BTSCelebs: What made you choose the name All Kings All Poets?

All Kings All Poets (Duncan): For the name, we called upon a Henry Miller quote. It talks of how we all have a way to deeply and meaningfully express ourselves. Simply, we all are important.

I compared your sound to Relient K, are a fan of the band? Who would you compare your musical sound to?

Duncan: We are! We’re huge fans, actually. Relient K opened my world to rock music (since I grew up in church), and were how I found out about Jimmy Eat World, Something Corporate, and many others. To be compared to them is an honor. I would definitely say we are influenced by them, Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, The Foo Fighters, … a bunch of rock. However, a lot of our other interests in music make their way in there too.
Corey: Definitely a big fan of Relient K! I don’t know who isn’t! I started listening to them at age 13 or 14. As far as who I would compare our sound too, I would have to agree a lot with what Duncan said – Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, and even The Dangerous Summer.

Describe what it was like touring with A Sequence of Ghosts and Starlit Platoon:

Corey: Touring with A Sequence of Ghosts was some of the best times I have ever had on the road playing music. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. All those guys in that band were family to me. We toured more dates than we were actually home at times, as it usually goes when you are in a touring band. I met so many amazing people and listened to so many stories of people’s lives and how much they appreciated our music. We strive for that in this band. We want to carry the same principle of having a passion for the music as well as a passion for people. There’s not much to say about Starlit Platoon except that it was a learning experience for both Duncan and I.

Tell us the steps in the recording process for “What We’ve Become”

Duncan: We had some tight schedules to work with. So we had to take some different approaches first. We had most of the material ready going into the studio. A couple songs we finished writing while we were there. Most of it was a few dudes hanging out in a loft, and making some music.
Corey: We are hard workers and don’t have time to mess around…especially in All Kings All Poets. We went into the studio as a 2-piece band, which meant more work for us to do! About 90% of the material was already written and the rest we finished while we were taking a break from tracking in the studio. Our producer Cody is an amazing guy and worked just as hard, if not harder, to get this record done and on time. We spent many 12-14 hour days tracking with him. He is quite an awesome guy! We were fortunate enough to get some outside help on this record as well. On three of the tracks, I had my former bandmate Zane (A Sequence of Ghosts) track some guitars over email. Also, we enlisted the help of AJ Perdomo from The Dangerous Summer, who did his guest vocal spot (‘What I Need’) from home and sent it to us. All in all we worked hard for 2 weeks straight and got it done!

Do you have any touring plans for this year?

Duncan: We have plans to do a small amount of touring. We really want to hit the road with this music and play it live, but most of all, we want to meet the people who are listening and coming to the shows. We love meeting new faces.

Name one female and one male (solo artist or band) you would like to collaborate with:

Duncan: For me, the female would have to be Mindy White from the band States. She has such a cool voice, and I’m a big fan of her writing. Male? I have no clue. My top two picks would have to be either Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), or Jon Foreman (Switchfoot). I can’t make a decision between the two. Just give me the one that might actually be interested!
Corey: Colbie Caillat for sure would be the female artist I would love to work with and collaborate! She is such an awesome songwriter and an amazing voice. I would also love to write a record with Tom Gable of Against Me!. Growing up, I listened to all of his records and was blown away by his songwriting – his records were the anthem of my teenage years.

What other occupation would you choose if you weren’t recording artists?

Duncan: Actually, I also make furniture. Wood furniture. tables, bookshelves, and anything of the sort. I love working with my hands, and to sit behind the few pieces I’ve made already, it’s an amazing feeling.
Corey: I also just want to build things with my hands. If I wasn’t a musician I’d love to build houses, furniture, etc… I love seeing things come to life, when you build something from scratch and see it come to completion, it is the best feeling.

When you’re stressed, what is your go to song and book?

Duncan: For a song, I usually hit Shuffle on anything from Copeland. Those guys were so great, and a lot of their music is soothing to me. As far as books, I’m not a huge reader. I just like a story that I can get lost in. Of course, I love Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, but I also like John Green’s stuff a lot.
Corey: I don’t have a single song I go to, but the record I always go to is probably The Starting Line’s ‘Make Your Self at Home’, or anything by Damien Rice. For books, besides my Bible, I always read and re-read The Walking Dead graphic novels. Yep I’m a nerd. I love ‘em!

Which song from “What We’ve Become” would be the perfect single for a soundtrack for a movie? Please name the movie:

Duncan: I think ‘I’ll Be Fine’ would be a great one in a movie like Titanic, or The Devil Wears Prada. Something like that.
Corey: Definitely ‘I’ll Be Fine’ or ‘Privilege’. Any movie that has a part where the main character was struggling to get somewhere or making a turning point in his/her life. If Scrubs were still on T.V. those songs would kill on that show. Even A Walk to Remember would be perfect for ‘Privilege’.

Thanks a lot BTSCelebs for taking the time to pick our brains and allowing us to share with your readers and the world!
AKAP

*A Special Thanks to All Kings All Poets and Brian Issac for the photo and interview*