Kingdom plays songs with meaning

It may come as a surprise to fans of The Kingdom — whose music is basically melodic, progressive rock — that lead singer/guitarist Charles Westmoreland cut his teeth on punk and hardcore bands.

"But I also liked The Pixies, The Stone Roses and The Sugar Cubes," said Westmoreland by phone from a tour stop in Brooklyn, N.Y. "Listening to music was important to me when I was growing up. And I wanted to make music that would get a reaction from people. You know, the way I reacted to some of the bands I listened to."

So the members of the band based in Portland, Ore. — Westmoreland, guitarist Gavin Todd, keyboardist Jenna Roadman, bassist Zach Okun and drummer Joel Burrows — decided to make music that made them happy.

With Westmoreland writing the lyrics, the band released an extended play, "Unitas," a musical science-fiction story that uses the late Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas as its central character.

The band has since released its full-length debut album, "K1," which is about a racing hero and the woman he loves, done in a Flaming Lips style.

"We write songs that have meaning to us and our lives," said Westmoreland. "We'll sit in a bar and talk or shout about stuff that's happening with us, and we'll incorporate those events into our songs. But they may be a little distorted."

Recording "K1" was more of an experiment for The Kingdom, said Westmoreland. "We recorded the album in our own home studio. So we had a lot of time to fool around with different ideas. That's basically how the album came together. It's not hard recording an album these days, but getting the right people around you when you want to make the music you want to make is hard.

"It takes time to find people you respect and, in turn, have them respect you and your ideas. But once you do, and things begin to go your way — I would eventually like to be able to do this as my living — you feel the rewards.

"In fact, today I'm feeling a bit of luck. I'm sitting on a stoop at a Brooklyn hotel on tour and meeting some great people."

If you go

What: Black Angels, The Tyde, The Kingdom

Where: Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Phone: 320-9887

Web: www.kilbycourt.com or www.24tix.com

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E-mail: scott@desnews.com