Autumn Kings

Jake Diab, 19, believes a life of music is his destiny. Growing up in the LaSalle area, the Windsor native did what most kids do….he played street hockey, enjoyed a game of chess and was fairly proficient at video games. Looking back he recalls the time he was only six years old: "and my parents forced me to play the piano. I actually became very good at it, reaching the grade 2 or 3 level. However, he wasn't interested in continuing so he gave it up and virtually ignored music for about 5 years until he discovered the video game Guitar Hero which completely changed his focus. "I used to sit down on the couch," he says, "and play that game for up to 8 hours a day. After a year of doing that I decided to pick up a real guitar and give it a shot." He was in grade 7 at the time.

He continued practicing and in his senior year at Villanova High, Jake met Tibor Bognar in a music class they were both attending. The two shared a love for rock music and as their friendship grew, they began hanging out together, working out at the gym and jamming together… Jake on guitar and Tibor on bass.

During this time, as luck would have it, Jake and Joseph Coccimiglio both had part time jobs at the same local grocery store. They also discussed music during one of their breaks and exchanged phone numbers. Jake was involved with another band at the time, so nothing happened for about a year. Joe was contacted. As Jake says, "He was the first guy I met that could really, really sing properly. He has a beautiful voice! We started jamming and that's how our relationship started. He also plays guitar and writes fantastic lyrics."

Drummer Jeremie Brousseau, 18, was introduced by his drum teacher who happened to be an acquaintance of Jake. "He was the first drummer I met who could hold a beat," says Jake. In May of 2015, the quartet began jamming regularly and as Jake proudly states, "with the four of us in the room, that's when we started making the magic….we gelled well together as a group." And, after rummaging through a bunch of names, the guys settled on the autumn Kings and the musical odyssey was underway.

They worked hard, practicing for 6 hours straight, 5 days a week and then sitting down for several hours to discuss their vision for the band. "We were all serious about having major success as musicians," says Jake, "we all get along great. We still do and when we're not gigging we rehearse anywhere from 3 to 5 days a week with sessions still lasting up to 6 hours. We're best friends and we hang out even after practicing and touring." He plays lead guitar, sings background vocals and provides the occasional lead vocal. Joe, 22, does most of the lead singing, occasionally lending his talents with some acoustic guitar licks. Tibor, 19, plays bass and sings background vocals, while 18 year-old Jeremie keeps the beat in his inimitable style.

Despite their youth, all four of the guys are accomplished musicians, so it didn't take long for a show to come together and the Kings made their first public appearance at the 2015 LaSalle Strawberry Festival, just over a month after their formation. A self-titled debut EP of original material was released in November of 2015 which charted at number 37 at Canadian college radio stations. Toward the end of the year, the group edged out 74 other bands through an 89X contest and was chosen to open for Sublime at the Fillmore Detroit. Last year the Kings continued gigging throughout Ontario which included a sold-out hometown show in April. And this past December, they concluded a four month high school tour across Western Canada after being chosen from 118 bands that had submitted online applications. At least 25 000 students at 70 High Schools experienced the Kings' music. And, the topper of the tour, says Jake, "was when we heard our song Devil in Disguise on the radio while driving through Fort Saint John in British Columbia, that was monumental!"

The Autumn Kings consider themselves a rock band, but it's tough to put their tunes into a specific genre. In fact, Jake is rather pleased that the material can't be pigeonholed. Since each of the players comes from a different musical background, there are elements of pop, latin, reggae, and punk in their presentation. Jake loves Spanish music, Tibor is a hard rock fan, Jeremie is a metalhead and Joe loves folk music. And that's what fans from 12 to 45 enjoy the Autumn Kings who have managed to fuse many elements together for a synergistic blend of very listenable tunes.

