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BIOGRAPHY
In 1988, Louisville youth and punk-rocker Ethan Buckler wrote an essay for his friends about
how King Kong represented his philosophy of life. He also decided to call his new band King Kong.
You know the story. King Kong was a movie from the 1930’s about a giant ape that lived on
a primitive island where he was worshipped by the natives and then the white people came
and captured him and took him to New York where he escaped and climbed the Empire State
Building clutching a blond girl named Fay Ray in his paw. The story isn’t so important
as is the whole idea of King Kong. He’s big, primitive, natural, supernatural, funky,
freaky, hairy, misunderstood, brutal, gentle, evolutionary, passionate, African, and
tragic. Just like the music of King Kong.
They play it funky, funny, repetitive, rhythmic,
melodic hypnotic, serious, mysterious, bluesy, emotional and conceptual. The sounds of Kong
should make you feel like you are one of the those natives who are performing an ancient
ritual dancing under the torchlight to manifest the spirit of King Kong into a physical reality.
King Kong’s debut release was the “Movie Star” 7-inch single, one of the best new records of
1989, and in fact, one of the best new records ever. Their first album was The Old Man on the
Bridge, a record which stands today as a classic from the “indie-rock” era. Tragically, this
record is locked in the vaults of the now-defunct Homestead records and may never be heard from again.
In 1993, Funny Farm started a new era. In the beginning, King Kong was a three piece rock
band. The group has been through a number of incarnations over the years, with additions including
female vocals, organ, congas and the non-human addition of a computer back in 2001.
Funny Farm was
the first album featuring an extended group of players making the sounds of King Kong. It was also
the first King Kong record on Drag City.
Funny Farm was a concept album in a way, but not a rock opera. However, the follow-up album to Funny
Farm was a rock opera — Me Hungry was the story of love between a caveman and a yak, interrupted by
the call of evolution and the ice age. The parts were sung by Ethan and Amy Partin Ritchie, whose
singing has been a part of King Kong since 1993.
Following Me Hungry, Ethan refocused King Kong’s vision to one song at a time, which made for an
album chock-full of great songs with no particular theme. Kingdom of Kong was released in 1998. King
Kong toured Europe that year as well.
Times were changing and so was King Kong. In the new millennium, Ethan formed a newer, smaller Kong with
the addition of a computer. For The Big Bang, he dreamed up a new concept of a spaceman on a feverish
trip to Planet Kong. This was the most far-out King Kong stuff ever.
The new album Buncha Beans is a
return to classic King Kong sound — guitar, bass and drums, with keyboards and female vocals, of course.
King Kong will be playing everywhere that the people still follow their ancient urges and dance by
torchlight until the moon sets. Prepare yourselves — for the next coming of King Kong.
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