For this Special DOC III Edition of Making Meaning, we’re talking with Bill Jenkins of Kingsnake!
Catch Kingsnake at Descendants of Crom III on Saturday 9.21.19 at Cattivo! Get tickets here.
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MAKING MEANING: THE BACKGROUND
Kingsnake plays heavy, 70’s-inspired Rock music. They describe their band as four good friends making honest music. Philadelphia, PA is their home.
Since their formation in 2006, Kingsnake has released four albums. Resonance is their latest album, released in 2016. Right after playing Descendants of Crom III, they are supporting Clutch and Lionize! Get tickets for this September 22 show in Wilmington, Delaware here.
Kingsnake is: Matt Farnan (drums), Matt Kahn (bass), Chris Wojcik (lead guitar), and Bill Jenkins (vocals, guitar).
Keep up-to-date with Kingsnake on their website, Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp.
MAKING MEANING: THE SONG
Listen to the song “Phoenix” from Kingsnake’s album Resonance and learn what meaning Bill makes:
Lyrics for “Phoenix” written by Bill Jenkins and Matt Farnan. Music written and performed by Kingsnake.
Bill Speaks
The song “Phoenix” is one of my personal favorites. What I really enjoyed about the writing process with this one was the collaboration between myself and our drummer Matt Farnan.
Matt had originally come to the table with some lyrics that he had come up with to fit to an arrangement we were working on. The story behind the lyrics were about an individual whose heart was broken by a woman and how he had found himself alone amongst the broken wreckage of their relationship.
“…Matt referred to the individual as a Phoenix rising from the ashes. That was the heart of the song right there.” – Bill Jenkins of Kingsnake on their song “Phoenix”
I wasn’t impressed with the original version, but there was one line that caught my eye where Matt referred to the individual as a Phoenix rising from the ashes. That was the heart of the song right there. I took the original idea and provided a more metaphorical approach to telling the story. “Woman, queen of fire, worlds collide into the sun” took the place of the description of a woman breaking a man’s heart and destroying their home. From that point the song pretty much wrote itself. Matt and I sat in the studio bouncing ideas back and forth until the lyrics were completed.
“This is represented in the song by an instrumental outro that takes the listener from a tremor to a full blow sonic explosion.” – Bill Jenkins of Kingsnake on their song “Phoenix”
The hero of the song, our “Phoenix,” rediscovers his sense of self and rises from the ashes to engulf his enemies in fire so as to never be harmed again. This is represented in the song by an instrumental outro that takes the listener from a tremor to a full blown sonic explosion.
I do hope our listeners enjoy the song as much as we enjoyed writing it. Rock on.
DESCENDANTS OF CROM III
We talked to Bill about playing at Descendants of Crom III. The Third Annual Descendants of Crom heavy music festival takes place in Pittsburgh, PA September 20 – 22, 2019.
How do you feel about playing DOC III?
We are truly honored to be playing DOC III. It’s great to have an opportunity to share time and jam with incredible bands and great people.
What can the audience expect from your performance?
Balls out Rock and Roll!
What other bands are you excited to see perform?
All of them honestly. I love hearing what people are up to. The folks in Fogbound are long time friends of ours, I love them and can’t wait to see their set.
Thanks so much to Bill of Kingsnake for talking with us about their song “Phoenix” and Descendants of Crom III! We hope this adds to your experience of their band, their song, and their performance. Thanks for making meaning with us.
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