Thursday, February 12, 2009
{The Blue Banner}
Page 11
3hio natives find home in Asheville music scene
By Sam Hunt
Assistant Arts & Features Editor
SCHUNT@UNCA.EDU
King Tut’s. uplifting instrumental
has expanded the sound of UNC
sheville’s diverse music scene since the
‘nd relocated from Bay Village, Ohio, in
112007.
Kspired by math rock, indie rock and
King Tut brings together a wide va-
“ly of tastes and styles, both obscure and
3instream. King Tut’s guitarist, Mark
^yd, said the band’s live shows have not
'y^^ys appealed to dancers.
People just started dancing at our
'^ws recently, which is probably directly
Isolated with the increasing number of
CA student attendees,” said Boyd, 21,
IINCA environmental science student.
l^CA kids know the how and when of
'ii'ngarug.”
before forming King Tut, Boyd played
two bands, a post-rock band called
“y Us & Moan and the free-improv,
ftti-heavy band, Neematoad.
Plrew and 1 went to high school to-
or in Bay Village, a suburb of Cleve-
td. Drew went through a slew of music
°§rams, including jazz band and march-
= and,” Boyd said. “At our first concert
Someone’s basement back home, Drew
^0 Up to me and asked if he could be in
and. We’ve clicked as musicians and
ends ever since.”
°oyd and drummer Drew Veres moved
Asheville to take a year off from
tool and reinvent their music base. By
'2008 the two-piece had prepared a
' ength album, and Boyd and Veres
hed in local universities for the
O-09 academic year.
^0 spent a summer in Kent, Ohio,
'^‘dg shows and living on our own,
t’dg in on our live sound. Then we
'ttt about two months in Cashiers, liv-
’ "'ith Drew’s grandparents. That’s
I Wrote the song that would eventu
al ff>ake it into the top 20 of the BBC’s
^1 Sig Thing’ contest.”
BBC nominated “What You’re
for 2007’s “Next Big Thing.”
“ ®ong does not appear on King Tut’s
full-length. Chopping Wood &
1’2'ing Water, but all of King Tut’s
Ss are available for free download
band’s Reverbnation webpage.
^ Kt people download over 55 songs
site,” Boyd said. “We haven’t
Photos courtesy of King Tut
Above, King Tut performs at Charlotte’s Milestone. Mark Boyd, left, and Drew
Veres perform at Fred’s Speak Easy in downtown Asheviile.
made too much money, but giving our
music away for free has helped us reach
thousands of people that we’ll probably
never hear from.”
While several recordings feature
Boyd on vocals, King Tut plays in
strumental live shows. An intense
focus on guitar effects leaves little
room for singing, according to Boyd.
“I already have to concentrate enough
on my guitar pedals, I don’t have time to
sing. We have songs that have singing in
them, but I have to record and re-record
those parts to get them right.
“At the same time, I think instrumen
tal music can take you places that lyrical
music can’t, simply because the language
keeps you rooted in reality,” Boyd said.
Boyd said King Tut’s guitar influences
range from vocal-based electronica to in
strumental post-rock. Boyd had an early
admiration for such popular instrumental
acts as Explosions in the Sky and Mog-
wai, but learned technique from folk artist
Iron and Wine.
“The biggest influences for me as far
as songwriting goes are Iron & Wine, The
Books and Do Make Say Think,” Boyd
said. “Iron & Wine inspired me to play
guitar in the first place and also got me
fingerpieking, which is an integral part of
our sound.
“I love the orchestration and calm
intensity of The Books and hope to one
day add more vocal samples to our live
shows.”
Veres, 19, an A-B Tech student who
plans to pursue a music technology de
gree at UNCA, has a great interest in jazz
and the New York band Battles, who in-
flueneed King Tut’s time signature range,
aecording to Boyd.
Coupled with Veres’ interest in math
rock and jazz, the duo bridges many sub
genres within the indie rock style.
Although Veres was not a found
ing member, Boyd said he contributes
an equal amount of songwriting on the
band’s more recent material. However,
King Tut’s musical communication is
minimal, both on stage and in the song
writing process.
“In the past, Drew would write drum
parts to already existing guitar parts.
Now, Drew gives me adviee sometimes
as to what specific melody I should be
playing,” Boyd said.
“Our communication while we’re
playing generally extends to ‘keep going
on this part,’ ‘next time around play the
new part’ and ‘what the fuck was that?’”
Despite a solid student and local cult
following, Boyd said he is not pleased
with the Asheville music scene.
“Ken, the owner of the Rocket Club,
has been one of the biggest and best sup
porters of our music as well as a friend,”
Boyd said. “But I’m not too impressed
with the Asheville music scene. It’s prob
ably because UNCA students don’t have
a place to practice, and it’s hard for the
under-21 to play at venues around here.
“It’s cool that so many people feel cre
ative and have the initiative to play out,
but a lot of them aren’t doing anything
original. I guess I expected Asheville to
be more experimental rather than jam
bandy and full of watered down indie
rock,” Boyd said.
King Tut has four Asheville concerts
lined up until spring break. On Friday,
King Tut headlines at West Asheville’s
Rocket Club with Vertigo Jazz Project,
and on the following Friday, King Tut
will play at Bobo Gallery on Lexington
Ave.
Asheville’s crowd at local venues is
supportive, according to Boyd
“It’s nice to have a vote of con
fidence from your friends and total
strangers,” Boyd said. “On Feb. 19,
we’re playing at Stella Blue down
town, and there’ll be 50-cent PBRs.”