The Kingpins

History

The group formed in 1994 by founding members of the Kingpins were Eric 'Boum Boum' Boulanger on drums, Jordan Swift on bass, Ian 'Hot Tub' Hodkinson on organ, and Lorraine Muller (later given the nickname "The Queen of Ska" by Bobby Beaton), on alto saxophone (she later went on to play tenor and baritone saxes, and eventually became the lead singer and band leader.)

The band's first big break came with the release of their first single, "On the Run", written by Hodkinson and Muller which garnered them the 1995 Montreal Independent Music Industry award in the category of Best Single. The single was released with two B-sides, "Spy vs. Spy" (a cover) and "Leave My Girlfriend Alone" (by Nigel Goddard, alto sax). The Montréal ska scene took notice and Kingpins shows attracted increasingly larger crowds. The wave of support was continued with the release of the band's first full length album Watch Your Back in 1997, but it wasn't until 1999 that they broke out into the mainstream media with the release of their second album Let's Go To Work, a more traditional-based ska album. The success of the second album led to major exposure, such as performances on the Warped Tour, at the Montreal Jazz Festival and extensive touring in Europe.

The third and final album under the Kingpins' name was Plan of Action, released in September 2000. This album represented a major shift in the Kingpins' musical direction. Vocal duties were taken over almost exclusively by Lorraine Muller, one of the band's original members. Before the release of Plan of Action Muller was primarily responsible for playing baritone saxophone and singing vocals on a few songs. The band also experimented with different stylistic fusions, mixing ska with various other musical genres, including new wave and breakbeat. The album also featured guest appearances by many big names in the Canadian ska scene, including Dave "JFK" Adams of JFK & the Conspirators, and Mitch "King Kong" Girio of King Apparatus fame. Though these were drastic changes, the album was well received.

The group toured on and off over the next four years, but by 2004, the band's line-up included only one original member (Muller), and the group announced on October 28, 2004 that their next album would be released under the name Lo and the Magnetics. At the time of their "breakup", the Kingpins consisted of Lorraine Muller on lead vocals and saxophone, Chris Raz on guitar, Dan Meier on saxophone, Russ Cooper on bass, and Mike Gasselsdorfer on drums. In concert, Lo and the Magnetics occasionally played songs that were released under the Kingpins' name, though they referred to them as "covers". They have, however, retired some of the Kingpins' most notable songs, such as "The 10 Commandments of Ska". The Magnetics are on hiatus and expect to record some demos at some point.

Discography

Compilation appearances

Videography