Welcome back to another edition of the Quarantine Questionnaire!

For the fourth instalment of our series we had the opportunity to chat with Ryan Rosoff, the guitarist and frontman of Little King, a rock band currently based out of Arizona.

Named after the Gaelic translation of the Rossoff’s first name, Little King formed in 1996 and has gone through several transformations since their beginnings in El Paso, Texas. But with several lineup changes, big moves, and six releases under their belt, Little King are at their best yet.

Currently made up of of Manny Tejeda on bass, Rosoff on vocals and guitar, and Eddy Garcia on percussion, Little King are coming off of the release of their November EP “Occam’s Foil” which hones all of the band’s skills and navigates some of life’s biggest topics, including addiction, religion, politics and relationships.

Now, after receiving rave reviews and growing streaming numbers off of their latest release, the band has returned to the drawing board to begin work on their upcoming album.

To learn more about how the band is handling quarantine, what they are doing to stay busy and creative, and learn more about the upcoming album, you can read our full interview below and be sure to check out the band’s social media and Spotify account, all linked at the bottom.

Second Society Report: How are you holding up during this insane year that is 2020? Hopefully your friends and families are staying safe and healthy!

Little King: Thanks for asking…We are good!  I actually just got off the road with my son and my bass player, Manny Tejeda.  He drove my trailer and SUV with all of our stuff in it down to Arizona, as I am moving in with mom. Lots of reasons for this (health, music, change, etc) but I have lived here before and I love the desert. In fact, I moved here 30 years ago to the week for college in 1990. So lots of change. Music aside, we are dealing the best we can.

SSR: Did you have any big releases or tours that were put on hold because of the pandemic?

LK: Yeah, absolutely. Little King hasn’t really toured in earnest since the mid 2000’s, but with the success of our album from late 2019 “Occam’s Foil,” the demand was there! We had a ton of awesome press, charted in the top 150 on college radio, had a bunch of festival dates and club dates lining up, and 10’s of thousands of Spotify streams. But when Coachella cancelled, everyone followed suit.

SSR: How has that affected the band?

LK: Well, it made me write music!  Lyrically and musically, I have never been more inspired.  In fact, we just finished recording bass and drums for a new album that will be called “Amuse De Q” in El Paso, TX.  It is gonna kill! I’m thrilled with what we have so far.

“Amuse De Q”…inspired by, entertained during, etc.  Also, the [album] cover features Melpomene, who is the muse of tragedy. And music, back in the day. So the cover is awesome and I think the lyrical content will reflect some very common themes during the pandemic including isolation, alcohol and domestic abuse, the BLM movement, and so much more.

SSR: How have you been spending your newfound “downtime” while the world has been essentially shut down?

LK: Not much. Just selling my house, dealing with the court system (more on that later), moving with my son 2500 miles into my mom’s house in Tucson, AZ, trying to rescue my business from the edge of oblivion, and making a new album.  “Pretty standard stuff, really…” (in my best Dr. Evil voice.)

SSR: Have you picked up any new hobbies while quarantining that you’d like to share?

LK: Not drinking, eating less, walking a ton. I actually went the other way and lost 30 pounds during the pandemic. Amazing what being hyper-conscious of what you’re putting in your body will do for you. 

I was a drinker. Not sure if I am an alcoholic or not…but I definitely drank too much, and it caused problems.  I got a DUI in December of last year and I am gonna be dealing with the awful repercussions of that for at least another year.  Stupid move, and I am so embarrassed by it. Had to tell my kids, family, friends, and now I can’t drive for a good while.  But like everything in my life, I have approached the situation like this: Own responsibility, completely and totally. Then use it for good!  And I have…I feel amazingly clear, and that has made me a better parent, worker, and musician. Not sure I ever would have quit without getting popped. But it’s a nightmare…

SSR: Back to new music- can we get more info on your new album? Any songs that are already out or that we can get a sneak peak of?

LK: “Amuse De Q” will be 7 songs, and they are quite different.  Progressive, melodic, introspective, and very very dynamic. Hopefully the best of what Little King has to offer, condensed into a 7 song record!  I am super proud of it, and I am positive that the end result will bear out my confidence.  We just finished tracking drums and bass, and about 80% of my guitars are done.  I have my son playing a piano part on a song about quitting drinking called “Set It Down,” and that’s a thrill for me.  May have my daughter play a little bass as well…the kids are damn good musicians in their own right.

And no…you can’t hear it yet. No one can!!!

SSR: When do you plan to release the new record? Have you written any songs specifically about the state of the world right now?

LK: I plan on releasing it in early 2021.  I made a mistake with “Occam’s Foil” – I put it out in late 2019, and two months later (January of 2020), it looked like a year-old record. You’d think I’d be smarter than that after 23 years…guess not!

“Amuse De Q” will reflect those themes I referenced above. The pandemic has had lasting effects on all of us. My son and I quarantined for REAL for 3 months. Our windows to the world were TV news, occasional walks on the trail to the beach behind my old house, and a lot of social media time. Which was and is AWFUL. So I soaked it up and wrote words and music based on my personal experience, and I believe those themes are universal. Again, the mental challenge of uncertainty, isolation, dealing with alcohol, so many of my friends in already-abusive domestic situations (that’s another pandemic, let me tell you), and the protests that have erupted in America. Those things will be addressed head-on with the new songs on “Amuse De Q.”

SSR: How has it been being an artist in a time when you cannot tour? How have you been working to promote your music and expand your reach?

LK: Sucks!  We loved “Occam’s Foil,” and we rehearsed like CRAZY. I had a setlist rehearsed and ready to go that was heavy on the material from that album but also highlighted the best of my back-catalog. Then BOOM DONE.  So we will have to cull material again from the previous 6 albums and blend it with the new songs.  Very weird.  I just wanna hit the road!  I love the studio – don’t get me wrong – but I live to entertain and reach people on a personal level.  It’s much easier to do that live.  And it’s just so much damn fun.

SSR: Do you have any words of advice for fans that are feeling particularly bummed out about the live music world coming to a halt?

LK: This too shall pass.  I used to talk to my grandfathers about their experiences in WW2. In essence, DO NOT whine about having to wear a mask and stay home and order GrubHub. They stormed beaches in the face of machine gun nests and Nazis and died willingly. It’s gonna be okay.

SSR: When the world returns to a safer spot and we are able to (hopefully) attend live shows again- say in 2021- what do you hope to achieve?

LK: Clearly gonna put an album out that builds on the success of “Occam’s Foil” and takes our fanbase to a new place.  Expands our borders.  Makes some controversial statements that I believe deserve to see the light of day.  And, God willing…we do it from a stage and not from behind a keyboard.

Please do visit us at www.littlekingtunes.com and on FB, IG, and Twitter @littlekingtunes for all of the latest.  We are active on social media and song clips, photos, and artwork are on the come.  Thank you all for caring!  

You can catch up with the latest on all things Little King via the links below, and be sure to stream their latest EP “Occam’s Foil” available now.

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube