Sunday 15 June 2014

King Bee Q&A

Your name:  
Jason Holcomb.

Where are you from?  
I’m from The United States, but I reside in Newcastle and the band is based here as well.

Name of band:
King Bee.

Who is in your band? 
We are an 8 piece outfit: 
Dave Wilde: Saxophone, Flute, vocals
Chris Jelly: Vibraphone, vocals
Dan Brady: Bass, vocals
Stephen Glendinning: Guitar, vocals
Jason Holcomb: Trombone, vocals
Mark Hand: Rhodes, Moog, vocals
Martin Douglas: Drums
Richard Burns: Trumpet, vocals

How would you describe yourselves?  
It’s difficult with a group as eclectic as King Bee to describe, but I think we have to say that funk with a nod to jazz is a good place to start. Additionally we pull elements from many other genres; soul, Motown, rock, R&B, hip hop, blues, and others. 

Who are your main influences musically?  
Again, because there are so many members in the band and we all contribute to the songwriting, it’s hard to pick out specific influences. Generally speaking, all of the iconic funk players, musicians and bands like Herbie Hancock, Roy Ayers, Corduroy. But each of us individually has many important influences specific to our instruments.   

What do you hope to achieve in music?  
I really think our goal as a band is to just produce and perform the best music we can, and if we can help spread the word to an audience that has yet to discover funk then that’s even better.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 
We had the very cool privilege of performing for a crowd between 10,000 and 15,000 strong on New Year’s Eve in our home town of Newcastle, it was a pretty poignant moment for us.   

And what’s the moment you want to forget?  
In all honesty, I’d rather remember it all…like any group we’ve had our ups and downs but I feel like that’s what gives us our identity. Having said that I think we all would agree that there have been a few post-show late night mishaps that should probably be left forgotten. 

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? 
Off of our new album, I’d say that Three Bee is, for me, one of our more quintessential tunes. It features quite a few members of the band and none more than Chris on vibes which is something that really gives us a distinctive sound. It also relies on a very funky groove foundation which is something that is at the core of King Bee. 

Where can we listen to it? 

Where can we find out more about your music?

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