WHAT: King Washington
WHO: Tyson Kelly, George Cronin, Dylan Krikes.  This Los Angeles based band are well liked for their amiable attitudes towards life and music, not to mention the fact that they're rockin' talented and nobody leaves a King Washington show saying they didn't have a good time.
STAND OUT: Their sound hearkens back to a time when rock was a genre for the poets and their upcoming album is sure to bring existing fans and newcomers into the fold...

RAPT: You've been described by some (including yourselves) simply as: the guys who like to sing. How long have you been making music?

Tyson: We do like to sing. It's rather fun to harmonize, especially in the grocery store. I've been making music since I was about nine I think. Fooling around on the piano, I remember figuring out the Forrest Gump theme song around then. Then at 10 my Dad taught me three chords on the guitar and I was self-taught from there.

Dylan: I’ve been making music since I was about seven. I learned to play trombone then. Didn’t start singing until I started listening to Rage Against the Machine, funny enough. I have vivid memories of mowing our lawn in Canoga Park with one of those push mowers, screaming lyrics to their album, Battle for Los Angeles.  My dad played guitar too and sang...so music has been around since a very young age.

George: Been making music personally since I was a little wee one. Started on piano at age four, taught myself guitar around twelve, and never looked back since then.

RAPT: Rumor has it, a new album will be emerging in 2010...

George: We are writing and preparing to record our next adventure, what will hopefully be a full-length album. And after that we do plan on touring.

Tyson: Yeah, we've got a whole new sound coming up with this new one. I'm excited. We definitely plan to go on tour, but at the moment I think we need to focus on finishing the building of our reputation in LA before we can safely cheat on it with other cities.

RAPT: How long have you been working on this newest album?

Tyson: Not too long. A few of the songs have just been lingering and waiting for attention as many songs do. You know, you write a great chorus and a kickin' verse, but you just can't find that bridge it needs, or you get lazy with finishing lyrics. These creations can go unnoticed for many aday. Recently we've been patching up the unfinished ones and slapping 'em down on the table, prepared to present to the public.

Dylan: We have plans set to begin recording this week. Most of the songs are written already, so it’s not a matter of that. Just a matter of getting the arrangements and sound we want from the recordings. Our writing has become so much easier and efficient as a team since we have become a trio. We just do...there is very little hassle. Ideas have been coming very easily recently, and people seem to be responding very well to our newest stuff…so we must be doing something right.

George: Some of the “new” songs for the next album are recent collaborations, but one in particular, “Sellin’ Out” was written by Dylan quite some time ago. It is one of the most heartfelt songs you’ll ever hear.

RAPT: How'd you all meet & come together? Why the name King Washington?

Tyson: I started the band with a buddy of mine from High School. Today I remain the only truly original member. I met Dylan one day when he came over to my house with another friend, at the beginning of the band's existence. We jammed the first day we met and I just loved his energy. I had just seen him in Guys and Dolls and he played the detective, and I thought, "Who IS this amazing man?!" He did this thing with his face to accentuate the character, I can't quite explain... I met George though my brother at USC. I had heard about him being this prodigy guitar player who could play anything on the spot with ease, even if he'd had only heard it once. So when I met him I bribed him into the band, making a deal with him saying that he could ask my first crush out on a date if he joined the band. He agreed, she was that hot. Regarding the name King Washington, I asked my friend who I started the band with, "You know, I know George Washington was a great man and our first president and all but I mean the guys on every one dollar bill and there's a state named after him, I mean what did he really do to get all this praise??" And my more educated friend replied, "After he fought off the British the people came to him and offered him to be King of America...he declined claiming that that's the very thing we fought against!" And I said, "So he would have been King Washington..."  Then we both looked a each other and [we] knew.

George: The three of us (Tyson, Dylan, and I) bring such different strengths to the table, both as players and songwriters, but in the end the product is full of harmony. Us meeting and working together is serendipity at its finest.

Dylan: I arrived a little later in the process. Well I’m definitely not British, and there’s no Ju-Ju football, but the band was in its basic form for about a year when I came along.  The bassist at the time wasn’t there for practice, so I asked if I could sit in on bass while they rehearsed. During a five-minute break, Tyson had decided that there wouldn't be any King Washington without myself in the band. He fired his own cousin. I really had no say in the matter, Tyson is a master manipulator.

RAPT: People write that your music contains a certain raw quality and talent that you don't hear so much lately (possibly at all). What do you say when you hear stuff like that?--How do you hope to be perceived when you're playing for an audience?

Tyson: That's really the best compliment. When people say that we're the only ones doing this anymore it's the ultimate because that's exactly what we're going for, you know? We're trying to bring it back, bring back the good old days of songs thriving off of the basics: Chords, melody, mood and harmony with the basic chordal instruments. We're trying to affect you through our music. The goal is that you'll be actually feeling something when you listen, something deeper. We just want to be appreciated and heard.

Dylan: First off, I usually get pretty shy around positive comments. I’m working on it. I feel so blessed that we have been given such gifts to share with the audience. Not a lot of bands can claim strong, thick harmonies as their own. It’s a Beach Boys, Beatles, Talking Heads, Radiohead conglomerate. We hope to be perceived as musicians who aren’t taking life too seriously. But in all honestly we want to be seen as rock gods. Who wouldn’t, right?

