We the Kings is an American powerpop band from Bradenton, Florida. They are signed to the independent label S-Curve Records (distributed by EMI Music), and their debut full-length was released in October 2007. Since then they have completed a variety of tours, most recently the Vans Warped Tour, and in October 2008 they are scheduled to begin another co-headlining tour with The Academy Is.... The band also sports their own miniature series of webisodes, called The King's Carriage, detailing life on their tour bus. The band will begin recording their new album in January of 2009.
The band members first met at Martha B. King Middle School in Bradenton, Florida; their name refers to this institution. Later, while in his sophomore year at Manatee High School, Travis Clark started a band called Broken Image. At this time, Hunter, Drew, and Danny were all playing in other bands, but Travis "cherry picked" them to form his band. However due to another couple of bands already calling themselves Broken Image, the name was changed to DeSoto, then, after a lawsuit ensued, to We the Kings. The group began touring seriously while Travis, Danny and Hunter were in college, and they dropped out of college to do so, while Drew graduated early from high school. They completed a couple of tours with Boys Like Girls and Self Against City while still unsigned, and landed on the PureVolume Top 10 list after hiring a manager. After continuing success via Internet sites such as MySpace, the group signed to S-Curve Records, who issued their debut self-titled album on October 2, 2007. The album peaked at #3 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart and #151 on the Billboard 200. The band has toured with bands such as Cobra Starship, Valencia, Just Surrender, Metro Station, Boys Like Girls, All Time Low, The Audition, Cute Is What We Aim For, Danger Radio, Madina Lake, Mayday Parade, and Powerspace. The song "This Is Our Town" is featured in commercials for the new season of One Tree Hill, and on the show Newport Harbor. On February 4th, their song "Check Yes Juliet" was featured as the free single of the week on iTunes. On April 8th, their song "Check Yes Juliet" was featured in an episode of MTV's The Hills. When it came to making a music video for their song "This Is Our Town", they set up a contest allowing fans from the Florida area to submit videos of their town set to the song. The winner would be allowed to spend the day with them on August 30, when they played the Rays game. They were up for several VMAs in 2008, including Best Pop Video, Best Rock Video, Best New Artist, and Video of the Year. New VMA-themed King's Carriage videos were released seemingly to celebrate this fact. However, they did not secure the nomination in any of these categories.
We the Kings have been featured on many well-known television and radio shows to date in their career. On May 3, 2008, they appeared on NBC's The Early Show to perform "Check Yes Juliet" and "Skyway Avenue." Around this time they were also featured on MTV's Spring Break '08.Finally, the band performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live on June 27, 2008.They are also no stranger to radio and just recently hosted Radio Disney on August 20, 2008. Also they are coming out with a new song release called "By The Phone". The song was originated by Nick Molino of Forever And A Day.
They were also featured on the cover of Substream Music Press magazine, issue 10, along with the band Alesana. Their most recent appearance in a magazine was in Kerrang! (Issue 1227) where they had a whole page.
The band has cited many musicians as influences, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Beatles. They have also named the modern-day Jimmy Eat World. In addition, other bands they have toured with receive special praise, among them Boys Like Girls and All Time Low.
They toured in support of Cobra Starship in early 2008 along with Metro Station and The Cab.
We the Kings performed all dates of the Warped Tour 2008.
We the Kings played on their first headlining tour "Long Hair Don't Care" with Valencia, The Cab, Sing It Loud, and Charlotte Sometimes during the month of April.
In May and June, We the Kings supported Cute Is What We Aim For and Boys Like Girls on their UK tour.
On August 30 2008 they were a part of The Rays Summer Concert Series, playing on the field after a Tampa Bay Rays game. They will also be touring the UK after the completion of the Warped Tour.
Beginning on October 1 2008, they are scheduled to begin their "Bill & Trav's Bogus Journey" tour, co-headlined with The Academy Is... Bands Carolina Liar and Hey Monday are also guests on the tour.
Showing off their sense of humor, the band has a series of miniature webisodes depicting life aboard their tour bus, called The King's Carriage. They show the different band members acting out a series of miniature, humorous plots that are usually only 2 or 3 minutes long. Videos released so far include "We're All Adults", "Danny's Allergy", "Bill's Bunk", "Are We Hazing", and "What's His Problem?", which can be viewed on Youtube or their Myspace profile. Other videos such as "VIP Future Champion Ride", and "55 Yards" are not technically part of the King's Carriage, but are basically the same thing. The band also produced "Strollerz" 1 and 2 which are based off the TV show Cribs, giving a tour of the inside of the bus. The videos are usually made by member Danny Duncan, using iMovie. On June 27 2008, the band released a teaser for their upcoming second season of The King's Carriage, which will begin at an unspecified time.
According to Substream Music Press, We the Kings are "known throughout the indie music scene as some of the funniest guys around." The band has pulled off a wide variety of pranks on a wide variety of people, including:
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