During his 10 years (and counting!) as a member of The Wild Feathers, Joel King and his bandmates have released four well-received studio albums and a live record, played hundreds upon hundreds of concerts all around the country, and toured with legendary musicians like Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and Bob Segar. Prior to his time with the accomplished Nashville-based Americana outfit, King—who plays bass and shares vocal duties in The Wild Feathers—was living in Oklahoma and working hard to make a living as the front man of a rock band called The Effects.
A few days before The Wild Feathers released its latest album, Medium Rarities, on November 20, King spoke to My First Band host Tyler Maas about the collection of B-sides, covers, and unreleased material, as well as many of the standout moments from his decade in the band. Of course, the conversation eventually shifted to King’s previous projects. Over the course of the hour-long discussion, he talked about making decent money and playing out often in high school bands like Rhythmic Overdose and The Denizens, touring avidly and playing to American troops in the Middle East in The Effects, being courted by major labels after starting what would become The Wild Feathers, and what he hopes to do with the band once life returns to some semblance of normalcy.
My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering and Lakefront Brewery. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and wherever else you get podcasts. You can also listen to rebroadcasts of previous My First Band episodes on WMSE every Wednesday from noon to 12:30 p.m. CST. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Devils Teeth (“The Junction Street Eight Tigers”) and The Wild Feathers (cover of “Blue” by The Jayhawks).