the Blacktop Kings

The Blacktop Kings are the product of talks in September of 2006 in the peaks of the Rocky Mountains where vocalist Cole Harris and guitarist Jeff Mitchell crossed paths at a local bike rally. As conversation flowed from bikes to music, it became apparent that the two Milwaukee residents shared something more than a common employer, the desire to assemble a hard driving rock band.
After the collapse of Coles project Alabama Son, conversation gave way to collaboration as Kevin Rand was recruited for Bass Guitar, and Chris Rehorst took his spot behind the drum set. The bands sound and recording engineer Dave Merrill joined the band on lead vocals and keys a couple of years later. The lineup to take on some of the great Album rock tunes mostly of the 70s and 80s was complete. The complete package of Harris; formerly of Alabama Son, Wiseguys, and Trial By Fire; Mitchell, formerly of SUPEREGO, Eye 2 the Son, Boneyard, Black Dog, Josie & the Big Dogs, Nemesis, Dflowers; Rehorst, formerly of Mercury Mayhem, True Logic, Handsome Devils, Dflowers; and Rand formerly of SUPEREGO and Boneyard combined influences to derive their unmistakable form of gutsy, gritty, hard driving Rock.
Since, the group has labored to assemble an arsenal of tunes from artists like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, The Allman Brothers Band, Govt Mule, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackfoot, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robin Trower, and Bad Company just to name a few. Their unique mix of styles made its public debut in early 2007 at Knucklehead Pub in Eagle, WI under the working name of Javelinas. The raw soulful performance solidified the groups resolve to share its aggressive take on classic style with anyone who would lend an ear.
The Milwaukee based group completed a brief studio demo in the early days, recorded in live take style, aimed at exposing the unique power of The Blacktop Kings musical stylings. Some of the videos from the Kings opener for rock legend Dickey Betts at the Northern Lights have found their way to Youtube. The band has Rocked at State Fair for its 6 year running (2014), has played at Summerfest in the past, and been a favorite at Harley-Davidson events at the Museum, Veterans park, and local dealerships.