Common Kings’ style and music is a collection of inspirations orchestrated into an array of head rocking beats, feel good vibes, and emotional fever. Their crazy, fun-loving attitude compliments their live sound, producing phenomenal pop hits with rock, reggae, and R&B influences. These originate from each band member’s love for various genres and widespread knowledge of music.
The majority of Common Kings were born in the South Pacific, and raised in Orange County, California. Growing up with households full of colorful personality and vibrant passions for music, Common Kings’ members naturally grew up forming individual musical paths. Their respective musical journeys involved mimicking and listening to artists such as Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder, George Benson, Jim Croce, Michael Jackson, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Gypsy Kings, Earth, Wind & Fire, Bob Marley, and many more. The culmination of these musicians gives a pretty good idea of exactly who the Common Kings are.
Everything comes to a point through lead singer Sasualei “Jr King” Maliga. He is perhaps one of the most powerfully impressive vocalists amongst today’s leading artists. Born with an untrained raw-talent, Jr King’s singing ability seems boundless as he amazes listeners with a wide range of belting notes and soulful passion. His humble demeanor off-stage needs no introduction as to when the band is rocking out on-stage, creating a young, wild, and free atmosphere. The group is also comprised of guitarist Taumata “Mata” Grey, bassist Ivan “Uncle Lui” Kirimaua, and drummer Jerome “Rome” Taito.
Currently on tour with pop star Meghan Trainor, the Rolling Zone was able to get the fellas on the phone in between shows in anticipation of their upcoming Bozeman and Missoula performances.
RZ: Hey guys.
CK: How’s it going?
RZ: Good. How are you?
CK: Good, good, good.
RZ: Thanks for doing this interview with me today. How’s everything going?
CK: The tour’s going great. We’re on our way to Miami right now.
RZ: What do you guys have going on today?
CK: It’s actually my [Jr.’s] birthday and we’re having a lunch celebration.
RZ: Oh happy birthday!
CK: Thank you.
RZ: For sure. Your music has been described as a reggae/pop R&B infusion. Is that an accurate representation? Further, how does the Common Kings make its mark on this genre?
CK: Yeah, I think that’s a perfect description for us. We all have our different influences. I [Jr.] come from a more gospel, soulful R&B kind of background. Uncle Lui’s more like Latin jazz funk, alternative hard metal. Then Big Rome, he’s more like the reggae Cali vibe kind of guy. Mata has the alternative. It’s a good description that we all think is perfect for us.
RZ: And you guys have fun doing it. Sounds like it at least.
CK: Yeah, for sure. And I think it comes out in our music, you know, you can tell we have different influences and the way we blend it all.
RZ: You’ve steadily released material over the last several years. From your singles to your most recent EP Hits & Mrs. Is there strategy behind the consistent delivery of music?
CK: It kind of just happened that way. We wanted to release a full length album, but having to travel and touring a lot, there’s a lot of things to take into account. We’re always gone. We wanted to get the content out for listeners.
RZ: Speaking of the music, has there been a shift in your creative process since the making of Summer Anthems, to Hits & Mrs. and even the recent single “On the Low”?
CK: It’s definitely coming a lot easier, the more we’re getting used to the creative process, getting used to being in the studio with different producers [and] different songwriters. Then just our own craft—the most recent album that’s going to be dropping, we produced a lot of the tracks with the help of some really, really good friends of ours. I would say that the process is getting a lot easier.
RZ: What’s the status on the album?
CK: The album is actually done. It’s just going through [the] marketing cycle. It’s probably the first time we’ve actually completed a project and not have to rush to release it. We’re actually starting work on some other projects while we wait for that one to be released.
RZ: No rest for the wicked. You’ve kept busy on tour since your inception with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Fifth Harmony, and currently Meghan Trainor. How do those experiences influence your headlining shows—like those here in Montana?
CK: The shows are definitely going to be scaled down because we don’t have the production or budget like Meghan Trainor does. But it’s definitely going to be a show. People are going to be entertained. Of all the tours we’ve been on, we’ve definitely taken something from each of them and incorporated it into our actual show. We’re not just going to come up there and play songs for everybody.
RZ: Do you guys have any favorites you like performing from your catalog?
CK: Personally, I [Jr.] like “No Other Love,” “Wade in Your Water,” “Before You Go,” “24/7,” “Since I Woke Up,” and I’m really excited to perform some of our newer songs on the album.
RZ: For those who have never witnessed, what does a Common Kings performance look like?
CK: It’s definitely an experience. We love what we do. We have a great time doing it. Our audience gets that feeling, that experience whenever they come to see us perform. They’re definitely a very huge part of our performance. A lot of people have gone away saying that they had a really, really good time. It’s kind of who we are as individuals, both in our private and public lives. We’re easy going, down to earth guys that love to laugh and have a good time. That’s being reflected in our show.
RZ: You seem full of energy, always posting some really great pictures of your travels and experiences.
CK: Yeah, we’re trying to become real photographers just in case music doesn’t work out.
RZ: Well, the music’s good and so are the pictures, so you’ve got both things going for you!
CK: Sweet. We’re on our way.
RZ: Where do you guys think you go from here? I know you’re touring and touring and touring, but what does the future hold for the Common Kings?
CK: Once this album drops, we’re gonna be a little bit more relaxed [as far as] our schedule. We’ve really been walking the line, the fine balancing act between touring and then being home to cut records. That’s one reason our first album has taken so long. We’re always on the road. When we come back, our tastes have changed, our contacts have changed, the people who want to help us out, they’ve changed. It’s constantly morphing into what we have completed now, which we’re really, really proud of. We can’t wait to share it. This coming year, we’ll be focused on a lot of things we weren’t able to focus on. A lot of us have individual goals as far as production, rehearsing, shows, and then obviously most importantly, time with our families.
RZ: Gotta have that. In closing, is there a story behind the name “Common Kings”?
CK: We all met 10 plus years ago. At Uncle Lui’s house, actually, at a bbq. We became best friends ever since. We started jamming and started Common Kings about five years ago. The name came about, one of our friends at the time was saying something about kings and different islands of the South Pacific. Our cultures are rich, and you know kings and queens. We wanted to pay homage to them, but we’re still common guys.
RZ: We’re really looking forward to your show in Bozeman.
CK: We love Bozeman. We’ve been there a couple times. We can’t wait, it’s gonna be fun!
Common Kings will perform with help from Ballyhoo! at the Eagles Ballroom on Tuesday, October 11th beginning at 9pm. Doors at 8pm. Tickets to this 21+ show are $20 and available now at www.1111presents.com/. Tickets to the University Center Ballroom show in Missoula the following evening, Wednesday, October 12th beginning at 8pm are also available through 11:11. Doors at 7pm. Tickets to this all ages show are $22 and $17 for students. •
