Special Report by Greg Prato

You could say that that the funk-inflected, low-tuned metal that KING'S X specialized in bridged the gap stylistically between the '80s melodic metal that was DOKKEN'S trademark, and the mid/late '90s nu metal of KORN. And now, a member of each aforementioned band (singer/bassist DUG PINNICK, guitarist GEORGE LYNCH, and drummer RAY LUZIER, respectively) has united in a new project, KXM.

The trio's self-titled debut will be issued tomorrow (March 11th), via Rat Pak Records, with production duties handled by both the band and by CHRIS COLLIER (a gentleman known for his past work with the likes of the LYNCH MOB, LITA FORD, and archival releases by the late/great TOMMY BOLIN).

Recently, both Pinnick and Lynch chatted with BraveWords correspondent Greg Prato about how KXM came together, how it compares to its members' other bands, and scoops on the current status of King's X and an interesting and thought-provoking documentary that Lynch is nearing completion on.

BraveWords: How did KXM form?

dUg Pinnick: "We were at a party at Ray's house, and George made the comment, 'Hey, let's do some music together.' And Ray and I both said, 'Sure.' It's something that we've always wanted to do, but when you get together with a bunch of people, we're always talking about doing something together, and most of the time, nothing ever happens. So we just let it be. But then the next thing we knew, George had already set up some times in a studio, got everything together, called us up, and said, 'Hey, I've got a studio. Let's record.' And we went, 'OK!' From that point on, we started making music, and it got so exciting that we kept doing it."

BraveWords: How does KXM compare stylistically to King's X?

dUg Pinnick: "I would say it's nothing new, but it sounds like probably a cross between all three bands that we're from. Since I'm the bass player and singer in King's X, it's going to have that bass tone and my voice, so it's going to sound a lot like King's X. And George, he's very unique in the way he plays, so it's obviously going to be Lynch Mob/Dokken type (guitar playing), and with Ray playing with Korn, it's going to be a tribal drum thing."

BraveWords: George, how does dUg compare to some of the other singers you've worked with over the years?

George Lynch: "Well, he's very self-contained, and knows what he wants to do. Which is wonderful. He's not very open to outside suggestions, and that's a good thing actually, because he knows what he wants to do and he delivers. And it's all good. So I'm happy. I have another situation I'm working in, a band called SHADOW TRAIN, which is affiliated with a film, Shadow Nation, which is a documentary film I have been working on for about four-and-a-half years, which is nearing completion. And the singer in that band, GREGG ANALLA, is a wonderful singer. Just unbelievable singer. But he's a completely different kind of singer than dUg - not only in his voice, but as a lyricist, his melodies. Just on almost every count, he's a completely different animal, on the opposite end of the spectrum. We get the best results with Gregg when we all are working together. So we're putting in a lot of input. We'll all write lyrics, we'll all come up with melodies, and Gregg delivers them. With dUg, it doesn't work that way. It's similar to ONI LOGAN (Lynch Mob singer), where he is a poet, he's talking about his own personal experiences, the way he views the world, things that people can relate to and identify with. And of course, he's got a very unique style that's him. Whereas the other singer I was talking about, who is unbelievable and we have great results with him, we work a completely different way. Where I'll almost suggest, 'Can we go in this direction?' And I'll play a song from a certain artist or singer, and he will do that. That would never work with dUg. (Laughs) dUg would go tell me to fuck myself. He's wonderful to work with and he's a pro through and through. As he says, 'He's a lifer,' and I love that line - I saw that in another interview that I read that he did. It's really an honor to work with him, a guy at his level. Despite commercial success or no commercial success, the guy - in my eyes - is right at the top, and should be at the top at all levels. As GENE SIMMONS said, in a world where POISON succeeds and King's X fails, there is no justice. I guess you could say that about KISS too, right? (Laughs) Well then Gene, you should give dUg some of your money - make things more equitable…hello?"

BraveWords: Something that I found interesting about the KXM album is it's more song-based and not loaded with guitar solos. Was that a conscious decision?

George Lynch: "It's just where I'm at these days. In the '80s, of course, I stepped it up a little bit more, and even arguably in the '90s here and there…and even today - I put out an instrumental EP some years ago (2008's Hang 'Em High). But it just seems like such a narrow vision to have, or aspiration to have. It's very un-gratifying. I mean, I'm 59 years old. To sit in a room and woodshed and practice arpeggios and Stradivarius chops…it just seems pointless. Whenever I see rock music go in this direction, where the 'super technical guys' advance the technical part of the music to the point - whether drums, guitar, or whatever - where they work themselves into a corner, where you just can't go anywhere else…because it's just all based on technique and speed, there's a human limitation to that. And we saw that I think in the '80s with this shred guitar. It just imploded on itself, and then people went, 'You know what? This Nirvana stuff sounds pretty good! They're nasty, they don't give a fuck, and they're talking about shit that matters. It's what rock n' roll is really about. Rock n' roll is revolutionary and it's dirty, and it's a mirror of culture and society, and deals with issues. That's much more important and meaningful - what art is supposed to do. As opposed to being 'a sport.' I really feel that way. Not to say that I don't love playing guitar and sometimes even showing off a little bit or turning up some heat when I need to within the context of the song. But I really think that my job is as a composer and to envision what it is we're trying to do, make sure we get that across. And then of course, my guitar work is a world unto itself and I deal with that responsibly, and I love going in different directions - not just speed or showing off, but also creating palates...like Jimmy Page did. These are things that are much more meaningful, have much more depth, and are more lasting. I just think it's a matter of maturity. I've grown up a little bit." (Laughs)

