The majority of Biola students are aware of the exceptional student-run chapel bands, however, they may not have exposure to bands on campus that sing songs other than “Oceans”. For those of you who enjoy unimaginable guitar riffs and noteworthy lyrics, you may find Biola’s very own King Shelter interesting. The indie rock band consists of former Biola student Taylor Hecocks and current Biola students Josie Harris, John Harzan, Adam Nienow and David Noble.
Lead singer Taylor Hecocks grew up playing in bands in his hometown of South Florida and created an EP with the name King Shelter. Once Hecocks moved to southern California to attend Biola, he decided to rally up a bunch of nerds and make a band.
“We became a band in December 2013, forming in the Biola worship building, but then became an actual real band right after interterm, when John became our official bass player,” Hecocks said.
King Shelter worked extensively this summer to record their first full-length album, released on Sept. 14. They mainly recorded the album in Hecocks’ apartment and the Biola music in worship building. Additionally, Josie contributed her own key recordings all the way from her home state of Washington. The recording process was rad, Hecocks said.
“We rearranged all of the mediocre tunes I had written earlier and made them actually enjoyable. It was tons of fun, apart from the whole being in a band with David Noble thing,” Hecocks joked.
King Shelter kicked off their album release at House of Blues in Anaheim on Sept. 14. The band performed improved versions of their past songs, along with new tunes the crowd had never heard. King Shelter provided fans with a remarkable performance. Hecocks’ powerful vocals and Noble’s insane guitar riffs kept the crowd singing and dancing throughout the entire set. This show made it obvious that King Shelter will definitely make a name for themselves in the music industry.
“I have no idea what the future looks like. We all want to just play music…” Hecocks said. “We are on no hunt for a label or a manager. The only thing I need from a manager right now is to have him change Adam’s bedtime from 8:30 to 9:30 [p.m.] so we can practice later. Besides that, we’re just trying to create music for people to enjoy with us.”
Their new full-length album, “Long Live The King,” can be found on iTunes and Spotify. If you long for something fresh and exciting, take a few minutes out of your day to check out King Shelter’s latest music.
