July for Kings
Encyclopedia
July for Kings, or "JFK", is a Cincinnati, Ohio
-based alternative rock
band founded by Joe Hedges
(vocals
, guitar
), Sam Dobrozsi (drums
), Travis Delaney (guitar
), Jason Morgan (bass
), and T Miller (cello, guitar). The band was forged in Middletown, Ohio
, a steel town between Dayton
and Cincinnati, in 1997. July For Kings is known for its melodic guitar-heavy sound and Hedges' introspective, sometimes quirky lyrics. After several line-up changes that left him without two founding members, frontman Joe Hedges dropped the July For Kings name in April 2006, choosing to release the next album, Curvature, using his own moniker. In October 2007, Joe Hedges announced that July For Kings had reunited and that they were working on a new album. On June 23rd 2009 July For Kings released a new full-length studio album entitled Monochrome.
Since March 2011 July For Kings is recording their new album, containing the songs "Island" and "Middletown".
in Middletown Ohio. Their first recording was a 7-song cassette tape entitled Deeper, and included bassist Dave Murphy. This was followed by another demo release Gods, their first full length recording. Gods featured re-workings of several tracks on Deeper, both recorded locally and selling only a few hundred copies. During the recording of Gods, T Miller and Jason Morgan began appearing with Vice at weekly Caffiena's performances, eventually becoming permanent members.
In 1998 Grammy award
winning New York record producer/engineer Ken Lewis
took notice of the band and began working with them regularly. Lewis helped Hedges hone his songwriting and develop the sound as the band began performing more regularly in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas. The band changed their name from Vice to Swim. Swim's first full-length album Safe Unless was recorded in studios in New York. This was the first appearance of T Miller's cello playing, which would become a signature of the July For Kings sound and live shows.
Under Lewis's direction, the band was recording off and on for a period of several years. By 2000, they selected seven songs for The Laughter and the Noise EP. This album found the band drawing large crowds at clubs all over the tristate. Sold out shows quickly attracted attention from major labels; the band quit their day jobs and moved into a house in Ft. Mitchell Kentucky to focus solely on music. After a very long period of negotiation with several labels, the band secured a deal with MCA Records
through A&R Joel Mark in 2001. That year also brought the band two Cammy's (Cincinnati music awards) including Favorite Band. Once with MCA, to avoid trademark problems the band changed their name July for Kings.
which was responsible for building the careers of Live
and Fuel
. With new management and a recording contract July For Kings began recording at Longview Farms Studios in Massachusetts. Much of the overdubs were recorded at the band's house in Ft. Mitchell Kentucky. Growing impatient with the pace of the recording sessions, MCA removed Hedges' long-time producer Ken Lewis from the project, opting to finish the album in Los Angeles with producers Blumpy http://www.blumpy.com/blumpy/Main.html, and Ben Grosse
at Grosse's Mix Room Studios. After nearly a year of studios and producers, July For Kings released their national debut album SWIM (in honor of their former band name) on November 5th 2002.
Swims eleven tracks range from acoustic ballads to near-metal rock. "What sets JFK apart are the simple, solid lyrics of Hedges, who is not afraid to wear his emotions on his sleeve. There's a refreshing honesty in his lyrics" The album is a mix of every day imagery of "crisp, forthright" songs like "Normal Life" ("I'll make the bed, you feed the cat") and spiritual iconography of songs like "Believe", which Hedges has attributed to his Midwestern lifestyle and Catholic upbringing. July For Kings received airplay with their first single "Normal Life", including #1 most requested on Las Vegas station KMXB. The band participated in college tours and club tours, performing with bands like Collective Soul
, The Counting Crows, and Kill Hannah
.
In 2003, some July For Kings fans were surprised to hear the Hedges-penned July for Kings song "Girlfriend" on radio stations being performed by Wind-Up Records
recording artist and former bachelor from ABC
's reality TV show The Bachelor Bob Guiney
. Guiney changed several lines and delivered the song in a more pop fashion. Fans were upset, but Hedges attempted to ease tension writing in his online journal "we recorded it twice, and we've played it hundreds, if not thousands, of times. songs are meant to be shared. i'm happy that someone else has found a use for it. it's served us well."
