By Chyrisse Tabone, Rock At Night Tampa
Single Review: Kings County’s “Bleed These Tears”
It has been a long road for Central-Florida rock band Kings County, which at one time performed as the house band at Disney World’s Pleasure Island. The band, whose core members formed in New York in the 1990s, garnered career traction after winning iHeart Radio’s Battle of the Band contest in 2018, earning the coveted prize of opening for Bon Jovi’s This House Is Not For Sale Tour in Orlando. The band has performed with the likes of Ted Nugent, Styx, Hootie and the Blowfish, Joan Jett, Cowboy Mouth, 38 Special, Duran Duran, The B 52’s, Fuel, and Foreigner.
Kings County released their self-titled debut album Kings County in September 2019, which is chock-full of nine rock songs that appeal to all who enjoy 80s or hard-hitting classic rock music. The band will be releasing a new single “Bleed These Tears” on May 15th via all music formats and a video is in the works. The song was produced by Grammy Award winning Producer/Engineer Chuck Alkazian (Pop Evil, Soundgarden, Tantric) at legendary Pearl Sound Studios (Asking Alexandria, Eminem, Filter). It also features Ted Nugent drummer Jason Hartless and the ripping solo by, Ratt guitarist Jordan Ziff.
“Bleed These Tears” takes on the topic of self-mutilation, self-harm that people do in private, often to cope with emotional scars or trauma. The song begins with a hard-driving beat and low baritone chants, heavy guitar power chords, and vocals that plead, “Bleed these tears away from me and bring me back to life.” At first glance, one might interpret this as an upbeat, hard rocking song until the lyrics sink in. Very much in 80s or classic rock fashion, a screaming lead guitar screams within the middle as the vocal harmonies then continue. The song has a dramatic pause toward the end but then crashes back into the chorus, again driving the song home.
Rock At Night recently chatted with the band recently about their experience during this unprecedented time of the pandemic isolation. When asked if the band has been keeping busy during this time, Rob Dexter (vocals/bass), replied, “Even during a lock down and self-quarantining, there’s always things that can be done. Musically, we continue writing new material and creating new ideas. Like with everything you do, the more you do it, the better you get at it and writing music is no exception.
“We were originally set to shoot a full blown video for our upcoming song ‘Bleed These Tears’ with a director in LA.in April but had to quickly re think it and decided to first release a lyric video.
“I just couldn’t imagine wasting time not being productive, whatever you do. On the non-musical side of things, we all own homes and there’s always projects to do and stuff to fix when you own a home.. Always need to set goals and achieve them and a lock down is the perfect time to start.”
During the “lockdown”, a lot of bands have been keeping their face in the social media forefront by performing at-home livestream shows. According to Dexter, the band has aired an event through Facebook, but insists,”Nothing is better than a live audience and interaction between them and the band. Viruses will come and go and we will al forge ahead.”
When asked if the band has a new album in the works, Dexter responded, “The band has been concentrating on releasing singles for now. It’s a quick way to always keep our music fresh and the fans interested. We do plan on releasing another album in the near future but for now, singles are the way to go.”
Kings County is Rob Dexter (Vocals, Bass), Steve Bell (Guitars, Vocals), Joe Lopez (Drums) and Bill Kania (Guitars, Vocals).
I grew up in a household full of rock music, studied journalism in college, and then became a scientist.Although my science career has served me well, music has always played a major role in my life. I grew up reading "Creem" magazine; I play several musical instruments as a "hobby";and it seems a camera has always been in my hand. Now, I am combining what I love the most--music and photography--serving as editor of Rock At Night. I travel between the US and UK seeking my dream! My motto: life is short...no regrets. Chyrisse
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