Brian King interview
Thank you, Brian, for doing this interview with me.
Brian-Thank you for inviting me to this interview and supporting the band for so long.
How was the band formed?
Brian-Joe Padula, our lead guitarist, and I have known each other since high school. We had been in bands together throughout the years but eventually separated into our bands. After many years of dealing with disappointments in the music industry, we both decided to call it quits. But after a few years of not being creative, we decided to reunite and start a very casual project with our mutual friend and co-founder, Antonio Valenti. Very quickly, we became excited with the music we were producing, and we decided to take it much more seriously, which turned into Reality Suite.
After many lead singers, Kimmii Heart joined the band and solidified our classic lineup. Recently, Darren Fisher joined us on rhythm guitar, and Jeff Luke replaced Antonio on bass.
Me- awesome
What are some of your influences?
Brian-My influences are all over the place, just like those within our band members. Growing up, my core influences were Metallica, The Beatles, Kiss, Rush, and The Cult. But my tastes and influences are constantly evolving. I became a big fan of bands like Fall Out Boy, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Muse, The Sounds, Metric, Friendly Fires, My Chemical Romance…..and more recently, Nickelback, Ghost, The Struts, Imagine Dragons, Manaskin, Olivia Rodrigo, Charlie XCX, ABBA….not what you expect for a member in a hard rock band, lol.
…..but I always return to my first loves, some good ol’ hair metal like Ratt and Extreme!
Me- Nice
What got you interested in music?
Brian-My father used to play his vinyl in the living room on this high-end Fisher tube amplifier with these huge wooden enclosed Lafayette speakers, which were literally pieces of furniture. I remember him playing Creedence Clearwater Revival, ABBA, random disco, and Phil Collins. So music was always present in our house. But it wasn’t until one of our regular Saturday visits to my cousin’s house were they exposed me to Kiss Alive II on vinyl. I sincerely remember when they dropped the needle on the first track, “Detroit, Rock City,” hearing the crowd scream and the gravelly, demonic voice announcing them. Then having the double album gatefold open in my lap, and just fell in love. If you haven’t seen it, Google it.. it could seduce any 5-year-old to strive to become a rockstar.
Me- That’s awesome
What makes Reality Suite different from other bands?
Brian-What makes us different from other bands is our musical diversity. Not that we’re necessarily experimenting with different styles of music. But elements from many different genres quietly influence our music, for sure. We’re not afraid to get a little heavy, but we’re also not afraid to get a little too pop.
Me- That’s a good thing
Are you guys working on new music?
Brian-We are working on new music at the moment. We’ve released four singles in the last year and have a new single that should drop in the next two months. We have three other songs completed, and we are hitting the studio at the end of April to record another five songs. We are hoping to have a full-length out by the summer or early fall.
Me- I can’t wait to hear it
Any tour plans?
Brian-We have no tour plans at the moment, but we are excited to perform at Jersey Fest at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey, on May 17th.
Tickets are on sale now!
https://wl.seetickets.us/event/jersey-fest/642068?afflky=WhiteEagleHall
Me- awesome I’ll share the info
Most memorable show?
Brian-My most memorable show is tough because we’ve honestly had so many exciting moments playing with so many awesome bands.
But I would have to narrow it down to when we opened for two of my favorite bands, Nickelback and Ratt.
When Nickelback was celebrating the release of their new album, Get Rollin’, they were doing a record release party sponsored by our local radio station, WRAT. When choosing an opening band, our supporters at WRAT pitched a handful of veteran rock bands to open the show, but Nickelback and their management selected Reality Suite. Can you believe it? They are literally one of my favorite bands, and they selected us to open for them.
We were instructed to set up our gear right in front of Nickelback’s gear. But they hadn’t sound-checked yet. So when they sound-checked, Chad Kroeger was literally stepping around my drum kit. LOL, I got a kick out of that. But they were really cool, and I got my albums signed.
We opened for Ratt a couple of years before that. It was also one of those surreal moments when one of my favorite bands invited us to open for them. We knew about this about five months before but had to keep it quiet until the tour was announced. We got a lot of video content from that show, and it was great meeting them. The singer, Stephen Pearcy, became a supporter of ours on social media and even sent Kimmii his signature mic-knuckles microphone grip.
Me bad ass
Where would you like to see Reality Suite in the near future?
Brian-I am always excited to work on new material and release new music. Our debut, Skinn, was released 10 years ago this September. The Awaken full-length album was released in 2019. And although we’ve released two live albums and many singles since then, I’m looking forward to getting another full-length album of new music out there. I always look at singles and albums as, “This could be our last go around,” because you never know what will happen. And I don’t want only two albums of material, Skinn and Awaken, to be our entire legacy. I feel like we have a lot more kick-ass music in us. We’ve grown so much in the last decade, and I believe our next album be a document that represents that decade of growth.
Me- That’s what it’s all about
I want to thank you, Brian, for the opportunity to interview you. This was a blast!
Brian-Thank you for this opportunity to get our supporters up to date!
Your welcome Brian this was awesome
Leave a Reply