 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
Interview with Jasten King of Nancy FullForce
by Gina Asaro on 2007-04-19 |
GA: Hi Jasten, how have you been?
JK: Things have been great. I’ve been working on putting this band together in my head for too long now! It’s great to see everything finally coming together. We’ve been rehearsing to get ready for a couple secret shows and the big one at Key Club next month.
GA: You have a new band called Nancy FullForce (NFF). Before we get into that, give me a run down of all your other projects you have going. You’re one of the busiest people I know!
JK: Yes, I have a habit of getting involved in too many things, don’t I? Well, I’m weeding a lot out so I can really focus my energy into playing music again. I took a little break but am ready to get back in the game of it all. So other than NFF, I’m doing some acoustic shows coming up by myself in Los Angeles. I’ll also be recording with Jayne County (Warhol star/transgender rock legend) again later this year; writing and performing on another EP with her. As always, still DJ'ing around town; currently spinning tunes for Chi Chi Larue’s scandalous party, Dirty Deeds, in West Hollywood. And lastly, I’ll be profiled in an anti-bigotry commercial campaign coming out on the LOGO Channel soon.
GA: Okay, so back to NFF. You’ve been in many bands throughout the years, is this your first time as the lead singer?
JK: Actually, previous to joining KillRadio, I was singing and playing guitar in a band called The Confused. That’s how I met the KillRadio guys initially. We played some shows together. Then when The Confused started falling apart, I took up their offer to switch teams and concentrate on my guitar playing. I really feel now though that I’m most satisfied singing in a band. I don’t think I could see myself doing anything else.
GA: Who are the other members of your band?
JK: There’s The Duke on drums that I put together and recorded this EP with. We’re both into a lot of the same music and such rock nerds that, when starting this band, he was the first person I immediately asked. We also have Jake Chaos on guitar who’s been a best friend of mine for years that previously played in The Horribles and currently does the band, The M7. Then there’s Armand, another friend of ours, on bass. I really made an effort to find people I was friends with from the start. I’m glad I got a group of guys who’ll be a blast to tour with in the future.
GA: What sort of ideas do you have planned for NFF?
JK: Well, we’re really wanting to take each aspect of “being in a band” to a different place. Whether it’s how we get our music out there or how we tour and who we tour with. One big thing we’re taking on is the format of a live show. I’ve gotten bored of seeing the almost “rotating door” system of how bands play venues. Also being onstage and the weird fishbowl vibe it has sometimes makes it hard to connect with a crowd. So we’re going to just pass up the stage altogether and get in the crowd to stir things up! Luckily these days wireless gear is pretty accessible so we’re just going to take advantage of it, leaving the amps onstage and the crowd in center ring. I’ve always loved the reaction that a singer gets when he or she jumps into an audience. It’s always so exciting and so much fun from an viewing standpoint, that I just wanted to take that whole vibe to the next step. We’ll also be using some video in sync with the songs when we’re allowed, all in hopes to incorporate the entire room wherever we play and not just the one side of it that a stage is on.
GA: You’ve done a lot of work also with PETA2. Any upcoming NFF/DeadlineLA/PETA collaborations?
JK: Yeah, I just finished doing a design for PETAKiDS that should be out anytime now. I got the honor to meet Patricia Trostle at the PETA Awards last year who offered to work on something together for the kids’ website. I’m down for any offer to raise money for animals so I started on it right away. We’ll be doing the same thing we previously did with the “Ghettobunny” hoodie for PETA2 where there’ll be a limited piece through my DeadlineLA website. They’re a great company that I believe a lot in so anything they ask for, I’m right there ready to contribute.
GA: Speaking of DeadlineLA, your clothing line, how are things going on
that front?
JK: I'm actually converting it into more video projects. The whole idea of the t-shirt line started with my interest in graphic design but in recent months I've really got some cool opportunities from KROQ to VH1 to try out some ideas on video and had a blast. So I'm closing out all the previous merch we had for the line and only releasing the band's shirts and the EP through the site. It will continue on after that as an "events visual arts" project.
GA: What are your thoughts on MySpace, Pure Volume and You Tube as being nearly crucial for promotion these days?
JK: It’s really changing now both how a band can get started and how bands on major labels can stay in the public eye. With labels becoming less necessary and music downloading so much more common, there’s certainly a system merging together here that well be the future of music sooner than later. So many cool bands would go unseen or others that would fade out if it wasn’t for these sites; it’s a great source for information and music discovery that’s coming together. One aspect of it that I really enjoy is the ease of finding music videos. Seems harder and harder to find them on what supposed to be “music television”, that I think it’s great a band can make and release their videos online. I’m such a visual learner sometimes that I need to see these things for it to make sense of it. Though on the other hand, even if it’s my own fault for looking before her show, I do hate they spoiled Madonna’s new tour for me. But whatever, she was still pretty fierce on the guitar. (haha).
Links:
myspace.com/Nancy FullForce
DeadlineLA
Peta2
PetaKids
[ VIEW ALL INTERVIEWS ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