BraveWords: Favorite songs?

dUg Pinnick: "It's weird, because seriously, they're all kind of my favorites. It's just the way the songs came together, the lyrics. It was all a pleasant surprise. And I find myself enjoying all of them. I like some better than others, only because some are newer than others. So I want to skip the three or four that we wrote at the beginning of the writing and listen to the newer ones, only because I heard the old ones so long. (Laughs) But I've got one favorite, it's kind of a ROBIN TROWER type tune, it's a true story about my mom and her ex-husband. It's a song about domestic violence (titled 'Sleep'). 'Faith is a Room,' I like that, because it's just rock, and lyrically, I don't know if it relates to anybody, but I just believe in all of these religions and beliefs - it all ends up in one place. I heard this saying one time, 'Faith is a room with many doors,' and it became the chorus. I've got one song called 'Do It Now,' and I've never written lyrics that decadent before, but it's basically about catching somebody masturbating! (Laughs) It's a true story. One thing about this record I love is that it's pretty true. And musically, the one rule in the band is no one tells the other person what to do. But we all trust each other to create whatever we create, and we'll make the music that we want to hear."

BraveWords: Touring plans?

dUg Pinnick: "Whenever anybody's got time, we're going to tour like crazy. We have no dates exactly yet because everyone else is doing their own thing with other main projects."

BraveWords: Live, will KXM want to also play material from each members' other bands?

dUg Pinnick: "Nah, I don't think we do. I think I can vouch for the guys that we would just love to stick to what we do and make it our own thing, and not bring the other entities in, because they are what they are. And they're still alive and well."

BraveWords: Would you like to see KXM continue on beyond this release?

dUg Pinnick: "Oh yeah, I hope we do more records. We're even talking about going back in the studio and making more music, so we're really excited. We've learned a lot of things with this record and we want to try some new things on the next record."

BraveWords: What is King's X currently up to, and is there talk of working on a new album?

dUg Pinnick: "We're doing tours - we're in and out all the time. We've been talking about doing a new record for three years now, and it's been taking us a long time to finally nail down a date. We haven't done it yet. But the future is bright, and there will be another King's X record. I just don't know when."

BraveWords: And dUg, how are you doing health-wise? (Pinnick recently had hernia surgery)

dUg Pinnick: "My health…it's weird. I'm the healthiest 63-year-old in the world I think, but yet, I've got a few little problems that I'm getting taken care of. Nothing major, just things that happen when you get old - you start slowing down and things just stop working."

BraveWords: George - let's discuss your documentary project a bit more.

George Lynch: "It's called Shadow Nation. We've been working on it for four-and-a-half years now, we're in the finishing stages of editing. It is basically a film about human nature, and can we be better? And we use Native American culture as sort of an exploration of the human condition through the Native American experience. But there's a band, called Shadow Train, that goes on this continuous road trip. We're camping out, we're making our own food, we're playing gigs, we're filming, we're talking to people - everybody from TOM MORELLO from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and SERJ TANKIAN from SYSTEM OF A DOWN, we go back to Boston and talk to NOAM CHOMSKY, we go to Texas and talk to TED NUGENT on his ranch and go hunting with him and play guitar with him and talk about politics and things like that. It's all very Native American-centric, because I think we can learn a lot from the injustices that have been done to our indigenous people. The genocide that occurred - 15 million people estimated killed, that eclipses the holocaust. It should be in the history books somewhere, I would think. And a real suppression that continues to this day, and it says a lot of who we are as animals. The premise or the underlying question with the film is, 'Are we able to evolve?' Are 50% of us wired to be greedy and self-serving from birth to grave, and the other half are altruistic? That's a question I ask, and it's a personal question that I've come to deal with, and it’s the underlying vital question of who we are. When you look at all this political polarization of how people treat each other, and how we exist and the kind of economic system we choose to adopt or are forced to adopt, and all these things that stem from that - all these other issues that stem from those underlying issues. The most underlying issue is how we're built as creatures - how we're wired and what we respond to, and can we evolve to a better place?"

BraveWords: And as you said earlier, there's music in the documentary, too.

George Lynch: "There's a huge musical component to the film. Within this double-CD that we've created, the lyrics are vitally important and we try to highlight that in the film as well. Whether you see us playing, performing, on a radio station, or on the reservation playing out in the Badlands, or just listening to the music on the soundtrack with visuals behind it, the music itself carries a lot of weight. The site is Shadownationmovie.com.