Almost Kings: A Blend of Sound to Rock To

Almost Kings, a Marieta-based band formed in 2008, isn't your typical rock band. They bring acoustic, hip-hop, rock and rap together in a fun, personable show that has a little something for everyone.

Bryan Bozeman, 30, vocals; Ryan Yunker, 25, guitars and vocals; Daniel Helms, 27, bass and vocals; and Kevin Compton, 27, drums, "don't plan to be rock stars. We're Almost Kings; we're blue-collar guys. We don't need the glory and all that other stuff. We don't try to fall into that rock-star image; we are what we are," Boze said.

"We just want this to be our full-time job and be successful, to tour and play. We would love to have that one hit, but it's not what is going to complete us as people."

In January, , a fan-driven, monthlong Facebook promotion that gave the band with the most votes an opportunity to play a live, online streaming performance during the Grammy Awards expo in Los Angeles.

"We were stoked," Boze said. "My reaction—I immediately started sweating," Boze laughed. "I was like, 'Oh, God, now it's time. Got to bring my A-game.' We're confident in front of fans, but now we have to go be confident in front of some of the most confident people in the world. I haven't been nervous for so long that I'm kind of excited. I missed that."

Almost Kings was nominated for the Garage to Grammy contest by a fan in early December and beat out 916 other unsigned acts selected regionally by contest organizers from across the country.

"Every band of the 916 in the contest had 'This band sounds like' next to their name, but ours was the only one that didn't have a sounds like. That's our goal, that's our aim. We have pop cheesy stuff, acoustic, street hip hop, rock and roll," Boze said. "When the band was created, I wanted to make a mix CD and touch on everything."

Helms "is the pop guy. He likes Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera," Boze said. Boze loves "anything Atlanta and grew up on hip-hop in Atlanta." Yunker "grew up on Stevie Ray Vaughan and is all about older bands," Boze said. Compton "is from Louisiana, and he listens to a lot of jazz, James Brown, a lot of Atlanta stuff too. He listens to a lot of hip-hop."

The song "Unstoppable" describes Almost Kings well, Boze said. "It's drive and saying we're unstoppable, there is something about the spirit and the hard nature of the band that fits," he said.

The song "Legend" also carries a strong message. "It was the very first song we ever wrote, and I realized then I wanted this to be a rock band. We want to play some history, we want to be legend."

Almost Kings tours 200 days a year to every state but Alaska and Hawaii. Almost Kings has strong markets in Birmingham, Baltimore, San Antonio, Seattle and of course their hub city, Marietta.

"We're not shooting to be the best in the world; we're cool being right in the middle and strive to be the best that we can be. We're happy just showing up and entertaining people."

Whether there are five or 5,000 people in the crowd, Almost Kings brings all of their energy and passion to the stage.

"I feel like we can walk on stage and connect with people and seem real," Boze said. "People can see we drove over night and didn't get any sleep, but we still go out their and put our heart and soul into our performance. People can connect. There's no makeup, no super tight jeans or other cliche rockstar image. We're just comfortable."

Almost Kings released its self-produced debut album Filthy Nice in February 2009 followed by its Club Rock EP in February 2011.

"It's different for every song," Boze said of the writing process. "Sometimes we'll be on the road, and I'll be making something on my laptop and the guys put their flavor on it and make it what Almost Kings is. It's whoever is in the writing mood."

Boze said "On Like That" is one of his favorite Almost Kings songs for the lyrics. "It's kind of a trick on things," he said. "My previous band was very political. I had a lot of friends overseas and lost them, and I had a lot of anguish from that. 'On Like That' has that cheesy, poppy chorus but the verses are actually talking about war.

"It's cool to kind of slip a message in there to people and catch their ear at the same time."

Almost Kings has shared the stage with national acts, including Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Disturbed, 3 Doors Down, Rehab, Saving Abel, Alien Ant Farm, Yelawolf, Stone Sour, Sevendust, Drowning Pool, Theory of a Deadman, Everlast, Ludacris, b.o.b., Molly Hatchet, Fuel and Taproot.

"We've played with a lot of people that I've been drooling over," Boze said. "A band that's been like a brother to us and has been one of my personal favorites is Rehab. They're like family, and we still talk to them every day. They are one of my personal favorites because they've helped us so long." 

The 54th annual Grammy Awards will air Feb. 12 on CBS at 8 p.m. Almost Kings' live performance will accompany a litany of online and interactive events the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which presents the Grammy awards each year to the best in the music business, is pushing during this year’s expo.

"We're hoping that the exposure at the Grammy's and connections we can make out there will cause something to happen," Boze said. "We've done all this on our own. Everything has been funded by Almost Kings. This year, my goal, I'd like to be able to pay my rent on time. If something bigger happens, that would be amazing."

Upon their return to Atlanta from Los Angeles, Almost Kings will play live at in Duluth on Feb. 18.

"We put our fans first. We are not the band that plays, goes back stage and leaves. We pride ourselves on our fans, and to have people that love us for whatever reason to beat out all these other bands is huge for us."