Attitude and aptitude: keywords of the Autumn Kings' success. The four members have established definitive goals and most of their time is spent on their music and their future. There are no egos in this band… The guys simply love what they're doing and it shows. They have the right stuff! - Dick Hildebrand

Local Windsor band Autumn Kings have been part of the local music scene collectively for more than a year and individually for several. They have just selected to tour Western Canada as part of LiveDifferent, an organization whose presentations have emerged as one of the most popular assemblies in Canadian schools, reaching several thousands of students each year with a message of hope, purpose, and perspective. The presentations inspire students to take immediate action to make a difference in their individual lives.

Autumn Kings exploded into the scene just over a year ago and in that short time, the young men achieved a sizeable following in Southwestern Ontario and Michigan. After applying at the beginning of the year to be a part of LiveDifferent for the 2016 fall semester, the band discovered in early June that they were being considered along with five other bands from the initial 118 that had applied. The news arrived on July 1 that they were the band that would tour over 100 high schools in cities including Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto and many more.

“We are honoured, humbled and beyond excited to be doing what we love and helping to motivate others at the same time”, says Jake Diab, lead guitarist/backup vocalist.

Autumn Kings is comprised of four men – Jake Diab, 19, Joseph Coccimiglio, 22, Tibor Bognar, 18, and Jeremie Brousseau, 17.

The band will be embarking on the tour August 21 and will tour for four months until December 15th.

Check out the Autumn Kings online. - Deborah Jones

Ontario Rock band, Autumn Kings, are traversing emotions with ease over their smooth, balanced and intriguing release, “Illusion”. Adding latin elements that spice up the vibe, the track is quite different from their contemporaries, as the unique blend of Latin and Pop is calm, soothing and inviting. The track is mixed and mastered particularly well for a band on the rise, and showcases the professionalism in which Autumn Kings approaches their career and journey within the music industry. Emerging listeners into a journey of culture and depth, Autumn Kings breaks the spell of the typical and makes “Illusion” an enjoyable listen with rip-roaring guitar akin to Carlos Santana and lyrics that see far beyond the masks of their significant others.

Ever since Autumn Kings came to life in 2015, the guys have put their blood, sweat, and tears into their passion and have been honored to share the stage with major acts such as Pop Evil, Sublime with Rome, MuteMath, Gob and U.S.S. It is not a simple task to get your talent and name out there with the plethora of bands that are doing everything within their power to showcase what they’ve got, but Autumn Kings are putting that extra foot forward to set themselves aside from the rest, and it sure is working. Deriving inspiration from those that they grew up listening to, don’t be surprised if you see Autumn King's name on the rosters of major music festivals around the world over the coming years.

Although the guys of Autumn Kings are quite young, they present themselves in a manner that showcases that age is nothing but a number over their latest album release, ‘Silver Screens’, which you can check out right here on Soundcloud. Keep an eye out for dates of Autumn Kings rocking a stage near you. - Jessica Golich

Autumn Kings is a pop/rock group from Windsor, Ontario consisting of Jake Diab (guitar, backing/lead vocals), Joseph Coccimiglio (lead vocals), Tibor Bognar (bass), and Jeremie Brousseau (drums.)

Since the band started touring last year, they’ve already gained a decent amount of fans in the Canadian music scene. Within 3 weeks of releasing their self-titled EP, Autumn Kings, they sold almost 1000 copies. And that’s pretty impressive for a new group!

Now, the band has their first full length album titled Silver Screens. Joseph Coccimiglio shared saying, “We did a lot of writing for this album while on the road, and took a lot of influences from the places we toured and people we met. For that reason the songs are very diverse. We are super proud of the music, and hope the fans dig it as much as they did our EP”.

Their latest music video off of the album, “Illusion”, has a distinct Latin sound that caught our attention. It’s something fresh compared to the everyday songs we hear on the radio. But every song needs a hook, and Autumn Kings unquestionably have that.

As they sing, “I swear it’s just an illusion, in total confusion / I’m holding on till you let me go,” you can’t help but either sing along, or just simply get it stuck in your head. It’s definitely in our head! As for the video, it goes along for their audience of teens and/or young adults.

