Alex King

Full Name: James Alexander King

Birthday: September 17, 1977 in Ann Arbor, MI

Profession: Musician, composer, teacher

Instrument: drums

Past Bands: Saddle Rash, Mcjesus W/Rich Gillmore N Copp, Eldorado/The Elko's W/palm, Coff n Lil' E, The GentleMen, Kill City Affair with Big E Skrappy 2, Another Fine Mess With Ice Lowe

Current Bands: The 77s, Mazinga, Scott Morgan’s Power Train, The Devil Elvis, the AssButts

Musical Influences: Rock and Roll, ..Anything Loud!, AC/DC (Bon Scott days), MotorHead, Queens of the Stoneage, Hot Snakes, SuperSuckers, Mickey Avalon, Van Halen (Diamond Dave days), Hard Lessons, Kyuss, Black Flag, KISS, GNR, Misfits, The Damned, Gluecifer, Van Stone, Zeppelin, Beastie Boys, Beck, Sonic Youth, Alice Cooper, Outkast, Pistols, Primus, Red Hots!, Danzig, The Cramps, Too $HORT, Snoop.

Alex King was born in 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His parents (Jim and Patti) got divorced when he was two years old, and a year later he and his mother moved to the west coast. Alex grew up in Tahoe, California, on the border of California and Nevada. His father was traveling with various bands when Alex was young, and he remembers meeting his father in different cities to spend time with him. He also spent his summers in Michigan with his father. When Alex was in third grade, he lived in Ann Arbor with his dad for one school year. It was his choice, he says, but he missed his friends back in California and moved back to live with his mom after one year.

Alex started playing the drums when he was just two years old. On tour with his dad, everybody around him was always playing some kind of instrument or involved with music in some way. He got his first small drum set when he was four years old, and he vaguely remembers playing on his Uncle Rob's drums. Rob King, one of Alex's biggest musical influences, played in various bands including Destroy All Monsters.

Alex started listening to his uncle's kind of music--rock and roll--and taught himself how to play the drums. He had help from many different musicians: "Anyone who I’ve ever asked about drums has been so cool to me," Alex says about his experience on the road. He even met Travis Barker from Blink 182, who taught him a few technique tricks. His father, however, wasn't so encouraging. "He discouraged me big time against anything to do with music," Alex says. Jim, who had experienced life on the road as a musician, says that being a musician gives you a very tough life. "It's really hard and there a lot of disappointments," he says, "I wouldn't wish it upon anybody, and I think the more time progresses, the worse it gets." But Alex's musical ambitions couldn't be thwarted. He was in his first band at age twelve, with some friends from school in California. His influences then were Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, rock, and punk rock.

Alex graduated from high school in 1996 and went right to college. He started out at Lake Tahoe Community College, but soon transferred to Mesa College in San Diego. He studied music, music theory, and business. Alex never took drum lessons, even in college (who needs lessons when you've befriended Travis Barker!?), but he says that his theory classes helped him to better understand the guitar and the piano. In 2005 he came back to Ann Arbor to reunite with his father's side of the family, his mother moving back to Michigan as well. He began working for his father at King's Keyboard House, working the register, moving pianos, and running errands. He worked at Real Seafood Co. for a brief time, but now he works full time for Julie at her store.

Alex is extremely involved in the music scene in Ann Arbor. He is in no less than five bands: the 77s (a garage/psychobilly/blues group, named for the year he and the guitar player were born), Mazinga (punk), Scott Morgan's Power Train (rock/classic rock/soul, a group whose members include musicians that played in Destroy All Monsters, Rob King’s former band), The Devil Elvis (Elvis impersonation), and the AssButts (reggae). While most of his bands meet at least once a week, he says he prioritizes his time based on which band has an upcoming show. He posts his practice schedule on myspace and as he puts it, "first come, first serve."

Alex concepts and arranges guitar music (usually not lyrics) and his inspiration comes from anything, he says. "I'll grab a guitar and start playing a little riff. Then somebody will start humming a bar, maybe some lyrics, and I'll have the drum vision in my head." His bands play all over the Detroit area, in venues such as the Magic Bag in Ferndale, the Blind Pig and Neutral Zone in Ann Arbor, and the Magic Stick in Detroit. When asked where his favorite place to play in Ann Arbor is, Alex's response was, "The Blind Pig is the only place to play in Ann Arbor." He says that the Blind Pig attracts the biggest audience in addition to having the best space.

Alex also contributes to the Ann Arbor music scene by teaching drum lessons. He has two students (usually more in the summer) and teaches at a summer camp called DayJams, a national music camp. In 2006 he taught drums at an after-school program in Farmington Hills. In addition, he has given back to the community by playing in benefit concerts for organizations such as the SOS Community Services in Washtenaw County.

As far as the family business goes, Alex has no desire to take over King's Keyboard House. "I'm not a piano player," he says, and the business is just not his thing. His father wasn't ready to hire another full time employee at the piano store, and since he needed a job, he went over to Julie's. At Julie's, Alex does whatever needs to be done, from fixing printers to getting music for customers to running to the bank. He loves his job, and loves working with Julie.

Like his father and Uncle Rob, Alex is very successful as a musician. He has played in venues all over the Ann Arbor and Detroit area, and is making quite a name for himself. In fact, his bands seem to be everywhere, and nothing but good things are expected to come from this drummer. Top