MCA folded in 2003, moving some of its artists to Geffen Records
and dropping the rest, including July for Kings. Music industry woes eventually caused July For Kings to lose two founding members drummer Sam Dobrozsi and bassist Jason Morgan. Jason was replaced for the summer 2004 touring schedule by Cincinnati bassist Amos Heller (formerly of local rock act Oval Opus; now touring with Taylor Swift
).
) July For Kings began recording their second album, Nostalgia. Joe Hedges
produced the seven-song Nostalgia with Eric Stewart
; it was mastered in New York City at Sony studios. Nostalgia was recorded over a period of six months in studios and apartments in southwestern Ohio. The album was released independently in early 2005 and made it to CD Baby
's #1 seller spot within the third week of availability]. July for Kings signed a distribution deal with Handleman Company, which delivered the disc to Traditional retailers like Wal-mart. Over the next couple years July For Kings played shows in the eastern U.S. promoting Nostalgia and using the internet to expand their fan base.
began differentiating between his darker solo pursuits and his more straightforward writing for July For Kings.
As Swim:
As July for Kings:
Joe Hedges solo:
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
-based alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band founded by Joe Hedges
Joe Hedges
Joe Hedges is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, and visual artist. Hedges spent his high school years in Middletown Ohio....
(vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
), Sam Dobrozsi (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
), Travis Delaney (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
), Jason Morgan (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
), and T Miller (cello, guitar). The band was forged in Middletown, Ohio
Middletown, Ohio
Middletown is an All-America City located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Formerly in Lemon, Turtlecreek, and Franklin townships, Middletown was incorporated by the Ohio General Assembly on February 11, 1833, and became a city in 1886...
, a steel town between Dayton
Dayton
Dayton is a city in Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States.Dayton may also refer to:-United States:*Dayton, Alabama*Dayton, California, in Butte County*Dayton, Lassen County, California*Dayton, Idaho*Dayton, Indiana...
and Cincinnati, in 1997. July For Kings is known for its melodic guitar-heavy sound and Hedges' introspective, sometimes quirky lyrics. After several line-up changes that left him without two founding members, frontman Joe Hedges dropped the July For Kings name in April 2006, choosing to release the next album, Curvature, using his own moniker. In October 2007, Joe Hedges announced that July For Kings had reunited and that they were working on a new album. On June 23rd 2009 July For Kings released a new full-length studio album entitled Monochrome.
Since March 2011 July For Kings is recording their new album, containing the songs "Island" and "Middletown".
Early Career (1997-2000)
July For Kings first public performances were at Caffiena's coffee house in 1997. Then known as Vice, friends Hedges, Dobrozsi, and Delaney, were students at Bishop Fenwick High SchoolBishop Fenwick High School (Franklin, Ohio)
Bishop Fenwick High School is a parochial high school in Middletown, Ohio, USA. While it is in the city limits of Middletown, it has a Franklin mailing address.-History:...
in Middletown Ohio. Their first recording was a 7-song cassette tape entitled Deeper, and included bassist Dave Murphy. This was followed by another demo release Gods, their first full length recording. Gods featured re-workings of several tracks on Deeper, both recorded locally and selling only a few hundred copies. During the recording of Gods, T Miller and Jason Morgan began appearing with Vice at weekly Caffiena's performances, eventually becoming permanent members.
In 1998 Grammy award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning New York record producer/engineer Ken Lewis
Ken Lewis
Ken Lewis may refer to:*Ken Lewis , former head of Bank of America*Ken Lewis , session drummer*Ken Lewis *Kenneth Lewis, UK politician...
took notice of the band and began working with them regularly. Lewis helped Hedges hone his songwriting and develop the sound as the band began performing more regularly in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas. The band changed their name from Vice to Swim. Swim's first full-length album Safe Unless was recorded in studios in New York. This was the first appearance of T Miller's cello playing, which would become a signature of the July For Kings sound and live shows.
Under Lewis's direction, the band was recording off and on for a period of several years. By 2000, they selected seven songs for The Laughter and the Noise EP. This album found the band drawing large crowds at clubs all over the tristate. Sold out shows quickly attracted attention from major labels; the band quit their day jobs and moved into a house in Ft. Mitchell Kentucky to focus solely on music. After a very long period of negotiation with several labels, the band secured a deal with MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
through A&R Joel Mark in 2001. That year also brought the band two Cammy's (Cincinnati music awards) including Favorite Band. Once with MCA, to avoid trademark problems the band changed their name July for Kings.
