The Rockit King
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The Rockit King

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"Rockit Kings major thing? Straight-up, blues-based rock."

It’s hard to figure where all the fans are coming from, but they are Dozens of ‘em, plastered up next to the stage, singing loudly, thrashing their heads in time with the music, howling out their tributes to their favorite lead singer.
Welcome to a typical Rockit King show.
For a band that’s been together less than two years, the Rockit King has assembled an impressive legion of hard-core fans. But why have they attached themselves so quickly to the band and its lead singer?
“I don’t know why,” said Rockit King lead singer Jessie Beveridge. “It’s weird. It’s funny and kind of flattering, but I think it’s great. Everyone’s having a good time.”
For the guys in the Rockit King, from performing on stage, to recording their debut record, it’s all about being laid back and having a good time.
In January, guitarists Lou Musa and Chris Cooney, bassist Matt Jackson, drummer Kenny Roberts and Beveridge headed into Grand Rapids “Station C Studios” to record the band’s debut CD. “A Day Late and a Dollar Short, ” which was released this week.
“We recorded (the album) from January to March,” said Beveridge, “but we did the bass and drums for six tracks in three days. The rest was just some guitar and vocal overdubs. It was only like seven or eight days of actual recording time. Just as much time was spent on mixing and mastering (the CD) as it was on recording. Songs like “Come Apart,” “Did You” and “Rock-n-Roll Is On Your Side,” are just one-takers. It was late at night (when we recorded), but somehow they came out in time and (didn’t sound) sloppy.
“Chris and Lou recorded all the guitars at once, “Beveridge said, “Otherwise you lose that intangible feeling of looseness in the guitar work. Just before (recording), “Come Apart,” Lou busted the neck on his Les Paul, and everyone was in such good spirits that it was, “Hey, just grab another guitar. “ With any other band I’ve been in, that would have been the end of the night.
We’re definitely all workers. Whether it’s our day jobs or recording, everyone really knows how to put their nose to the grindstone and get it done.”
“Everything’s a song with a melody. We mean what we’re singing.”
“Everything that we’re writing about and singing about, I or someone else in the band’s cried about at one point or another.”

By Katy Moore
The Grand Rapids Press
- The Grand Rapids Press


"The Rockit King"

The Rockit King

A massive buzz has surrounded The Rockit King since before the Grand Rapids five-piece even played a show – mostly because it features some of the best-known and most admired musicians in West Michigan, but also because the band was said to harbor a style completely different from that which is common in the current scene. Mission accomplished! Influenced primarily by Thin Lizzy, Queen and Metallica, The Rockit King – Jessie Beveridge (vocals), Lou Musa (guitar), Chris Cooney (guitar), Kenny Roberts (drums), and Matt Jackson (bass) – have created a true blues-based rock and roll album in day Late & A Dollar Short, raw and loud, the debut disc is a monsterpiece of guitar – and beer-driven rock. “We were unbelievably drunk and high the entire time we were recording,” boasts Beveridge regarding the band’s Station C recording sessions. Guitars mixed hard left and right, Day Late’s guitar arrangements – from the ballsy riffs that drive the songs to the mind-blowing, simultaneously recorded dual-guitar harmonies – makes a strong case that Musa and Cooney are the best hard rock guitar duo currently gigging. (And perhaps the most violent; the band reports snapping the neck off one guitar and “blowing up” another during the recording process.) Equally as impressive as that band’s musicianship is its members’ sense of comradery and agreement on the direction of the music. Says Beveridge: “The best thing about this band is it’s not a pain in the ass like every other band I’ve been in.” amen to that, brother. See The Rockit King live May 3 at the Intersection, check out www.therockitking.com, and watch for the band’s CD release party in June.

Music Revue Magazine “2003”
- Music Revue Magazine


"The Rockit King"

The Rockit King

Within seconds, listeners will know what they’re up against with The Rockit King’s debut; guitar heroics, lush vocal harmonies, deep bass grooves, and that sweet ride cymbal (mixed extra load for your pleasure and mine). Eleven tracks of all-out rock and roll mayhem, soaked in alcohol, burnt by pyrotekie dueling guitar solos and mixed and produced by Al “Magic Ears” McAvoy at Station C Studios. This disc sounds absolutely fantastic; the production will raise the bar for local releases as well as clue-in more than a few groups as to how to put together rock-solid song arrangements. Certainly notable here is the guitarist dream team of Lou Musa and Chris Cooney, as these two axe gods absolutely lay waste to ears on burners like ‘(Don’t Start) Running Away” and “Did You?” while also pulling off the gutsy blues ballad title track. Those looking for the sweaty ingredients that made rock and roll king until TRL and nu-metal rolled into town will stand up and applaud these boys. Check out the bands CD release party at the Intersection in Grand Rapids on July 18, and visit www.therockitking .com.-PK

Recoil Magazine “2003”
- Recoil Magazine


"The Rockit King"

The Rockit King

This five-piece band is refreshingly retro, if that makes any sense. With two stellar guitarists (Lou Musa and Chris Cooney) who aren’t afraid to play solos and the beefy-but melodic vocals of Jessie Beveridge. The Rockit King reminds me of a modern version of Thin Lizzy (which happens to be my favorite ‘70s-rock band besides Black Sabbath). Plus, these guys have become one of Grand Rapids “best live acts in recent months.

