King Baldwin

The Newest King Baldwin Piano Video. Warning: Includes candlelight.

2011-08-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

King Baldwin performs this dark, challenging theme from Super Castlevania IV illuminated only by candlelight. Enjoy.

Super Castlevania IV: Hall Of Chandeliers

News Flash

2011-08-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

Howdy. Long time no speak, I know.

Important news: kingbaldwin.com is now going to exclusively relate to King Baldwin the pianist/philosopher/youtube film maker/introvert/etc. The band component is being folded back into the 'Dubious Ranger' band name, which has always been close to my heart. The albums previously made as King Baldwin, which include the self-titled EP, Castle of Love, and Music For Unsafe Sex, will now be Dubious Ranger Presents: King Baldwin... . And the exciting new collection of songs, "Found Recordings From The Panda Valley Mining Company c.1931," is ready to be heard in the near future; it'll just be released as Dubious Ranger. I shall post links in due time to where you may hear the new album, but as a descriptive teaser: it sounds exactly like its name.

Not vague at all.

Yours,
King Baldwin

New King Baldwin Album In The Works

2011-05-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

What does King Baldwin do when they release a tongue-in-cheek funk album called "Music For Unsafe Sex"? They follow it up with an ethnomusicological study of American mining work-songs, of course. King Baldwin discovered several recordings while on a trip to a series of caverns in Idaho. These rare recordings are estimated to date from c.1931. What's next? Well, the band is hard at work crafting these found songs into hybrids with tons of new original material, all of which will form a brand-new and very unique-sounding album. If you like Tom Waits and/or Beck, well, stay tuned!

King Baldwin To Perform Rare All-Ages Show

2011-05-22T22:29:00.000-07:00

King Baldwin is performing a free, all-ages show at San Francisco's only combination music venue/laundromat/cafe, Brainwash (1122 Folsom Street). The place has sentimental significance for King Baldwin, and the band totally promises to perform 'Ron Jeremy'. Friday June 3, 8-9pm.

Album Reviewed in the SF Bay Guardian

2011-05-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

King Baldwin got interviewed in a bowling alley. BECAUSE, that's why:

Interview

Link To "Music For Unsafe Sex" and other News

2011-03-08T11:05:00.000-08:00

Hi! We're finishing the cover art for "Music For Unsafe Sex", but in the meantime, you may listen here.

Second, we've finished the music video for one of the other singles, "Adult Movie Theatre". It stars toy robots. Enjoy

Finally, we are opening for Schuyler Fisk at San Francisco's Cafe du Nord on Tuesday, March 15, at 8pm. We'll be performing songs from the new album. Purchase tickets here

Be well!

Music For Unsafe Sex Is Now Available!

2011-02-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

We've just finished mastering the first full King Baldwin album, "Music For Unsafe Sex"!!! Cover art and existence on itunes and such and so forth will all be things that are things soon, but for now the tracks are all on bandcamp, so please visit to take a listen.

Album Update!!!!!

2011-01-10T13:47:00.000-08:00

Dear people to whom one would say hello,

Hello. Newsworthy news: the new album begins the official mixing stage tomorrow in Oakland. We're really happy with how these 9 new songs are sounding!

Though it says little about the sound, here, for the title-conscious amongst you, is the album title: "Music For Unsafe Sex"... so I guess that says a little about the sound.

More to come soon!

Kingly,

King Baldwin

New Album In The Works

2010-11-30T10:20:00.000-08:00

Dear everyone,

We're still alive. The members of King Baldwin are currently hard at work recording the band's first full-length album, which needless to say will blow all previously released King Baldwin material out of the water. We're tracking the tunes at our very our Ocean Beach studio and are delighted to report that friend and world-class engineer Jay Pellicci will be doing the mixing honors.
Stay tuned for news on the album, including the title and track listing.

Baldwinly yours,

KB

Amazing New Photos from Bottom of the Hill

2010-10-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

Extraordinary photographer Nicole Ryan took these pictures at King Baldwin's Bottom of the Hill show back in June. They're pretty... enjoy!

King Baldwin Performs at the Hotel Utah on Friday, October 15

2010-10-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

King Baldwin, with a fresh new line-up and a slew of new original tunes, is performing at San Francisco's beloved Hotel Utah (500 4th street @ Bryant) on 10/15 with 7 Orange ABC, Maiden Lane, and Ladies On A Train. Odds are this will be a packed house, so to get your tickets early, please visit the Utah's online ticket link.

The fun starts at 8pm and King Baldwin performs at 10:30. David Bowie might be there. Ok, he won't be there. But come anyway.

Videos from Bottom of the Hill show now up on Youtube

2010-09-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

Brand-spanking-new videos by professional videographer Gavin Murray are now viewable on youtube. Cuts from the Bottom of the Hill show include Adolf Hitler's, Golden Years, What Should You Do, and My Brain Is... .

