Biography
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Years Active
2002 – present (22 years)
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Founded In
Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
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Members
- King Khan
- Mark Sultan
The King Khan & BBQ Show are a Canadian Garage rock duo from Montreal, Quebec that originally existed from roughly 2002 up until an incident at the group's massive Sydney Opera House show in early-June, 2010. The band was comprised of former The Spaceshits bandmates Mark Sultan and Blacksnake, but included live drummer/organist Leo Chips for a short spurt of shows on the 2009 Invisible Girl U.S. tour. Mark Sultan, under the pseudonym BBQ, contributed vocals, guitar, tambourine, bass drum, and snare drum; while Blacksnake, currently using the pseudonym King Khan, provided lead guitar and vocals.
Both BBQ and King Khan had previously collaborated together while the two were members of the Montreal-based Spaceshits, however, following a European tour, Blacksnake (the then-current alias of King Khan) opted to remain in Germany on a permanent basis, resulting in the ultimate breakup of the Spaceshits, who chose not to continue without Blacksnake. Following the breakup of the Spaceshits, Mark Sultan started another Montreal-based band, Les Sexareenos, before venturing off on his own as a one-man band under the pseudonym BBQ. It was as BBQ that Mark Sultan re-established contact with Blacksnake, playing alongside Blacksnake's new band, King Khan & The Shrines. The two began writing songs together at Blacksnake's apartment in Germany, playing them live at sporadic shows around Germany and Spain.
In 2004 the band recorded their first album as The King Khan & BBQ Show, releasing The King Khan & BBQ Show in America on Goner Records, and on Hazelwood Records in Europe. The album was recorded by DM Bob in Hamburg, Germany. In support of the album, the band began a world tour, with stops in Europe, the US, and South America. In 2006 the band released their second LP, What's for Dinner?, on In the Red Records. In 2008, Impose Magazine crowned King Khan the best performer of 2008.On July 31, 2009, Pitchfork Media reported that King Khan & BBQ will be releasing Invisible Girl in November. They embarked on a forty day US/Canada tour to coincide with the release. On November 12, while on tour in the United States, Khan and tour manager Kristin Klein were arrested in Kentucky on illegal drug possession charges. Klein was also booked for driving with an invalid license. She entered a guilty plea and will appear in court on April 2, 2010. The band missed three shows due to the holdup. Invisible Girl was released on December 1, 2009.
Khan and BBQ were not on speaking terms for a period, following a dispute after certain incidents involving the crowd and subsequent management complaints at a gig in June, 2010 at the historic Sydney Opera House, curated by Lou Reed and his wife Laurie Anderson. Following King Khan's guitar-throwing episode with the crowd after warnings from the Opera House staff, BBQ and the former exchanged some heated words and agreed that this show would be their last.
A remorseful King Khan detailed the undertakings in an online posting:
http://terminal-boredom.com/forums/index.php?topic=27519.0
On July 13, 2012, The King Khan & BBQ Show reunited for the first time since the Sydney show, for a sold-out performance at Lee's Palace in Toronto. They played an hour-long set to the packed club and ended with a three-song encore. The group are now officially back together and touring.
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