The City of Athens will soon be visited by the band King Llama.
King Llama is currently on tour throughout the Midwest region. The tour features their latest album, Return to Ox, which involves a blend of many different styles of music, including rock, jazz, fusion and even hip-hop.
The band started in Los Angeles, California, at guitarist Ryan Bailey's studio. There, Bailey met bass player Nico Staub through a mutual friend, according to Bailey via email. The two were soon joined by drummer Luis Briones, whom Staub knew from his classes at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles.
The band's three members pride themselves on stage performance and creating a live feel to their music, according to the band’s website. They identify as a progressive band, but also try to accomplish their own type of brand.
Anne Leighton, King Llama’s publicist, describes their unique style of music as “their own style of fusion.”
“Each show they perform more than demonstrates their ability to surprise the ear with fresh and clever approaches towards composition,” she said in an email.
The members are no strangers to music either, as each of them are not only self-taught, but also have experienced extensive training in music, according to their website.
Drawing from their experience, it has now helped the band become successful, as seen with their new album.
The album has met great success, with each song covering a broad range of styles and musical environments. King Llama’s music has a lot of variety, ranging from jazz to metal, while also incorporating many different harmonic progressions and various texture dynamics, Leighton said in an email.
King Llama’s members have also seen growth personally through themselves and each other while making music.
“Our mindset is to be a touring band and our bass player currently resides in Germany, which is what it took for us to get outside of Los Angeles and start touring,” Bailey said.
The band members have known each other for 10 years and have grown closer over the years, he said.
“Our chemistry and our personalities are certainly noticeable in our sound,” he said in an email.
Bailey said there are many things the group believes its audience should draw from their music.
“First and foremost, we want audience members to get their money’s worth. We put a lot of effort into capturing a lot of different styles,” he said. “We want audiences to feel a sense of adventure and excitement, while also understanding and respecting the craft of music.”
