The Kingpins featuring Lorraine Muller - The Queen of Ska was a
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
band 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 ...
that created
Stomp Records
Union Label Group is a record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was formed through the merger of the smaller labels Stomp Records, 2112 Records, and Tyrant Records. Mayday! Records was later created as a genre imprint.
Stomp Records was ...
label with fellow Montreal Ska band
The Planet Smashers
The Planet Smashers are a Canadian ska punk band from Montreal. Since their formation in 1993, they have been a staple of the Montreal music scene. During the third wave of ska, they performed nationally and later internationally, with tours in t ...
. The last Kingpins tour took place in 2004, after which the members of the band reformed under the name
Lo and the Magnetics founded by Muller in order to reflect the drastic line-up changes (and musical changes) that had taken place since the band's inception in 1994. During their ten-year reign, the band toured extensively in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. They are known for their danceable ska rhythms, and their catchy song-writing abilities in both
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
.
History
The group formed in 1994 by founding members of the Kingpins: Eric 'Boum Boum' Boulanger on drums, Jordan Swift on bass, Ian 'Hot Tub' Hodkinson on organ, and
Lorraine Muller on alto saxophone (later given the nickname "The Queen of Ska" by Bobby Beaton, she went on to play tenor and baritone saxes, and eventually became the lead singer.)
The band's first big break came with the release of their first single, "On the Run", written by Hodkinson and Muller which garnered them the 1995
Montreal Independent Music Industry
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
award in the category of Best Single. The single was released with two B-sides, "Spy vs. Spy" (a cover) and "Leave My Girlfriend Alone" (by Nigel Goddard, alto sax). The Montréal ska scene took notice and Kingpins shows attracted increasingly larger crowds. The wave of support was continued with the release of the band's first full-length album ''
Watch Your Back'' in 1997, but it wasn't until 1999 that they broke out into the mainstream media with the release of their second album ''
Let's Go To Work'', a more traditional-based ska album. The success of the second album led to major exposure, such as performances on the
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...
, at the
Montreal Jazz Festival
The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fest ...
and extensive touring in Europe.
The third and final album under the Kingpins' name was ''
Plan of Action'', released in September 2000. This album represented a major shift in the Kingpins' musical direction. Vocal duties were taken over almost exclusively by
Lorraine Muller, one of the band's original members. Before the release of ''Plan of Action'' Muller was primarily responsible for playing
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 ...
and singing vocals on a few songs. The band also experimented with different stylistic fusions, mixing ska with various other musical genres, including
new wave and
breakbeat
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...
. The album also featured guest appearances by many big names in the
Canadian ska scene, including
Dave "JFK" Adams of
JFK & the Conspirators, and
Mitch "King Kong" Girio of
fame. Though these were drastic changes, the album was well received.
The group toured on and off over the next four years, but by 2004, the band's line-up included only one original member (Muller), and the group announced on October 28, 2004 that their next album would be released under the name
Lo and the Magnetics. At the time of their "breakup", the Kingpins consisted of Lorraine Muller on lead vocals and saxophone, Chris Raz on guitar, Dan Meier on saxophone, Russ Cooper on bass, and Mike Gasselsdorfer on drums. In concert, Lo and the Magnetics occasionally played songs that were released under the Kingpins' name, though they referred to them as "covers". They have, however, retired some of the Kingpins' most notable songs, such as "The 10 Commandments of Ska". The Magnetics are on hiatus and expect to record some demos at some point.
Discography
*''
Plan of Action'' (
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
)
*''
Let's Go to Work'' (
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
)
*''
Lootin' Shootin' and Wailin''' (7" vinyl single)
*''
Watch Your Back'' (
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
)
*''
On the Run
On the Run may refer to:
* "On the run", a phrase often used to describe a fugitive, a person fleeing custody
Literature
* ''On the Run'' (novel), by Nina Bawden
* On the Run (novel series), by Gordon Korman
* ''On the Run'', a novel in the S ...
'' (
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
) (CD single)
Compilation appearances
*"Plan of Action" on ''
Forty One Sixty'' (
JAM Records 2009)
*"Bed Rock Twitch" on ''
FlashBack'' (
Discos del Toro 2000)
*"Manon Viens Danser Le Ska" on ''2Tongue: le Québec en montre une!'' (Disques Sapristi!)
*"Ball of Fire" (with
The Pilfers) and "Give it to Me Now" on ''Oi!/Skampilation Vol. 3'' (Radical Records)
*"Johnny Ratchet" on ''
The All-Skanadian Club Vol. 3'' (
Stomp Records
Union Label Group is a record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was formed through the merger of the smaller labels Stomp Records, 2112 Records, and Tyrant Records. Mayday! Records was later created as a genre imprint.
Stomp Records was ...
1997)
*"Watch Your Back" on ''
The All-Skanadian Club Vol. 2'' (
Stomp Records
Union Label Group is a record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was formed through the merger of the smaller labels Stomp Records, 2112 Records, and Tyrant Records. Mayday! Records was later created as a genre imprint.
Stomp Records was ...
1996)
*"Spy vs. Spy" on ''
The All-Skanadian Club Vol. 1'' (
Stomp Records
Union Label Group is a record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was formed through the merger of the smaller labels Stomp Records, 2112 Records, and Tyrant Records. Mayday! Records was later created as a genre imprint.
Stomp Records was ...
1996)
Videography
*''Supernova''
*''Consequence''
*''Bordel''
*''Manon Viens Danser le Ska'' (
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
)
References
External links
The Official Kingpins Web Site (English)The Kingpins on MySpaceThe Kingpins on CBC Radio 3*
Ska and Order: Skankin' the old way with The Kingpins (from Eye Weekly Magazine)The Kingpins at Stomp Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingpins, The
Musical groups from Montreal
Canadian ska groups
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups disestablished in 2004
1994 establishments in Quebec
2004 disestablishments in Quebec