Hailing from Folson, California, Fallout Kings have made a name for themselves in the Sacramento area through their crusade to keep the spirit of rock and roll alive.
Playing a wide range of venues from The Boardwalk to Ace of Spades, they’ve worked their chops and have even been able to open for bands such as Dokken, LA Gunz, and Pretty Boy Floyd throughout their journey thus far.
This hard-rock band was formed in 2015, consisting of members Xander Roberts (lead vocals, guitars, and main lyricist), James Leu (bass), and Uriah Stivers (drums, backing vocals).
They are heavily influenced by legendary bands such as Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, AC/DC, and The Beatles, and it is very apparent in their songs. Putting forth their most recent single, “In The Rain,” Fallout Kings transport listeners back to the times where these legendary bands were ruling the music scene.
Diving into the track, listeners are met with thick, layered synths, followed by a stripped-back, acoustic guitar to set the scene for the rest of the song. Robert’s vocals jump onto the scene, joined by an infectious drum groove that carries on throughout the rest of the song, transporting us into the rock and roll world.
Throughout “In The Rain,” we are met with contemplative lyrics from Roberts, reflecting on hopes and dreams, and the unexpected outcomes that life occasionally throws your way. In the chorus, we feel a moment of catharsis as he sings, “My pain washed away in the rain,” helping to soothe us into a sensation of relief.
Fallout Kings prove that rock and roll are alive and well with their new song, “In The Rain”. Find it on all available streaming platforms, along with their latest album, "Rockin' in the City.”
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Fallout Kings! We can really feel your passion and drive throughout your song, “In The Rain”. Can you tell us a bit more about the inspiration behind the track?
"In the Rain" was inspired by watching videos and reading about how much fame can take a toll on someone that can be a challenge to overcome. When I was coming up with the music for this song, it reminded me a lot of Chris Cornell and the synthesizer/keyboard intro of the song coincidentally pays homage to George Michael's "Father Figure."
You’ve mentioned that you are heavily inspired by legendary bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and Aerosmith. How do you feel like these bands have helped to influence and shape your music up until now?
All of those bands have meant a lot to us over the years because we grew up listening to them and I've been fortunate enough to see Aerosmith and members of the Beatles (Paul and Ringo) and Led Zeppelin (Robert Plant) in concert. The Beatles have helped shape my songwriting since I started writing original songs in high school. Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith have had a big influence on our guitar sounds and instrumentations in songs such as Mustang Baby, Straight to the Top, and Better Days Ahead. Without these bands, we may not be the band that we are today.
Can you tell us a bit more about the process of recording this song, along with your most recent album? Did you face any unexpected challenges along the way?
Recording "In the Rain," along with the rest of our most recent album, was all self-recorded and produced by ourselves in our rehearsal space and this is actually the third album in a row that we've self-produced and recorded our songs and we've had a lot of fun making these records. Xander plays bass on two songs on the album ("Rockin' in the City" and "Double Trouble") and James plays guitar on those same two songs that Xander plays bass on. We had a couple of songs that needed to be tracked or recorded multiple times and putting out the album took longer than expected for us to put it out onto streaming platforms, but other than that, everything else was solid.
Who do you hope this song resonates with the most, and what do you hope listeners will take away from this song?
We hope that "In the Rain" inspires everyone to not give up on themselves, whether they're struggling, fighting something that they can't handle, or whatever has them in a tough situation. We can only become better and stronger people by overcoming the obstacles in life and improving ourselves each and every day.
What's next for you?
We hope to play a lot more shows in 2022, record/put out another album (could be a studio or live concert album), return to play the Whisky a Go-Go, we want to grow our fanbase by playing shows in and outside of the Sacramento region, and to get more exposure through our music and live shows that'll help us gain new fans along the way.