OFFICIAL BIO:
King Youngblood
Alternative Press calls King Youngblood “Seattle’s Alt Rock Princes” - they sure got that right. Twenty-three-year-old founder and frontman Cameron Lavi-Jones, along with, drummer Alix Daniel, cellist Chet Peterson, and bassist Hamoon Milaninia have a singular mission: grab heavy guitar/drums rock by the collar and drag it into the willing arms of the fresh new generation of fans currently fueling the world-wide resurgence of rock music. The world agrees with affirming descriptions including AfroPunk in October 2021 declaring “King Youngblood’s skill at transforming a small phrase into a massive hook is at this point unparalleled in the world of heavy music.”
2021 was a resounding year for fan and artist development for King Youngblood despite the setbacks due to the pandemic. Following the high six-figure streaming success of singles “Yakubian Antics” and “Too Late Too Soon”, the band was asked to perform at the pre-game Seattle Seahawks show at Lumen Field on October 7th. “Performing for 68,000 fans is no joke. Playing for our favorite football team and the 12th Man fans felt amazing,” says Lavi-Jones.
Lavi-Jones is also a second-generation Black/Jewish activist whose father, activist, and producer Maurice Jones Jr., was a member of the Black Panther Party and is the Program Manager at the community radio station, KVRU FM servicing South Seattle (the city’s most diverse district). Lavi-Jones spent the 2020 Covid-Pandemic summer writing songs and actively protesting within his Black Lives Matter community. He staged an epic teach in called This Ain’t No Picnic on the steps of the Seattle Police Department’s 12th precinct and memorialized it with “Yakubian Antics”.
Beyond social justice activism, King Youngblood is openly and deeply involved with youth mental health issues having formed their own non-profit Hold Your Crown, in partnership with the King County Washington Mental Health Court and Pacific Northwest’s SMASH, working to break the stigma around youth mental illness.
This is from the same band, who in the fall of November 2018 and again in 2020, received grants from the League of Women Voters to perform at over 80 high schools, registering over 3,200 new voters in 2018 and reaching over 100,000 young voters via online shows and promotions in 2020. King Youngblood will do it again in the next election cycle.
Through the music of King Youngblood, Lavi-Jones and his compatriots have boldly declared that unironic, melodic rock’n’roll continues to stand tall as a vibrant medium of cathartic self-expression. Simply put, King Youngblood crafts beautifully crisp, deeply soulful, and elegantly strong songs.