Today, the Queens, NY-based rock outfit King Falcon has released “Ready Set Go,” the latest taste of their upcoming, debut album, slated for release later this year. A supercharged indie rocker with a Black Keys sense of blues-punk dirt, produced by Marshall Altman (Citizen Cope) and mixed by 12-time Grammy-nominated mixing engineer and producer Mark Needham (The Killers, Imagine Dragons), “Ready Set Go” captures the frenetic urban sprawl of the band’s hometown of New York City.
“The three of us are from New York, born and raised, so we wanted to write a song that captured the speed and the electric energy that we felt while walking around the city,” comments King Falcon’s Michael Rubin. “The drums represent that excitement and anticipation as you emerge from the subway station, then the bass and guitars come in for that big reveal as you make your way outside. Are you ready for it? Well, get set and go.”
The single was released today alongside a cinematic music video capturing Rubin in the streets of Manhattan, rushing to get to a show on time. “This video was actually one of the more physically demanding ones we have filmed,” Rubin adds. “We basically spent an entire day sprinting around New York at full speed while carrying gear! My personal favorite part of the video is where Tom’s car won’t start. While we were shooting that scene, James accidentally broke off one of the door handles on Tom’s car so he basically had to open it with his fingernails for the rest of that scene.”
The release of “Ready Set Go” follows King Falcon’s March single “Cadillac,” brimming with garage guitar riffage, power pop choruses, soulfully melodic lead vocals, and vibrant indie-rock atmospherics. The “Cadillac” video snapshots an actual Ferris Bueller-like joyride with Rubin’s buddy’s red, rare bird 1957 Eldorado Cadillac. Rubin continues “I got to drive this beauty with no brakes, no plates, and a flat tire,” Rubin recalled. “Everybody, including the cops, waved as I cruised this spaceship around the neighborhood.”
Michael Rubin is the creative driving force behind King Falcon, but drummer and sometimes recording engineer James Terranova is essential to the band’s spirit. His fastidious, plan-ahead persona is the perfect counterpoint to Michael’s freewheeling personality, and the pair have an old-married-couple kind of connection. “I would take a bullet for him, but I may also be that person to shoot him,” Michael jokes. Up until now, King Falcon has been a guitar and drums duo, but the twosome is welcoming drummer Tom Diognardi and moving James to bass.
In 2020, the duo released the funky and infectiously catchy single, “Shake! Shake! Shake!.” However, the pandemic cleared King Falcon’s calendar before their debut show.. The guys made the most of the situation by sending its single, “When The Party Is Over,” out to labels. “That song represented me trying to convince my parents, and myself, that I could get somewhere playing guitar,” Michael says. The song turned out to be aces for the band landing in Ron Burman’s, President of Mascot Record Label, inbox where he awarded King Falcon a recording contract.
“When The Party Is Over” is an irresistible, moody mid-tempo rocker teeming with ear worm melodies. The song explores lonely New York late-night living with gritty candor, and it comes alive via a darkly alluring video. “We got chased through the park by a crazed man with a knife while making the song’s video,” Michael remembers.
King Falcon has resumed its pre-pandemic plans of playing its first live shows and touring and will be hitting the road for a string of US dates this summer. “It took two and a half years to get here,” Michael says, pausing thoughtfully. “If you asked me when I first got my guitar if we would get a label and be where we are today, I would have said, ‘oh yeah, no problem,’ but I’ve learned the reality of it all isn’t that simple. It is amazing to be where we are today, but it was definitely a challenging journey.”
King Falcon is:
Michael Rubin – Lead Guitar and Vocals
James Terranova – Bass
Tom Diognardi – Drums