right. Even when Kiss cut their hair
and went, what are you doing? Put that stuff back on,
And if.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
You look at and if you look at the history,
you could tell they did not keep that hairstyle very long.
It's a very short lived situation.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Well, please please come back to this show anytime in
the future. The door is always going to be open
for you.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Yes, sir, we would love to come back. This is great.
We definitely support your show. We hope you have nothing
but tremendous success.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Oh, thank you so much. You'd be brilliant today.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Okay, thank you so much.
Since twenty sixteen, I've been blessed with the opportunity to
share conversations with those that have been featured on NBC's
The Voice. Sure, we'd put them up on the platform,
but then most people were going, so where's it at?
So now we finally centralized it for you. Every performer
from twenty sixteen forward ero dot net a r r
oe dot Net enjoy the exploration. Hey, what's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Man? I'm man, what's going on? Brother? Oh?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Looking forward to sharing a conversation with you, because you
guys are onto something here that is just so attractive
as we wrap up the year and go into a
brand new world of sound.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yes, sir, I'm glad you feel that way.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Well, I mean, what did you guys feel, because I
know what I have been feeling, you know, just by
you know, starting it all over. Do it again, listen
to it again, Listen for something that you think you missed.
I mean, we break it down as radio people, but
for you who had to build it up before we
could break it down.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes, sir, I'm assuming we're talking about falling to pieces.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Oh yes, oh yes.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yes, you know it's funny because that song was never
supposed to be a single. It was, yeah, we were
getting ready. We're getting ready to start writing a new
album because we released start our new album at the
beginning of this year called Bite the Bullet, and we've
just been writing on that. And our producer was like, hey,
(01:21):
you know, just because how social media and everything works now,
it's not about putting an album out waiting two years
to put another one out. Nowadays it's like, yeah, you
can put an album out, but you've got to constantly
put out singles and kind of keep yourself relevant constantly.
So time, the time and age is so different compared
(01:43):
to how music was done before, So now people are
just pumping out singles all the time. So it was
suggested to us, like, hey, we should put out another
single in the fall, and I said, all right, And
I was looking at a bunch of songs, you know,
kind of that I have in a sense ready to go.
And I showed it to the band, a bunch of songs,
(02:04):
and everyone voted, falling to pieces. They're like, let's do
this one. I'm like, really, yeah, I don't feel like
it's a single. I specifically wrote it just to be
a badass song on an album, like an album, filler
and producer, and everybody's like, no, man, the chorus, it's
too catchy, it will get stuck in your head. The
melody line, I think this is the winner, And everybody
(02:26):
in the band was like, yeah, I think this is
the winner. So I'm like, Okay, I guess let's do
this one.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Do you think it's because part of the attraction is
the fact that it has that kind of a bluesy
overtone to it, and we all are just so attracted
to that kind of stuff. And then when you bring
in that rock touch, Oh my god, it's such a
blend of the right sound.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yes, sir, I personally think we love groove, so we
love anything that grooves. And let's be honest as human beans.
Anytime you feel a beat, whether it be a be
Ge song, funked, you know, or R and B or
anything like, if you have that groove that's locked in,
you just can't help yourself but move, tap your legs,
(03:10):
move your head something. It's just it's effect. It's it's
effective for sure. So you know, I just we just
had a great groove. It has a good melody line,
and then I just knew once people heard it, I
was like, I think they'll sing along. I think they'll
groove to this.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
M yeah, because I mean, you know, for the average listener,
this is This was the way I was trained in
radio that the program director says, you know how listeners
sing to their favorite songs. No, they go blah blah
blah blah, yeah blah blah. You know if they don't
know the words, but it doesn't matter because you've got
that groove going on in the background.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yes, they're yeah, and it's and it helps too, because
you know, the average listener a lot of the times too,
an average listener doesn't want to have to think too
hard and no offense. But like, there are those wonderful
songs as musicians and artists where we put all these
crazy ideas and you know, all these crazy things, and
(04:07):
there are people that will appreciate that, and musicians that
will appreciate the artistry you put in. But the daily
average listener just wants to sing along in their car
while they're stuck in traffic, and they want they kind
of just want that brain rot, something that's just gonna
catch them and then just want them wanting more like,
(04:29):
for instance, yeah, I'm assuming you've listened to the song
more than once, but ye. Like, for instance, that song
was technically a five and a half minute song and
our producer had us cut cut down to like three
and a half. There was originally a whole bridge section
he cut. He's like, no, man, this is too much.
