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THE KINGDOM FIRST @ Cafe Colonial – Friday, February 23rd 2024

By capitalchaostv on February 15, 2024 • ( 0 )

Coming out of hiding for the first time in a great while, The Kingdom First have scheduled a handful of Northern California dates which precede a short Pacific Northwest jaunt. Fans of The Fleshies, Alice Donut, Portland’s own Nasalrod, and angular indie rock fare will find great reward in the band’s 2003 release available on their BandCamp page. Though much more straight ahead in delivery than the aforementioned acts, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Dubbed the ‘Too Late To Go Straight’ tour 2024, there are six total The Kingdom First shows that include (but are not limited to) an intimate house party, small clubs, a cafe, and even a large-scale and renowned North Bay theater. Although virtually an unknown quantity in the Sacramento area, they’ll be supporting The Freak Accident on two separate occasions – Sacramento and Petaluma respectively – who have been to the area a handful of times.

At present, its members include Portland-based guitarists Richard Marshall (Alice Donut, Love Hiss) and Mustin Douch (Nasalrod) along with bassist Dave Baldini (Swirl Happy), drummer Christian Stark (Decal) and singer Matthew Jervis (The Clarke Nova) – all of which reside in the Bay Area.

Capital Chaos TV caught up with frontman Matthew Jervis to get the skinny on the upcoming shows and more.

Capital Chaos TV: Does The Kingdom First have any plans to record a follow up to the 2003 offering?

Matthew Jervis: Yeah, we’re on it! We’re cooking up some new stuff and thinking about kicking things off with a few split 7 inches. As long as people are into it, we’ll keep playing and writing. Also, we’re super pumped to get our new guitarist Mustin in on the action!

Capital Chaos TV: You’ve decided to concentrate on California and the Northwest. Will we be seeing any more touring action in 2024 and going forward?

Matthew Jervis: When we first recorded this record, we didn’t tour much. It feels like we’re just kicking things off and it’s been a blast getting back into that creative flow together. 2024 is looking packed for us. You can bet we’ll be hitting more spots along the West Coast, and even popping up on the East Coast if the chance comes up. It’s all about grabbing those opportunities as they come.

Photo by Julie Eaton

Capital Chaos TV: About how many shows has the band played to date?

Matthew Jervis: We’ve hit around 100 total shows so far. The best ones? That would definitely be the cozy, steamy gigs at small clubs and house parties. Places like The Bottom of the Hill and Great American Music Hall are our favorite venues to play in San Francisco. We were definitely the go-to band to support amazing acts such as The Dwarves, Cows, Dictators, and Unsane. It’s not so much about the venue, as it is about the folks who come out to see us. They’re the ones who really bring the place to life.

Capital Chaos TV: What is the hardest thing about being in a band while maintaining your day jobs?

Matthew Jervis: Juggling jobs and the band has always been a bit of a circus from the very start. It’s been about making it work no matter what the circumstances. The biggest headache is trying to get everyone’s schedules to match up, but we manage. There’s something magical about finally getting together to play after all that. It makes us feel unstoppable, kind of like how we used to feel back in the day. We’d roll up in our van, hit the stage, and just own it. When we come together, we still bring that same energy. Music’s always been the main thing for us no matter what else we’ve got going on.

Capital Chaos TV: Can we expect a new song or two on the upcoming tour dates?

Matthew Jervis: Everything for this mini-tour got sorted out super fast thanks to a bunch of awesome folks. We’re squeezing in some quick, down-and-dirty practice sessions to see what we can cook up. Since not a lot of people are familiar with our stuff yet, anything we play is gonna feel new to the audience. We’re hoping to change that soon and get our music out there more. It would be killer if a small label noticed us and wanted to help us release something. That’d definitely kick us into high gear with writing new stuff. It’s a bit of a scramble, but we’re doing our best to bring something fresh to the table. Maybe we’ll surprise ourselves with what we manage to pull together.

Capital Chaos TV: Hopefully you’ll endcap this run with some new merch. What do y’all have planned?

Matthew Jervis: Right now, we’re kinda figuring out what we can pull off in time. New merch is definitely likely. Fingers crossed. We’re thinking about getting some cool shirts done, but that’s pretty much all that’s on the radar at the moment.

The Kingdom First play Cafe Colonial located at 3520 Stockton Blvd. in Sacramento. Rounding out the bill is The Freak Accident (featuring Ralph Spight from Victims Family) and Demon Wrangler. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $12 here at cafecolonial916.com. Cafe Colonial is located at 3520 Stockton Blvd.. Doors open at 7pm and the show starts promptly at 7:30pm. As always, all ages are welcome.