STONER-RAP-ROCKERS Kottonmouth Kings may be best known for their handful of hit singles—”Suburban Life,” “Peace Not Greed,” “Bump.” But after getting dropped by Capitol after their third album, they switched gears completely, putting out all their music on their own label and going for the direct approach to their fanbase online. Since then, their recording output has dramatically increased. In less than a decade they’ve put out 17 releases—including proper albums, b-side compilations and live recordings.
“Having our own label has given us the freedom to be able to dictate how we release our records,” says frontman Brad Xavier, who goes by the stage name “Daddy X.” “With a major label, you have to go through an A&R department, and you have a series of people that approve your song. We wound up clashing a lot with the business model on the major label.”
While they still consider hip-hop their musical foundation, they freely write punk, metal, reggae and acoustic rock songs—anything they feel like. Were they stuck in the major label model they might never have felt comfortable experimenting.
“When we wake up and go into the studio, I can’t tell you what’s going to come out by the end of the day. We never limit ourselves to what style of music we’re going to play. We literally go all over the map,” Xavier says.
Their show at Avalon is part of the Kottonmouth Kings’ annual holiday celebration called “Jingle Bowls,” which they celebrate in part by projecting lots of crazy, pot-friendly images behind them during shows. In prior years, Jingle Bowls has always been a single show in Southern California, but this time they’ve made a short tour out of it.
Thu, Dec. 8
8pm; $15
