Between Kings: Pursuing Pop Rocking Dreams In The City Of Angels

Photo Credit: Estevan Oriol

Between Kings: Pursuing Pop Rocking Dreams In The City Of Angels

Between Kings is a pop rocking band based in Los Angeles via Australia, ready to pursue their music dreams here in the City of Angels and beyond.  Judging by their exhilarating songs and dynamic live shows, Between Kings is sure to leave a lasting impression on who give a good listen.  As we wait for their next full length album, Between Kings has released their Antidote EP as a followup to their well received The Escape endeavor from 2018.  The four songs found within the Antidote EP are vibrantly infectious and surely indicative of even greater glories ahead.  Highwire Daze recently caught up with guitarist Jordan Coyne to find out a whole lot more about this exhilarating band on the rise.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Between Kings, and how long the band has been together?
Hey! My name is Jordan, I’m the guitarist and producer of Between Kings. We’re a band from Brisbane, Australia, now living in Los Angeles. We’ve been together for about 7 years now and it’s been a crazy journey!

What do you think of our local Los Angeles music scene and how does Between Kings fit into the scheme of things?
We love the scene here. To hear about all of these iconic venues and finally getting to play them is a dream come true.  I like what bands bring over here and having a healthy competition.  Besides the accents, we bring a different sound to the scene and think LA is going to be really good to us.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the Antidote EP title?
The EP is going to be a part of a larger work and I feel it’s about the human experience through life.  These are songs written really close to home on some topics but then others are more fun, in your face or about love.  It can be easy to listen to it all and find contradictions but that’s what a person goes through in their life.  One song is about coming to terms with mental health and another is a cocky anthem of a young mind set.  Much like life, you have your days where you feel hopeless and others you feel like a king but no matter what you’re still you, that’s how I see the album.

Select two songs from Antidote and what inspired the lyrics.
The title is our lead single Antidote on the EP. Mental health is an issue that we deal with in the band and the song itself is a statement on the issue and prescription medication. It’s a song coming to terms with it and accepting.

Bad for Me is about that person you know you shouldn’t get involved with. You can’t help being drawn in by them, loving it in the moment and putting aside your reason to give in to emotions.

Who produced Antidote and what was it like working with them?
Myself and Nic wrote the song. I produced the demo then the amazing Jimmy Messer took it to the next level with Nic and myself even re-writing parts or coming up with new parts in the studio.

What has it been like to release a new EP right in the middle of a pandemic?
It’s actually been a real good experience. We had an album planned but with everything going on, plans getting the album out had to keep getting pushed back. So as a compromise we really wanted to give fans new music during this time so our team and the band decided to release what we could and drop the full length later in the year.

What could one expect from a live Between Kings show?
Energy! We play our heart out every single show no matter what the venue or size of the crowd. We leave it all on the stage and always want to walk off knowing that we gave them everything we’ve got.

How did your shows with Escape The Fate go and what were some of the highlights?
They were masters of their craft! To be on tour with them and see how they operated was a real big turning point for us, unknowingly with their help they took us to that next level.  Not just on stage but the tour manager Chucky was a hard ass in the best possible way! He’d get everything done and everyone ready and taught us so much of what you need to do and what’s expected of you becoming a professional touring act. We still use all of his advice to this day. So massive thank you to the ETF boys and Chucky for being people to look up to.

If Between Kings could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
From the past, it would be Linkin Park. As for now, bands like Twenty One Pilots, Panic! At the Disco, Imagine Dragons and Five Seconds of Summer would be amazing.

Are you involved with any other bands or projects outside of Between Kings?
The other boys aren’t but as for myself (Jordan) I’ve actually been writing a lot of beats and tracks for some amazing rappers. It’s all still in development so I can’t say who’s involved but I’m beyond excited to write for them.

What’s up next for Between Kings?
We’re going to hit the road as soon as we can, bring out the full length near the end of the year (no set release date just yet but this year 100%) and always writing!

Any final words of wisdom?
Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles had day one! People often ask me how to get into music as that they’re scared, intimidated or just don’t know what to do. Everyone you idolize had their first day and growing pains that come along the way. I’m still learning and never want to stop, so be curious, find solutions and don’t be afraid to “fail”.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!
Thank you so much! It’s a hard time for everyone so I want to thank the fans for being so supportive and people in the media such as yourself for taking the time to chat! It means a lot to us. Stay safe and we wish you all the best!
Between Kings \^^^/

Band Members:
Nic Machuca – Vocals
Jordan Coyne – Guitar
Jayden Marsh – Bass
Nick Fanning – Drums

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Check out Antidote EP by Between Kings here!