It used to be the norm in country music for an artist to ride up and down the blacktop, playing as many shows as they could and paying their dues before seeing some success. Nowadays you don’t see that as much with the emergence of social media and overnight success stories. John King is a throwback as the ‘Tonight Tonight’ singer made his name pounding the pavement. Recently he sat down with New England Country music to discuss his musical roots, hit single and what the future holds.
John grew up in Demorest, GA and music was a big influence on his life from the start. He was raised on a quite the mix of music as his father listened to a lot of old Southern rock such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers and the Black Crowes who all still have an influence on his music. His mother was more of a fan of singer/songwriters such as Jackson Browne and James Taylor. This has led to a unique sound which was even more influenced throughout the years, “As I got older, I started falling in love with Johnny Cash, Merle and Waylan. This forms the country Southern rock thing I do.” Family has always been important to King and they have supported his dreams. His mom even used to let him setup their middle-school garage band practices in her living room and John’s brother, Andrew, is part of his band as well, “My little brother is my drummer and he’s three years younger than me, as he’s 21. I actually started on drums at 11 and showed Andrew a few things. By the time he was seven, he was better than me and he has been playing with me since he was 12. I couldn’t be more proud.”
John attended the University of Georgia and this helped shaped the journey that his musical aspirations would take him on. Knowing the key to success was to get out there and have your music heard, John went about booking his own shows without the benefit of an agent to do it for him. The determination was evident as he was booking himself for up to 150 shows a year before ever getting a record deal. He explained how this helped in the development of his sound and music:
“Without that (booking shows) we wouldn’t be here. It was a lot of work coming out of college and booking all of this on my own. Was extremely hard work but it got us where we are today and paid off in the end. All of these shows helped us develop a fan base early on. There’s just so much music out there that you need to stick our from the crowd.”
The constant touring and getting his name out there truly paid off when King made the move to Nashville. Once there, he just kept hitting the streets as he played all the clubs and bars to get his music heard. John got lucky and teamed up with Doug Johnson who is the VP of A&R at Black River Entertainment as well as a producer. He was signed to Black River in less than a year of arriving on the Nashville scene, “It sounds like it happened quick but was a long road to get there.”
Country fans are starting to get to know John King and the great sound he brings to the table. This is the reason his debut single. ‘Tonight Tonight’ has been making waves at country radio every since it’s release. John had a great feeling about the song from the second he heard it, “It got stuck in my head like an ear worm and I couldn’t stop singing it. I’m pleasantly surprised that people have reacted so well to it. I knew that song was a hit, as I had a feeling from the start. It’s one of the two songs on my album that I didn’t write. My friend and co-producer, Marshall Altman was the co-writer and played it for me.” With the single being a hit, it has only wet the fans’ appetite for what is shaping up to be an amazing debut album, “I’m proud of every song on it as a piece of art. Hate to brag but the whole record is so good. I think you can listen to it from top to bottom and every song is just as strong as the last.”
While writing and touring have always been a huge part of King’s music, he knows that real success lies in the hands of the most important commodity to his future… the fans! He’s always been a huge fan of Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks and how they treat their fans. This is one of the many reasons he doesn’t miss a chance to connect with them:
“My fans are the ones who buy my music and go to my concerts, so I want them to be more involved. I feel that the fans know better than anyone what’s best and all that counts is keeping them happy. I handle all of my own social media as I do my Twitter and Facebook. It’s really fun as I get to talk to my fans one on one. Social media is so important and we focus on that a lot. But when it comes down to it, when people see you perform live… that’s where you make a lifetime connection.”
John’s debut album will be coming out this year and beyond that his plans are to, “Keep touring, work hard and build my fan base even more. I’m always writing and trying to get better.” We here at New England Country Music want to thank John King for taking the time to speak with us as it was truly an honor. We cannot wait to see what lies ahead for this talented singer and we’re glad to be along for the ride.
Make sure to check out John King in concert when he plays The Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun on January 29th.
You can follow John on Twitter, ‘like’ him on Facebook, and check out his official website.
This article was written by NECM contributing writer Mike Sullivan. You can follow me on Twitter.