UPCI was so strict it was almost Amish: Kings of Leon

SDG · #1 10-04-2007, 07:38 AM

Kings of Leon love the life of rock
October 4, 2007

BY BEN EDMONDS
FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITER

From the Wilson family of the Beach Boys to the battling Gallagher brothers of Oasis, rock 'n' roll has a rich fraternal history. This is especially true of Southern rock. Beginning with the brothers Burnette (Johnny and Dorsey) and Everly (Phil and Don), extending through the Allman Brothers and the bands of the Van Zandt clan (of which Ronnie's Lynyrd Skynyrd was only the first) and down to Chris and Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes.

The latest in this lineage are the three brothers (and, like the Beach Boys, a cousin) from Tennessee who call themselves Kings of Leon. Already chart-toppers in England, their steady march toward the same destination Stateside arrives at the Fillmore Detroit on Thursday, where they'll headline a bill that also includes Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Manchester Orchestra.

The quartet's rootsy, passionate Americana, infused with enough punkish energy to mark them as a modern extension of the Southern rock tradition, attracted critical hosannas in Europe when the debut Kings of Leon album was released in 2003. The band soon found itself opening arena and stadium shows for U2, Oasis and the Strokes. This would have been a daunting proposition for most young bands, but the Kings (as they're known in fan shorthand) embraced it.

"It was a little scary at first," admits bassist Jared Followill, at almost-21 the youngest King. (The others are brothers singer-guitarist Caleb and drummer Nathan, plus cousin Matthew Followill on lead guitar.) "You start out and the coolest thing you can possibly imagine is playing in front of a hundred sweaty kids in some tiny club. That's really cool; we still like doing that. But there's something about playing in front of thousands and thousands of people that can be incredibly inspiring. You should be in it to grow, and reach more and more people."

Like so many Southern rockers before them, Kings of Leon come from a church background where secular music was forbidden. Perhaps escaped that background would be a better description, according to Jared. "It was so strict it was almost Amish," he says of the United Pentecostal Church, in which their father was a traveling preacher.

"It was ridiculous. You couldn't listen to anything but gospel music. No TV, no movies, no pants or makeup for women. Everything changed when our parents divorced and I started going to public school. We went from a completely sheltered world to a completely un-sheltered world. I loved it! It was like coming up for air."

This helps explain the Kings' already legendary fondness for post-show socializing. "We figured it out the other day," the bassist confides, "and the alcohol that's been consumed on this tour would probably fill eight or nine swimming pools. We learned about partying when we toured with the Strokes. We'd show up for sound check and they'd be there with cups of vodka. I'd seen people drink beer at a football game, but this was the middle of the day! We were basically corrupted by the Strokes. Then they stopped drinking, so the joke's on us."

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...710040328/1039

LadyRev · #2 10-04-2007, 07:42 AM

One of the saddest stories I know of is this family and its now grown boys.

DividedThigh · #3 10-04-2007, 07:48 AM

too badddd, lol the devil deceives folks every day, and these boys are deceived, and drawn of course by the fame, fortune, and whatever, sad story,dt

#4 10-04-2007, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DividedThigh

too badddd, lol the devil deceives folks every day, and these boys are deceived, and drawn of course by the fame, fortune, and whatever, sad story,dt

they aren't decieved by the devil, they were killed by us...

The devil didn't have to do anything... Our rules were so far from where they should have been, regulated against so many things that didn't need to be, that when they got "freedom from them" and because they didn't have a relationship wtih Christ (because all that they were taught was following the rules, like many young people), that they went "hey, this isn't bad" and just kept pushing it...

the Devil didn't have to do anything with these boys, he let us take them so far from the world that when they were released on the world the slingshot of where we took them put them so far out there that they might never get back...

DividedThigh · #5 10-04-2007, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redeemedcynic84

they aren't decieved by the devil, they were killed by us...

The devil didn't have to do anything... Our rules were so far from where they should have been, regulated against so many things that didn't need to be, that when they got "freedom from them" and because they didn't have a relationship wtih Christ (because all that they were taught was following the rules, like many young people), that they went "hey, this isn't bad" and just kept pushing it...

the Devil didn't have to do anything with these boys, he let us take them so far from the world that when they were released on the world the slingshot of where we took them put them so far out there that they might never get back...

ok young man, you can sit around the rest of your life and blame the church, but whether you like it or not they are deceived and on the wrong path, and it doestn matter who you blame it is still true, i agree with much of what you said, but what i said is accurate, because no matter how they go into the mess they are in now, it is all the same, to bad and very sad, dt

#6 10-04-2007, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DividedThigh

ok young man, you can sit around the rest of your life and blame the church, but whether you like it or not they are deceived and on the wrong path, and it doestn matter who you blame it is still true, i agree with much of what you said, but what i said is accurate, because no matter how they go into the mess they are in now, it is all the same, to bad and very sad, dt

I'm not saying they're not in a mess...

I'm saying thier blood (and the blood of those souls who can't bring themselves to find God because of the pain and hurt we've caused them because of our rules) is on our hands.... its our fault...

BrotherEastman · #7 10-04-2007, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DividedThigh

ok young man, you can sit around the rest of your life and blame the church, but whether you like it or not they are deceived and on the wrong path, and it doestn matter who you blame it is still true, i agree with much of what you said, but what i said is accurate, because no matter how they go into the mess they are in now, it is all the same, to bad and very sad, dt

Its all about the blame game don't ya know? Poor widdle backslider backslid because of the church, nevermind the fact that people will be people and turn from God like they have throughout history.

BrotherEastman · #8 10-04-2007, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redeemedcynic84

they aren't decieved by the devil, they were killed by us...

The devil didn't have to do anything... Our rules were so far from where they should have been, regulated against so many things that didn't need to be, that when they got "freedom from them" and because they didn't have a relationship wtih Christ (because all that they were taught was following the rules, like many young people), that they went "hey, this isn't bad" and just kept pushing it...

the Devil didn't have to do anything with these boys, he let us take them so far from the world that when they were released on the world the slingshot of where we took them put them so far out there that they might never get back...

You think it was the UPCI, or was it the divorced parents?

#9 10-04-2007, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrotherEastman

You think it was the UPCI, or was it the divorced parents?

in thier case it was probably more to do with the divorced parents...

The problem is that there are others who have similar issues with the UPCI who don't have divorced parents...

pelathais · #10 10-04-2007, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DividedThigh

too badddd, lol the devil deceives folks every day, and these boys are deceived, and drawn of course by the fame, fortune, and whatever, sad story,dt

I think I caught your irony here. The "Kings" were "off course" before the "fame" and whatever "fortune" they may have amassed. Hopefully they are learning as it appears from the article. One of their mentor groups seems to have given up the bottle. That's a hopeful sign.