DRUMMER JERRY GASKILL ON THE POSSIBILITY OF A NEW KING’S X ALBUM, “A NEW RECORD WILL MOST LIKELY HAPPEN. I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHEN”
Greg Prato of Alternative Nation spoke with King’s X drummer Jerry Gaskill. Excerpts from the interview appear below.
Alternative Nation: You have a good singing voice, but I don’t recall you singing on many (any?) King’s X tunes. Why not?
Jerry Gaskill: Why thank you! I sing lead on three King’s X songs…Six Broken Soldiers, American Cheese (Jerry’s Pianto), and Julie. Like I said earlier, King’s X is a totally different thing than making my own record. I don’t necessarily feel like a lead singer in King’s X. Dug is the lead singer of King’s X, yet there are times when it seems appropriate for either me or Ty to sing lead as well. I say whatever works best for the song…
Alternative Nation: Looking back, what is your favorite King’s X album and why?
Jerry Gaskill: I feel like whatever record we’re working on is my favorite. I have fond memories of all the records, and at the same time, a lot of hard work and some maybe not so fond memories come with all the records. There is a part of me that always feels I can do better or I should have done better. The first four records are special to me because they are like a certain era. It was the beginning era for King’s X. Then Dogman came, which was produced by Brendan O’Brien, and a new era was born, along with Ear Candy produced by Arnold Lanni. From there, we did a few records of writing together from scratch. It started with Tapehead then Bulbous and Manic Moonlight. Again, a whole new era. We ended up doing two records with Michael Wagener, Ogre Tones and XV. Again, a whole different vibe. I see all the records as times in my life. I prefer to think of them all as profitable for me in one way or another…
Alternative Nation: How are you doing health-wise?
Jerry Gaskill: I’m doing great great! I feel as though I’m doing better than ever in many ways. I have a better understanding of my body now. I’m learning how to take care of it. I work out every day now and I’m seeing a personal trainer once a week. I’ve been seeing him now for about six months. His name is Danny Weltman and I love him. I started out seeing him two to three times a week. I wake up every day now and start my day with a pretty intense workout. I generally feel healthier and stronger than I did before I died. I wouldn’t change a thing. Our bodies tell us what it wants and what it doesn’t want. I’m learning how to listen. Heart attacks have done me well…
Alternative Nation: What are the future plans for King’s X?
Jerry Gaskill: We’ll be doing some shows in 2016, and we’re also talking about a new record. A new record will most likely happen. I don’t know exactly when. I want to feel ready when we get together to do it. I want it to be right. I want to make the best King’s X record that we can possibly make. I will say though that I’m still very much focused on Love and Scars [Gaskill’s new solo album]. Sometimes I think if anything is holding up the King’s X record it’s probably me. But it’s all good and one day in the pretty near future we’ll get together and do that next King’s X record…
Read more at Alternative Nation.
source: alternativenation.net
Dug, Ty and Jerry all do so many things outside of Kings X, it probably is hard to find time to concentrate on the band. Plus, Jerry’s been through a lot in recent years. Those guys aren’t getting any younger. Dug is 65 years old! That blows my mind! I can’t believe he’s that age! Crazy to think that when I first got into Kings X when I was in my late teens, they were a new band, at least at recording, and Dug was already in his mid-late 30’s! I love Kings X so much, it’s a shame they never broke through big. So many people to this day that have never really listened to them would be surprised how great the band is if they would just give them a listen. The first few albums have a lot of great melodies and a big emphasis on their voices and how well the three of them sing together. Dug is simply one of the best singers I’ve ever heard. I thought that alone would garner them praise, which it did, and fame, which unfortunately it didn’t. Musically speaking, they are a true power trio and Ty has one of the best guitar tones I’ve ever heard. I could go on and on showering praises on this band, but I’ll end instead with encouraging anyone that has either never listened to them or may have just heard a few songs to do themselves a favor and really listen to them, starting with OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET and moving forward. You won’t be disappointed.
King’s X is one of those bands that should have been a lot bigger.
Still loads better than most of the new bands of the last 10 or 15 years.
IMO, the ONLY thing that kept King’s X from stardom is their looks. I’m serious.
They came of age during an era in which how a band LOOKED, for the most part, determined hard rock stardom. Image was EVERYTHING from 1985 thru the early 90’s. I’m fairly certain, if Dug and Jerry looked more like, say Jon Bon Jovi, Kip Winger, Bach, or the members of Firehouse, etc, they would have made it to much higher commercial heights.
As a guy that had a hand in signing them that did play a role. But their music was also not overly commercial and sounding of the times either. For all the things that made them great at the time, they also worked against them in the mainstream. To date the band has not had a gold album in the US. Many think they sold way more than they ever did sadly
Eddie,
I did not read your comment before I posted mine, but it seems that you and I were on the same page as to why they never achieved commercial success.
D 🙂
Bill,
Please note that my tone is not meant to be argumentative, but how do you explain John Sykes? In my opinion, he was just as “pretty” as some of those people you mentioned, if not more so. On top of his beauty, he can sing, is an amazing guitarist and a great song writer. Not to mention his music had commercial appeal, as Blue Murder’s debut album, was material Sykes was working on for the next Whitesnake record.
Plus, I know everyone is entitled to their opinion, but as a female, I would not consider Firehouse a bunch of pretty boys. Were they commercial? Yes. Were they an attractive lot, like Europe? No.
I can only venture to guess that King’s X never made it huge because their sound was too progressive at the time. I really don’t think looks had anything to do with it, because if so, in my opinion, Sykes should have been as big as Bon Jovi.
D 🙂