Although it was a sparsely attended show the Kingpins set on June 20th at the Reverb in Toronto was a lively affair. The band was in fine form despite missing one of their key members. Before they rocked out on stage 4thWave.ca had the privilege of interviewing them backstage while the Delegates played on. This interview has been edited for space (what this means is we left out all of the really crappy question that Jerry asked the band!)
Jerry Two Tone - We're going to go around the circle and you are going to state your name and what you do in the Kingpins.
Lorraine - I'm Lorraine and I sing and play sax.
Chris - My name is Chris and I play guitar and sing into a microphone with a sticker on it.
Mike - My name is Mike and I hit plastic and metal with wood and make sounds.
Jerry - Being a road-tested band what would you say is the best part of touring and the worst part of touring?
Lorraine - Best of part of touring is when shit happens you have to fix it. No procrastinating. Worst part about touring...
Mike - Denny's!
Lorraine - Actually Flying J's food.
Mike - Yeah, yeah. Watch out for the hair's in the salad bar.
Chris - I think the worst part is how bitchy we get towards each other.
Jerry - Normally you all just get along?
Mike - Well here's the scenario : Take five people and put them in your kitchen for 30 months...30 days...in there for an average 16 hours a day and you would expect some problems right? If we locked ourselves in this little spot for 12 hours we would have our disagreements right Jerry?
Lorraine - And some laughs!
Jerry - New album...what's the story?
Lorraine - New album. Sounding awesome. We can't wait.
Chris - It sounds good. Its got songs on it...with parts.
Mike - It's a departure from comfort. It might be a bit shocking for ska fans...but I think they need a bit of a shock, because lyrics mean something too, its not just about dancing.
Jerry - And your plans for releasing it? When can we expect it out?
Lorraine - Late summer.
Mike - We are going to rent helicopters and just drop bundles into each city.
Chris - Yeah Mike and I just got our pilot licences.
Jerry - Travelling as much as you do there has to be some long drives. What do you do to keep yourselves occupied while on the road?
Mike - We make up Christmas carols. We alter Christmas carols.
Chris - Madlibs. Listen to music. They make fun of my cds. They make fun of my music. Do you like the Juliet Letters?
Jerry - The Elvis Costello album?
Chris - Yeah.
Jerry - No I hate that album.
Chris - What!?!
Mike - CHEERS LOUDLY and then sings a line from the record "And you know..."
Jerry - I listened to that thing once and I wanted a refund on my time it was so bad.
Chris - Can I swear on this thing? IT'S FUCKING BEAUTIFUL. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
A member from the Gamblers roadcrew shows up and the security. Id's are checked so drinking can happen later...on with the interview.
Jerry - Is there any truth to the rumour that you are no longer playing the 10 Commandments of Ska anymore?
Lorraine - Its a band decision. It just didn't feel right anymore. As a matter of fact this is going to lead us into another direction because the new album is not coming out under the name The Kingpins and so for all these reasons, we're sort of in min-transformation. That was sort of the beginning of the transformation saying you know, it doesn't feel right anymore and if it doesn't feel right anymore then you shouldn't do it.
Jerry - If the name isn't the Kingpins anymore and people come out to gigs under this new name...whatever it may be...will you play Kingpins tunes under your new name?
Mike - This could quite possibly be the last show.
Lorraine - In my mind its not a final tour and I don't want to call it a reunion. I don't want to call it an end because then people will come out and expect to hear all of the old songs. If I ever did a final tour with the Kingpins or a final show you better be sure that I am going to play all of those...you know...hits.
Mike - Without bullshitting here you have one original member left. And you have four other people coming in that had nothing to do with that past. Liked it but you gotta take it in new directions.
Jerry - Well what's it like for everyone to come into a band that is already established and where everyone expects a certain thing...have you noticed any backlash towards this new direction...towards the new tunes?
Chris - We'd have people showing up to gigs going where's Jordan, where's Boom Boom, where's Josh? At least when I first started...people were like where's Bobby, you're not Bobby. And I'm like, no I'm not. Sorry.
Jerry - What's the writing process like? How do you go about putting your songs together?
Mike - Mitch Girio.
Lorraine - Yeah King Kong Girio. He's awesome. What's really nice about having him around is he is an objective ear and he can sort of guide us. We take the songs in and work on them and take them back...its more like an arranging process where we each suggest things to each other.
Chris - There will basically be like a core song....maybe not entirely written and then Mike will come in and be like, 'I want to try this sort of drumbeat', and I'll try to do upbeats on my guitar...that's the most complicated part obviously. Dan will come in with his crazy electronic sounds, there's string arrangements...
Lorraine - There's a lot of different flavours.
Jerry - What's the worst thing that has ever happened to you on the road...has gear ever been stolen or anything like that?
Mike - We're pretty particular. We have locks on our van, nothing has been stolen except for my nuts.
Lorraine - Knock on wood.
Mike - My nuts got stolen...No hold on! A percussion toy. They were these nuts from Ghana on a rope and they swung really cool (makes the noise)...other than that...
Lorraine - The shittiest thing that happens to us is bad shows. Or getting a little bit lost and getting frustrated. I'd rather be lost than in an office you know?
Jerry - What can people expect from this new band in the next year or two?
Lorraine - All of the best of the Kingpins. Every wonderful thing about it...evolved.
Chris - Times a hundred.
Lorraine - One thing I have to say about The Kingpins...is my favourite thing about the band...is that its never ceased to evolve. There's never been two shows that were the same. There's never been two recording projects that were the same. Every show and every tour has been approached differently. You can ask anyone from out of town if they have ever seen the band with the same line-up. Its not just a question of line-up, its a question of attitude I think. There you go that's one of my favourite things.
Mike - Expect the lyrics and vocals...Plan of Action was Lorraine's taking over of the vocal chair so that was...not a trial but that was the situation so its like she's more comfortable...its vocal heavy. Lyrically its pretty interesting too.
Jerry - Any last words....
Lorraine - Its a pleasure to have anyone interview us or greet us on our guestbook...we absolutely love hearing from people....
Chris - The Kingpins.com....the Kingpins.com!
Mike - Surprises and toys!
Jerry - If you have Mike's nuts please return them to The Kingpins.com.
For all the info on the new album and name check in often to....you guessed it...www.thekingpins.com.