You may have heard their music at a Detroit Redwings game or in stadiums across the United States and Canada. Maybe you have seen them performing along side bands such as Bush, Pop Evil, X Ambassadors and many more. I personally discovered the band on SXM Octane. Autumn Kings would go on to have a hit single, "Sleep when I'm Dead," earn a spot on SXM Octanes regular rotation. These accomplishments should not go unnoticed especially considering they are an independent band with no label to support them.
Recently I had the pleasure of catching up with Joe the lead singer from Autumn Kings.
For those of you that have never heard of Autumn Kings the best way to describe them would be if Fall out boy and Linkin Park had a baby. From the conversation I had, I can tell Joe and the members of the band are truly men of the people, who pour their heart in soul into their work.
When the band joined the music scene in 2015 they had a sense of wanting to do things their way and not follow typical "genre boundaries." Since then the band has generated over 40 million streams. In addition the band has a new single, "Hell Bound," that is currently rocking the world and making its way up the charts. I have listened to "Hell Bound" and I would say it is definitely worth checking out. With all of this being said, I feel as if the world needs a band like Autumn Kings to spread positivity through music and help make people feel strong and empowered.
"I have a few questions but before that please introduce yourself/Band including where are you from and anything you may want fans to know."
Joe: Hello! My name is Joseph Coccimiglio and I am the Lead singer and co-frontman of the Windsor/Detroit-based band “Autumn Kings” and I would like the fans to know that we love them and are pumped to be answering these questions for The Concert Chronicles.
Anthony: What makes Autumns Kings different from your traditional band?
Joe: Something that I believe makes us different from a traditional band is that we love to draw inspiration from different musical genres. Instead of drawing inspiration from only rock and alternative bands, we love to draw from rock, rap, folk, Arabic, classical and all the above to constantly push the envelope. Where others might use a guitar, we might use a sitar or a trumpet and with that creative spirit and curiosity that we have to always look from “something new” is where I think we differ from traditional bands.
Anthony: How did Autumn Kings become Autumn Kings? (How did the band meet and form)?
Joe: Funny enough, Jake (guitarist and co-lead singer/frontman) and I met while we were both working at a local grocery store. We only had one break together the entire time we both worked there but I had heard his band got their song onto a pretty major Detroit radio station. I told him I’d love to jam together one day and we kind of parted ways after that. Cut to a couple years later, I get a text from Jake saying that he and his band are looking for a new guitarist and that they wanted me to learn 25 songs in two days or something like that. I could not have gotten to my guitar faster! Learned the songs, and auditioned and Jake and I have been playing ever since.
Anthony: Who are artist in the industry that you "look up to"?
Joe: For me, I’m really inspired by Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots. They’re a band that not only tries to push the envelope on what a rock/pop song is but the care they put into the entirety of their music is awe-inspiring. The intertwining videos, cohesive story throughout their lyrics and the imagery they use is super impressive. They are literally world-building through their music and their fans love every second of it. Storytelling is a huge part of songwriting for me, and to see someone do it at that level is amazing.
Anthony: What goes into your process songwriting process?
Joe: Constant self-criticism and re-editing of the song. Now I know that might sound harsh and a little funny but in all honesty, we are always our hardest critics when it comes to songs. If we’ve talked about a certain topic already or even used the same chord progression, we’ll reevaluate the song. We’re always searching for something we haven’t heard before or said before and with that comes editing to the extreme. But once we get a song to the point where it feels “complete”, there is no better feeling.
Anthony: What does it mean to the band when you hear your music being played at stadiums all over the US?
Joe: It means the world to us because that is something we’ve been working towards since we started this band. We always try to promote positivity, happiness and fun with our music so having it played to so many people is great, but it’s truly about those few people in the crowd that need to hear a positive message. We’ve had our songs played in arenas and at sporting events around the US and Canada and that’s been great, but it’s the messages we get from fans that tell us “this song really helped me out of a bad spot” or “This resonated with me so much” that make every hour of work worth it.
Anthony: What is it like trying to make it in such a hard industry with no label backing?
Joe: It’s a welcomed challenge, to say the least, but we’re proud to say that every opportunity that we’ve ever gotten was through our own merit. Just pure willpower and hard work were used to push ourselves to the level we’re at today. Yes, it’s hard, and yes there are some scary times when you’re thinking “What do we do now?” But for us, it’s a no-brainer because we love what we do. The bottom line is there’s no other industry we’d rather be a part of even if it’s more of an uphill battle for an independent artist.
Anthony: Sleep When I'm Dead has generated a lot of attention, especially on SXM Octane. How has this experience impacted the band?
Joe: It’s been a phenomenal experience, honestly. Vinnie, Jose, and all the other Hosts at Octane have been so supportive of us, and it has helped the band grow by leaps and bounds. The love we’ve felt from new and old fans due to the airplay “Sleep When I’m Dead” received has been inspiring and we honestly can’t thank the Octane team enough. It has helped Autumn Kings become a name people recognize.
Anthony: The band has a new single 'Hellbound' what does this single mean to you?
Joe: “Hellbound” is an anthemic tune about one's struggles but ultimately saying no to being a victim. Facing your problems, getting to the root of them, and getting out of the rut that you’re in. Those themes of “wanting to grow” and “not playing the victim” were very important to us to talk about in this tune. We try to write about facing hardship and turning it into positivity wherever we can. No one needs to be a victim of their own circumstance and sometimes it takes hearing that positive message through music to start taking those steps forward in your life.
Anthony: Any Tour dates or anything fans should keep an eye out for?
Joe: We have some things in the pipeline that we’re looking to announce soon! Hoping to hit the road this fall. It’s been a minute since we’ve gone on tour, so we are ready to play some new music and more importantly, see our fans!
Anthony: Where can fans find your music and stay up to date with the band?
Joe: You can find us on Spotify, Pandora, and just about every music streaming service available! The best way to stay up to date with us is through Instagram, Facebook or by subscribing to our email list! We release new content, behind-the-scenes videos, and photos all the time! We love talking to our fans so message us or hit us in the comments!
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