Citizen King
Citizen King was a music group from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whose style was a mix of hip-hop, soul and punk.
Members
- Kristian Riley, guitar
- Matt Sims, vocals/bass guitar, aka Mount Sims
- D.J. Brooks, drums/percussions
- Dave Cooley, piano/keyboards
- Malcolm Michiles, turntables
History
The band formed in 1993 after the breakup of their previous band, Wild Kingdom. Both bands received a lot of local recognition for their live shows. While Citizen King's first LP and EP were only commercial successes around Wisconsin, they were well received by critics.
The band's 1999 release Mobile Estates received moderate commercial success. Many songs from that album were used for the pilot episode and the series finale of Malcolm in the Middle.
Their first single, and biggest hit, was "Better Days (And The Bottom Drops Out)." It became a Top 40 hit and went gold in the summer of 1999. A remix of "Better Days (And The Bottom Drops Out)" was used in the 2000 movie Gone In Sixty Seconds, and the original version was used in the video game, Street Skater 2, along with "Under the Influence." "Salt Bag Spill" was featured on The Animal soundtrack in 2001.
Citizen King disbanded in 2002.
A music historian looked back at Citizen King in a 2005 article in the Shepherd Express: "there were a few years, between 1995 and 1997, when Citizen King were really all the rage in Milwaukee: All the kids had CK ringer t-shirts, saw them at Summerfest, Winterfest, the Modjeska, eagerly awaited the release of Count the Days and Sidney Hih, knew the Sidney Hih building, ran into Matt Sims at Buca di Beppo, knew and loved the song 'Better Days' two years before it hit the radio. But then came 'Mobile Estates,' a great record, but it became unfavorably compared to Beck and ended up fizzling. Nobody knows why the band broke up, nobody knows where they are today. But they are sorely missed."
Where are they now?
- Matt Sims now performs as Mount Sims, an indie-electronic artist based in Los Angeles who has recently moved to Berlin.
- D.J. Brooks now drums for New Sense, a Milwaukee band, and co-owns The Good Life, a Caribbean restaurant and bar on Milwaukee's East Side.
- Dave Cooley is a music producer based in Los Angeles, has worked with the legendary J Dilla and recently produced the Silversun Pickups' Carnavas.
- Kristian Riley is a member of Truth In Fiction, and a music producer based in Los Angeles, who recently produced or co-produced records for New Sense, Maritime, Paris Texas, Truth In Fiction, The Farewell Circuit, Headlights, and many others.
- Malcolm Michiles, or 'Old Man Malcolm', is active as a performer (Cornrowz, Codebreaker), and as a writer (he and Riley work with the Milwaukee-based Burst Collective on projects for commercials and film/tv).
Discography
Albums
- Brown Bag LP (August 8, 1995)
- Sydney Hih (1997) - extremely limited edition
- Mobile Estates (March 9, 1999)
EPs
- Count the Days (April 2, 1996)
Singles
- "Better Days" (May 25, 1999); US Gold (500,000+)