Randall King Band

Randall King

Hometown: Amarillo, Texas
Current Location: Lubbock, Texas
Band: Randall King Band
Facebook: Randall King Band
Twitter: @RandallKingBand

NS: Do you think of yourself more as a singer or a songwriter? Why?

RK: I find myself to be more of a vocalist than a songwriter. Mostly because I haven’t been writing for many years, but I am constantly trying to impove my writing to the point where my lyrics are my power and my voice is the compliment to and shows the emphasis behind my lyrics.

NS: What’s the last song you wrote called and about?

RK: “Halfway Home” is the last song I wrote. This was a few days ago. It’s about what’s going through a man’s mind as he is standing on the tracks waiting on the train that will “take him home.”

NS: Who’s your dream co-write collaboration?

RK: I would poop a brick to write a song with Evan Felker. He is by far my favorite songwriter in the scene and there’s quite a few that I really admire.

NS: What’s your [current] favorite lyric or line?

RK: “So high the street girls wouldn’t take my pay. They said come and see me on a better day,” from Jason Isbell’s “Traveling Alone.”

NS: Which five people would you like to have dinner with?

RK: George Strait, Robert Duvall, Kevin Costner, Merle Haggard, and Olivia Wilde because she’s a goddess.

NS: What was the last record you bought?

RK: The last record I bought was actually the man himself, Kenneth O’Meara’s God of Wind. - Thomas D. Mooney

62. “Don’t Ask Her Tonight” Randall King Band
Old Dirt Road

The lead single from Randall King’s Old Dirt Road once again shows what happens when things click for the up and coming Lubbock band. It’s radio friendly without selling its soul to be so. As stated previously, he’s found a comfortable soundscape to support his pure vocals. It’s without question King can sing. “Don’t Ask Her Tonight” clocks in at just over three minutes and feels most like a pick-up driving down those old dirt roads before letting you go.–THOMAS D. MOONEY, New Slang - Thomas D. Mooney

54. “Into Me” Randall King Band
Old Dirt Road

Like we’ve stated previously, Randall King sounds best somewhere in between neo-traditional country and today’s Texas country landscapes. If the song has a little edge to it, all the better. “Into Me” is one of the best on his Old Dirt Road because it checks off all those boxes. Chorus lines like “You’re running off like an old movie scene” give the song better imagery than a lot of mundane choruses on the radio. And like in song, “Into Me” is a bit of its’ own “400 horse power getaway.” The simple guitar chords give the song a great pulse while King does some of his best singing yet.–THOMAS D. MOONEY - Thomas D. Mooney

Bellows of smoke erupted out of Blue Light’s pool room. Four judges had been quietly been arguing (civilly, of course) behind closed doors as Monday Singer-Songwriter host Benton Leachman played a handful of originals to captivate the crowd. Nevertheless, the excited, yet tense crowd awaited.

Waited. Waiting for names read off a torn piece of paper with four names jotted down deeming them the best–at least for this week.

For Week 1 of Blue Light’s Spring Competition, Dalton Domino, Drew Thomas, Lora Markham, and Randall King were the four named to compete in the finale.

Not as a judge, but solely as an on looker and listener (to both the 12 songwriters, but to the four judges as well), I can’t help but reiterate Leachman’s final words of the night: There’s a plethora of songwriting talent here. I can only imagine how difficult it was for our judges.

The next week of competition will be March 24. For more details, click here.

Week 1 Competitors

Justin Beiser
Corey Killough
Zoe Carter
Randall King
Haley Cole
Bristen Phillips
Lora Markham
Ray Fairley
Drew Thomas
Joshua Jackson
Dalton Domino
Zach Sadberry
Joe Teichman

Keep updated on the Spring Singer-Songwriter Competition, stay tuned to New Slang. - Thomas D. Mooney