John Serba
Grand Rapids Press "2004"
- Grand Rapids Press


"A bit of the old pleasantly mixed in with the new"

They definately put on a good show. Finally a band that interacts with their fans, and doesn't just perform their act. Their musicians have mastered what they do- and they do it the best. Definately recommend this band to anyone who enjoys classic rock with a modern twist.

Reviewer: Kristy - CDBaby.com


"Wow! Great band! Great music! Great show!"


I drove from Detroit, MI to see the my then favorite band Dirty Americans perform in Grand Rapids, and discovered my new favorite band opening up, called the Rockit King. I was totally blown away by the great tunes and the great show these guys put on. I couldn't believe these guys were not signed. I bought there CD and with the first listen, its official. These guys ROCK! I just stumbled on to there web site and downloaded there two video's. What a great band! These guys are bound for the big time. I totally recommend these guys if you want real rock-n roll. Can’t wait to hear more…….


Reviewer: Remy
- CDBaby.com


"Bad Ass!"


The album is great the band is great the guys are great i cant wait til they bring out a new cd!!!

Reviewer: Zoe - CDBaby.com


"Grand Rapids' Rockit King had a three-gig night during Festival"

Grand Rapids' Rockit King had a three-gig night during Festival
by John Sinkevics | The Grand Rapids Press
Sunday June 14, 2009, 5:00 AM
Courtesy PhotoOn June 6, during Festival of the Arts, West Michigan rockers Rockit King play through the rain downtown.

Some might question the sanity of a rock band playing three shows at three venues in a single evening.

I sure did when I heard Grand Rapids' Rockit King would be doing just that last weekend: not three performances spread out over the course of the day, but three full-blown rock shows in one night.

Having hauled my share of amps, keyboards and other gear over the years, visions of slipped discs and hernias danced in my head.

Granted, members of the hard-rock band (sort of a cross between Van Halen, Scorpions, AC/DC and Velvet Revolver) didn't exactly plan last weekend's rock 'n' roll marathon. It just sort of fell in their laps after they signed up for Festival and a late-night gig at Mulligan's Pub in Eastown.

Then they discovered they were among three local bands to win WLAV-FM's online contest to open for classic-rock/prog-rock legend Kansas at Fifth Third Ballpark that same Saturday.

"Should be a hell of an evening," lead singer Jessie Beveridge had confessed to me beforehand. "The adage, 'When it rains, it pours,' should be our (motto)."

Little did Beveridge know just how accurate that "rain" thing was going to be.
Press Photo | Adam BiardEarlier that day, Rockit King's Karisa Wilson, left, and Jessie Beveridge sing at Fifth Third Ballpark.

To give you an idea of what the band -- Beveridge, guitarist Lou Musa, bassist Dan Cox, drummer Kenny Roberts and singer Karisa Wilson -- experienced, here are excerpts from the evening "diary" I asked Beveridge to compile:

• 1:30 p.m. -- Change various drum heads; cost, $82.
• 2 p.m. -- Load gear.
• 3:15 p.m.-- Arrive at Fifth Third Ballpark and load in stage gear (with help from the unionized crew working the show).
• 5 p.m. -- Eat.
• 6:15 p.m. -- Take stage for Rockit King performance (unpaid, band earns $52 from merchandise sales).
• 7:30 p.m. -- Tear down and load up gear again.
• 8:45 p.m. -- Arrive in downtown Grand Rapids at Festival's Calder Stage (six miles from the ballpark). Unload gear.
• 9:15 p.m. -- Start performance and play until downpour; get rained out after five tunes (unpaid, band earns $10 in merchandise sales).
• 9:50 p.m. -- Tear down and load gear.
• 10:45 p.m. -- Arrive at Mulligan's Pub in Eastown (four miles from the Calder Stage). Load in gear.
• Midnight -- Rockit King takes the stage. Hot set, best of the night (band is paid $150 and five pitchers of beer).
• 1:30 a.m. -- Tear down and load gear.
• 2:30 a.m. -- Arrive home after 13-hour day.