(04:51):
Let's just get to the point. And then at the
very end of the song, as you hear it fading out,
that originally wasn't a thing. There was no fade out
or or anything. And when we were editing, uh, the
producer and engineer gave me a mix, and at the
end of that last chorus it started fading out. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
What's going on? Man? I don't like that. He goes, No,
(05:13):
I'm telling you, we're gonna fade it out here because
the listener is gonna want to play it again because
they were still singing and they wanted more and you
ended the song, so what are they gonna do. They're
gonna go back and repeat the song because they wanted more.
And I'm like, well, I guess, so, I guess that
will work.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Yeah, man, aren't you in a way creating and oh
my god, moment at a live performance because when they
get that longer version, it's like, oh my god, oh
my god. And then therefore then then all of a sudden,
then that live performance becomes something that, yeah, I made
the investment to be here.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yeah, exactly, and it's we've been having time doing it live.
We always, you know, every guess live, we try to
put on a crazy high energy show. There's you know,
we all got long hair, a lot of hair whipping
around the stage, and we want to give it to you.
(06:09):
Even even when we do the song, like we try
to put so much energy in it. So you listen
to the record, it's special, but go see us live,
it's even it's a whole different kind of special. Because
I've always said, like nothing's first. Then when you love
an artist and you love the album and then you
go them live and you're just like, you know what happened,
(06:31):
Like this isn't great, or the other way around, where
it's like they're so good live, but their records just
don't sell. They're just not good records. So it's like
I always try to keep real cautious about like make
sure you do such an excellent record, but make sure
you and your band are so good live where it's
(06:52):
just like, holy shit, have you seen Kings of Karma.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Which you know well, I mean, because I mean and
it's more than just that live performance and collection of
music on an album. I mean, the writing of the
lyrics is so important too, because when you look at
the song selfish Lover, go listen to those lyrics and
tell me that you're not moved by them?
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yeah, right, And it's it's always also too when you're
writing lyrics, because you know, I used to try to
be when I would write lyrics. You know, I try
to write my political songs. I try to do my
John Lennon. I tried to have real deep meaning on stuff.
And those are great songs too. But you know, obviously,
(07:32):
when when you're writing a single that's three and a
half minutes, you got a catchy chorus, you've got great hooks,
you got great lead guitar, great groove, and everything's slow,
you also want to try to just write a song
about stuff that people can relate to. And who hasn't
gotten their heart broken at some point in a vicious
way by somebody who meant a lot. We've all experienced it,
(07:57):
and Adele has even made an entire career of heartbreaks songs.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Oh wow, wow wow. You know you bring up John
Lennon's name. I have to ask you, were you channeling
John Lennon when you did You Win Again? Because this
is like a Beatles song meets Waylon Jennings.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
I like that. I haven't heard that one, but I
like that one. You know. Actually, honestly, if you want
to hear my true inspiration, yeah, it was. Actually I
was listening to Eric Clapton's first solo record in nineteen seventy.
It's a very forgotten about record. It was the record.
It was the first solo record he did after Blind
Faith and Cream, and he was just like, all right,
(08:34):
I'm sick of being in bands. I just want to
be I'm just going to do a solo record. So
he got with Uh, he got with Delaney and Bonnie
there and they went into record and it's a song
Lose Power off that record, and I loved the groove
of it, and it's very similar to You Win Again.
(08:54):
I just loved that really lazy ringo star Swampy Crew,
and I was just like, fuck man, I want to
write a song like that. So I started just kind
of messing around in an a chord in like a
blues feel, but I wanted that real like the verse does.
(09:15):
I wanted that real swampy kind of groove, and then
I definitely wanted some like blues piano, and then it
kind of just I literally wrote you Win Again within
at least ten minutes. It was just one of those
special moments where you sat down at the perfect time,
your brain's working at the perfect you know, speed, and
(09:35):
you literally write a song and literally ten minutes lyrics
and everything. Not all songs are written that beautifully and fast,
but that was just one of those special moments where
I knew what I wanted and it came out and
it was just fantastic.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
You know, we need to do We need to team
you guys up with Aerosmith with a video, because I
think there's more than just young blood out there hooking
up with Aerosmith, and they need to em brace people
like yourself who aren't afraid to say yeah, Aerosmith was
part of my empowerment.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Yeah, I mean Aerosmith. I tell people all the time,
you know, if the Black Crows and Aerosmonth made a baby,
you get kills comment.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
I can hear that. Oh my god, I can totally
hear that.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Yeah, because like if you listen to the first song
on Bite the Bullet calls my name when the guys
made that riff, and we were we wrote Bite the
Bullet out in the desert, out in like Joshua Tree
here in southern California, and I wanted to go somewhere
super isolated where we had no phone service, no distractions, yep.