George: Though we are very well rehearsed, as you must be when singing lots of harmonies, we also thrive off of the raw energy and vibe. For instance, I have no set guitar solos in songs. I like to leave it up to the moment and simply make it up as I go. Sometimes I fall flat on my face, but other times it can explode and make the audience erupt. It is that interplay that makes our live shows so much fun for us.

RAPT: Say you're on the road, or in the studio, or on a stage somewhere….what's the one thing you've got to have to be able to function effectively?

George: Delicious, nutritious beer. 

Tyson: Girls within the proximity.

Dylan: Well my first answer is overtly inappropriate, so I’ll go with #2… I guess I’d have to go with my confidence. I have a habit of going down for the count, an over the top reaction if you will, when people try to hustle me. If I’m confident in what I’m doing I’m able to do just about anything. I think Mark Twain once said, “With enough ignorance and confidence you could rule the world,” and that’s what I’m going for.

RAPT: Name the next movie you plan to see or last movie you saw?

Dylan: The next movie I plan to see is The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Heath Ledgers last flick.

Tyson: I want to see Pirate Radio.

George: I want to see Law Abiding Citizen.

RAPT: Aside from an album release, what else is going to be going on with you in the next year?

George: Tour and more and more new songs. Our goal is to keep writing, whether we have to record or not.

Tyson: We're about to make a music video, but we're struggling to pick which song we should do.

Dylan: I am planning to write music for a North Hollywood acting studio called, Zombie Joe’s Underground.  On a more personal note, I’m working on myself as always. I’m reading a Tom Harris book called, I’m Ok, Your Ok. It takes a look into transactional analysis and the adult/parent, child layout. Sometimes life gets strange and you need something that can ground you again.

RAPT: Are you all originally from California? What's your day to day routine?

Dylan: I was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Moved to New Mexico when I was three with my twin brother and family. I moved to California just after turning fourteen and have been here since with the exception of my military service where I lived in Georgia and went on multiple tours over seas.

George: I am from Camarillo, CA. It’s about an hour north of LA. I live at home with my family. I usually sleep in a little, eat some breakfast (my mother is a great cook), and then either start rehearsing with King Washington or whatever group is coming over that day. I also have a home studio there, so recording days are very common. At night, I unwind by myself in my studio by listening to music (I have a collection of over 2,000 albums of all genres) and playing sudoku. I also sneak out late at night and check out the stars...always very visible where I live.

Tyson: Born and raised in Woodland Hills, I usually get up and start the day off with a breath of fire. I make some PG Tips English Tea and get on with the day. I try and always be productive.

RAPT: Can Austin expect to see you in the near future?

Dylan: Its hopeful! I’ve been down there before with an ex-band of mine (Slips Into Space) for SXSW. It's the best.

RAPT: What are some of the things (anything) you're consistently motivated by when it comes to song & music writing?

Tyson: I've always been driven to create. And it's weird, if I'm not actually listening to music, there's always music in my head, I have no control. Sometimes it's just a chord progression, other times It's a melody. And if it's interesting I'll record myself humming it on my phone before I forget it. Years later there will be about 600 ideas just sitting in a combination of the last 4 phones I've owned.

George: The greats. Listening to The Beatles or Tom Waits or Harry Chapin or Paul Simon really inspires me to create. Hearing a clever lyric that makes you smile, or a melody that cuts straight to your core can really motivate you to create something with the same effect.

Dylan: Vegetables, exercise… specifically cardio. I guess I'm motivated to make a difference somehow. Also to remember what’s best in life, and what’s worst in life too.

RAPT: You're consistently being praised for bringing a return to true songwriting. (We gotta come up with a name for this….songsmenship? That's sounds dumb. But whatever it is, you've got it.) How important do you think it is to hold true to the art of songwriting as any band or musician? Do you agree with the idea that every song should tell a story?

George: How about 'songsmiths'? Return to true songwriting is pretty cool though.  Every song should have a feeling. As John Lennon and subsequent artists have taught us, sometimes nonsensical lyrics can still give off a sense of cohesion, though no real story is really told. But the song is a marvelous thing, and it is the sculpture that we bring forth from the block of marble. With that being said, it is basically our main priority to write the greatest songs we possibly can. But we’re not always trying to be as deep as possible, both lyrically and musically, cause we all know that a great song can be simple and silly, and King Washington really knows how to find that balance and sometimes even dabble in the extremes.

Tyson: We won't settle for anything if it sounds like it's already been done. We're getting very anal about that. Not every song needs to tell a story. I think that if there's a few awesome lines somewhere in there, that'll make up for if the other lines aren't as obvious as to their meaning. But what's great about certain vague lines, everyone can take them differently. Symbolism is a wonderful thing.

Dylan: The song has to connect. It has to connect with the audience. They must feel a sense of belonging. If they feel they can belong with the artist, truthfully, then it becomes an amazing show. It brings a connection. It’s like a drug. The best drug around. I don’t believe that every song needs to tell a story. I believe that’s a wonderful thought, don’t get me wrong. Story-telling is a wonderful tool for a songwriter, but I don’t necessarily believe it’s mandatory. All that’s necessary is to make that connection. Make them empathize with you. Or rather, allow them to feel with you. Whether or not you're telling a story to get to that point, it doesn’t really matter.

Listen to King Washington and get upcoming show information here!

Photos by Anna Webber

Interview by V. Gonzalez & C. Fritz