King Khan and the Shrines, sometimes referred to as King Khan and (His) Sensational Shrines are a Berlin-based

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

and

psychedelic soul Psychedelic soul (originally called black rock or conflated with psychedelic funk) is a music genre that emerged in the late 1960s and saw Black soul musicians embrace elements of psychedelic rock, including its production techniques, instrumenta ...

band.

History

The band was founded in 1999 by then 22-year-old King Khan, formerly of Canadian garage rock outfits The Spaceshits (where he operated under the pseudonym Blacksnake) and Kukamongas. The band is noted for its impressive stage antics. Typically King Khan is scantily clad, and the overwhelming frontman. His performances feature cheerleader/go-go dancer Bamboorella and a mixture of instrumentation including, but not limited to:

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, bass, and

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

. Khan formerly played with fellow former Spaceshit member,

Mark Sultan Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

, in the

King Khan & BBQ Show The King Khan & BBQ Show is a Canadian garage rock duo from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, who mix doo-wop and punk. The band is composed of former Spaceshits bandmates Mark Sultan and Blacksnake, alias King Khan. Mark Sultan, under the pseudonym BB ...

, a doo-wop and punk inspired two-man band and is currently with Sultan and the

Black Lips Black Lips is an American garage rock band from Atlanta, Georgia formed in 1999. History The band formed in Dunwoody, Georgia after guitarist Cole Alexander and bassist Jared Swilley left the Renegades, and guitarist Ben Eberbaugh left the Rer ...

in a garage gospel super-group called

Almighty Defenders The Almighty Defenders is a supergroup consisting of the Black Lips and The King Khan & BBQ Show formed in February 2009 in Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabit ...

. Sultan mentioned in 2010 that he and the Shrines have "bandied about" recording and singing some songs together.
The original lineup of the (Sensational) Shrines consisted of King Khan on vocals and

s, Mr. Speedfinger on guitar, Boom Boom Jennes on bass, John Boy Adonis on "big beat," Sam Cook on

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

Ron (a.k.a. Rahn) Streeter (who formerly played for

Ike and Tina Turner Ike or IKE may refer to: People * Ike (given name), a list of people with the name or nickname * Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and President of the United States Surname ...

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

, and

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

), Ben Ra (the IT guy) on

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

and Mr. Tom Bone on

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

. Eccentric French

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

Fredovitch joined the lineup a week before the group recorded their first album at Toe Rag Studios in London.

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

References

External links

King Khan and the Shrines
on Myspace
Video: Exclusive live video on Punkrockvids.comKing Khan and the Shrines page
at Hazelwood Records {{Authority control Garage punk groups Canadian punk rock groups Musical groups from Montreal Musical groups established in 1999 1999 establishments in Quebec Merge Records artists Canadian garage rock groups