As a musician just starting out, Matthew King knew he couldn’t be picky about his shows.
“I took just about every show I could get,” King said. “I went to the extreme of opening for heavy metal shows with my acoustic guitar, banjo and voice. And that’s where my following actually began.”
Eight years later, King and his band Marbles for Eyes are now the ones headlining shows. The indie band will take the stage at Donkey Coffee and Espresso tonight along with jazz-rockers Tribraco and psychedelic-rock group Tubax.
Marbles for Eyes is also at work on its sophomore album, which King estimates will be released in the spring. Although well into production, the record is still nameless. Without knowing what the finished product will be, King said, the band does not feel comfortable naming it.
“I’m far from any kind of painter, but this is like my painting, and I’ve asked the other Marbles to paint with me,” King said. “Until this mural is finished and we can step back to look and listen, it would be unfair to name it.”
Despite still being nameless, the album is starting to take shape. The feeling of the album, King said, mirrors his personal life, starting small and leading to a bigger picture, going “from soft whispers to growling explosions.”
Marbles for Eyes hails from Cambridge, Ohio, where King still lives. When he’s not playing music, King is crafting custom-made knives for Blind Horse Knives, a company he said supplied knives for the Discovery Channel show Dual Survival.
“I’m living a double life in two fields of art, and it’s really hard work,” King said. “But my eyes are on the prize.”
With all five members holding jobs outside the band, the music writing generally takes place at night.
Despite its members’ busy schedules, Marbles for Eyes hasn’t forgotten its fans. The group is working on a DVD that gives fans a behind-the-scenes look into everything, including the touring process and the characters that make everything happen.
“Our fans back home only hear rumors of the things we do or follow us on Facebook,” King said. “We make music for real people in real situations … and I feel we owe it to our fans to show them our dream coming to life.”
nb360409@ohiou.edu
