Queen Kwong is an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band founded in Los Angeles, California. The band was founded by multi-instrumentalist Carré Callaway (or Carré Kwong Callaway), the band's sole singer and songwriter who was discovered at age 17 by

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

History

Carré Callaway was discovered by

in his New Orleans studio. She first gained notoriety when she opened for

on the 2005

With Teeth ''With Teeth'' (stylized as '' ITH_TEETH') is the fourth studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released by Nothing Records and Interscope Records on May 3, 2005. The album was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman Tren ...

tour. At this time she was performing solo as a singer/songwriter and soon after moved to Los Angeles under the guidance of Trent Reznor. Callaway dropped out of the music scene for a couple of years and then reemerged in 2009 as Queen Kwong. She supported Nine Inch Nails in 2009 for the

"Wave Goodbye" tour and again in 2018. Carré released her debut LP, "Get a Witness", September 2015 to critical acclaim. She described it as a stream of consciousness record, recorded in one to two takes while improvising everything. The 1st Five said, "This album is harsh, confrontational, noisy, dreamy, calming and jarring. It’s doing exactly what great music should do: stir you down to the core and depths of your heart and leave you a shallow husk of mixed emotions begging for more." Kerrang magazine named the title track one of the top 10 songs of 2016. and listed it as one of

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

's Top 50 Records of 2015. The album was regularly played on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

. In support of the record, Carré toured extensively in the UK and Europe playing festivals like

Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

. In April 2016, Queen Kwong's version of the

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song "Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", "Baby D ...

song "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" off of her EP, "Bad Lieutenant", was used in the hit BBC TV show

Peaky Blinders (TV series) ''Peaky Blinders'' is a British period drama, period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight. Set in Birmingham, England, it follows the exploits of the Peaky Blinders crime gang in the direct aftermath of the World War I, First W ...

On April 13, 2018, Queen Kwong's sophomore record, "Love Me To Death" and tour dates were announced. The record received positive reviews, noting Callaway's ability to defy genres.

Kerrang ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-off ...

Magazine called the record "a study in dualities, at once confrontational and vulnerable, tender and brutal, with gossamer-fine melodies set against grinding synths and scarring punk guitars. It’s an immersive, eclectic, largely improvised set that repays repeated listening."

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

said this of the record, "Love Me To Death has the same dangerous energy as Callaway’s debut; squalling, distorted guitars, snatches of muttered conversation in the background, sheer screams, ghostly chimes, menacing drum beats… but it’s much more refined. There’s an explicit message in each song...It’s just as brave and bold a statement." In July 2022, Queen Kwong released her third LP, "Couples Only" followed by a music video starring

Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), best known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ...

for the track Sad Man

Personal life

In October 2016 Callaway married

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

guitarist

Wes Borland Wesley Louden Borland (born February 7, 1975) is an American rock musician. He is best known as the current guitarist and backing vocalist of the rap metal band Limp Bizkit, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative and industrial rock ...

. The couple resided together in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, where they starred in the TV series, Sight Unseen, about renovating their historical home. In April 2018, Callaway released a statement confirming that she had been diagnosed with

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...

. Callaway filed for divorce from Borland in 2019. In January 2023, Borland filed a defamation lawsuit against Callaway for statements Callaway made during an interview. In March 2023, it was announced that Borland’s lawsuit had been dismissed by a Detroit judge.https://www.metrotimes.com/music/detroit-judge-dismisses-limp-bizkit-guitarists-defamation-lawsuit-against-ex-wife-32521875?media=AMP+HTML

Discography

* 2013: Bad Lieutenant (EP) * 2015: Get a Witness (LP) * 2018: Love Me to Death (LP) * 2019: Oh Well (EP) * 2022: Couples Only (LP)

References

External links

Official Facebook Page

Official Queen Kwong Twitter

Official Queen Kwong YouTube Page

Artrocker.tv

Stereogum.com

{{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups established in 2009 2009 establishments in California