Live4ever Presents: Fifth Nation


The release of second album ‘Nathaniel‘ could well be described as the end of the beginning for Brooklyn duo Fifth Nation – a beginning informed by a captivating adventure underpinned by relentless gigging, numerous EPs and a wonderfully eclectic debut LP.

In this exclusive Live4ever interview, lead singer and guitarist King Julia and drummer Musik Read look back in length on their life less ordinary so far, recounting how a chance meeting at an Austin party, leading to a name inspired by the wood-dwelling Chief of a Mohawk Tribe and a subsequent journey lived through the trippy experiences of touring the US in a trusty but temperamental van has all led to this moment – a sophomore record putting them on the brink of an unsuspecting commercial audience.

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Tell us, how did you both meet?

KJ: I had just moved to Austin after following my heart there from San Francisco where I was living for a couple months after dropping out of school and into life. On March 1st 2009 I painted the hands that ended up on the cover of ‘Nathaniel’ (which we released on our 3rd anniversary). As I finished the last brush stroke I got a call to come down to a house party, where I went and fell in love with Musik at first sound. I gave him the painting the next day as a gesture of love and the ascension to holiness through music.

MUSIK: We met onstage at a backyard party in Austin, Texas. I was just getting back to town from a roadie-ing gig with Merle Haggard, and a buddy of mine Sean Beasy calls me up to invite me to the party just after I’d had a crazy dream on the greyhound ride back into town. Julia showed up at the party, then before I know it she’s up onstage blowing everyone away, so I jumped on the drum set behind her without thinking it through. Luckily we fused musically instantly and have been playing together ever since. We fell in love the first week and our passion will never die.

Where did the name Fifth Nation come from? And was it easy deciding on a name for your band?

KJ: In our earliest days, Musik and I sat around coming up with all sorts of stupid names like The Young Adults and Swiss Army Knife. When he mentioned Fifth Nation I immediately said, ‘That’s it’ before he even told me the story about the Iroquois Confederacy, which itself holds vast significance and is a constant source of inspiration.

MUSIK: For a while I was homeless, and while living in the woods around Austin I met a guy called Chief. He was in need of help rolling a spliff when I first met him, so I obliged. Sitting in his wheelchair by the flowing springs, with long black hair and smooth stolid features he totally captivated me. He told me all sorts of amazing stories and gave me advice. He originally told me about the Fifth Nation – I learned from him that they were the Mohawk Tribe, the Fifth of Six Nations forming the Iroquois Confederacy. I mostly listened when Chief talked and never found out if he was himself a Mohawk, but I assume so. I think he took a liking to me because I had a mohawk and maybe assumed I was Native American. He died shortly after I met him, and I remember the last day I saw him he called me over and told me ‘it’s time’. I asked if he was scared and he wasn’t; he said he felt peaceful.



What made you decide that a duo or two-piece is what you wanted to pursue instead of joining up with another guitarist and/or bassist?

KJ: We have been chosen to express the power that exists between two lovers. We enjoy and embrace this challenge!

MUSIK: I think our chemistry together as a duo is what keeps us this way. Plus, there’s only two seats in our van!

We believe you both have rich/deep musical backgrounds, having recorded or been in other bands before?

MUSIK: Julia’s been playing three times longer than I have, but in my years I must’ve played in 30 or more projects. We’ve both been on many many recordings for sure.

KJ: Like most humans and other lifeforms and lightforms, music has always been deeply important to me. I have been blessed to be able to own instruments to play, which I am grateful for. I started performing at 6 and began to release my own records when I was 16. I played in a bunch of bands, released tons of music, and worked with producers on the East and West coast, but I never had the vision until I met Musik. I believe that he is responsible for how focused our band has become. If it were up to me we would probably be counting petals in a field somewhere, or following a toad through the forest. Musik inspired me to commit myself to this mission.

The few times we’ve seen you play live, you’ve been wearing white – do you always wear all-white?

MUSIK: Everyday!

KJ: Always. It’s our constant uniform, a symbol of our dedication. We are Light Warriors! White is the color of the hottest flame, and is the color of unification of all colors – it symbolizes oneness and peace!

For an unsigned band you’ve toured as much as, if not more than, most signed bands. How do you do it? Where have you been? Any stories from the road?