The Swim Album Era (2001-2003)
In 2001, the band signed on with Media Five Entertainment, a management company based in Bethlehem, PennsylvaniaBethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
which was responsible for building the careers of Live
Live (band)
Live is an American rock band from York, Pennsylvania, composed of Chad Taylor , Patrick Dahlheimer , and Chad Gracey . Lead singer and principal songwriter Ed Kowalczyk left the band in November 2009....
and Fuel
Fuel (band)
Fuel is an American rock band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994...
. With new management and a recording contract July For Kings began recording at Longview Farms Studios in Massachusetts. Much of the overdubs were recorded at the band's house in Ft. Mitchell Kentucky. Growing impatient with the pace of the recording sessions, MCA removed Hedges' long-time producer Ken Lewis from the project, opting to finish the album in Los Angeles with producers Blumpy http://www.blumpy.com/blumpy/Main.html, and Ben Grosse
Ben Grosse
Ben Grosse is an American record producer and mixer, who has worked on numerous albums. He currently works with a staff at his own studio, The Mix Room, in Burbank, California...
at Grosse's Mix Room Studios. After nearly a year of studios and producers, July For Kings released their national debut album SWIM (in honor of their former band name) on November 5th 2002.
Swims eleven tracks range from acoustic ballads to near-metal rock. "What sets JFK apart are the simple, solid lyrics of Hedges, who is not afraid to wear his emotions on his sleeve. There's a refreshing honesty in his lyrics" The album is a mix of every day imagery of "crisp, forthright" songs like "Normal Life" ("I'll make the bed, you feed the cat") and spiritual iconography of songs like "Believe", which Hedges has attributed to his Midwestern lifestyle and Catholic upbringing. July For Kings received airplay with their first single "Normal Life", including #1 most requested on Las Vegas station KMXB. The band participated in college tours and club tours, performing with bands like Collective Soul
Collective Soul
Collective Soul is an American rock band originally formed in Stockbridge, Georgia. Collective Soul broke into mainstream popularity with their first hit single, "Shine", which came from their debut album Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid, released in 1993...
, The Counting Crows, and Kill Hannah
Kill Hannah
Kill Hannah is a rock band formed in 1993 in Chicago. The band has released six studio albums, seven EPs, and two compilation albums as well as three DVDs.-History:...
.
In 2003, some July For Kings fans were surprised to hear the Hedges-penned July for Kings song "Girlfriend" on radio stations being performed by Wind-Up Records
Wind-Up Records
Wind-up Entertainment, Inc. is a record label based in New York City. It was formed in 1997 by Alan Meltzer, former owner of CD One Stop, following his 1996 purchase of Grass Records. Wind-up is currently the largest independently-owned record label in the world...
recording artist and former bachelor from ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's reality TV show The Bachelor Bob Guiney
Bob Guiney
Robert "Bob" Guiney was a contestant on the first season of The Bachelorette and later, appeared as the bachelor in the fourth season of The Bachelor. He has hosted GSN Live from 2009 until the show's ending in 2011....
. Guiney changed several lines and delivered the song in a more pop fashion. Fans were upset, but Hedges attempted to ease tension writing in his online journal "we recorded it twice, and we've played it hundreds, if not thousands, of times. songs are meant to be shared. i'm happy that someone else has found a use for it. it's served us well."
MCA folded in 2003, moving some of its artists to Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
and dropping the rest, including July for Kings. Music industry woes eventually caused July For Kings to lose two founding members drummer Sam Dobrozsi and bassist Jason Morgan. Jason was replaced for the summer 2004 touring schedule by Cincinnati bassist Amos Heller (formerly of local rock act Oval Opus; now touring with Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
).
The Nostalgia Album Era (2004-2006)
In 2004 after picking up new drummer Dan McQuinn and bassist Drew Phillips (from TVT Records' Pay the GirlPay the Girl
-History:Lead singer Jason Allen Phelps first started performing in local venues in the Cincinnati area in the late 1990s, and decided to form a band in 2001. The group put out a demo EP soon after, which resulted in their signing with TVT Records in 2002, who landed a song of theirs, "Clueless",...
