King Whisker - "Television"

The invention of television was and still is a world changing invention that altered the course of pretty much all of human kind. But the negative outcomes seem to surpass the positive ones more and more as time goes by. Today’s new single looks at how Television affects us as human beings with a powerful punk/rock, psychedelic infused song filled with satirically funny lyrics. Entertainment for days.

King Whisker is a 5 piece band from San Diego, CA who approach their music with energy, wit and a heavy dose of irony. Having released their Debut EP in 2019 “There is no King Whisker”, the band follows up with another satirically heavy single “Television”, establishing themselves and their sound as masters of sarcasm and ingenuity. Punk Rock, anyone?

Staying true to their unique musical perception and society’s views, King Whisker delivers what they call a “celebration of the mundane” and “shining a light on some of the absolute absurdities of our crumbling world”. With influences like Frank Zappa, Queens of the Stone Age and Talking Heads, this fabulous amalgamation of DIY talent seeks to review the insane world in which we live in and to open our eyes to the terrifying and beautiful contrasts of it all.

“In our upcoming album, which we hope to release before the end of the year, we focus on the “Dystopian Utopia” A place where jobs, money, and status are worshiped, but also a place of genuine joy and peace. A kind of late-late stage capitalism where nothing but bliss and work remain.” – King Whisker

This time I had the pleasure to interview the band itself and I thought I’d share it with you. So, without further ado.

MadZen: You probably get this question a lot but, how long have you been together and how did you met?

KW: “We’ve been playing music together for about two and a half years, and have evolved from our original 3 piece lineup to a fuller 5 piece sound over the last year or so, with the addition of a second guitar player, and keyboard/percussionist. The original lineup grew out of three coworkers, strangely enough bough, but our band has grown and changed a bunch since our early days.”

M: Where does the name King Whisker comes from?

KW: King Whisker has a few meanings – one was a reference to the giant mustaches most of us used to have. Another meaning is a reference to the character Dr Katz, from Courage the Cowardly Dog, but the real meaning is up to the listener. Are we (the band) King Whisker? Are we loyal subjects of some mysterious king? Is King Whisker a dark monarch we’re engaged it bitter battle against? It’s really up for the listener to draw their own conclusion.

Dr. Katz from Courage the Cowardly Dog

M: I read that you have a very DIY approach to the way you make music, this includes hand-made and hand-modified instruments, cables and pedals, could you tell is more about that?

KW: The DIY approach really applies to everything we do. Charlie builds his own guitars and lots of other electronics, Alex builds her own pedals, Ash programs his own keyboard tones and sequences, and Kevin builds his own instruments, mics, pretty much anything he can get his hands on. And Jeremy does all of our graphics and insane videos entirely DIY. He’s a fucking wizard.

As a band, we built out own recording studio that we’ll be using for our debut album. We built the cables, sound pannels, computer, acoustic shields, and pretty much anything else you can think of ourselves. We recorded, mixed and mastered Television ourself. We run all of our own marketing and manage our own press and music releases.

We treat the whole band like a small mom and pop business that we’re all putting our blood sweat and tears into.

M: After this single’s release, what new adventures lie ahead for King Whisker?

KW: Up next? We’re recording our debut 10 track album, touring as soon as its safe, and headlining some shows in San Diego and Tijuana. Nothing but flowers baby. Life is good!

M: One last question. How would you like King Whisker to be remembered?

KW: I think first and foremost we would want our music to help people contextualize the insane world we live in, and to be unafraid to see how terrible and beautiful our world is at the same time. We’d also love to be remembered for how much the band really cares for one and other, and our fans. It’s all one happy weird family over here.

So there you have it, King Whisker plans to make a statement and it seems as if nothing, not even a pandemic, can stop them. So feel free to follow them and enjoy their “Dystopian Utopia” once it comes out.

King Whisker is:
Guitar and Lead Vocals – Charlie Rohlfs
Drums – Jeremy Houtz
Guitar and Vocals – Alex Warton
Keyboard and Vocals – Ash Busse
Bass and Vocals – Kevin Reith

Don’t forget to support this project and to follow them on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Spotify. You can also check out their official website. If you enjoy their music and are able to provide monetary support, you can download it on Bandcamp.

It also helps to stream and share their music; you can obviously find it in the following Playlists: Less Than 1,000 Followers, Only Punk, and Sickes and Dopest.

Remember that you can always find me here Linktree MadZen for all my social media and own music.

P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and fresh new music you can subscribe to this blog Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists that we have presented here!!!