Talkin' With Kingsbury

Mackenzie Pause
pOke writer

Kingsbury members: Mark Freeman (bass), TJ Burke (drums), Samantha Christine (guitar) & Bruce Reed (guitar, keys, vocals) Photo by Colleen Reed

Catching a Kingsbury show can fall nothing short of an ethereal experience.

Haunting melodies and atmospheric lights create the perfect setting for the interpretation of the ambient indie rock quartet from Orlando. Mark Freeman (bass) and TJ Burke (drums) build the backbone with a driving rhythm section that instantly creates the mood that Samantha Christine (guitar) and Bruce Reed (guitar, keys, vocals) complete with celestial riffs that seem to take the listener to another place.

While the band has now settled in Central Florida, the majority of the band's members are from Vero Beach, where the scene greatly influenced their decision to pursue music at an early age.

"It was a small town," Freeman said, "but it had a great music scene that brought bands that are now considered to be legendary. Bands like Refused would come through almost on a weekly basis, it seemed. Growing up in that atmosphere was great. While we were all young and into things like punk and hardcore, we really relished in the idea that music was art and the music scene supported touring bands with open arms. It was great because no matter who was playing or on what day of the week, there was always a substantial, receptive audience."

Once Orlando became Kingsbury's new home, hopes for a thriving scene followed. While musicians have mixed reviews of the area's scene, Kingsbury's label is one of the best supporters. In 2007, Post Records released Kingsbury's "The Great Compromise," which has recently brought a lot of attention to the band.

"Chris (with Post Records) has been a huge fan of us since our first EP," Reed said. "After he started Post, we always stayed in touch. We self-released our first two EPs, but he sold the CDs on the Post (Web) site. When it came time to release 'The Great Compromise,' he was the obvious choice. He's been great, and he truly cares about his bands."

While Post Records is helping Kingsbury, the band has noticed a change in scene involvement since their early days.

"With music being so easy to create and accessible, it seems like it's harder and harder to have a vibrant music scene," Freeman said. "There are great venues in this town, yet they all struggle to compete with the dance clubs and bars. And when there are people at shows, they rarely stay for bands they don't know."

Reed added, "It's beyond music. It's culture, in general. It's hard to keep people's attention on anything."

Touring has allowed the band to try to catch some new attention on the road, although experiences as a new touring band are full of ups and downs.

"Touring has been a mixed bag," Freeman said. "From one tour to the next, you never really know what to expect. And the same goes for one show to the next. Tours are getting more and more expensive, and the return on investment is becoming less and less for bands in our position. We plan on continuing to tour, but probably not as much, and we'll be more selective."

Christine recalls one of her better tour memories.

"My favorite tour experience was on this past tour when we went to an apple orchard near my hometown in upstate New York," she said. "It was a nice, wholesome experience compared to the night we had in NYC previously."

Freeman recalled the New York City experience.

"We got to hang out with friends for a couple days in the city and did lots of partying," he said. "It was bad for me, though, because sometimes partying can make you do stupid things and get you into trouble. I'll leave it at that."

Kingsbury Photo by Colleen Reed

Without disclosing too much personal information on members of Kingsbury, let's just say that Freeman got a little out of hand and anyone who has ever been to New York City knows a toilet isn't always the easiest and fastest thing to find.

While the apple orchard was a memorable experience for Christine, Freeman's story will live on in infamy.

Between tours, the band plays around Florida, and 2008 will allow the band to do some more writing and recording.

With a sound that falls somewhere between Radiohead and Calla, the writing process has potential for complication, but the contributions of each member seem to prove just the opposite.

"It's become much more collaborative now that we've gotten used to each other's styles and abilities," Freeman said. "Typically, Bruce writes a song on acoustic guitar or keyboard, records it onto a four-track and brings it to us. Then, we completely break it down into parts and try to figure out what to add, change or remove. We each bring our own unique take on the song, and by the time we're done with it, it typically sounds nothing like it originally did, and that is what we aim for."

Plans for a SXSW Post Records barbecue show are in the works, as well as research into an overseas tour.

For now, the band continues to create unique, melodic and atmospheric rock teamed with intensely powerful, ineffable live performances that give Florida something to be proud of.

www.kingsburymusic.net, www.myspace.com/kingsburyUPCOMING SHOWS: Feb. 28, Backbooth with People Noise (Orlando), Feb. 29, New World Brewery with People Noise (Tampa)