Sitting down to chat with Jarrad ( Brown bassist for Custom Kings ) it becomes evident immediately, that this is someone who knows and loves music in all shapes and forms.

You may not have heard of Custom Kings but chances are you could quite possibly have caught yourself singing along, or tapping your feet to the band’s first single from the recently released album At Sea; the addictively catchy Up Late which was recently the most played track on Triple J. This is just the tip of the iceberg as to what the Custom Kings are capable of and people could perhaps be left wondering what to expect from the rest of the album.

Jarrad describes the Custom Kings* as a bunch of dudes who love jamming, literature, music and making grooves. They like to nurture the idea of a song, suggesting most bands these days are bouncing around between genres, Jarrad muses, and suggests that maybe the Custom Kings are no different.

The Kings music is difficult to describe and Jarred at first uses “Eclectic” as a banner to position the group under. “It’s a blend of folk, where Nick ( Vorrath , the band’s lead vocalist) was originally coming from, to rock & roll, it’s not simply reggae roots, which is what we quite often get described as.”

The Kings’ influences are many and varied including The Rolling Stones , Europe, Los Lobos, Beck, Donnie Hathaway some of the golden days of hip hop, and some less obvious choices, such as Latin Playboys and Ross Hannaford “All the guys really love Ross, and most of the stuff he’s put his name to over the years”

Jarrad’s personal current favourite Aussie bands, fellow Melbournians would “definitely have to be Dymano and Firewitch , two bands doing awesome things” it becomes clear that Jarrad’s taste in music is as diverse and eclectic as the Custom Kings are themselves.

Personally, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata is one composition Jarrad would like to be able to take credit for, simply put because in his opinion “Brilliance in music doesn’t happen like that these days , the simplicity of it, a certain spirit which is forgotten about in pop music today, it’s not part of our musical diets in the mainstream”

Fans of their previous release 2004’s Merchant Songs will find that 2007’s At Sea (which was released last week) true to the Custom Kings sound, while progressing deeper into the genres they were already known for, essentially the boys are playing music that they want to play “Which is exciting for us, and hopefully will translate into excitement for an audience. ”

Despite having a non functioning washing machine at the moment, Jarrad assures me that fans can expect to see him in clean fresh clothes at Saturday night’s gig and that as a rule the Kings are a very sharp band.

Punters at a Kings gig can expect “Great pop songs, lyrically driven, great playing, guys that really love their music, commitment to a good song, we’re not trying to break any boundaries just trying to write a good song.”

The boys have toured a great deal the past few months, including a recent trip to Noumea, but the highlight so far seems to have a been a gig with John Butler, “In far North Queensland, we played in this amazing open rainforest amphitheatre which was just the greenest and so natural and inspiring.”

The Custom Kings Officially launch their new album this Saturday 13th October at the Corner Hotel in Richmond, supported by Little Red and The Liz Stringer & Jordie Lane duo

Doors at 8pm, tickets www.cornerhotel.com.au or at the venue with dates in other cities to be announced