(10:40):
And we were told to write an album and find
a sound because we released our first album, Chemical Sunsets
in twenty twenty two, and it's a good album, but
you could tell it's a little too eclectic still because
I'm such a big white album fan that I have
a problem of writing a folk song and a rock song,
(11:01):
lose song, and a classical song and then too many
damn songs in one album. So it was suggested to us, like,
it's good, we see the direction you're going, but you
guys really need to dial it in a little bit
more behind like your sound. So I said, okay, let's go.
I talked to my partner show I like the John Lennon,
to Mike Paul McCartney, and I said, Joe, let's go
(11:24):
to the desert with the guys and let's see what
we come up with, and we damn near wrote in
twelve hours the entire bite the bullet wreck.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Man you're talking about calls my name. The thing is,
is that, to me, that's a rock anthem that's about
ready to hit those arenas in outdoor theaters and they're
going to be saying it back to you. Are you
prepared for that because their volume is going to be
much louder than your monitor.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Oh, it's starting to happen.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Any musician will tell you the most rewarding experience is
looking at the audience and singing an audience member, you know,
singing your lyrics back to you. It's the coolest feeling.
But when the guys wrote that, I got to the
rehearsal spot where we were writing and the riff, and
(12:08):
I was like, dude, that sounds like some like nineteen
seventy four Aerosmith, like get your Wings, like right before
Toys in the attic. It gave me that kind of
feel and I was like, all right, well, I gotta
write some I gotta write some Steven Tyler style vocals
to this, you know. So that was the inspiration there.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Please do not move. There's more with Chris Gates from
Kings of Karma coming up next. The name of the
single is Falling to Pieces. The name of the new
album Bite the Bullet. We're back with Chris from Kings
of Karma. So the song Gummy Bears and cigarettes were you?
Were you writing on that tour bus and you had
to hit a seven eleven very quickly? What's the story
behind that? Because I'll tell you what. I giggled like
(12:47):
a child when I was listening to that because I
just I just I just got off on it. I
really did.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
That's honestly. That's that's my baby's That's my favorite song
on the record. That was the one I put most time.
And yeah, and we have a music video to that
song also, it's on our YouTube channel. But that song
is the most important one to me. Actually. It's about
my now wife, who helps manage us and stuff like that.
(13:17):
She's kind of like the Sharon Osbourne to my aus.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Yeah, And when we first started dating, you know, we were,
oh my gosh, man, we probably had at least like
twelve gigs a month, and I was it's all. We
were driving all over the place every weekend. Every week
was somewhere different, Every night was a different location in California, somewhere.
So when we were dating, she was just in the
(13:42):
car with me all the time, going to all these shows.
And it's just kind of like a love song that
I wrote about us just hanging out and you know,
smoking and just chilling. But it's had a bag of
gummy bears in the car, you know, just on these
long road trips to these gigs, and so I'd just
(14:03):
be smoking cigarettes and eating gummy bears.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Were you inspired by Skinnered? Because it does have that
kind of a skinnered muscle shoals kind of a vibe
to it.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I was definitely. It's so funny you say that I
was actually very much going for a muscle Shols field.
That's so man. I really love how you are understanding
where I'm thinking. Yeah. So I'm a big rock historian
and I geek out on rock history and studios and
producers and all that. So you know, when I get
(14:34):
in my head, like you know, I want to write
a song that sounds like it was recorded at muscle sholes,
that was exactly what I was thinking. Wow.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Wow, So now you were told to go into it
one song at a time instead of delivering a full
album at a time. Well, what about the merch when
it comes to something like that, Because I was just
sitting here thinking about Calls my name. That's something that
you could plant on a damn T shirt or put
on a poster and sell the crap out of it
at a live show or even falling to pieces. In
other words, I identified the songs too on the shirt,
so people go, damn, what song is that? And then
(15:04):
they and then they hit Spotify or something and locate it.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
You know, it's funny because we're creating some right now.
I never thought about actually like merching out one of
the songs, but that's actually a great idea. Gummy Bears
and cigarettes T shirt would probably be really.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Yeah, oh yeah, you man, you put oh my god,
put some symbols up.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
There and everything. Hell, yes, yes, I love that. I
will you know, I'm gonna take that consideration, my friend.
