Watching the videos of this new EP Live in Focus, it’s so different to Live in Color. So technically, in a year, we’ve put out four releases. We just put an album of instrumentals out. Now, I just realised it’s a year since Live in Color came out! Or I could do an acoustic album and people will love it because they bought into our process more than just ‘this is what Kings Kaleidoscope sounds like’. I know that whatever we do next – we could do a rap EP and I bet people would love it. But I feel like we’ve put out a mixtape with infinite different feels, and then we do live versions and there’s even more feels! And all of our other records have different feels, and it’s like – this is what we do! By and large, people are buying more to us as artists than a certain one product. Then their next album is a little left of that and everybody is upset and makes comparisons. Often a band will put out a first record and it’s branded as say, pop punk. So I feel like we’re incredibly blessed to have an audience that’s ready for that. I think we’ve set that up with the language that it’s always going to be changing and different. We do what we like, we were inspired by this stuff, this is the way we make music. We’ve been really true to market ourselves as who we are. But that’s not gonna happen because this is a niche project record. I would feel more pressure if we had a song on the radio, or if we were winning a Dove Award or something like that. That to me is mind-boggling, but it’s not enough to put us on the radar of people all over America and the world yet. We’re going to North Carolina tomorrow to play a concert that will probably sell 400-500 tickets. When you look at numbers, it’s not like we’re a massive band still. I still feel like the record is a completely underground, niche thing. But at the same time it doesn’t feel like it’s wildly successful yet. I think there’s temptation there, for sure. My goal was that I needed to just do this for myself, and it’s beautiful how God was doing it for a much larger purpose than just helping me process.ĭoes making such a successful album – to critical acclaim – put pressure on what and how the next album will be? I can’t make that happen, and that wasn’t even my goal in making the record.
![kings kaleidoscope merch kings kaleidoscope merch](https://cdn.dribbble.com/users/2579490/screenshots/14691463/dribbble_4x.png)
Once again, I can’t take credit for any of that stuff. We get feedback on some songs, people go back to the scripture reference and it helped them through a tough thing. It’s mysterious – I don’t know where it comes from! I think the most encouraging thing is that people are connecting on a spiritual level with all different songs, across the board. I worked really hard to make it, but it still surprises me. It feels like a gift from God… It continues to inspire me. So it’s incredibly encouraging to hear that everybody else loves it too, but I would be satisfied with it regardless. I love listening to our record, and that’s why we released it.
![kings kaleidoscope merch kings kaleidoscope merch](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H5Yz7Aq0tJ0/maxresdefault.jpg)
But I balance that with the fact that I love the record, so I expect that others would too! There’s some in my band that say that we can’t wear our own merch – but I would never release a shirt that’s not cool enough to wear! And it’s the same thing with music. On the one hand, I’m really encouraged that everybody is so excited about it. How have you felt the album has been received across the last six months?ĬHAD: I’m definitely very encouraged. It’s done big things – five-star reviews, it was the Reel Gospel Album of the Year for 2014. SAM: Chad, we haven’t talked since Becoming Who We Are came out. I caught up with lead singer Chad Gardner a few days ago to find out more about Live in Focus, how the project was recorded, and what the band has in the pipelines for 2015. Containing a suite of tracks from their wonderful album of last year, Becoming Who We Are, Live in Focus features the band at their live best.
![kings kaleidoscope merch kings kaleidoscope merch](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sKufShriDcU/hqdefault.jpg)
Only a few weeks ago, Seattle band Kings Kaleidoscope released their second live EP, Live in Focus.