King Cannons ride King Tides

How does life change after you've toured with a world-renowned and well-established band like Bedouin Soundclash? The answer is simple in the words of King Cannon (KC) bassist and resident tattooist, Rob Ting. “You take more time off work, have less money and get friend requests on facebook from people you don’t remember meeting on the road.” But what he humbly didn’t mention is that the band’s airplay on government funded Australian Radio Station, Triple J has dramatically increased, that they have recently filmed the video to Take the Rock, and that their fan base and exposure has grown to the point where small SKA bands are covering their songs, as done by Son of Dad (SOD) from Adelaide. It definitely seems that KC are finally starting to get the recognition that that they deserve, along side serving as a role model for other bands of their type.

“I think we turned a few heads on that tour. After those shows, we took a step back, listened and then focused a lot of attention to honing our live performance skills even more,” said Luke Yeoward, the bands vocalist and front man who is more excited than ever about the bands future. “We have really been finding our “groove” this year and I am really happy with the new tunes that keep surfacing! I think next year there will be some refreshing energy shining through our music, even more then this year!”

SOD first heard about KC when they played at Chopdog’s SKA Weekender in June this year. “All of SOD absolutely love King Cannons. Rarely do we have a practise when they aren't mentioned or played and they are a staple in all our road trips,” excites SOD saxophonist and singer, Craig Collins. “We played with them in Newcastle and then the next night in Sydney. We were blown away… They're just a cool bunch of laid back, friendly people. Its just a pity we live interstate,” he continued, also stating that Teenage Dreams is a regular in their set when they go busking.

Above: King Cannons

KC are constantly writing and jamming new tunes to, “keep things fresh and exciting,” as Yeoward puts it. Ting also stated that they are trying to make each performance better than the last and to make each person count within that performance, although visually with the bands uniform of black pressed trousers, shirts, dress shoes and seemingly compulsory tattoos, members Luke Yeoward, Jonno Smith, Josh Matthews, Rob Ting, Mike Ting and Lanae Eruera are standout pieces of artwork themselves, let alone in their performance presence.

Resident tattooist, Ting, has penned work on each member of KC except Mikey Ting, with Eruera and Matthews bearing most of his craft. “I wanted to tattoo, so I saved up and bought the gear. I then learnt through trail and error on my legs and a few close friends. I met my buddy Nick Agnew (www.kingslandink.co.nz) and worked under him in west Auckland until he gave me the thumbs up to start earning a living.” Ting has been working as an artist for five years now and currently works at “Riff Raff Tattoo” in Abbotsford.

Ting’s work has been published in “Tattoos Down Under Magazine,” and he is mostly influenced by the older generation of tattooers, enjoying the American traditional style. He also says that Frank Carter from British hardcore punk band the Gallows is particularly inspirational as he “paints flash tattoos, tours with his band and makes it work.”

There is currently a grey area in the tattoo industry about whether artists should tattoo hands, faces or craft symbols that are sacrilegious. Ting says that, “as a working tattooer in a busy street shop, we get crazy requests all day long. That said, if your of legal age, have ID, can pay me and your idea doesn’t offend me, then its not really my place to tell you that you cant get the tattoo you want.” Ting has also completed tattoos for members of SOD when they excitedly spent the day with him in Melbourne last October. "Rob was great. Very relaxed. He's a very nice guy... He likes doing quirky/funny tattoos so I got him to do a bowling pin (below) on my calf. He's done others along similar lines."

Above: "Spare Me" by Rob Ting

The band has recently filmed the clip to Take the Rock which was shot on a Sunday afternoon, at the abandoned Hoffman Brickworks in Brunswick West, Melbourne. “Quite the fitting location for the tune lyrically, I thought, with Industry playing a big part in the way the world is today,” said Yeoward. It was directed by Matt Weston, who has many mutual friends with KC. “He is such a great guy to work with and we all have common interests. We try to work with people that feel like friends and family. It helps inject a little more passion and soul into the work. In this instance, we produced a great video!”

Even more exciting for KC is that the limited edition 10” Vinyl EP will be available on the bands website and at shows as of Mid December and the CD EP will be released in January of 2011. The band will be touring again, in early 2011 and then they hope to be in the studio straight after that to record their album!

Despite the year quickly coming to an end, with KC’s last show for the year in Auckland, New Zealand at the Kings Arms on the 18^th of December, it is only the beginning for the band, who are looking forward to head back to New Zealand. “This is our old stomping ground, and we haven’t played back there in almost 3 years!! Its quite exiting,” enthused Yeoward.

Above: Take the Rock video.