You'll probably see a gummy Bears and cigarette shirt coming soon.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So know, you were talking about Eric Clapton here a
few minutes ago. So when with the song the Tempest
and that guitar were you were you channeling him on
that or who was the guitarist you were thinking of
when you brought this song for it, because man, it's
got some drama to it.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
So with the Tempest, Uh, surprisingly, our lead guitarist is
obsessed with Jack White Corporation. That's his main inspiration. Like
Paul McCartney to me, is like Jack White to our
lead guitarist, Jacob And if you listen to a lot
of his solos in the way he uses his effects
(16:06):
and his law, you could definitely tell he's very influenced
by Jack White. And we love The Rack and Teers,
which is I think one of Jack White's best projects
that he's ever been involved in. And so surprisingly that
riff I was actually really thinking about The Rack and Teers,
and Jack White wrote, uh god, yeah, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
You know you speak of of Paul McCartney and and
inside on on on Paul McCartney with me. First of all,
I just think I discovered Paul McCartney before I discovered
the Beatles. And the thing is is that people are
always asking me, will you would you talk with Paul McCartney.
I said no, I'm on a mission. I want to
talk to everybody around Paul McCartney because I think there's
a story there and it's being ignored. And I mean,
(16:53):
but I'm with you. I mean, when it comes to McCartney,
you can't ask for a more down to earth individual
when it comes to songwriting and just being being a person.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Yeah, I I personally think that. You know, when you
look at the centuries of music, you know, in the
eighteenth century you're looking at Beethoven, the seventeenth century, you're
looking at Mozart, and I will I definitely think, you know,
centuries from now, people will look at the twentieth century
and say, Lennon McCartney was the greatest songwriters of that century.
(17:25):
And the Beatles are the only reason why you and
I are on the phone right now, why and got
on this journey. And yes, you know, the Beatles are
definitely my main and I'm a Beatle historian. My obsession
with them is unhealthy. If you walk into my house,
it's a damn shrine. When you come in and get
(17:47):
my wife on board with that was a was a
good I even named my kids after Beatles. Yeah, we're
a Beatle family.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Are you Are you into the idea of maybe one
of these club DJs or one of the big names
like you know, you know, getting a song good, bad
and ugly with that funk beat and turning it into
a dance mix.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Oh yeah, dude, I think that'd be awesome. I think
any DJ that would any anytime, a DJ like that
would hit me up and be like, hey, I love
your song. I would love to turn it into my
own single and a mix. What do you think. I
love collaboration, yea. I love anybody that has great ideas
as an artist to take you know, our songs and
(18:30):
do something cool with this. So I would always be
super open to that.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
But see, that's what That's what I love about this
modern day age of music is that collaboration seems to
be the key word and everybody's doing it. There's one
day they're going to look back at this time period
and go they all got along. How is that even possible?
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Well? The cool thing with our band, you know, and
you know, we've been doing this for years, man, I've
I've been performing NonStop live without taking a break since
I was fourteen. I'm thirty five now, so it's it's
been a hustle. You know, We've we've done our Hamburg
years and it's growing and it's getting bigger and bigger
(19:11):
every year for us, and we're getting stoked. But yeah,
it's just playing live and just keeping going. Has just
been kind of like the fuel on, just trying to
create and push the envelope and do something new that
we haven't done before, and always just trying to find
new ways to keep your you know, the spark alive
(19:32):
and still trying to impress yourself. And it's like, yeah,
we we're entertainers, so it's like we're here to entertain everybody.
But at the end of the day too, like are
you impressed with yourself? Are you pushing yourself as an
artist or is it just like is it just a
money grab or something fun to do. It's not a
(19:52):
hobby for us.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
So so into that thought. So when you were talking
about doing twelve shows per month, who's up your stage?
Because I mean, because I'm a performer and it's it's
like that stage to me is the mecca. In other words,
it has got to be perfect so that I can
make that connection and there can be no walls or
rivers in front of me between me and them on
the other side.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, I mean, we probably don't gig that hard lately.
This was you know, we did that. We we giged
like that for like ten years, and it was just everywhere.
It was just a matter to get in front of
an audience. And of course, you know at those kind
of gigs, you have to play like three or four
hours long, and you play your songs, but then you
(20:38):
got to play led Zeppelin, you gotta play, gotta play CCR,
you gotta play the doors. You got to keep people entertained.
And I've always looked at every band had to start
off doing covers, you know, to find their their voice,
their sound, and you know, smart to do covers, you
know when you're still developing. And we still like to
(20:59):
do cover every once in a while because it keeps
us sharp, and it keeps us working, and it keeps
just you know, other than just our stuff. You gotta
just entertain people, and it helps you kind of create
your show, especially as like a front man, Like what
kind of movements am I doing? Am I? What am
I taking my microphone stand and throwing it around like
(21:19):
a prop, you know, like it gives you, it gives
you a chance to kind of develop, you know, what
kind of moves I'm gonna do when I'm playing a
lead guitar solo or something like that, or the drummer's
gonna have a drum solo right after this bridge, you know.
