The Bandit Kings are a new project featuring Dan King and SAFETY members Ann Marie and Dennis Monagle, with Renee Dupuis and Joe Cardoza. The band debuts this March, with a 3-week residency on Monday nights at the Rhumbline in Gloucester (9pm). The Bandit Kings are a Jangle and Roots-Rock combo with an emphasis on The Rock. King plays lead guitar, writes and produces original material for the group, which features lead vocalists Ann Marie and Renee, and support by Monagle (on drums) and Cardoza (on bass). The double lead vocal reminds one of early and classic rock acts the Everly Brothers and Simon and Garfunkel as well as the Beatles and the Byrds. New Wave acts like the B-52's used the sound to create many hits in the late 70s and 80s.
It was through his successful 80s dance band SAFETY that King was influenced firsthand by the double female lead. SAFETY's covers of the Go-Gos and the Bangles shook down the house and King had a vision for the new songs he was writing. A child of the 80s himself, King came of age during the heyday of the second wave of Jangle rock bands like REM, The Smiths, The Cure, and The Pretenders, as well as the superstardom of Jangle Hero Tom Petty, which has had a major influence on his writing ever since. The Bandits interpretation of the beautiful Jangle Rock guitar sounds, mashed-up with the harmony and unison of the ethereal Renee and the throaty Ann Marie, make for a powerful musical attack. Along with Monagle and Cardoza's modern and classic beats, The Bandit Kings' timeless imagery and sound seem familiar yet fresh and new.
The Bandit Kings Cambridge/Boston debut will be Friday night, April 2nd, opening for Cyrus Shea at The Loft at Tommy Doyles's Harvard Square (9pm). Don't miss this new and exciting act!
And check out the website at www.banditkings.com