KC will be playing at the Playground Weekender Festival in 2011,you can view the website for the 2011 Playground Weekender Festival here, http://www.playgroundweekender.com.au/

You can view the King Cannon website here, http://www.kingcannons.com

(If you are interested in the bands that I follow, please consider becoming a follower of my blog. It only takes a couple of clicks and is greatly appreciated. Also if you are in a band, or want me to check out a band, send me an email at leesh_drew@hotmail.com)

15 minutes with Luke Yeoward from King Cannons

Above: King Cannons opening for Bedouin Soundclash recently at The Prince.

Photography by Nic Bischop Photography

“It’s like baking a cake,” enlightens heavily tattooed, rockabilly-esk King Cannons (KC) lead vocalist Luke Yeoward about the bands creative process of song writing. “Some times I’ll come up with something, a little riff, or hook and other times me and someone else will come up with something and we will just build on it from there,” he adds. With culinary skills like the ones KC processes, the sharp looking crew need to get themselves onto Master Chef quick sticks, after a particularly noteworthy performance at The Prince in St Kilda recently.

The New Zealand birthed, Melbourne adopted band, consisting of Luke on lead vocals and guitar, Rob on electric, Johnno on bass, Josh on drums, Mike on keyboard and the lovely Lanae on percussion, (the bands token female,) started out in New Zealand in 2008, as a group of mates and acquaintances who showed up at the same gigs. “We had a bit of a jam in a friends lounge room, wrote some tunes and that was pretty much it, we started playing shows,” Yeoward says in a ‘bobs your uncle’ manner.

KC have recently toured with Canadian, Bedouin Soundclash as their support act on the Australian leg of their journey. “Its pretty hard to find bands in this part of the world that sound like Bedouin Soundclash OR King Cannon for that matter. It was definitely a good match for us and a good opportunity to play to the Bedouin Soundclash fans. We were pretty excited about it,” says Yeoward.

Despite spending most of his life in New Zealand, Yeoward likes Melbourne. “Melbourne is wonderful, I was born here even though I grew up in New Zealand… Yes my accent is fucked,” he laughs. Yeoward likes a casual scene when he heads out, despite living in Australia’s cultural capital. “I like going to the Gem in Collingwood and having a beer there. That’s my kind of place. It has a pretty chilled out mood and the people are always friendly.” Although Yeoward admits he will never be the poster child for city living. “If I didn’t have to live in a city with people and petrol and folks doing crazy things, I wouldn’t fucken be here. I’m only here for the music necessity. That’s what keeps me in the city,” he says. With themes of serenity and healthiness running true throughout the bands songs, with titles such as, Smoked out City, Time to Yourself and Teenage Dreams. However since relocating to Melbourne, Yeoward has yet to find a nice getaway place in Australia and likes to go back to New Zealand and chill by a lake.

Yeoward got his first guitar as a gift from his mother when he was ten. She taught him a few chords then bought him a guitar book so he could teach himself. He sings about this in the song, Teenage Dreams, as well as his experiences growing up, how money was tight and his salvation was music. Once Yeoward had mastered the basics, he took to the streets, “I used to go out busking and that’s how I got my first electric instrument and started a band when I was 13. That’s how I got into playing,” says Yeoward.

Noteworthy also is the bands image. KC present themselves a way that is rarely done these days, wearing a uniform of crisp black shirts and pressed black trousers, with black dress shoes. A look any mother would be proud of and Yeoward says his parents have been supportive of him from day one, despite him getting his first tattoo at the age of sixteen. “It was a skull and cross bones on my back and was done in Taupo in New Zealand. My mum thought it was a fake tattoo and she tried to scratch it off… no parent really wants their child to get tattooed,” he laughed.

Those who have not heard music by culinary experts KC, can expect influences from a wide variety of sources, making them a band with something for everyone. “You sort of mash them all up and that’s how we have come to be,” says Yeoward. With a heavy influence of world music, as well as pre 50’s blues, rock and roll, ska music in the 60’s, rock steady and reggae right through to dance hall, electronic, hip hop and country mixed with punk rock backgrounds, it all makes for a hefty performance, or tasty cake.

“Its really important to remain open minded when it comes to music and everything tells a story,” says Yeoward, who has been playing in bands for the last ten years and has developed a thick skin from an early age. “Criticism can be taken on board when its constructive and everyone’s got an opinion,” he says. And where would Yeoward like to see the bank in two years time? The answer is simple. “In as many peoples record collections as possible and in as many different continents as possible, that’s all I could ever hope for.”

King Cannons will be playing at the East Brunswick Club in Melbourne on November the 25^th.

To find out more, visit the bands website at http://www.kingcannons.com/

Or to try a piece of King Cannons' toe tappin’, rock‘n’rollin’ cake for yourself, please visit their Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/kingcannons

They will be more than happy to have you for a bite. They do cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Also, see below for a review of their recent gig with Bedouin Soundclash.