KINGS_OF

Early years

Saturday, April 25, 2009 - 8:11 am - _Kings_Of_Leon

Kings of Leon are an American alternative rock band. The members of the band are Anthony Caleb Followill, Michael Jared Followill, Ivan Nathan Followill, and Cameron Matthew Followill, however, the band members go by their middle names.After various jobs, the brothers moved to Nashville in 1996. They formed a band in 2000 with their cousin Matthew Followill. The band claims that their music was influenced equally by their religious upbringing and Jack Daniels Whiskey. Caleb recalls listening to "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells with his uncle, and cites it as the song which really made him pay attention to popular music. This song is later referred to in 'California Waiting' with the lyric "crimson and clover pulling overtime". They were members of the West Tennessee Choir for a short time mainly assigned to falsetto ranged harmonies.
They were introduced to Nashville-based, Emmy-nominated singer/songwriter/producer Angelo Petraglia, who'd previously worked with artists such as Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Brooks and Dunn, and Be Your Own Pet. Petraglia would prove very important to the band, moving them in a more pop oriented direction. Eventually Petraglia and the two Followill brothers went to New York City, along with manager Ken Levitatan.
Caleb stated though that "...because of the way we [the band members] grew up, we were really sheltered from music and we didn't know that much...", going on to say that the significant musical influences have only been in very recent years. The band's later albums have expanded upon the southern rock, country, and blues influences that characterized their early work, drawing from post-punk, shoegaze, and alternative rock.

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