Warp Kings' fun covers help beat COVID blues
Nickelback bassist and his cousin part of new quintet kicking out jams in downtime
Warp Kings is a new rock band with some old roots.
Part family affair, part past affiliations and part active recording acts, the quintet arrives on the scene rocking out from the socially distanced safety of its members' homes. In fact, the whole reason for the project is directly due to members having time on their hands.
Bassist Mike Kroeger and his cousin, drummer Brandon Kroeger, obviously know each other from playing in an early incarnation of Nickelback. Brandon played with vocalist SCOTTROCKER (a.k.a. Scott Holman) in a Nickelback cover band called Village Idiot. Holman is presently in the Vancouver-area band Curds and Whey with keyboardist Greg Kisser. Brandon jams with guitarist Robert Renman. Together the band has released two songs — a cover of the Beatles' Hey Bulldog and Faith No More's Midlife Crisis — and its holiday cover of Run Run Rudolph is out this week.
For what is primarily a project dedicated to providing housebound musicians with a chance to kick out the jams, the Warp Kings arrived on the scene with more than a simple plan to play together.
The band has its Youtube channel, it has a nifty logo, merchandise including masks and an active Facebook page. Clearly, nobody is a rank beginner here. They've got something going on that is obviously a good time for the fellas as well as an outlet for potential fans drawn to the band's material.
Here are five things to know about the band provided by Brandon Kroeger and Holman:
1. The drummer did it
“We were in lockdown and everyone was looking for connection with other people and some entertainment,” said Brandon. “I had the idea of doing Midlife Crisis, just for fun and reached out to Scott because I knew he could sing it. Scott brought Greg along and I knew Rob as someone here in Camrose (Alta.) I was interested in playing with and then I reached out to my cousin Mike, who I didn't expect to be into it. But he's in the same place as everyone else; not gigging, not rehearsing.
2. The material
The original idea was to cover Faith No More's Midlife Crisis. Something about the song's unusual groove appealed to all the members. The session went so well that they decided to do the Beatles tune. Then came Run Run Rudolph for the Christmas video.
3. Home studios rocking
“I'm going into the studio to do my vocals, late at night at a place that is all COVID'D up and we are masked, etc.,” said Scott Holman. “But everyone else has been doing it from their home studios. If you've got a good mike and a few other pieces of gear, you can do a great job at home. Owing to my late work hours and a kid at home, this has been best for vocals.”
4. Seven and counting
After Run Run Rudolph, the Warp Kings will be tackling a song by The Doors. Key to whatever songs the group settle on, one thing will hold throughout any session. The Warp Kings need to play music that grooves and, yeah, is a bit on the hard edge. The count at the time of this interview was seven songs with more to come. They'll be rolling them out incrementally.
5. Playing live
They have merch. They have a set. And Holman has a dream: “My goal is to make enough money, fly everyone out to Vancouver and do a one-off at the Roxy. One-nightonly and spend all of it.” Holman is also seven songs into a new Curds and Whey recording. Both he and Brandon say that it's just so great to have some kind of an outlet during what has been a challenging year for all.