Here's a link to footage of Adolf Hitler's:
AdolfHitler's

Enjoy and share!

King Baldwin Performs at Yerba Buena Center For The Arts on 8/3

2010-08-03T00:58:00.000-07:00

King Baldwin is performing at San Francisco's ultra-nifty Yerba Buena Center for The Arts from 6-8 pm on Tuesday August 3. The show is very free, very all-ages, and very outside, so come on by to hear a ton of new tunes and check out the amazing facility. The band will also be giving away copies of the new EP "Castle Of Love"!!!

"Castle Of Love" EP now available at Bandcamp!

2010-07-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

The full King Baldwin EP "Castle Of Love" is now finished: 6 varied and engaging tunes bursting with memorable melodies and waiting to be heard! Enjoy!

Castle Of Love

"Turn 28" from new EP now available for free

2010-07-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

We've got another song in the can and we're quite proud of how it turned out. It's a very personal piece for us, with touches of Eno, Bowie, chamber music, and West African rhythms. Click below to hear and download "Turn 28" for free, we hope you like it!

<a href="http://kingbaldwin.bandcamp.com/track/turn-28">Turn 28 by King Baldwin</a>

First Single From Upcoming EP Is Here

2010-06-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

We're pretty happy with this piece, and we think you'll like it a lot also. Give it a listen, download for free, whatever you'd like... just make sure to enjoy it.

<a href="http://kingbaldwin.bandcamp.com/track/adolf-hitlers">Adolf Hitler's by King Baldwin</a>

Bottom Of The Hill w/ Birdmonster on June 18 - get yer free tiketz

2010-05-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

We've got a big fat show coming up in June and we think you'll like it. It's at San Francisco's famous hipster-mecca, Bottom Of The Hill, where we'll be playing with our always-excellent friends Birdmonster, plus San Diego's Dynamite Walls (recently signed to Universal, yaaaaaay). It's 21+, starts 9:30pm on June 18.

Here's the thing: Birdmonster has sold out Bottom Of The Hill every time they've headlined there. This show is going to sell out, potentially even before the event begins. We'd hate to see you turned away at the door, so if you want to come to this show, you have two options:

1. Buy advance tickets online @
http://www.stubmatic.com/bottomofthehill/event/4550

2. Participate in our Guest Spot Giveaway....
We have 2 guest list spots to give out for this event to 2 of our best fans; these give you free entrance and the opportunity/nightmare to hang out with us throughout the night. Given our propensity for general subversion and academia, we'd like contestants to email kingbaldwinmusic@gmail.com with their best possible lyrical explanations of either "Old Soul" or "Campfire Song" , both available for free download on our Music page. The two most accurate and/or ridiculous explanations win. This contest ends at 12am June 8 so be sure to send your entries before then!

Here, have a picture of something odd:

Starting On New Album Today

2010-04-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

So aside from prepping for a great show this Friday (Starry Plough in Berkeley @ 9pm), this is what we're about to be up to...

We've got a crapload of new songs and figured it would be good to track a bunch in the studio these next 2 weeks. We'll be laying down rhythm tracks today, doing a flurry of overdubs next week, and then Jonathan Eccles is mixing the whole thing in his studio / creepy windowless basement. These new pieces are very exciting and represent a great evolution of the sounds from our last record... we're not sure what comparisons to make, but we've been studying lots of arrangements from Talking Heads, Bowie's mid-70s period, and The Magnetic Fields, and these all seem like fine aesthetic guideposts. The best part is that, once we finish this EP, we'll even still have another 6-7 unrecorded songs to work through for an instantaneous follow-up.

We'll prolly start posting some unfinished mixes in the next month or so, and for now, wish us luck!

Free EP

2010-03-25T00:15:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,

So we're giving away our EP for free. If you just want to cut to the chase and download the sucker, click here to find 5 delicious songs involving catchy melodies, obscure literate references, and legitimate reasons to stay at home on a Saturday night.

Cheers -KB

Hi there

2010-02-28T16:04:00.000-08:00

Hi.

This is the first post on this website, which we just built the other day.

We are King Baldwin. We are a band from San Francisco and we've created this website so that you can hear some of our music, see some videos, hear about upcoming shows, and get in touch with us if you have the pounding urge to say hello to strangers. We just released our debut EP last week, so feel free to cruise over to our store and have a gander, you silly goose.

Disclaimer: If this site is a house, then the wallpaper is only half-on, the attic is missing, and the basement is full of sawdust and old couches. We apologize for the clutter; this place shall soon feature more home-like elements including windows, doors, and a walk-in closet full of not one but two novelty t-shirts from foreign countries. In the meantime, please take a look around, listen to some tunes, and have a nice time in general.

Love, in the time of cholera,
King Baldwin.