Greg Prato, for Brave Words, spoke with King’s X frontman dUg Pinnick, about his new solo album, Thingamajigger, which was released on October 25th. Selections from the interview appear below.
BraveWords: How did you come up with the album title…?
Dug Pinnick: I love naming albums, with names that are really uncommon. And I like words. I’m a word guy. And I like names of things. My great grandmother – who raised me – she used to say it every now and then, it’s an old folks’ thing. People are dead probably at this point that used to say it. But they’d say, ‘Pick up that thingamajigger over there.’ If they didn’t know the name of it, they’d call it a “thingamajigger…”
BraveWords: One track that sticks out in particular is the album-opener, Climbing Up The Mountain [listen here].
Dug Pinnick: “Musically, I was just in this AC/DC, Red Hot Chili Peppers funk vibe in my head. I came up with that drumbeat and I thought, ‘What would sound good with this?’ And I just came up with the guitar part. And I always write the songs first before I get the lyrics. But when the lyrics came to me for Climbing Up The Mountain, I think I had just turned 71 – because I just turned 74, so it’s somewhere in the last three years since I put out Joy Bomb. Somewhere in between there, I started thinking about life at my age. And sometimes I feel like I’m climbing up a mountain, and just looking back at all the things that I’ve done and learned – the good, the bad, everything. And as I look back, I look back at all the others who are younger than me, going through what I have already been through, and it makes me feel like I just need to be thankful and cherish the rest of my life. And not to drag anybody else down as they try to get my age, as I try to get to the next age.
BraveWords: Is King’s X planning on working on a follow-up to Three Sides Of One?
Dug Pinnick: Yeah. I have submitted a handful of new songs to them I have written since Thingamajigger. And Ty [Tabor] and Jerry [Gaskill] have both said they have a bunch of tunes. So, the next thing is to finally figure out when we want to get together and the whole thing you have to go through to make a record – because we live in three different parts of the country. So, sooner or later we’ll get serious. We haven’t yet really, but we talk about it – so that’s a good thing.
Read more at Brave Words, and to read more details about, Thingamajigger, here.
3 Responses
Well Dug there’s no better time than the present to get in the studio with Ty & Jerry. You’re already 74, Jerry has had a history of heart issues and not too long ago you had to cancel a tour because something was wrong with Ty. You’ve given us so much over the years that I wouldn’t dare ask for another album. Each time I’ve met y’all you’ve treated me like family and I will always cherish the memories! But since you are seriously discussing a new record, please do it asap before it’s too late!
NEVER disagree with Real Paul Stanley.
King’s X has been a favorite for decades. Somewhere on youtube is a video of famous rock stars talking about their favorite bands, and they all agree that King’s X is awesome. Of course it’s all apples and oranges.
One more thing: I think an album of cover songs from King’s X would be well received.