A Q&A with King Fabbs

Solo pop-punk from Calgary…

What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
My latest release is called ‘Your Safest Place’. It’s a five song EP and it’s the start of my journey as a solo artist. This release means a lot to me because I’ve wanted to do this for so long. I’ve spent a lot of time looking to be in a band but I decided that the solo route was better for me. It was nice to find my own creative process and create these songs! It never feels like work, I love doing this a lot. It feels great to finally achieve a huge goal I’ve had for years and I’m excited to make more music!

What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
There wasn’t really anything that was too hard about putting this release together, For me personally it was honestly just getting all the money to do it. I had to save up a lot to pay for studio time. Writing the music and recording it is all fun! I have a great producer who makes the whole process nice and easy, we really make a great team!

Who produced the release – what did they bring to it?
Brennan Kennedy is my producer. Brennan and I are really good friends and we have very similar taste in music so working together to record the EP was a ton of fun. If I’m struggling with an idea Brennan always knows how to help make it stand out a bit more. When I make a song though I usually always know exactly how I want it to sound and communicating those details with Brennan is really easy. He’s super laid back and he can bring any project to life, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

“Emotional quality”

What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
I hope that listeners buy into the messages within each song. My favourite thing about music is that a song that someone writes has it’s own meaning but I love when listeners find their own meaning within a song. It’s like every song has more than one message to it. So I hope that my supports can dive into each track and find what each song means to them.

How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
I find when I start writing a song I always focus on the instrumental first. I find it’s the easiest and best way for me to make a song. I normally always start out with a guitar riff or chord progression and then I’ll start adding drums. When I’m making I never rush the process, I like letting each part of the song come out naturally. I find that I don’t get my best work if I try rushing through something. I like to take my time and really think about every part I’m putting down. I need to have a clear headspace too when I write, otherwise I won’t get anywhere.

What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
I’m influenced by many artists such as: State Champs, Mariana’s Trench, All Time Low, Seaway, Paramore and tons more. It’s music that I grew up on and I have always loved it. Bands like these have influenced me with the way they sound and their lyric writing. I find that there’s always a lot of emotional quality in their music and it’s very easy to connect with. It’s a style of music and writing I’ve always gravitated towards.

“Feel the energy”

What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
I would love to tour Canada, United States, Australia, Germany, Italy, France, United Kingdom, and Brazil. Some venues that I would LOVE to play in are the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, O2 Arena in London, The Hollywood Bowl, and Madison Square Garden.

If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
‘No Stopping Tonight’ is the track I would suggest. It’s a song that I actually once felt a little unsure about before I released it but it turned out to be incredible. I remember Brennan telling about how much he loved the song as he was mixing it. At that point I knew it had to be something special because he kept mentioning to me a lot about how great it is. The song has had an amazing response so far and it’s incredibly catchy!

What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
I want to make as many albums as I can, I want to play lots of live shows and hopefully tour the world one day. I want to bring my music in front of people and feel the energy from the crowd, I want to collaborate with a lot of different artists, and I want to represent people who are afraid of pursuing their passion because of the way they look or they are afraid they won’t be accepted amongst a certain crowd of people. I used to get picked on a lot for my taste in music. I guess a lot of people thought it was wrong to be black and like rock/metal music. I want to show people that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, you can do anything that you want in this life. Nothing about the way you look should defeat that.

Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
I have not played that many shows, it’s tough in these Covid times! For the shows that I have done the last thing I say naturally is “I’m King Fabbs, and I’ll see you next time!”

For more info visit: instagram.com/king_fabbs