By way of London and Johannesburg a band of four unique brothers named Johnny, Jesse, Dylan and Danny Kongos are slowly but surely becoming a staple in Phoenix’s local music scene.
Johnny, part of the band comprised of four brothers born in England, describes KONGO's sound as rock with African and Indian ethnic influences. He jokes that they considered changing the name of the band to Africanized Killer Bees (the four relocated to South Africa later in life).
“The whole culture in South Africa has influenced our music with a lot of South African tribal rhythms,” Johnny says.
The band indeed has a sound different from most mainstream fare, blending African tribal rhythms, jazz, catchy pop melodies, strong instrumental arrangements and clever lyrics. The sound is a combination of influences — classic rock, the culturally diverse music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and their current favorite band, Tinariwen.
Music has always been a part of the brothers’ lives — their father John Kongos is a multimillion-record selling recording artist. At a young age, they were all classically trained on piano, and through their teenage years, they naturally gravitated to their individual instruments, including an accordion.
When grown up, Johnny and Jesse studied jazz at ASU for a couple of years before deciding that a degree in music wasn’t going to help them toward their goal, though Jesse says they did learn a lot from their professors and through working in jazz ensembles.
“It helped us with learning our own sound,” Johnny says.
KONGOS played their first show together as a band at Scottsdale’s Chaparral High School talent show in 2003, but they didn’t become serious until the release of their self-titled album in 2007.
If you walked by the brothers of KONGOS, you'd say they look like just a couple of regular guys who enjoy a good local beer under the misters at popular Tempe bar Casey Moore’s.
These brothers have all of the ingredients necessary to become a worldwide sensation — each with unique characteristics to add to the mix. The question isn’t if they will ultimately become successful, it's when.
The video to their song "I’m Only Joking" made its world premiere recently. The song is impossible to listen to without becoming wrapped up into the music and swaying to the drum-heavy beats and progressive guitar.
The video was done entirely in house — Danny shot most of the video and Jesse did most of the directing. All four brothers contributed to story boarding, set design, casting and editing. It was also filmed locally around the Phoenix area.
KONGOS has plans on sharing "I’m Only Joking" and their other songs on an international tour in order to take advantage of their South African success. Their single In the Music has been on the Top 40 playlist of a radio station in South Africa for more than two months. Despite the success, the brothers remain humbled, with an infectious sense of humor.
When asked about the funniest memory from a show the boys reminisced together on an evening in Los Angeles where an intoxicated “cougar rhinoceros” was in front filming and photographing Dylan. She then shouted that she could film their next music video and asked with a wink, “Do you need a roadie … if you know what I mean?” So in reply Dylan says, “Yeah I do, can you carry my amp to the car?”
With the love of fan girls — er, women — already in their pocket, their goal is to tour the world jamming at festivals of 30,000-plus people multiple times a week, “flying in private jets …while remaining humble,” Johnny says.
“And rich,” Dylan adds.
The brothers have considered moving to Los Angeles to help the band gain momentum but they aren’t giving up on Phoenix yet.
“Things have been starting to happen here in terms of the scene,” Johnny says.
To experience the worldly KONGOS, check out their show at Martini Ranch on Sept. 9, and see the video for "I'm Only Joking" below.
Reach the reporter at cavohs@asu.edu
