Los Reyes

Before I add my (LONG overdue) Kings of Leon concert blog post, I thought I might give you guys a little character synopsis as to who makes up the Kings of Leon.

I found this great article of a review of one on their concerts in the UK, and for those of you that have ever been to a KOL show, you will best understand and relate to what the writer talks about.
One of my favourite lines from the article that provides a caricature of the band members is:

"They look great: Caleb the ranch-hand hunk. Nathan the incredible Hulk. Jared the leather-clad juvenile delinquent. And Matthew the Barney Rubble lookalike."

In so many ways this is so accurate. The brothers Followill and their cousin Matthew fit so well into their 'prescribed personalities', you'd think they were TV show characters.

Oh and btw, yes they do all go by their second names, it's a family tradition.

LEAD VOCALS / RHYTHYM GUITAR:
Anthony Caleb Followill.
He is the (gorgeous) reserved, insecure, God-fearing man from the South that's still a bit surprised by the fact that his band is famous. He's a bit of a "tormented artist", as his older brother Nathan puts it.

I mean come on. The man is pretty damn adorable

Caleb looking like a Rock God.

"You can’t make someone love you, all you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in".

- Caleb. Definitely one of my favourite quotes ever.

DRUMMER / BACK-UP VOCALS/ PERCUSSION:
Ivan Nathan Followill.
As the eldest, he is the (handsome) responsible power house. He's the one physically in the background, but psychologically in the front of house, keeping things in check without stepping on anyone's toes. And he always wears sleeve-less shirts when playing, so the Hulk reference is totally valid. Plus, the guy is very funny and charming and out of all of them, I'd be the most compatible with him. Haha! No, but really.

"Turning down 'Glee' was like stepping on a kitten"

- Nathan.

"Being related, we're like Hotel California. You can check out at any time, but you can never leave"

- Nathan.

LEAD GUITAR / BACKING VOCALS:
Cameron Matthew Followill.
Oh, Matthew.
In the beginning, Matthew was rocking the Michael Cera look:

But Matthew got married.
Then Matthew got pregnant and had a baby boy.
He decided to keep the baby weight, and now he really does remind one of Fred Flinstone's sidekick.

On-stage none of them really speak, Caleb included. But in interviews you get a greater sense of who they are as their personalities come out more. Except for Matthew. He always comes across as the shy, quieter one in the background that sort of just adds more members to the band's physical presence. He was the first to get married and have a baby, which in a way has made him lose almost all of his coolness-factor.

Don't let any of that fool you though. He kicks ass on that guitar; has this huge, welcoming smile and can be equally as cocky as Jared, which is why the two of them get along so well.

"I’m a cousin. Cousins don’t fight so much. Maybe Oasis should call up a cousin or two and get a band going".

- Matthew, the only member of the band that isn't a brother.

Everyone in the band is pretty hilarious. Even shy little Caleb manages to bust out a few crackers. There's a GREAT KOL tumblr site dedicated to their quotes. It's so damn addictive. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I've spent several DAYS on that site, just reading through the stupid shit those guys say. It's so entertaining! I highly recommend it.

BASS GUITAR:
Michael Jared Followill.
Ah my little Jared. The Zoolander of the group. He really is a cocky little shit, but you honestly gotta love him for it. He's hot AND he's a freaking rockstar. To quote the LMFAO song, he's sexy and he knows it. And believe me, the guy really knows how to milk it.

There is no denying the hotness.

Jared's soon-to-be infamous pout.

Jared is the little devil of the family. Because he is the youngest, he gets away with pretty much anything. He's used to being spoiled, and getting what he wants, and he knows how to work that charm so well. Good looks and rockstar qualities aside though, the guy is pretty hilarious. On-stage he says literally nothing. Ever. He just pouts a lot, does a couple of booty pops, rocking to the rhythm and bopping to the beat. But in interviews and on twitter, you find that he's quite the comedien.

“We were at an afterparty and someone mistook me for a lesbian.”

- Jared.

If you don't follow him on twitter, you really should. Almost every tweet is entertaining:

"I have to commend the Australian public for being able to put each and every vowel into the word 'no'. Naeiou!".

- Jared.

"About to get a massage in my room. My manager told me the spa girls were hot. I showered, fixed my hair, did a bunch of push-ups. He lied".
- Jared.

ROADIE / GUITAR TECHNICIAN:
Christopher Mitchell "Nacho" Followill.
The unofficial 5th member of the band and fellow Followill cousin. He's often seen on-stage tuning Caleb's guitar before the show.
Nacho is a legend. He's been with KOL from the very beginning and has been to nearly every concert with them.
He also really resembles Caleb / a young Jared.

Nacho, Nathan, Caleb.

A YOUNG Jared.

Nacho doing some tuning

[Who started calling you ‘Nacho’?]

“Uhm, Nathan and Caleb I think. They were high, tripping on mushrooms. They said I looked like a nacho. So they called me that ever since”.

 - Nacho.

They really are a fantastic band. The critics need to shut the hell up and stop complaining. It's so hard to find good music these days, and KOL are amazing when it comes to writing good music. Let these boys be. If that comes with a little bit of rock 'n roll diva drama, so be it. They're rockstars for God's sake. They have to give the press something to talk about other than their music.

Don't forget to follow them on twitter!
Caleb: Does NOT have twitter. Caleb is basically afraid of technology. He's an old soul that guy.
Nathan: @DoctorFollowill
Matthew: @MatFollowill, Although I wouldn't expect many tweets from him (if any).
Jared: @YoungFollowill

And make sure to check out that tumblr page!

[Regarding the English accent] :

Jared: “I’ve always wondered, they say Glaston-‘bree’ and Bur-‘bree’. If it's ‘berry berry’, do they say ‘berry bree’, or ‘bree bree’ or ‘berry berry’?”

Matt: “You blow my mind”

Jared: “I blow a lot of minds".

- A Jatthew quote.

[How do you guys eat on the road?]:

Caleb: "I’m a pesco-vegetarian. When we’re in Europe I’ll try to watch the way that I eat, but it’s hard not to eat the good cheese and the fine chocolate — oh my God, dude, white chocolate with coconut? I swear, I feel like a woman! Like, really, when we come off stage, everyone’s like, Let’s go get some girls, and I'm like, Where’s my white chocolate? I just wanna curl up with a nice book…" 

Nathan: "He’s Mick Jagger on stage, and Bridget Jones in the upper deck of the bus at 2 o’clock in the morning".

- A Calen quote.

Old school KOL

One of my favourite tweets ever, are the two video tweets from Jared and Matthew respectively.

First Jared tweeted:

'I finally found out what Matt does in the dressing room when nobody is around:"

In response, Matthew made his début tweet by tweeting:

"I finally found out what @youngfollowill does in his dressing room when nobody is around:"

I mean. I can't even.
Best tweet & retort ever.

Don't they clean up nicely?  Pardon the shower scene & Grammy wins pun.

These guys are just so good at what they do.
Relatively speaking, they're still a pretty young band, but in my eyes, they're already legends. And when you watch Talihina Sky, you can't help but be reminded of The Beatles and the success they've achieved in terms of both their fame and their music.

The Kings of Leon are the stuff that legends are made of.

Just you wait and see.