) July For Kings began recording their second album, Nostalgia. Joe Hedges
Joe Hedges
Joe Hedges is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, and visual artist. Hedges spent his high school years in Middletown Ohio....
produced the seven-song Nostalgia with Eric Stewart
Eric Stewart
Eric Stewart is an English musician, songwriter and record producer most known for his tenure with The Mindbenders in the 1960s, and 10cc from 1972 to 1995....
; it was mastered in New York City at Sony studios. Nostalgia was recorded over a period of six months in studios and apartments in southwestern Ohio. The album was released independently in early 2005 and made it to CD Baby
CD Baby
CD Baby is an online music store specializing in the sale of CDs and digital music downloads from independent musicians to consumers. The company is also a digital aggregator of independent music recordings, distributing content to several online digital music retailers.CD Baby has achieved recent...
's #1 seller spot within the third week of availability]. July for Kings signed a distribution deal with Handleman Company, which delivered the disc to Traditional retailers like Wal-mart. Over the next couple years July For Kings played shows in the eastern U.S. promoting Nostalgia and using the internet to expand their fan base.
Name Change
During the recording of Nostalgia, Joe Hedges reconnected with producer Blumpy who worked on the SWIM album for MCA. Blumpy mixed two songs for Nostalgia, and they began discussing the possibility of doing a full length together. Hedges began writing, and in the winter of 2006 he and Blumpy moved into a cabin in the woods on Elk Lake in Michigan and started recording. The album, entitled Curvature, is a departure from the July for Kings sound and has instead become Joe Hedges' solo debut. Curvature was released April 17th 2007 and features two other former July for Kings members Dan McQuinn on drums, T Miller on cello and guitar and introducing new bassist Brian IvesJuly For Kings Reformed
In of October 2007, the band reformed under the old name July for Kings, and began working on new material in 2008. In May 2008 they recorded a first song off the new album known as "Say it Now" and saw the departure of T Miller (guitar, cello, vocals). In interviews and his official blog Singer/Songwriter Joe HedgesJoe Hedges
Joe Hedges is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, and visual artist. Hedges spent his high school years in Middletown Ohio....
began differentiating between his darker solo pursuits and his more straightforward writing for July For Kings.
Monochrome
July for Kings third album, "Monochrome", was released on June 23, 2009 with new guitarist John McGuire. McGuire, a recent graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, is credited with mixing ten of the album's eleven tracks. Monochrome is a shift away from post-grunge alternative into a more modern pop/rock sound, using occasional piano and synthesizers to create lusher, more dynamic sonic atmospheres. Hedges explained, "Overall the mood is more upbeat, more positive, and more mature." Monochrome has been received favorably by fans and critics. Cincinnati's Citybeat Magazine described it as combining elements of July For Kings signature sound with some sonic ideas from Hedges solo album to create a record that is "more daring than JFK’s previous work." July For Kings is currently playing shows around the midwest and promoting Monochrome.Members Past and Present
- Joe HedgesJoe HedgesJoe Hedges is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, and visual artist. Hedges spent his high school years in Middletown Ohio....
(vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) - Sam Dobrozsi (drums)
- Travis Delaney (guitar)
- Jason Morgan (musician) (bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) - T Miller (celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, guitar) - Dan McQuinn (drums)
- Drew Phillips (bass)
- Amos J. Heller (bass) *currently on tour with *Taylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
- Brian Ives (bass)
- John McGuire (guitar)
Discography
As Vice:- Deeper (Self-released, 1997)
- Gods (Self-released, 1998)
As Swim:
- Safe Unless (Self-released, 1999)
- The Laughter and Noise EP (Self-released, 2000)
As July for Kings:
- SWIM (MCA RecordsMCA RecordsMCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
, 2002) - Nostalgia (Self-released, 2005)
- Monochrome (Self-released, 2009)
Joe Hedges solo:
- Curvature (Self-released, 2007)
- Lexington Demos (Self-released, 2008)
- Alchemy (Self-released, 2010)