Originally from New York & Massachusetts, Kings County performed throughout the northeast at all the major venues including the top ski resorts in New England. In 2000 the band was hired by Disney World as the house band at Pleasure Island. Since 2000 the band has performed over 2000 shows. Along with performances at Disney World, the band has played shows from Maine to New Orleans, and internationally at the Hard Rock Café in Cancun, Mexico. The band has also supported American Idol’s Bo Bice on his 2006 tour with enthusiastic response. The band made a strong comeback with their brand new video for the latest song, “Bleed These Tears”. Here’s our interview with the band’s vocalist, Robert Dexter!

Beginnings:

“The core of the band started out on Long Island, New York. I and Guitarist Bill Kania had played in a few bands together in the past. We were also musicians for illusionist Criss Angel. We decided to put together our own cover band strictly to make money. At that time the band was under another name and we created a huge following throughout the northeast United States. In 2000 the band moved to Orlando, Florida to perform for Disney World and things started to explode.”

Behind the name:

“When the band first formed we were under a different name. After a few years and a couple of member changes we thought it would be a great time to start fresh with a new name. Since the band was from New York we wanted to keep the New York theme in the name and we went with Kings County which is the county of Brooklyn, New York.”

Inspiration:

“Putting a band together and keeping it running smoothly isn’t always easy. You have to deal with a lot of different personalities. What keeps our band together is positivity, teamwork, and a common goal. Everyone knows their job and we work as a team to achieve that. Musically we are all fans of the 70’s rock supergroups that we grew up on. It’s amazing how so many of those bands are still together. They all have the same goal. Personally, I’ve always been inspired by musician Trent Reznor from the band Nine Inch Nails. He has such a unique vision of how he creates music and the visuals he creates for his live performances. He’s definitely in a league of his own.

Teamwork:

“We try to write songs collectively as a band. Every member contributes ideas and parts and we go through them all and pull out all the strong ideas to create the foundation of the song. We tend to write lyrics and subject matters around real-life situations that any listener can relate to. Lately, we have been recording the basic tracks here at our studio in Orlando, FL and then send them to our engineer/ producer Chuck Alkazian to edit and mix the final product. Having good chemistry between the members of the band and your producer is key for a successful song. Nothing makes a band stronger than having everyone on the same page. Three of us have played together for years. You just can’t go to the music store and buy tightness. Even though we are in the same band and have common goals we are all individually and personally different. We’re all like brothers who sometimes argue and disagree and having opposing views but that makes for an eclectic mix of ideas.”

Past & future:

“Landing the house band gig at Disney World was a pivotal time for the band. While performing a show at a ski resort in Vermont, someone from Disney management approached the band and ask if we’d be interested in playing for Disney. We took the offer and in 2000 we moved to Orlando and started our 8-year run there. One great thing about playing for Disney is instead of touring the world comes to you. People from all over the earth have seen the band perform and we accumulated a large fan base. Even today we have fans that still follow the band who saw us for the first time at Disney.

2018 was also an amazing year for the band. A friend of mine has posted on my Facebook page a link to a contest with iHeart radio. They were looking for original bands to submit their music. I kind of ignored it thinking, no one ever wins these contests and especially us. Finally on the last day to submit your music I said, what the heck, why not, so I uploaded one of our original songs. We won the contest and was offered the opening slot for Bon Jovi here in Orlando. Lifetime experience all rolled up into one badass night. It’s never a bad day when you can rock 20,000 people in a sold-out arena fronting a megaband like Bon Jovi. We got to hang with Jon Bon Jovi for a bit before our show. Such a down to earth and humble person. We ended up getting tons of press from the show that launched the band to a new level.

This whole virus situation has blindsided everyone especially the music industry. We went from moving along like an out of control freight train with tons of shows to a complete standstill. Even in lockdown, there are always things that can be done to promote the band. It’s a perfect time to continue writing new music and expand the band’s fan base. Staying busy is the key. We are slowly beginning to play live shows here in Florida. Things are beginning to get better here. We are looking forward to getting back on the road and performing live.”

Fun facts:

“One night while playing at Disney, the venue was packed and we were rocking a real heavy song and I noticed a guy up at the front of the stage headbanging. It turned out to be comedian/ actor Drew Carey. Apparently, he’s a huge fan of the band, wow, who knew.

The second funny thing that happened was while on tour in Alabama. I was entering a bank to deposit a check and little did I know was as I opened the front door a huge foot long rat ran into the bank ahead of me. All I heard was screaming from bank workers and customers all standing on chairs and desks. I guess the rat had to make a deposit too.”

Please support the band by buying their music – just click on the photo below.