the Reign Kings

By THOMAS BOND
Get Out

You never know when inspiration will strike. The Reign Kings’ singer/songwriter Scott Briggs had a title, “She Likes to Crash,” but no song to go with it until one day in his car ...

“It was just a magic thing,” Briggs says. “Everything just hit me so I phoned my message recorder and left the song on there and then went home and finished it.”

Fortunately, no accident occurred along the way and the, ahem, driving and melodic tune has become the first single from his Mesa-based band's debut album, “Bloom.”

“It was the last song written and recorded, but it came together really fast,” says lead guitarist Jim Hornaday who produced the album at his own Dream Catcher Recording studio.

For The Reign Kings, having the studio to rehearse in and craft the record was “a blessing and a curse.”

“We had a lot of freedom to explore ideas, but we ended up tweaking things endlessly,” Hornaday says.

In the end though, taking 18 months to meticulously prepare every nuance of the album was worth it. The time spent shines in the tight and punchy arrangements of its 11 pop rock tunes, Hornaday’s polished production and special touches such as the string quartet that appears on several numbers. It also allowed the band to sift through material.

“It was good that it took a long time because songs that we thought we’d be recording didn’t get recorded because new ones came along that were better and more creative,” Briggs says.

In the midst of recording “Bloom,” The Reign Kings — who also boast bassist Rhonda Wooder and drummer Tim Ernst — created quite a buzz for themselves by opening Valley shows by touring acts such as Michelle Branch, Counting Crows, Blues Traveler and, most recently, Live at Tempe’s New Year’s Eve Block Party.

“Playing with national acts really helps you grow your audience,” Briggs says.

In putting together the band a few years back, Briggs found Wooder by a happy accident.

“It was a total fluke,” the bassist says. “I went to an audition with a friend of mine, a guitar player, who’d seen an ad and called me to go along just for support. They didn’t have a bass player that night and I happened to have my gear in the truck and I plugged in. Three auditions later, they didn't ask my friend back but they asked me back. He still doesn’t speak to me to this day!”

When original drummer Scott Kusmirek left to play with the Gin Blossoms, Tim Ernst heard from the band he'd tried out for a couple of years before.

“I got the call and jumped in and they wanted me to be on the record and I was flabbergasted,” Ernst says. “My second show was opening for Blues Traveler, so I obviously got in at the right time.”

Released on Lazy River Records, a Georgia-based independent label, “Bloom” will be pushed to college radio stations throughout the nation this spring while the band gears up to support it.

“We’re going to do regional touring in areas where the album is being promoted to,” Briggs says. “We’re going to start in the Southwest and then move into other target areas around the country and try to build it up from a grassroots level.”

- Get Out Magazine

Blending straightforward and earnest rock ’n’ roll with clever hints of new wave pop, The Reign Kings have come up with a debut album that sounds contemporary and familiar — a very nice combination. Singer and chief songwriter Scott Briggs has a powerful voice and a knack for penning rousing, singalong choruses.

The accompaniment is rich with hooks coming fast and furious on strings, keyboards and especially Jim Hornaday’s incisive lead guitar parts. The album’s production, also handled by Hornaday, is lush without being overdone as he layers harmonies while making space for acoustic guitar, mandolin and nice percussion touches. “She Likes to Crash,” “Fade” and “Tracy” (about Zone DJ Tracy Lea who sings backups on it?) are ear-grabbers from the get-go and the whole of “Bloom” smells sweetly of success. B+ - Get Out Magazine

Less than two months after performing at the Fiesta Bowl Block Party in Tempe, the band will release its debut CD tonight at the Venue of Scottsdale, formerly known as the Cajun House.

On Sunday night, the band will return to Tempe, where it will open for Eve 6 at the Marquee Theatre for an 8 p.m. show.

In March, the majority of the band will have been together for two years. "We've spent 18-20 months working on this. It's almost a two-year process," said Scott Briggs, the band's founder, acoustic guitarist and vocalist.

The Mesa resident, who graduated from Tempe's McClintock High School, said he started out playing the drums but took up guitar because it was an instrument more conducive to songwriting. "I always had a passion for writing lyrics," he said. "Guitar was a vehicle for my songwriting."

Rhonda Wooder, a Phoenix native and South Mountain High School graduate, said she left her bass in Arizona when she went away to college on a softball scholarship. When she returned home, she didn't miss a beat.

According to Briggs, "Rhonda came in and impressed us so much that we got rid of the other bassist."

"Someone told me I couldn't play bass because I'm female," said Wooder, who originally played the acoustic guitar. "That's what determined me to do it."

Lead guitarist Jim Hornaday of Phoenix possesses a bachelor's degree in music business and studied recording engineering at UCLA. He runs Dream Catcher Recording Studios in Mesa and said it has helped him greatly in evaluating the band's music.

"Experience in recording has definitely tightened up my sense of rhythm and pitch," Hornaday said. "It makes you think a lot more about arrangements and how instruments fit."

Tim Ernst of Tempe is the newest member of the band. He took over for Scott Kusmirek, who left to drum for the Gin Blossoms. Ernst comes from a jazz and rock background, and termed himself a "groove-oriented" artist who tries to play within the pocket of the song rather than overpower it.

Briggs said the sound of the new CD, an 11-song compilation titled Bloom, ranges from Coldplay to U2 to Staind. He said there's definitely a little bit of an '80s influence to it as well.

"It's moody; it moves you," said Hornaday, who said his guitar interest was influenced by Jimmy Page and David Gilmour.

According to Wooder, "It doesn't attract only our generations. My parents like it."
- The Arizona Republic