And it's just creating a show, creating the total entertainment factor.
So people come and go, holy shit, yep, these guys
(21:40):
are amazing. We gotta go see him again. I gotta
tell my friends wow, you know. And so that's just
where we're at right now. Where's trying to turn heads
everywhere we go.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
God, I used to speak or dive and then one
performance nobody reacted and I went o, God, I'm done. Now,
I'm not doing that ever again. I didn't like the
way that he didn't react. So it's like speaker diving
off the map.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Yeah, it's it's funny too because there they'll, don't get
me wrong, there'll be those gigs where you feel like
you're just kind of background music at a bar, yeah,
or something like that. But you know, I will say this.
The cool thing is because you know, we always put
our original songs within a night of covers and stuff
like that, and the thing that we've noticed is that
(22:23):
it seems like people actually dig our music more than
the covers.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
How about that, huh.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
And that's always that's always a great feeling where it'says like,
of course everyone loves ACDC. They know that song, they
sang along and then you do your song right after
and they're actually on the dance floor dancing to Sugar Mama. Yeah,
and you're like wow, you know.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Wow, Well, I think that song Sugar Mama should be
in a movie. I mean, because it's that it's got
that movie soundtrack kind of vibe about it.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
I agree with you. And when we when Joe and
I wrote that song, you know, I don't know if
you've really listened to the lyrics or read the lyrics,
but it's it's a hilarious song. It's a true story,
it's a it's totally it's very comedy. When we wrote
the lyrics, we wanted to be really witty about our
comedy with it, but it just has that groove and
(23:10):
we knew when we were writing it like this is
that commercial kind of like you know, and it has
all it has all the formulas to be a radio hit. Yeah,
it's three minutes. It has that catchy, punchy chorus that
has the groove, it has the melodies like it hits
you right in the face and then goes home. You know,
(23:30):
it's just it's such a good song and we're we
love it so much. It's one of our favorites to
play live.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Wow, where can people go to find out more about
what you guys are doing, where you're playing and most
importantly merch sell that merch.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Yeah, so right now, we just launched our brand new website,
Kingsakarma dot com. Simple. We are in the process this
year before the year ends to have a total brand
new merch store ready to go. Nice. So we were
literally almost done with the finished touches about launching our
merch store with our website. But you can go to
(24:08):
Kingsakarma dot com. Uh. The best thing I would say
to do if you want to keep up with following
where we're playing every week and everything. I always tell
people go to our Instagram. Oh yeah, it's Kings of
Kings of Karma Official. Look for that blue check mark
that's us and all the long hair and uh, that's
how you can keep up with where we're playing, where
(24:28):
we're going, that's that's where we you know, definitely keep
up with fans and stuff.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
The hardest, dude, can you talk about that long hair.
Mineus in the middle of my back and people still
look at me, you vagrant boy. What I'm going? Yeah,
this is the way it was was in the back
in the sixties when you had the long hair. It's attitude.
But I hope I'm upsetting you in a big way.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Yeah, yes, sir, if you get it. You can't be
a rock and rollvan with no long hair. A rock
and roll van, is that?
Speaker 1 (24:57):
That's right, that's right. Even when Kiss cut their hair
and went, what are you doing? Put that stuff back on,
And if.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
You look at and if you look at the history,
you could tell they did not keep that hairstyle very long.
It's a very short lived situation.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Well, please please come back to this show anytime in
the future. The door is always going to be open
for you.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Yes, sir, we would love to come back. This is great.
We definitely support your show. We hope you have nothing
but tremendous success.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Oh, thank you so much. You'd be brilliant today.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Okay, thank you so much.
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Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Are You A Charlotte?
In 1997, actress Kristin Davis’ life was forever changed when she took on the role of Charlotte York in Sex and the City. As we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte navigate relationships in NYC, the show helped push once unacceptable conversation topics out of the shadows and altered the narrative around women and sex. We all saw ourselves in them as they searched for fulfillment in life, sex and friendships. Now, Kristin Davis wants to connect with you, the fans, and share untold stories and all the behind the scenes. Together, with Kristin and special guests, what will begin with Sex and the City will evolve into talks about themes that are still so relevant today. "Are you a Charlotte?" is much more than just rewatching this beloved show, it brings the past and the present together as we talk with heart, humor and of course some optimism.
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