In Interview: King Strang of The Bridge City Sinners
The Bridge City Sinners are all the rage right now. After the band around lead singer Libby already caused a sensation in the USA, the folk band is now taking Europe by storm. The new record is in the starting blocks, and a new single, "Rock Buttom" (Flail Records / SBÄM), will be released tomorrow. Be sure to check out the group!
1. How did you come together as a band?
Libby (lead singer / ukulele) and Scott (upright bass) had been playing music together, busking around Portland and jamming in backyards or whatever. I (Michael / guitar) had a little trio going doing the same thing and we put an ad on Craigslist looking for more players. Libby answered it and convinced Scott to join us. The rest is history as they say.
2. There have already been some line-up changes. Who are the core members?
Libby, Scott, and I are the three original members remaining. We picked up Luke (fiddle player) when our clarinet player Ryan decided to focus on being an elementary school music teacher. Clyde (banjo player) has always been a good buddy of ours even before he was in the band. We toured with Clyde’s other band “Clyde and The Milltailers” a few times before he joined. So it just made sense. Clyde played mandolin on the last record and would fill in on banjo occasionally on tour. At the moment every current member is locked in and 100% committed to going the distance. It’s also probably the tightest lineup we’ve had since we’ve all been playing together.
3. If you had to pick one song that sums up The Bridge City Sinners well, what would it be?
Oh no this is a tough one. I think we’d all have a different answer to this, but I think we play such a range of different stuff there’s no one song that has it all. I think “Ashes” shows off our classic folk side, “Run From The Sun” is our jazz side, “Virgin Sacrifice” is our punk side, and “Never Gonna Give You Up” is where our hearts really lie.
4. When was the last time you sinned and what was the worst sin you have committed so far?
I mean it kind of depends if we’re talking Old Testament sins or New Testament sins. I think it’s safe to say if it's the Old Testament I probably sinned by drinking coffee this morning. As far as the worst sin I’ve committed there’s legal reasons I’m not at liberty to say.
5. Is there something you believe in? You have references to church and religion in your songs, correct?
Back when I was in the Freemasons, they had two things they’d never talk about, religion and politics. They always said those are things that divide people and don't bring them together. I’ll at least say we are not satanists and no we don’t worship the Devil haha.
6. Your new record is called "Unholy Hymns". What do the new songs sound like?
They sound a lot like I mentioned above, all over the place. We split it into two halves. “Book I” is classic sinners jazzy folk songs with our dark themes, and “Book II” is a totally new sound that gets closer to black metal but still with the acoustic instrumentation. It’s still us, but I think we’re really trying to push into something that’s scarier and more badass.
7. Did you have any role models that you followed?
I think we all kind of follow our own role models and that’s what keeps the music so interesting. We all come from pretty different backgrounds and disciplines of music. The music industry has changed so drastically over the last ten years, I think everyone is figuring out how it works day by day. So who’s footsteps should we be following cause we’d love some direction haha.
8. What was the feedback of your circle of acquaintances to the songs and who was allowed to listen to the tracks first?
Well we sent some rough drafts to my Mom and she said she didn’t like the screaming stuff as much as the rest of it, but she thought it’s all very good. I think we’ve put so much more work into this album, everyone we show it to is just impressed by how much more grown up it sounds.
9. You also have a great label Flail Records. How important is DIY to you?
Honestly if it was up to me we’d do everything ourselves forever. The Sinners started Flail Records and our bass player Scott runs it. I know for me personally the DIY music scene has supported me so much. It’s a lot less do it yourself and a lot more do it together. I think as we move forward we just have to accept that we can’t do it all ourselves. That being said, we will always do our best to work with folks we know and keep it in the community. We will always have DIY ethics.
10. You are also on SBÄM records in this country. Have you ever come to Europe?
We were booked for Europe last year but because of the pandemic we never got to go. We all are super excited to make it out to Europe sometime next year. Hopefully spring or summer sometime. SBÄM has been super helpful in getting us distribution and promotion in Europe. It’s a big ocean between us but we have SBÄM now and we’re so absolutely grateful for them. It’s important to us that our fans do not have to pay an arm and a leg for transatlantic shipping. We are big fans of the art of Stefan (who started SBÄM) They rule and we couldn’t ask for more with a partner label!!!!
