The King Lot's Jay Moir On Their New Album and A World Without Evil

Hard rock trio, The King Lot are fast becoming a well-known band in the beardy, biker rocker scene in Scotland.

The King Lot’s first self-titled album was released on Crown Jewel records – their own  label – and after a slight change in the line-up with the addition of Jay Moir on guitar, the group are almost set to release A World Without Evil, their second, highly anticipated album.

The Edinburgh band’s loyal following has earned them a reputation as a consistently exhilarating and solid live act. I witnessed this a few months ago and was blown away by Jason Sweeney’s Myles Kennedy-esque vocals, Jay’s intricate guitar playing and Chris Gillon’s fast and rib-cage-vibrating drums.

I met Jay Moir at his slightly obvious place of work, Guitar Guitar, to find out about the new album, playing live and his endorsement with Victory Amps.

Q. How does The King Lot compare to other bands you’ve played with?

It’s fun. My first proper original band so it’s more exciting than playing covers. Brown Eyed Girl can get a bit boring after a while. 

Q. Tell me about the upcoming album?

It’s just been recorded and we’ve just got back the mixing and mastering and it sounds amazing. 10 tracks all together. There’s a good blend of heavier stuff and the classic hard rock that people are used to. There was the fear it was going a bit too heavy but it’s ready now and we’re excited.

Q. What about the Pledge Campaign?

We raised £4000 all together. A big thank you to everyone who pledged. Basically, we offered people stuff like getting a signed album early, tickets to a listening party and various other things like signed drum sticks. And people actually bought it and that’s funded the whole album, so a massive thank you to everyone who done that and we’ll get everything out to you as soon as possible.

Q. What’s your guitar of choice when playing live?

My main babe is my old trusty Musicman Axis, made in 2003 I think. I’ve had that for a good six or seven years. I use a couple of guitars but that’s the main one I play in E flat and we play a couple of drop C songs which I use a Strat my dad built. But we’re gigging on the 25th, I’m using a guitar that Bob, the guitar tech in the shop, has built so I’m going to gig with that, give him some promotion and hopefully I’ll get it for free.

Q. What about playing in the studio?

I use quite a lot in the studio, but not as much as I want to. I used the Strat for all the drop C songs, I used a Gibson Les Paul, a Musicman JP and a Musicman Luke. All of these were used for different sounds. For rhythms, I use the Les Paul and for lead, I use the Musicman.

Q. And your amp? How did Victory Amps approach you?

Basically, I was looking for a new amp. A couple of the guys in the shop use Victory stuff and I’ve always been quite interested in what they do, I like the people that use them. And Matt in the shop had been in contact with them, so I asked him to get me some prices.

So, while he was doing that, he was kind of ‘bigging’ me up to them, saying this and that about me which probably wasn’t true. Eventually he gave me the contact details for the people at Victory guys. Then my band manager sent over some of our stuff to them and so they offered me an endorsement deal. 

I’ve got the amp and it sounds amazing, they’re currently in the process of putting me on the website. The photos are going back and forward but they’re a bit picky about photos, so that’s a working process.

Q. What’s the plan for 2018?

2018 is getting the album out in late January or early February. We’ve got a tour throughout February and March. So, it’s basically play our asses off, promote the album, let people hear the album and buy it. That’s it, just play as much as we can and get rich and famous.

The King Lot are definitely the ones to watch at the moment. A hard working and hard rocking band with the potential to blow up next year. With a solid fan base, decent exposure and fresh music, there’s no reason they shouldn’t.