Within the video the four guys are playing at a party as people drink in red plastic cups jamming out to the band. The video even include that one person who decides to be on their phone rather than actually watching the live performance going on, which we found quite funny. But hey, can’t force anyone to enjoy your music right?

“What it boils down to is that we are 4 equally driven guys who live to play music for the people who enjoy it,” said Jake Diab. “There is nothing like having a fan come up to you during meet-and-greets to tell you that you’ve inspired them to want to start a band, and pursue music seriously – or that you helped them overcome a difficult obstacle in their life.”

He continued saying, “When I was 14 years old, I was inspired by bands like Billy Talent and Rise Against to change my life for the better and start a band. If we can continue to inspire the next generation of kids, while helping people of any age through a tough time, then we feel we have done our job as musicians and people.”

If you love the track below, you can purchase the album on iTunes HERE or stream it on Spotify. - Melanie Gomez

Canadian alt-rock/pop band Autumn Kings just dropped its new album, Silver Screens, on March 10th and the single Illusion has been given the music video treatment. The Ontario-located act boasts an energetic and catchy modern rock sound that is showcased in the video.

Jake Diab (guitar, backing/lead vocals), Joseph Coccimiglio (lead vocals), Tibor Bognar (bass), and Jeremie Brousseau (drums) only formed Autumn Kings over the past couple of years, but after releasing their debut EP last year, they are a hit with the Canadian critics and listeners, drawing in appreciative audiences to their live shows. This past summer the band was selected out of almost 120 groups to go on a 4-month tour sponsored by LiveDifferent.

Illusion, the song and video, displays the band’s dynamically upbeat, infectiously melodic rock chops and assured stage presence in full. A staccato, but still swinging pace runs through the lively tune.

Latin guitar line flourishes occasionally curl around the rhythmically pounding beat, brisk electric guitar riffs, bass line undercurrent, and buried hand claps and hand drum percussion. The lead singer vocalizes is a gritty, direct manner, exclaiming with increasing passion while the song also rises in intensity by its end.

The band members pour their performance hearts out in the video, playing in front of an enthusiastic crowd in what looks like a well-lit apartment living room. It may be a small space, but big things are happening within it.

Autumn Kings will be performing live at its Homecoming Concert on March 25th at RockStar in Windsor, Ontario, Canada - Jen Dan

Canadian rockers Autumn Kings are an unstoppable force well on their way to blasting through the musical stratosphere.

Their new single, Illusion, and it’s visual accompaniment is streaming on YouTube. You can also find the single on Soundcloud.

Illusion is an intense, adrenaline pumping wall of sound packing enough punch to put a hole through the middle of your local radio station’s current playlist. It wouldn’t hurt to call and request Autumn Kings…now!

This group of stage owning performers has been winning over crowds for quite some time. Let’s look at what they’ve accomplished.
The crew opened for Pop Evil and Sloan at the Fork and Cork Festival in Windsor, for Gob at the Strawberry Festival in LaSalle, they won the 2015 Michigan 89X Battle of the Bands defeating 70 other bands for a chance to open for Sublime, U.S.S. and Mutemath at the Fillmore Detroit.

Autumn Kings’ self-titled EP peaked at #37 nationally on College Radio during the 2nd week of January 2016. From August-December of 2016 the band was chosen out of 118 other acts for a 70 show high school tour across Canada from Ontario to British Columbia.

Here’s what producer Martin Bak has to say about the band,

What separates Autumn Kings from other bands that I’ve worked with is their age, professionalism, live show, and most importantly, their songwriting skills… They are one of the hardest working bands I’ve seen, and there’s no doubt in my mind that those guys are going to make it far”, Bak concludes.

I couldn’t agree more. Keep your ears and eyes on these guys!

Watch the video for Illusion on YouTube. Stream and share the song on Soundcloud.

Connect directly with the band via their website or on FB, IG or Twitter. - Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman