The King Khan & BBQ Show
Encyclopedia
The King Khan & BBQ Show was a Canadian Garage rock
duo from Montreal
, Quebec
who mixed doo-wop
and punk
. The band was composed of former Spaceshits bandmates Mark Sultan
and Blacksnake, alias King Khan
. Mark Sultan, under the pseudonym
BBQ, contributed vocals, guitar, tambourine, bass drum, and snare drum, while King Khan provided lead guitar and vocals. An entertainer named Leo Chips, formerly known as Age of Danger of the Deadly Snakes, (the SHOW in King Khan & BBQ Show) joined the group as a drummer and organist for some shows during the Invisible Girl U.S tour in 2009.
Chart Attack reported that the band may have broken up following a "huge screaming match" between Sultan and Khan at The Opera House in Sydney, Australia. The band has officially broken up in Daegu, South Korea.
. The two began writing songs together at Blacksnake's apartment in Germany, playing them live at sporadic shows around Germany and Spain.
In 2004 the band recorded their first album as the King Khan & BBQ Show, releasing "The King Khan & BBQ Show LP" in America on Goner Records
, and on Hazelwood Records in Europe. The album was recorded by DM Bob in Hamburg, Germany. In support of the album, the band began a world tour, with stops in Europe, the US, and South America. In 2006 the band released their second LP, "What's for Dinner?", on In the Red Records
. In 2008, Impose Magazine crowned King Khan the best performer of 2008. On July 31, 2009, Pitchfork Media
reported that King Khan & BBQ will be releasing Invisible Girl (Album) in November. They embarked on a forty day US/Canada tour to coincide with the release. On November 12, while on tour in the United States, Khan and tour manager Kristin Klein were arrested in Kentucky
on illegal drug possession charges. Klein was also booked for driving with an invalid license. She entered a guilty plea and will appear in court on April 2, 2010. The band missed three shows due to the holdup.
In 2010, the duo was hand picked by Lou Reed
and Laurie Anderson
to play two shows at the Vivid Live festival they were curating. The shows were played at the Sydney Opera House. The festival described the band's art: "This dynamic duo has relentlessly pursued an uncompromising vision of the subversive power of music that pays no heed to commercial imperatives. Standing outside the industry, two fingers raised in salute, they have nevertheless managed to forge an international career completely on their own, idiosyncratic terms."
The band split after the Sydney show.
On June 2, 2011, Mark Sultan announced that he and King Khan had recorded with one another once again.
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
duo from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
who mixed doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
. The band was composed of former Spaceshits bandmates Mark Sultan
Mark Sultan
Mark Sultan is a Canadian musician and entrepreneur from Montreal, Quebec. He was a member of a number of Canadian garage bands including the Spaceshits, Les Sexareenos, and Mind Controls...
and Blacksnake, alias King Khan
King Khan (musician)
Arish Ahmad Khan, better known by his stage name King Khan, is a Canadian musician. He is best known as the frontman of the rock 'n roll bands King Khan and the Shrines and The King Khan & BBQ Show.-Career:...
. Mark Sultan, under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
BBQ, contributed vocals, guitar, tambourine, bass drum, and snare drum, while King Khan provided lead guitar and vocals. An entertainer named Leo Chips, formerly known as Age of Danger of the Deadly Snakes, (the SHOW in King Khan & BBQ Show) joined the group as a drummer and organist for some shows during the Invisible Girl U.S tour in 2009.
Chart Attack reported that the band may have broken up following a "huge screaming match" between Sultan and Khan at The Opera House in Sydney, Australia. The band has officially broken up in Daegu, South Korea.
History
BBQ and King Khan had collaborated as members of the Montreal-based Spaceshits from 1995-99. During a mid-1999 European tour, Blacksnake (as King Khan was then known) opted to remain in Germany. The Spaceshits, choosing not to continue without Blacksnake, disbanded. Later in 1999, Mark Sultan started another Montreal-based band, Les Sexareenos, before venturing off on his own in 2002 as a one-man band under the pseudonym BBQ. It was as BBQ that Mark Sultan re-established contact with Blacksnake, playing alongside Blacksnake's new band, King Khan & the ShrinesKing Khan and the Shrines
King Khan and the Shrines, sometimes referred to as King Khan and Sensational Shrines or The Supreme Genius of King Khan and His Sensational Shrines, are a Berlin-based garage rock and psychedelic soul band.-History:...
. The two began writing songs together at Blacksnake's apartment in Germany, playing them live at sporadic shows around Germany and Spain.
In 2004 the band recorded their first album as the King Khan & BBQ Show, releasing "The King Khan & BBQ Show LP" in America on Goner Records
Goner Records
Goner Records is an independent record label and record store co-owned by Eric Friedl of The Oblivians and Zac Ives and is based in Memphis, Tennessee. It is known for releasing albums by punk and garage rock bands such as the King Khan & BBQ Show and the late Jay Reatard...
, and on Hazelwood Records in Europe. The album was recorded by DM Bob in Hamburg, Germany. In support of the album, the band began a world tour, with stops in Europe, the US, and South America. In 2006 the band released their second LP, "What's for Dinner?", on In the Red Records
In the Red Records
In the Red Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, CA formed in 1991 by Larry Hardy. It is known for hosting garage punk related bands on its label....
. In 2008, Impose Magazine crowned King Khan the best performer of 2008. On July 31, 2009, Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
reported that King Khan & BBQ will be releasing Invisible Girl (Album) in November. They embarked on a forty day US/Canada tour to coincide with the release. On November 12, while on tour in the United States, Khan and tour manager Kristin Klein were arrested in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
on illegal drug possession charges. Klein was also booked for driving with an invalid license. She entered a guilty plea and will appear in court on April 2, 2010. The band missed three shows due to the holdup.
In 2010, the duo was hand picked by Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
and Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
to play two shows at the Vivid Live festival they were curating. The shows were played at the Sydney Opera House. The festival described the band's art: "This dynamic duo has relentlessly pursued an uncompromising vision of the subversive power of music that pays no heed to commercial imperatives. Standing outside the industry, two fingers raised in salute, they have nevertheless managed to forge an international career completely on their own, idiosyncratic terms."
The band split after the Sydney show.
On June 2, 2011, Mark Sultan announced that he and King Khan had recorded with one another once again.
Ep's
- Animal Party 7" (Fat Possum RecordsFat Possum RecordsFat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording hitherto unknown Mississippi blues artists . Recently, Fat Possum has signed younger rock acts to its roster...
, 2008) - Teabag Party 7" (CryptCrypt RecordsCrypt Records is a Hamburg-based record label and record store founded by Tim Warren. The label is perhaps best known for issuing the eight-volume Back From The Grave Series of garage rock compilations, although its reissues and releases include surf, rockabilly, punk rock, exotica, garage punk,...
, 2008)
Splits
- Split 7" with the Flakes (Norton RecordsNorton RecordsFor the Canadian independent record label of the same name, see Matt Minglewood.Norton Records, a New York City based independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller, maintains a focus on primitive, retro rock'n'roll, rockabilly, garage punk, garage rock, lounge music...
, 2006, 9653) - Merry Christmas From The Black Lips and The King Khan & BBQ Show 7" (Norton Records, 2007, 45-138)
Albums
- The King Khan & BBQ Show LP (Goner RecordsGoner RecordsGoner Records is an independent record label and record store co-owned by Eric Friedl of The Oblivians and Zac Ives and is based in Memphis, Tennessee. It is known for releasing albums by punk and garage rock bands such as the King Khan & BBQ Show and the late Jay Reatard...
, 2004, 15Gone), (Hazelwood, 2005, HAZ 033), (In the Red, 2007, ITR147) - What's for Dinner? (Album) (In the RedIn the Red RecordsIn the Red Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, CA formed in 1991 by Larry Hardy. It is known for hosting garage punk related bands on its label....
, 2006, ITR136) - Invisible Girl (Album) (In The Red, 2009)
DVDs
- Live!!! in Kansas City - Double Disc DVD (Twitch Productions/The Little Room Record Co., 2008)