Following the surprise departure of long-time drummer and producer Wayne Proctor last week, King King have now announced their new sticksman, Andrew Scott.

Scott is a another native of frontman Alan Nimmo's homeland of Scotland, and his addition takes the number of Scots in the line up to three along with new bass player Zander Greenshields. The sole English hold out is organ player Jonny Dyke!

Joking aside, the 3/4 Scottish line up is quite apt for a band that has always been seen as Scottish despite including members from England and even The Netherlands in the past. Nevertheless, it's understandable that frontman Nimmo's big Glaswegian personality - not to mention the kilt he always wears onstage - became the defining impression of the group.

The latest new recruit joins at the end of a turbulent few months for the band, even as they continue to rise to greater and greater heights. A new management contract with US based Siren Artist Management Inc at the turn of the year was followed by their biggest UK Tour to date which received rave reviews.

At the close of that tour founder member and bassist Lindsay Coulson left - having announced his retirement from the band a couple of months previously - and his replacement was revealed as expected, turning out to be Nimmo's former Blackwater Blues Band colleague Greenshields.

Proctor leaving only a few weeks after that was unexpected, however. The first anyone knew of it was via post on the band's Facebook page which said "Drummer Wayne Proctor is to move on from King King to pursue other interests. We would like to thank him for all of his work in his time with the band and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavours!"

It's true that Proctor has plenty other irons in the fire, with his work recording and producing albums at his House Of Tone studio, and drumming for a host of acts. He's currently on the road with RavenEye frontman Oli Brown.

King King seem to have found a great replacement however in Scott, who is an in-demand session player and a graduate of the esteemed Berklee College Of Music in Boston, MA who has played with musicians such as Mr Big's Paul Gilbert.

Alan Nimmo had this to say, “Andrew is one of Scotland’s finest players and one hell of nice young lad! We are very lucky to have someone of this pedigree and skill stepping in to the band. Rehearsals so far have been great and exciting. I can’t wait for you guys to hear how it’s sounding!”

Scott will join King King on their upcoming European dates and the recording of their 5th album this summer. The band also join Joe Bonamassa's Keeping the Blues Alive At Sea Mediterranean Blues Cruise which takes in Barcelona, Spain, Monte Carlo in Monaco and Valletta in Malta from August 16-21.

King King upcoming tour dates:

28 March - Marcq en Baroeul - Festival Jazz en Nord (F)

29 March - Cleon - La Traverse (F)

4 April - Gjøvik - Retro Bar og Live Scene (no)

5 April - Lillehammer - Kulturhuset Banken (NO)

6 April - Norway/DEnmark - Outlaw Cruise, Stena Line

18 April - Venlo - Grenswerk (NL)

19 April - Zandaam - Flux (NL)

20 April - Tilburg - Hilhoef (NL)

21 April - Ulft - Dru Cultuurfabriek (NL)

10 May - The Picturedome, Holmfirth, UK

11 May - KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton

9 June - Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands

10 June - Ribs N Blues Festival, Raalte, Netherlands

14 June - Le Toit Rouge, Montélimar, France

5 July - Rock Festival, Barcelona, Spain

11 July - Festival Guitare en Scene, Saint-Julien en Genevois, France

16 August - 21 August - Keeping The Blues Alive At Seas: Mediterranean, Spain – Monaco – Malta

For further info:
www.kingking.co.uk/tour
www.bluesaliveatseaeurope.com

Author: Cameron Arndt

Cameron Arndt is a musician and freelance writer from Glasgow, Scotland. He writes for his own music review website (www.rockandrolltraffic.com) and also contributes to Music Talkers.