The King Khan & BBQ Show is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

duo from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada, who mix

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

. The band is composed of former Spaceshits bandmates

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 ...

and Blacksnake, alias King Khan. Mark Sultan, under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

BBQ, contributed vocals, guitar, tambourine, bass drum, and snare drum, while King Khan provides lead guitar and vocals. An entertainer named Leo Chips, formerly known as Age of Danger of the Deadly Snakes, (the SHOW in King Khan & BBQ Show) joined the group as a drummer and organist for some shows during the ''Invisible Girl'' U.S tour in 2009. Although the duo originally broke up in 2010, in 2011 they announced they had started recording together again and discussed the possibility of several new albums. This was followed up with continued touring in 2012 and a return to normality for the band.

History

BBQ and King Khan had collaborated as members of the Montreal-based Spaceshits from 1995 until 1999. During a mid-1999 European tour, Blacksnake (as King Khan was then known) opted to remain in Germany. The Spaceshits, choosing not to continue without Blacksnake, disbanded. Later in 1999, Mark Sultan started another Montreal-based band, Les Sexareenos, before venturing off on his own in 2002 as a one-man band under the pseudonym BBQ. It was as BBQ that Mark Sultan re-established contact with Blacksnake, playing alongside Blacksnake's new band, King Khan & the Shrines. The two began writing songs together at Blacksnake's apartment in Germany, playing them live at sporadic shows around Germany and Spain. In 2004, the band recorded their first album as the King Khan & BBQ Show, releasing "The King Khan & BBQ Show LP" in America on

Goner Records Goner Records is an independent record label and record store co-owned by Eric Friedl of The Oblivians and Zac Ives and based in Memphis, Tennessee. It is known for releasing albums by punk, garage rock, and more recently post-punk and synth-orie ...

, and on Hazelwood Records in Europe. The album was recorded by DM Bob in Hamburg, Germany. In support of the album, the band began a world tour, with stops in Europe, the US, and South America. In 2006 the band released their second LP, "What's for Dinner?", on In the Red Records. In 2008, Impose Magazine crowned King Khan the best performer of 2008. On July 31, 2009,

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

reported that King Khan & BBQ will be releasing Invisible Girl (Album) in November. They embarked on a forty-day US/Canada tour to coincide with the release. On November 12, while on tour in the United States, Khan, Sultan, Leo Chips and tour manager Kristin Klein were arrested in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

on illegal drug possession charges. Klein was also booked for driving with an invalid license. She entered a guilty plea and will appear in court on April 2, 2010. The band missed three shows due to the holdup. The same year, the band brought their typically confrontational and wild show to China for a tour with local promoters

Split Works Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

. In 2010, the duo was hand picked by

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

and

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

to play two shows at the Vivid Live festival they were curating. The shows were played at the Sydney Opera House. The festival described the band's art: "This dynamic duo has relentlessly pursued an uncompromising vision of the subversive power of music that pays no heed to commercial imperatives. Standing outside the industry, two fingers raised in salute, they have nevertheless managed to forge an international career completely on their own, idiosyncratic terms." The band split after the Sydney show. On June 2, 2011, Mark Sultan announced that he and King Khan had recorded with one another once again. On July 13, 2012, The King Khan & BBQ Show reunited for the first time since the Sydney show, for a sold-out performance at Lee's Palace in Toronto. They have continued to perform and tour, into 2019. As of 2022, their single 'Love You So' from 2007 has gained renewed recognition thanks to being used in a number of

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

videos.

Discography

Singles

* "BBQ & Blacksnake" 7" (Solid Sex Lovie Doll Records, 2005, SSLD 013)

EPs

* ''Animal Party 7"'' (

Fat Possum Records Fat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Water Valley and Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording previously unknown Mississippi blues artists (typically from Oxford or Holly Sprin ...

, 2008) * ''Teabag Party 7"'' (

Crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

, 2008) * ''We Are the Ocean 7"'' (

Sultan Records Sultan Recording Company, headquartered in Detroit, was a short-lived label started c. 1946 by Morton Sultan (1921 - 1983).

, 2011)

Splits

* ''Split 7" with the Flakes'' (

Norton Records Norton Records, is an independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller in 1986. The label concentrates on rock, rockabilly, primitive music, punk, garage rock and early rhythm and blues.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 ...

and The King Khan & BBQ Show 7"'' (Norton Records, 2007, 45–138)

Albums

* '' The King Khan & BBQ Show LP'' (

, 2004, 15Gone), (Hazelwood, 2005, HAZ 033), ( In the Red, 2007, ITR147) * '' What's for Dinner?'' (In the Red, 2006, ITR136) * ''

Invisible Girl The Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four and was the first female superhero created by Marvel dur ...

'' (In The Red, 2009) * ''Bad News Boys'' (In The Red, 2015)

DVDs

* ''Live!!! in Kansas City - Double Disc DVD'' (Twitch Productions/The Little Room Record Co., 2008)

References

External links

Rollo & Grady Interview with King Khan - February 9, 2009

Rollo & Grady Interview with Mark "BBQ" Sultan - October 9, 2009

The King Khan & BBQ Show's Wild Feature in SPIN's February Issue

The King Khan and BBQ show - Invisible Girl Video, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:King Khan and BBQ Canadian punk rock groups Garage punk groups Musical groups from Montreal Rock music duos In the Red artists Canadian musical duos Canadian garage rock groups