Justin King (born June 13, 1979) is an American musician and artist from

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

. Currently, King is running a recording studio in Brooklyn, New York called Vinegar Hill Sound as well as doing part-time war photojournalism in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Background and current activities

King attended Marist High School before attending South Eugene High School. He dropped out of high school as a sophomore and entered the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

to study painting. He began playing drums and guitar around age 14 and wrote and performed songs with his current bassist, Drew Dresman. King began to focus on acoustic guitar at age 19, and in 1999 he released his self-titled album, followed by ''Opening'' in 2000. In 2001, King recorded "Le Bleu". King returned to the US and began construction on his own studio "Blackberry Hill". The studio took about two years to complete during which time King toured the country as a solo guitarist opening for

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

BB King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shim ...

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, '' Billboard'' maga ...

North Mississippi All-Stars North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, Al Green and others. Just after building Blackberry Hill King recorded another instrumental record, "I-XII". Shortly after that King started a band with James West (later replaced by Nadir Jeevanjee), Troy Sicotte (later replaced by Drew Dresman), and Ehren Ebbage (later replaced by Chris Plank). The band toured the country for about one year before being signed to a major label record deal with Epic Records in 2006. The band recorded the self-titled "Justin King and the Apologies" record at King's Blackberry Hill studio as well as studios in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. The band broke up around the end of 2007.

''Le Bleu'' and various side projects

In 2001, King released ''

Le Bleu ''Le Bleu'' is the third and best-known solo album by acoustic guitarist Justin King. ''Le Bleu'' is the name of the street on which King lived during his childhood, and thus the inspiration for the album title. Released in 2001, it was only av ...

''. He assembled a new band with longtime friends Ehren Ebbage (lead guitar) and Drew Desman (bass). In 2005, drummer James West and was replaced by Nadir Jeevanjee. On March 20, 2007, King and his band, after a long struggle, ended their contract with Sony BMG/

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. The band released a five-song EP, ''Fall/Rise'', in spring 2007 before resuming touring, which included several performances in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. The band's debut album, ''Justin King and The Apologies'', was released on September 28, 2007. His Myspace page announced the title of the new album as ''Humilitas Occidit Superbiam'', and it was subsequently released digitally in November 2009.New album release info.
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Discography

Solo albums

*''Justin King'' (1999) (out of print) *''Opening'' (2000) (out of print) *''

'' (2001) *''Humilitas Occidit Superbiam'' (2009)

Justin King and The Apologies

*''Justin King and The Apologies'' (2007) *''Pilot'' (2003) (EP) *''Bright and Dirty Lights'' (2005) (EP) *''Bright and Dirty Lights Taster Disc'' (2005) *''C-Sides'' (2006) (EP) *''Fall/Rise'' (2007) (EP)

Justin King and The Raging Family

*''Re Bleu: The Raging Family Le Bleu Remix'' (2008)

King West Manring Vamos

*''I-XII'' (2008)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Justin 1979 births Living people Musicians from Eugene, Oregon American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists Fingerstyle guitarists Pacific Northwest College of Art alumni Guitarists from Oregon 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians San Francisco Art Institute alumni