We the Kings hit the road hard
We the Kings lead singer/guitarist Travis Clark is living his dream: his band had the single of the week on iTunes, is about to kick off its first headlining tour and will spend the summer on Kevin Lyman's annual Vans Warped Tour .
"That's been one of our biggest dreams as a band," Clark said during an interview with LiveDaily from snowy Idaho. "Growing up, we went to Warped Tour to watch our favorite bands. Now we get to play it. It's kind of surreal."
In between their headlining and Warped Tour outings--details for which are listed below--We the Kings may head over to Europe to push their self-titled debut released on S-Curve Records, former home to Joss Stone and Fountains of Wayne.
"If we can go see the world and play music, it's going to be so awesome," Clark said. "I couldn't ask for anything more than what's going on right now."
The alt-pop quartet-- which also includes guitarist Hunter Thomsen, bassist Drew Thomsen and drummer Danny Duncan--is enjoying success with its self-titled debut, which is consistently charting in the Top 10 on iTunes' Top Alternative Albums and Top Albums charts. Also, through Feb. 12, the group's upbeat, infectious song "Check Yes Juliet" was the iTunes Single of the Week--but the band's success extends beyond iTunes: its new album also debuted at No. 150 on The Billboard 200 album chart; currently resides at No. 3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Alternative New Artist Albums chart; and has spawned singles that have racked up more than 3.5 million plays at the band's MySpace page.
Currently on tour with Cobra Starship , We the Kings also have received a tremendous response on mtvU and have been selected for the "Freshman Five" Spring 2008 Edition. Every semester, mtvU chooses five up-and-coming artists whom they deem to be on their way to moving up from college favorites to household names. mtvU recently elevated We the Kings' music video for "Skyway Avenue" to Summa Cum Laude (highest rotation 45-50 spins per week) and the video is also the No. 1 the Most Streamed Video on mtvU.com.
"We the Kings" was produced by S*A*M and Sluggo (Gym Class Heroes) and mixed by Lou Giordano (Plain White T's, Taking Back Sunday) and Tom Lord-Alge (Fall Out Boy, Blink-182). According to Clark, the set came together very quickly for the studio newbies.
"We went in with, like, 11 songs and got them recorded," he said. "They did a little tweaking with them and, by the end of all of it, we had a record. It was really awesome."
The band's music has been described as the musical child of Jimmy Eat World's Jim Atkins and Third Eye Blind's Stephan Jenkins. That's a comparison that pleases Clark.
"I love them," Clark said. "I love that comparison. That was one of our biggest musical influences in writing the album. Jim Atkins and Stephan Jenkins are huge, huge inspirations for the entire band. I'm a songwriter and I love their music. That would be a dream of mine to meet any of those guys. They're all super talented."
Cobra Starship with We the Kings
February 2008
13 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
14 - San Diego, CA - SOMA
15 - Pomona, CA - Glass House
16 - West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour
17 - Las Vegas, NV - Jillian's
18 - Tucson, AZ - The Rock
19 - Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse Music Venue
20 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
21 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
22 - Austin, TX - Emo's
23 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
24 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
26 - St. Petersburg, FL - The State Theatre
27 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room
28 - Orlando, FL - The Social
29 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
March 2008
1 - Charlotte, NC - Tremont Music Hall/The Casbah
2 - Norfolk, VA - NorVa
4 - Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club
5 - Pittsburgh, PA - Diesel Club Lounge
6 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore (formerly Theatre of Living Arts)
7 - Lancaster, PA - The Chameleon
8 - Farmingdale, NY - The Crazy Donkey
We the Kings headlining jaunt
March 2008
26 - Gainesville, FL - 1982 Bar
27 - Pensacola, FL - Sluggo's
28 - Nashville, TN - Rocketown
29 - Little Rock, AR - The Village
30 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Conservatory
April 2008
1 - Tucson, AZ - Skrappy's
2 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified
8 - La Jolla, CA - Porter's Club
9 - Orangevale, CA - The Boardwalk
11 - Colorado Springs, CO - The Black Sheep
12 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground
13 - Iowa City, IA - Picador
14 - DeKalb, IL - The House Cafe
15 - Covington, KY - The Mad Hatter
16 - Louisville, KY - Bulldog Cafe
17 - Augusta, GA - Sector 7G
18 - Wheeling, WV - Troy Theater at Swint Hall
19 - Wilmington, NC - The Soapbox Landrolounge
20 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits
21 - Columbia, SC - New Brookland Tavern
22 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
23 - Baltimore, MD - The Ottobar
24 - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon Club
25 - Altoona, PA - Jaggard United
26 - Williamsville, NY - Club Infinity
27 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
29 - Providence, RI - Living Room
May 2008
1 - Allston, MA - ICC Performance Hall
Vans Warped Tour dates, venues to be announced soon.
June 2008
20 - Pomona, CA
21 - San Francisco, CA
22 - Ventura, CA
25 - Phoenix, AZ
26 - Las Cruces, NM
28 - Salt Lake City, UT
29 - Denver, CO
July 2008
1 - St. Louis, MO
2 - Kansas City, KS
3 - Dallas, TX
5 - San Antonio, TX
6 - Houston, TX
9 - Atlanta, GA
10 - Orlando, FL
11 - Tampa, FL
12 - Miami, FL
13 - Jacksonville, FL
14 - Charlotte, NC
15 - Virginia Beach, VA
16 - Washington, DC
17 - Cleveland, OH
18 - Detroit, MI
19 - Toronto, Ontario
20 - Montreal, Quebec
22 - Buffalo, NY
23 - Boston, MA
24 - Englishtown, NJ
25 - Philadelphia, PA
26 - New York, NY
27 - Scranton, PA
29 - Pittsburgh, PA
30 - Cincinnati, OH
31 - Indianapolis, IN
August 2008
1 - Milwaukee, WI
2 - Chicago, IL
3 - Minneapolis, MN
6 - Calgary, Alberta
8 - Boise, ID
9 - Seattle, WA
10 - Portland, OR
13 - Fresno, CA
14 - San Diego, CA
15 - San Francisco, CA
16 - Sacramento, CA
17 - Los Angeles, CA
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Featured Photos: Vans Warped Tour, Englishtown NJ - July 28, 2008 [August 2008]
Cobra Starship gets 'Sassy' on fall headlining trek [August 2008]
Blogging The Warped Tour In Englishtown, NJ [July 2008]
Old School Punk At Warped [June 2008]
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