KJ: A few months after we met, we released our first album ‘Flight’, then lived in our van for almost a year touring from Texas up to New York and back and forth about five times. Yeah, we’ve played several hundred shows but to me, it seems like practically nothing compared to how many shows I want to play through the decades to come! I hope to rock ten thousand sets before this life is done! Each show better than the last.

MUSIK: We book most of all our own shows, until recently, and still have our own little booking firm. Now that we’ve been going for so long and people know that we’re usually up for a gig we get a lot of requests via email or phone calls to come play, which is great because we’d rather be playing music that emailing.

One crazy time happened on the way to a gig in Lafayette, LA. We suddenly noticed a horrible sound coming from the car, so I hit the brakes and sparks start flying. We progressively lost our brakes and narrowly made it to Lafayette after some coasting around parking lots and side streets to avoid crashing into the cars ahead of us. We coasted into a grass patch outside the gig and notice that a near riot was happening in the parking lot and cops on horses are stomping people down, plus they’ve lined up paddy wagons and are arresting everyone.

Later we play our set to a great audience and then when its time to get paid they refuse to give us anything. Being quite used to this scenario, I put my video camera at the end of the bar as the promoter and staff are discussing the ‘missing’ money and walked out of the room. We realized the next day was a Sunday, which meant everything was closed. We lucked out to find a mechanic and he told us that our wheels were inches from falling off! Anyway we got all fixed up and the promoters showed up to hand us $40! The whole thing really cracked us up.

You’ve self-released four albums/EPs now – what was behind the decision to do that as opposed to looking for an independent label?

MUSIK: I think working with a label will be amazing when the time comes. We’re constantly trying to find more time to make music or play live, so other things like trying to get signed can fall by the wayside. We just love to play and the music is what reaches people. When we do find a label we’ll be bringing all these experiences with us. We just don’t figure we should wait for a label to get music out to people,

KJ: We’re preparing for the time when we will be working with major studio producers and major labels. We’re rehearsing. Honestly this DIY attitude can be problematic for musicians because we can release music whenever we want, however we want, even if the sound and chops are unripe. You don’t need the validation and support of major taste makers, so a lot of times records are born prematurely. Hell, ‘Flight’ was released when we were still incubating! Fucking zealous fetus. But I wouldn’t take back any of our seven releases, because they give our fans an opportunity to experience Fifth Nation in all of our pure and honest vulnerability. They watch us grow from seed, but not passively – they water us and give us light! That’s love.

What’s next for Fifth Nation?

KJ: Floods of beautiful music, videos and other artistic collaborations. Worldwide tours in arenas and festivals. Television appearances, magazines, radio, all the biggest media outlets. Our career will develop to no limit for the rest of our life, in which we will be promoting peace and love around the globe through sexy badass rock n roll!

MUSIK: And top secret plans that we can’t tell you about.

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What prolific artists or bands would you work with given the chance?

MUSIK: Jimi Hendrix, Jack Black, Jack White, Common, Erykah Badu, Daft Punk, RHCP, Strokes, the list can go on into infinity just saying…

KJ: Bjork, Badu, Django Reinhardt, Hendrix, Mos Def, Black Sabbath, Jack White, Amy Winehouse, Strokes, Sublime, Michael Jackson, Jeff Buckley, Ali Farka Toure, Queen.

What previous experience did you have in producing music?

MUSIK: In high school, I used to have a little 4 track Fostex recorder that I would take everywhere and record all types of shit. It was fascination at first sound tweak. The first thing I ever recorded was my Mum singing something so I could figure out how to use the 4 track. Later, I recorded a demo of my old metal band on there that helped us get booked. I used to be a session drummer too when I was first going hard on pursuing a music career and would go straight into the control room after every take to see what they’d do. Some engineers would get really pissed.

KJ: My pops recorded me rocking a dozen Lucinda Williams songs on a KORG 4 track when I was 8. We sent Lucinda the tape and she told me she dug it, backstage after one of her shows. Then I wrote a bunch of my own songs and compiled them into my first album, which I recorded and produced with Garageband at 16. I knew nothing about the recording process, and stubbornly and deliberately learned nothing before and throughout. I DI’d the guitars, used a midi keyboard and a good ol’ standard Shure 58 for the vocals. I sold a couple hundred out of my backpack for $5 to my classmates but never got the boy.

In listening to the album, it’s apparent there’s a lot of genres represented. What made you decide to include so many varying types of songs on this record?

