Kings of the Fucking Sea: The Cream Interview

Part kickass band, part visual art project, Kings of the Fucking Sea is a meeting of the minds between bassist Sara Nelson, drummer and illustrator Poni Silver and singer-guitarist Chet Weise. All three are folks you might know from their day jobs: Nelson co-owns Five Points bar Duke's, Silver designs the fashion line Black by Maria Silver and Weise is the chief of Third Man Books.

After nearly a decade of shifting lineups and ear-bleeding, punk-inspired psychedelia, the trio’s first full-length is finally here. The twist: It’s a live album. The group recorded In Concert direct-to-tape over two nights in February at Soft Junk. With six originals, three covers, and drum solos and riffs for days, it’s a head-on collision of classic-rock moves and punk-rock attitude. 

For the group, having the gigs at the freaky East Side gallery and showspace allowed for a looseness that’s hard to achieve in the studio, and a canvas to get as weird as the moment called for. What they didn’t realize was that they were also documenting one of the last great weekends of live music as we knew it. Manufacturing backups caused delays, but In Concert was released digitally and on vinyl via U.K. label Agitated Records; copies landed in local stores on Nov. 27, and you can order one via Bandcamp. 

Above, check out a video, filmed and edited by Doug Lehmann, of the band performing “Death Dealer” during the shows captured for In Concert. Ahead of the release, the Scene spoke with the three Kings over Zoom — check that out below.

Releasing a live album in this day and age is an interesting move.

Chet Weise, guitar and vocals: I’m a big fan of live albums. I actually prefer them a lot of times. Seems that’s always when bands are looser and guitars are fuzzier. Having it as a first release is unusual, but I figure if MC5 and Band of Gypsies did it, we could do it also.

What were some formative live albums in each of your lives?

Sara Nelson, bass: I love all those Velvet Underground live records. They’re just so weird. And Cheap Trick of course, At Budokan.

Poni Silver, drums: Beastie Boys bootleg CDs from this record store I used to go to in the ’90s in Miami, where I grew up. More recently, Beyonce’s Homecoming.

Has capturing bands’ essences in the studio been a challenge in the past? 

CW: Yeah, recording is always the best and worst of times. It usually turns out alright, but can be frustrating. 

I love the raw simplicity, the looseness of Kings's sound. The Stooges and MC5 are obvious touchstones, but what are others?

CW: Blue Öyster Cult. Sabbath, of course. Spacemen 3. Hawkwind. Sleep.

PS: My old band The Ettes was pretty straight-up garage rock. Towards the end we got into that ’60s psychedelia vibe, but nothing as heavy as this. 

CW: I’ve been in a five-piece, been in duos, played in all kinds of fucked-up tunings, so being in a trio that allows for improvisation and looseness is my dream come true. 

The subject of the song “Death Dealer” — is that the Grim Reaper? A heroin dealer? Pharmaceutical company rep?

CW: All those things. There’s a story arc to the songs on the record … and the Death Dealer is the antagonist of this rock epic. We printed the lyrics on the back cover, so if people want to get into that side of the band, they can. I know I’m not the easiest vocalist to understand. 

On In Concert you cover T. Rex (“Buick Mackane”), Pink Floyd (“The Nile Song”) and … Canadian indie rock duo Mecca Normal? I’m curious how their track “I Walk Alone” became part of the Kings repertoire. Were y’all fans of the ’90s K Records scene? 

SN: I lived in the Pacific Northwest for a bit after high school — I went to Evergreen [State College, in Olympia, Wash.], or more accurately, dropped out — so I used to see Mecca Normal play lots of shows. I hadn’t listened to them in a while, but got a record of theirs from The Groove. Revisiting it, that song got into my head. 

CW: I was not familiar with that band at all until Sara texted me late one night suggesting we cover them. It’s funny — Simon [Keeler] at Agitated, he’s an old-school metalhead, but the first thing he recognized on the record was the Mecca Normal song. And when we played with Mudhoney, they picked up on it instantly and asked about it. Mecca Normal’s the cool pick, T. Rex everyone just loves, and Pink Floyd’s the standard.

Looking back, what was the vibe like at the two shows?

SN: It just felt like a big house party. We played with friends both nights, and kind of just lived in there all weekend.

CW: I think those shows are going to be remembered now because of what happened in such rapid succession afterward — the tornado, the virus. 

PS: It was a rocking weekend. Everyone was in a great mood and no one had any idea our lives were about to be flipped upside down. I’m glad we had that experience. 

A spot like Soft Junk, you kind of have to be plugged-in to know about. Going forward, do you see live music going further underground out of necessity — with the rock-club landscape getting hit the way it is? 

CW: Even before all this, to do a two-night stand, bring a reel-to-reel out, invite all your friends, and do your own art installation — where else could you do that in Nashville? Music’s always had a way, the underground has always been the lifeblood. It’s going to take some adaptability [and] innovation to get things going again — but I think people will be ready.