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Biography |
Justin King is a
guitarist/songwriter from Eugene, Oregon in the USA. He started out
life as a musician by recording three solo albums of acoustic guitar
wizardry, using a unique and versatile playing style which involves
complex percussive, two-handed tapping and slapping techniques, among
others. However, unlike many virtuoso guitarists, he was not cuaght up
in the quest for speed, more the quest to write a great song.
His self-titled debut album opens with the soaring 'Something About
Angels', showcasing Justin's unique style and his potential as a
songwriter. Of the eleven songs on this album, four of them included
vocals and the rest were guitar instrumentals, inspired by places and
nature. His second album, Opening, included Justin playing a wide
variety of instruments in addition to guitar and vocals. These include
saxophone, drums, bass guitar, and the piano. These two albums are very
hard to come by, and are now out of print.
In 2001, Justin entered the studio again to record his third album, Le
Bleu, with drummer/percussionist James West. This album, featuring a
whopping 19 songs, features compositions inspired by Justin's travels
around the world. Pieces like 'Seville' show off his incredible
flamenco strumming whilst 'A Saucey Jig' and 'After the Harvest' are
driven by uplifiting Celtic and Irish influences. Justin pulls out all
the stops on the now infamous 'Phunkdified', with crazy tapping speed
and tight groves with bass guitar style aggresive slapping techniques.
A video of Justin performing this has been circulated across the
internet leaving people's jaws on the floor, the most famous website
host being Albinoblacksheep.com. It is an ambitious and beautiful
collection of songs, and is still available for purchase at www.justinkingmusic.com.
After achieving these accomplishments as well as touring with the likes
of James Taylor and Diana Krall, he set out several projects to embark
upon, including a new instrumental project with world-renowned
virtuosos Michael Manring on bass guitar and Carlos Vamos on guitar, as
well as West on drums and percussion, and a re-mixed version of 'Le
Bleu'. Both of these projects though have given way (at least
temporarily) to Justin's passion for writing songs and playing with a
band.
In 2004, Justin and his new band members from the Eugene area (Ehren
Ebbage on guitar, Drew Dresman on bass, and West on drums) recorded
their debut EP, the 'Pilot EP'. Justin was moderately happy with the
record, but the following 'Bright and Dirty Lights EP' sparked interest
from the major labels. Around this time, James West decided to leave
the band, although the two events can't be attributed officially. With
new drummer Nadir Jeevanjee on board and a major label deal with Epic
(Sony-BMG), the band were officially ready to rock. They have been busy
writing and rehearsing for their debut album, the provisional title for
which is Bright and Dirty Lights, and started work on the album in late
November 2005, for an expected early 2006 release.
Justin's songs are inspirational, unique, contemporary and are set to
shine in the current music industry climate. Success is almost
inevitable for them, and their music is far more than promising even at
this early stage.
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Press |
For more information on Justin, check out these press reviews:
iuma.com - Justin King Discussion
SEE what people are saying about Justin
Good to be the King, Eugene's Justin King sets up for success.
READ the Eugene Weekly article by Vanessa Salvia
Justin King at webcds.com
Click here
"GUITAR GODS: Justin King"
READ Justin's interview with SkinnyDevil.
"Le Bleu" - Justin King
CHECK OUT a review of Justin's "Le Bleu" - by Praetorian
"Le Bleu" - Justin King
READ a review of Justin's "Le Bleu" - by SkinnyDevil
"Le Bleu" - Justin King
CHECK OUT another review of Justin's "Le Bleu" - by Julie Bergman
Northwest Radio: Justin King
LEARN about Justin
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Gear |
Here is a list of most of the gear that Justin uses. For more information on this visit the website for his brand new Blackberry Hill Studios. This is not an exhaustive list and does not include his large selection of pedals and effects machines.
Electric Guitars
- 25th anniversary Fender Telecaster
- Buck Owens model Fender Telecaster
- Parker Fly Classic
- Bigsby Gretsch
- Fender 'Sub-sonic' baritone
- Godin Glissentar
Acoutic Guitars
- 12 string Taylor (serial # 564!) spruce/rosewood
- 1952 Martin 00 spruce/mahogany
- 1957 Martin D-28 spruce/rosewood
- 90's Martin 00 spruce/rosewood
- Lowden 0-25 C cedar/rosewood
- Lowden 0-25 C cedar/rosewood, fingerboard extension
- Collings SJ spruce/flamed maple
- Goodall OM spruce/rosewood
- Melville Guitars of Australia spruce/rosewood, fingerboard extension,
wide neck
- Breedlove custom 7-string spruce/rosewood
- Custom Larrivee Jumbo cutaway cedar/roosewood
- Custom Larrivee Jumbo cutaway spruce/rosewood
- Daryl Perry Flameco spruce/ash
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