Sport of Kings

Sport of Kings is a combination of members from far flung places and music of different styles. Songwriter Richard Kelly moved to Brooklyn, NY from Dublin, Ireland in 2006, where his band Capratone received much acclaim and airplay and released an EP and LP on Irish independent labels.

Richard set up 'Scientific Laboratories Studios' in Brooklyn, attracting bands such as Yeasayer, The Ravonettes and Au Revoir Simone. Playing his songs in a 4-piece band with bass player Ben Haberland, the departure of the second guitarist led to the decision that brought about Sport of Kings.

At the time, the music was catchy, clever indie rock along the lines of Pavement, Silver Jews, Sonic Youth and others, mixed with 4-part Beach Boys style harmonies. From Haberland's suggestion that the guitarist be instead replaced with a keyboard player, it was decided that the keyboard in question should be a Fender Rhodes electric piano, reflecting their love of Steely Dan and smooth 70's rock, much of which features the rhodes. Colorado native Matt Beckemeyer joined in that capacity in early 2009.

So happy was everyone with the new musical direction, which gave the songs a totally fresh feel, the band agreed to take the fusion of their original sound with 70's smooth rock to it's natural conclusion, in the form of a three piece horn section. Trombone player Kevin Birk was the first to arrive and he soon brought Tenor Sax player Jas Walton and Trumpeter Billy Aukstik along for the ride. The new lineup was cemented by the addition of NYU Jazz School prodigy Ian Chang on drums and debuted in early 2010 and has been receiving rave reviews. This summer sees the launch of a 7" and EP and high profile shows like jellynyc's Rock Yard.