STORMKING

This has got to be one of my favorite weeks of the year. If you are like me you are taking a four day Thanksgiving weekend. I am heading up to New Hampshire so you know I need to bring some authentic rock N roll with me. My next guest is the real deal and some know him as Duke Adkisson but I know him as STORMKING. I caught wind of him after listening to his 12 track self titled album. With catchy songs like “THNX” and “Rainy Day Lady” and a website that ends in “666? I knew there was more to this musician. Join us this Thanksgiving week as STORMKING shocks us all!

- SKOPE Magazine

STORMKING, STORMKING
September 17, 2010 | by Skope Staff
There is a storm coming and his name is Duke Adkisson. Adkisson is the lead singer and guitarist as well being the man behind all of the music & lyrics on the new record. But don’t be mistaken as this is not a one-man show; Stormking comes complete with a load of great players. You have Bruce Whitcomb on bass & keyboards, Pat “Moneyshot” Mehan on drums/percussion, “Smitty” Michael Smith on guitars, Steve Munger on sax, Brent Pendleton on keys, Mark Brosz on blues-harp and Scotty McDivot on drums. The complete band sound is extremely powerful and quite pleasing to hear.

Right off the bat, the album starts up with Duke singing in a wildly interesting fashion where vocally he is all over the map. I can tell right away that this isn’t going to be any ordinary CD; this was going to be vastly different and original as they come. Man did I hit it right on the money because this project was in a league of its own! There isn’t one genre or style of music that can be tagged to Stormking; the group is a force of its own and a force to be reckoned with so it seems.

Throughout this 12-song set, I was hearing elements of rock, classic rock, alternative, jazz, blues and everything else in between! Duke & company offer a wide range/mix of musical tastes to choose from; all different shapes, sizes and colors. Hopefully there is something for everyone on this record because that was definitely Stormking’s mission, which is to appease and satisfy the masses. I couldn’t help but notice the awesome guitar playing throughout this entire album. With cool guitar licks on the first track, “Thnx”, to a stand-out performance on “Beguiled”, you can’t go wrong in this department. Moving along, you get that real rock sense on track four, “Bloodgroove”, that happen to be my favorite song on the album. Everything seemed to be working on this number with the whole band energy just on fire. I also enjoyed hearing the cool, groovin’ sounds of the saxophone on “Amazed By Love” and “Sup”. Just as Skope Magazine prides itself in providing the most diverse music coverage out there, Stormking brings that same philosophy to life.

I saw a lot of potential with this band and their new record however I wasn’t completely sold yet. With Duke’s unique vocal delivery, I feel it’s one of those acquired tastes that certain people will get and others not. I do get what Adkisson and his bandmates have done here but I would love to hear a follow-up record to see where Stormking takes it next! Musically, this album offers shining moments that any music lover would appreciate including myself. For more info on this eclectic group and their new release, SKOPE out www.bin666.com.

By Jimmy Rae (jrae@skopemag.com)
- SKOPE Magazine/Radio

Stormking

George Clooney eat your heart, this is the perfect storm. A maelstrom of thrash beats, searing locked grooves, gruff spewed vocals, and punishing lyrics, and of course slayer worship. Using elements, of death metal, stoner rock, and straight up metal fury, this band is like a more cynical and faster Anthrax, or a less abstract version of Baroness, and they are not afraid to remain in your face. However, they mix their venom with melody, and this is what warrants repeat drinks of their intoxicating poison vitriol cocktail, that will keep your fist pumped, neck sore, and raise your air guitar skills tenfold.

Cody Blevins

Where the band's name came from?
STORMKING is a peak southwest of Mt. Ranier that is basically a huge lightning rod---it intrigued me, picturing what/who it could be.

How the band started??
STORMKING started as a project incorporating excellent musicians from different genres around very strong and varied material. I was working at ARCADE RECORDING with Bruce Whitcomb, putting down tunes as a singer/songwriter---as we listened to the playback I started to jam my ideas for full production for each song, Bruce was way into it and used his studio/label (ARCADE/RED ARROW) connections to pull in some of the hottest musicians in the area---everybody involved got jazzed on the groove we hit---so here we are.

What's the message to transmit with your music??
Every tune is a sound and story to itself---my motivation was to allow each song to evolve by not shoving it into a “label”---my “EGASSEM GIB” (backwards-masking) would be to open up to the crazy variety of music/life, push it to the hilt---there is way too much cool shit out there to miss if you close your mind---that is how you get to the edge.

What's your method at the time of writing a song??
I write from the guitar out---electric or acoustic---then melody. I stay with the jam/groove until the lyrical idea comes---it is in the hands of the Muse.

Which are your music influences??
Too many to name, but if I had to define the root it would be the Seattle thing---HENDRIX, MOTHER LOVE BONE, SOUNDGARDEN, TEMPLE OF THE DOG, SCREAMING TREES, just to name a few---it’s about letting it groove it’s own way. What plans do you have for the future?? BIG LIVE SHOWCASES---NEXT ALBUM! I am gigging as a singer/songwriter, small combo, and with full instrumentation---I want to put it all together on the BIG STAGE. Right now I have enough new stuff for a double album---it will be a cool second act!

Which has been the funniest prank you have been or took part while on tour or after a show??
A legal process server had contacted us by accident---after we put him on his way, we told one of the guys who hadn’t been there the dude had been looking for him to serve a paternity suit. He freaked---we let it go for awhile---until we found him huddled in a corner calling his wife. We stopped it before he really screwed up---he was pissed for quite some time.

If you were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour. The help is 100 miles away from where you are, ¿Who would you send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other, ¿Who would you eat first?
Would send Bruce because he can fix or wheel-n-deal just about anything. I’d roast the tour manager for getting us stuck---when you‘re on the road everything is their fault!

Which country you guys would love to play?
I want to hit it here in the USA---then Europe---England first.

With which bands you guys would love to share stage??
STP---Clapton---Scissor Sisters---Soundgarden---John Mayer Coldplay---Steely Dan---Slash---Lenny Kravitz.

Are you OK, with the direction the band is going actually?
As long as the music is out front I’m good with it---the attention and popularity STORMKING is generating is solidifying the live band line-up---and that’s cool, but I am always into new sounds/people---it is weird being the DECISION MAKER because I have always been in bands where everybody has a say, but hey, it is working so don’t f**k with it---right?

Check out more from Stormking by going to: http://www.bin666.com/ - Vents magazine