No Matter What - King Calaway
King Calaway is the breakout country group heard across the world. With six group members from three different countries, King Calaway has organically and seamlessly blended together their diverse backgrounds to create their smooth, soulful, country sound. The group is composed of 6 multi-talented musicians, Caleb Miller, Chris Deaton, Simon Dumas, Jordan Harvey, Chad Michael Jervis, and Austin Luther who all pursued solo careers before coming together in Nashville to create the dynamic and fresh sound that is uniquely King Calaway.
Jamie Agoglia: How did you all come together in Nashville?
Simon: We all had mutual friends who brought us together. I was studying in England, and a guy I knew also knew Jordan, who had moved to Nashville, and he recommended I got out to Nashville and meet up with Jordan and play music with him. At the time, Jordan and Chris already knew each other and were already hanging out and jamming, and it was a pretty similar situation. We we’re all brought together by mutual friends.
What was was it like when you all played together for the first time?
Jordan: I think straight away when we got into a band room together, all six of us, we played “Love The One You’re With,” which is on ourself titled EP, and once we had played that song I think we could feel the chemistry and the energy between us as a group and I feel like “Love The One You’re With” really became the blueprint for the King Calaway sound.
Part of your mission is to bring authenticity back to country music. Being that you’re from three different countries with six different stories and backgrounds, what has it been like to blend that diversity into your organic and unique sound?
Chad: I think that even though we all come from very remote and different places throughout the world, all of us grew up with a love and passion for music and a desire to be in a band. I think we definitely found that within each of us, each of us has such a passion for all genres of music. The reason why we all gathered towards Nashville is because we wanted to be a part of country music and create our own lane within it. There is so much change happening right now in country music and we wanted to be a part of that. When we went to the studio, we played the EP live and did all the instruments and vocals live, so the fresh, organic sound that you’re hearing is because it’s all coming from a live band. And that’s something we wanted to have in our sound as King Calaway and I think that’s something we have been able to accomplish.
What does King Calaway mean?
Chris: I used to wash tour busses for a living while was still trying to make music work. Somebody there had the last name of Calaway, it’s not that glamorous or heroic of a story but it’s the truth [laughs]. We had been testing out different names and we came up with the idea of King Calaway forward, and we all liked that. Since were from three different countries, we also wanted a name that sounded the same when said in any of our accent and we all pronounce King Calaway the same regardless of who says it.
How did you overcome the hardships that come with creating a band, which you’ve done with great success?
Caleb: Whenever starting something new, theres always roadblocks. What helps with getting through those hard times is knowing that there is nothing else that you would rather do, ever.There were so many times when I was trying to make a career in music and when it never felt like it was working, I thought about my options, maybe try another profession, but truly there is nothing we would rather be doing, regardless of the hardships. It’s more than wanting to be in music, it’s a need to create and bring people together through the power of music, and that is always a drive for us, individually and collectively.
How does having three lead singers influence the dynamic of King Calaway?
Simon: It’s a cool thing we’ve got going on, because unlike most bands, the three lead singers are by no means the three leaders. Every each instrument, including vocals, is treated equally. We’re all instrumentalists, so we approach the band with that, and then using our voices we tell the story. We split it up in a way that gives everybody a chance to share their story of the song.
How was the experience of performing at The Grand Ole Opry.
Caleb: It was one of the most surreal moments of our lives. When we first walked on stage. Brad Paisley introduces us, and then he looks at us and says, “I hope you guys wore your diapers today, ‘cause you’re about to crap your pants.” And that’s really how I was feeling [laughs], so nervous and so excited. We just looked out into the crowd and it was all family and friends cheering us on, it was a great feeling.
What can we expect for the rest of 2019 and beyond?
Austin: We’re doing some promos in Australia and cameo appearance on a show called, “Neighbours,” which is huge in the UK. After that, we have a few CMA Fest performances, one of which is at the Ascend Amphitheater. That performance is going to be ridiculous; it’s a huge venue that we’re all really excited about. We’ll be performing at the Grand Oprey again, and we have our album coming out in the fall, so there’s a lot of great things coming this year.
What message do you hope to spread through your music?
Simon: Our music is very positive and that’s something we want on the forefront. We recently opened for Garth Brooks, and one of the biggest compliments we got after the show was people just coming up to us and telling us, ‘you guys just look like you’re having so much fun on stage”. We just want the lyrics, the music, and our performance to translate that positivity and really have it shine through what we’re doing. We also want to spread the message that music can be whatever you want it to be, there are no rules.