Vocalist Angii Portolesi and her bass-playing husband Stephen recently talked by speaker phone to discuss Kings And Associates’ two-week, 14-show excursion in the U.S.
Lockdown mode
Stephen: “COVID hit Australia in early 2020 and the country was shut down all of 2020 and 2021 and the first half of 2022. You couldn’t come in and you couldn’t go out. A lot of the rest of the world opened a lot of sooner than Australia. Our first shows in the U.S. were due to start in May 2020.
Angii: We were doing Memphis that month and some festivals and that got canceled so that was it. We went into hibernation for a bit.
Stephen: Toward the backend of last year, air prices had come down a little bit. The prices are still very expensive, but we decided to reach out to our contacts in the U.S. and see how it goes. We probably could’ve done a four- or five-week run but we decided to cram everything into two weeks. It’s going to be a hectic two weeks. I think we do about 14 shows. It’s nice but bonkers.”
Watch the music video for “Red Dress” by Kings And Associates:
Familiar flavors
Angii: “We find our genre, our flavor of blues and soul, connects with American folks even better than it does in Australia because of the heritage you have. The history of Australian isn’t quite that but people here grew up spinning the vinyl of all the blues and soul guys. We’ve had people in America that have kept in contact. They saw us at a couple of shows, and they say they can’t wait to see us again. Americans really appreciate that genre, but Australians don’t quite have a good handle on it.”
Stephen: “There’s a much deeper culture of going and seeing live music in the U.S. than there is in Australia. You get people who are passionate about live music and are very open to hearing original music. In Australia it’s not quite like that. It’s quite narrow so we’re glad to have the opportunity to play in front of the people we sort of engaged with last time. We feel at home stylistically in the U.S. We’re really looking forward to Dayton. We love Lakeside. We actually played their song ‘Fantastic Voyage’ for years. It’s quite poetic for us to come to the home of those guys.”
Angii: “We love Lakeside. One of the guys in the band, our guitarist and other singer, and he’s an aficionado of funk and soul bands and where they’re from so he’s very excited about that.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Making connections
Stephen: “The people we see in the U.S. where we play are passionate about live music. They’re educated as well, and they know it’s an effort to get over there but it’s also an effort just to be in a band that has seven people that get on with each other and are happy to travel in a van and sleep in the same sort of accommodations. I think that’s where the education is different there than a lot of other places. They appreciate that and that’s a big part of the reason we’re so well supported.”
Angii: “It was great because last time we came we got invitations to come straight back off the back of that tour. We were back in the U.S. 2½ months later. We played in Texas. It was a really big show, and it was great. We flew in for the weekend and then flew back home. You get out, people see you and people go, ‘Oh, we’re going to get you for this and that and the other and it just rolls for there. That’s how it happens. Hopefully, it’s like that this time around.”
Stephen: “The last time we were out in the U.S. it was pretty much a five-piece. This time around we actually have the whole seven-piece lineup, the normal group from where we live. The entire entourage is heading over. It’s the all-Aussie lineup so we’ve got three lead vocalists, two keyboard players and two guitarists. We have a lot of flexibility and fluidity with our arrangements now, which is very cool. The guys playing love to allow space for other members of the band to shine. It’s a very supportive and generous environment to be playing in.”
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or donthrasher100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
Who: Kings And Associates
Where: Levitt Pavilion, 134 S. Main St., Dayton
When: 7 p.m. Friday, July 7
Cost: Free
More info: www.levittdayton.org
Artist info: kingsandassociatesmusic.com
About the Author