For all that, the band earned a net total of $128. Split five ways, that's $25.60 each, or about $1.97 per hour, plus some free suds.

As Beveridge put it, "How much more glamourous can you get?"

(By the way, another local group at the ballpark that night -- Mid-Life Crisis -- got a taste of that "glamour," too. It played three shows in 26 hours, appearing at Festival Friday, opening the Kansas show Saturday, then performing a private party in Cascade Township.)

Rockit King manager Fred De Vries acknowledged his band's "herculean feat" got a hand from promoters, sound technicians, the Whitecaps, Mulligan's and others who helped complete the group's "triple play." But he also said his "guys just want to play, no matter what. ... I think if they could've played one more show somewhere after the Mulligan's set they would have been really happy."

Beveridge, 33, conceded the band -- about to release a double live album/DVD, with a new studio album in the works -- is accustomed to a grueling show schedule, with concerts booked this year from Philadelphia to Amarillo, Texas.

He even said he'd do it all again. He quoted his father, Hal, of West Michigan's Beveridge Brothers Band, as saying: "That's show biz. Now shut up and get your (butt) to the gig."

"In the end," Jessie Beveridge reasoned, "you make hay while the sun shines."

Or while it rains. - Grand Rapids Press - June 14, 2009


"n The Studio: The Rockit King with Al McAvoy"

In The Studio: The Rockit King with Al McAvoy
By Ryan Cunningham



"... this is awesome," I said, interrupting my own sentence.





Al McAvoy, an engineer known by engineers for his excellent recordings, led me through the threshold of the room where he does all his mixing. A beautiful large-format mixing console, a monitoring system, a rack of gear goodies and a Mac full of Pro Tools 6.1 line the wall.





"This is a brand new control room. You're actually the first person in here," he said, offering me a seat.





The Rockit King, on tour driving through the mountains of Pennsylvania during the writing of this article, along with engineers McAvoy and Joel Ferguson (singer of Papa Vegas), tracked a live album in November of '06 that is due out this fall.





Along with finishing the mix of the live album, The Rockit King is also working on an album of all new original material, which is to be an ambitious CD project from a recording standpoint.





For this new project, which may come out in the fall of '09, Rockit King lead singer Jessie Beveridge said there will be a lot more vocal finesse and guitar tracks, changing from the "band in a room, tracking live" approach of the last two records.





"Jessie hates the squigglies," said McAvoy, referring to Beveridge's aversion to the visual renderings of his vocals on the computer screen. Still, becoming more comfortable with the digital realm is a necessary evil for the move from a 16-track analog recorder - which The Rockit King still use for basic tracking - to the more experimentation-friendly Pro Tools environment (Beveridge estimated 40 layered tracks ).





In addition to Al's wizardry, the band has taken suggestions from Brian Vander Ark who is producing the new album. The plan is to have three songs in the writing phase and three other songs in the recording/mixing phase at any given time during the process, pushing along at a steady pace.





McAvoy now prefers to mix alone in the control room, sending MP3s to the band for suggestions, an approach he learned after years of scheduling hassles and group effort debacles. The final mix must pass through the respected "Lou filter" - guitarist/engineer Lou Musa's sensitive ear.





The live album, being mastered at New York's Sterling Sound, will be out this fall. For the album of excitingly new material, we must wait in anticipation until this time next year. - Revue Magazine


Discography

Day Late & a Dollar Short (2003)LP
Saddle Up (2005)LP
Double Live: Popo LP/DVD (out in "2010")

Photos

Bio

The Rockit King…..an unbelievably precise, lowdown, dirty and lean Rock 'N Roll band. A precious behemoth in an era filled with bands doing it the wrong way for even worse reasons.
Six years after it's inception, this blues based rock monster rolls on stronger and with more focus than ever before. With two studio albums under their belt (2003's Day Late & A Dollar Short and 2005's Saddle Up,) an upcoming live DVD/CD due in early 2009 and third studio album slated for late 2009, TRK is proving that heart and soul are still the most important ingredients to a great song, record, and live performance.

Always driven by their vocal harmonies, guitar prowess and the meanest rhythm section Michigan has ever produced, they are indeed the last bastions of musicianship and sheer love of the craft. One need only see a live show or snag an album to realize they have discovered not only a band that pulls no punches but also one that holds no preconceptions of what music ought to be. A group founded on the most basic of principals. Play your heart out, sing your ass off, entertain your audience first and yourself second. Put simply, a band that lives for and thrives off your enjoyment.

Having opened for acts ranging from David Allen Coe to David Lee Roth, Foghat to REO Speedwagon, TRK has made a career of delivering the goods both live and in the studio. Always tearing it up and never slowing down, 2009 looks to be a banner year for your new favorite Rock 'N Roll band...