The Tomb Tones website states, “Drawing inspiration from classic favorites like The Cramps, The Ramones, and the B-52s, The Tomb Tones, have made their own monster by realizing a spooktacular vision for a cartoonish ‘Buddy Holly meets The Twilight Zone’ aesthetic.” As far as descriptions go, I think it is spookily spot on. I got the chance to talk to the master of SCAREamonies, Kyle King as well as scare-tastic members Brent and Carl Sin to dig a little deeper into the history of who the tomb tones are and what they are all about and to see what inspired them into music and how they created the Frankenstein's monster of an amazing band!
What first got you into music?
Kyle King: I took piano as a kid so I've always had a musical inclination, but the real spark was when I found an old ukulele in my grandmother's house in middle school. My sister's boyfriend showed me how to play the Violent Femmes' "Blister in the Sun'' on it and I immediately wanted to learn guitar.
Brent: My dad being a pianist/music director obviously is what got me into music.
Carl Sin: My parents. My dad has a massive record collection and was always playing music on the stereo at home. My mom was a musician herself and played in high school/college and in the church "band". She also sang almost non-stop around the house, so I've got songs for any chore!
Who inspired you to make music?
Kyle King: I guess that's kind of a two-parter - my high school music technology teacher Mr. Simpson was a huge inspiration, in that he taught me how to build a basic song structure (he also was the teacher for our high school jazz band, which I was in with my current bandmates Brent and Jesse/Carl). But as far as musical and stylistic influences, my biggest is probably Joey Ramone. I've always loved the lyric "we need change, we need it fast, before rock's just part of the past" and feeling like that was a mission statement. Do something different, but keep the spirit of rock and roll alive.
Carl Sin: Gotta go with [my] parents again. Seeing my mom in the church "band" gave me an interest in guitar and I always loved music class in elementary school, so once I hit middle school, band and music became a big part of my life - ending with a degree in bassoon performance and a degree in music education.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
Kyle King: Rockabilla-psycho-horror-punk, maybe? Haha, it's a mixed bag. My writing style is heavily inspired by golden oldies rock'n'roll - Eddie Cochran, Wanda Jackson, Ricky Nelson - mashed with a love of kitschy 60s novelty Halloween tunes and a more modern garage punk sound. We try to keep it somewhat cohesive but make each song be genre-styled a little differently.
Carl Sin: The music that I make on my own is usually just something that I wanted to hear, or thought would be funny. Probably 90% or more of my projects are unfinished because I never intended them to be heard by anyone else
What inspired the formation of the band?
Kyle King: I had been seriously writing songs for about a year, and we were at a bonfire at Carl Sin's house. Brent asked to see what I'd been working on, and I showed him Girlfriend's a Zombie and he was into it. A few weeks later we were having dinner and they pitched the idea of starting a group. I'd always admired them both as musicians so I was sold. Thankfully I recalled a kooky band name I'd been playing around with, and The Tomb Tones were born.
Carl Sin: Boredom? Kyle is a great songwriter and the three of us have known each other for a long time, so when he showed some of his songs to Brent and me, it felt pretty obvious that we had to do something about it. Brent even learned the drums for it!
Do you have a memorable memory of performing in concert?
Kyle King: Oh sure, tons. Performing is always a rush. Dragon Con 2019 specifically was a blast. But a really big one for me personally was at our first public show, absolutely no one knew who we were, really small crowd, but I remember looking out in the audience and noticing the opening solo act, an established performer, smiling huge and laughing in surprise at the funny parts, and grooving at the dance parts, and that positive live feedback was like fuel on the fire to push the energy further. Seeing people's reactions is by far the biggest thrill for me.
Brent: An early show at Sweetwater Bar & Grill with other horror bands before anyone really knew us. I remember our stage outfits getting some confused looks, but then the (tiny) crowd got really into our set once we started playing.
Carl Sin: With the Tomb Tones? Playing Dragon Con is a huge highlight. In a band in general? Back in high school, Brent and I had a band that once played the opening of a new Bass Pro Shop at a mall. The "live bait" machine was never the same...
Favorite classic horror monster character?
Kyle King: Frankenstein's Monster!
Brent: Dracula if we’re talking old school “classic.”
Carl Sin: The Wolf Man? Cause of the beard and all.
You can find The Tomb Tones on Instagram, Facebook, and all streaming platforms!
Comentarios