KJ: It’s not a decision, it’s an exploration through an infinite musical landscape.

MUSIK: We love all types of music and that comes out in our songs. Not really a decision, more a reflection of what we’re into. Each of us leans a different way with our taste, but we are receptive to one another, so it all ends up in there. Julia’s usually coming out with slower, more soulful stuff. She does like to rock though, I love the soulful music. We feel that just because you play an instrument doesn’t make you a musician. If you can shred some metal on guitar let’s say, then your a metal guitarist, but look at Miles Davis – now that’s a musician. Within his Jazz stylings, he’s all over the map and as his career progressed so did his number of styles. I don’t just want to be a drummer, but a musician – not a rock-ician or blues-ician. It’s also got to do with growing up in a ‘playlist generation’ as opposed to the old school album days. iPods know no genre.

What are your songs about? Talk about the stories or message behind a few of them…

KJ: Struggle and love. ‘Harmony’ describes the Earth as an organism and the importance of maintaining homeostasis. ‘Combat Kid’ likens the life of an intensely dedicated musician to that of a soldier (inspired by our close friend who will be deployed to Afghanistan this fall), and ‘Never Alone’ offers support to someone struggling with suicidal feelings. Every song is different in sound, style and theme, but the entire album has one purpose: to express encouragement, love, respect & gratitude to humanity.

MUSIK: ‘Blue Gold’ came after a power outage that lasted about a week. We were buying all this water at the store (along with everyone else) and after like a day or two, they were out! Then we were waiting in line for the store employees to go in the back and find more water, and there was definitely some tension in the air. Plus it was really expensive and there were only two brands. It felt like the Man had bought our ‘right to life’.

KJ: The corporate commoditization of drinking water is of concern to me, and as First World citizens we barely suffer, compared to how most of the world suffers under the suffocating hands of those greedy motherfuckers in control.

King Julia, Are there any lead women out there that you look up to?

If they’re in the lead, I damn well better look up to them! They’ve worked hard to achieve and maintain their global platform, which is exactly my goal. I look up to the pop goddesses like Beyonce for insight into what the world loves to hear naturally, and I look up to brilliant innovators like Bjork for the inspiration to pursue uncharted sonic galaxies and siphon liquid cosmic strangeness into gaping mouths of thirsty masses. People like to be comfortable but also, often, they honestly dig new things that challenge their perspective and expand their consciousness. I have my head, heart and hands in both pools, stirring a fusion, a vision of new beauty.

What would you call your guitar technique and who inspired you to play like this?

I would call it ‘investigative’. I am simply a stumbling explorer using the old telescopes of mad geniuses, like Reinhardt and Hendrix. Their styles are so remarkable but what truly turns me on is their spirit.

Musik, same question about your technique – you look like you’re having a lot of fun when you play live and you leave your set a lot like a percussionist – who inspired you to play like this?

I think I’ve got bits and pieces from every good show I’ve ever seen. I have played in bands as a percussionist and that broken down set up leaves need for innovation with the rhythms to make it move. I can’t say I have a have a consciousness behind my playing style. It’s pure feeling – something takes over me from beyond, especially if the crowd has good energy. The times I spent as a homeless train hopper carrying around a doumbek are definitely a huge part of my playing style as well. There were no material obstacles or distractions and I would play way past the point of hands bleeding. The desperation turned into passion when I hit that drum. Once I was at a Rainbow Gathering in a drum circle and I played for at least two days almost constantly without stopping. It started with just a couple other guys and grew to be a few dozen drummers. They would come and go but I would just keep playing until it was just me and the frogs and the sunrise. Later the Sunset People dancing around the fire fed me, got me high whatever so I didn’t have to stop. I’d be playing and I’d hear some one yell, ‘Feed the drummer!’ or ‘Dose the drummer!’. I remember thinking that if only it worked this way in the regular world.

What would you ask Buddy Rich if he were alive?

I would say, ‘How the hell can you play so fast and still be so dynamic?’. I also don’t understand how he holds his sticks the way he does. It’s like a crazy variation on the traditional style of sticking with one stick sometimes pointing straight up and down. If I could, I would have a real sit-down with him and ask him to please explain some of these techniques – including his tuning. I’ve never heard modern day drums have that tonal quality especially the toms. I think they used calf skin back then so that might have something to do with it.

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(Photos © Live4ever Media)

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