Waterford ravers King Kong Company play their first Dublin show in over two years at Vicar Street on 27 October. We asked them the BIG questions . . .
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Tell us three things about yourself . . .
My name is Tom Stapleton and I am the keyboard/synth player with King Kong Company. I have a BA in Music and History from Waterford Institute of Technology. When I'm not playing music during the week, I drive a school bus.
How would you describe your music?
Wikipedia describes our music as electronica but that's a very general description. When we originally started our music was dub reggae, but our style has evolved over the years to a live electronic wall of sound. Some of that is down to new members, Aaron and Owen, they bring with them new sounds and influences which means our style of music is always evolving.
Who are your musical inspirations?
From an early age I was taught to play piano by my mother and both my parents always encouraged me to play music, so they would be my biggest musical inspirations.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
My first gig was seeing Dire Straits in the Point Depot. I remember their keyboard player, Alan Clark, was surrounded by lots of really cool looking synths and that was certainly a major influence on me wanting to play in a band.
What was the first record you ever bought?
I didn't buy many records when I was young, but I think one of the first ones I bought was The Joshua Tree by U2.
What's your favourite song right now?
My favourite song changes depending on my mood at the time. Among my favourites would be Creep by Radiohead, Bad by U2, Eve of Destruction by Barry McGuire and Leftfield's Release The Pressure. More recent favourites would be Bad Guy by Billie Eilish and Wet Leg's Chaise Lounge.
Favourite lyric of all time?
A very difficult question, but one which stands out is from the track Running to Stand Still on the Joshua Tree. Bono was talking about the Ballymun flats when he wrote "I see seven towers but only see one way out."
If you could only listen to one song over and over, what would it be?
I think being told that I could only listen to one song over and over would be a form of torture no matter how good the song was and would certainly be the ultimate inspiration to write something new. If I had to pick one, I think it would be Release the Pressure because I think Leftism was for me the most influential album of the 90s and that track was one which set the stall out for the album from the start.
Where can people find your music/more information?
People can find our music on Spotify, YouTube and for all the old school fans they can get a CD from our Merch store kkcstore.com.
