hometown: Victoria, BC
Jackson McDonald/King Bob: Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard
Evan Matthiesen: Drums, Production
Jes Matthiesen: Guitar
Annie McKinley: Guitar
Jeremy ‘Jimbo’ Rai: Bass
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Bio
Jackson McDonald — AKA King Bob — has been a semi-regular fixture in the Victoria music scene since moving from Parksville in 2012, most notably as the frontman in synth-punk duo Timing X. After releasing his debut EP as King Bob (2023’s Depresh Mode), he assembled a backing band consisting of several decade-plus Victoria music scene vets: Evan Matthiesen (The Projectors) on drums/production, Jes Matthiesen (Fall Fair Car) on lead guitar, Annie McKinley (Lazy Mike & The Rockin’ Recliners) on rhythm guitar, and Jeremy ‘Jimbo’ Rai (The This) on bass.
Since officially forming last year, the band has played several sold out shows in their hometown as well as traveling across the water to Vancouver.
On Rookie, the “eccentric but oddly relatable” King Bob offers up a plethora of “catchy hooks and riffs [with] lyrics that are easy to sing along to” (Destroyed Victoria) that evoke the nostalgia of ‘90s/late aughts alt-rock and pop-punk. The songs cover a wide range of topics familiar to any downwardly mobile Millennial or Gen Z’er: poverty, depression, mental illness, housing insecurity, and arrested development.
The album cover — a send-up of classic era O-Pee-Chee hockey cards — serves as the perfect visual representation of the songs contained therein. King Bob is battered, bloody, and missing a tooth, but still sporting a big, dumb grin.
Discography
– Depresh Mode (2023)
– Rookie (2024)
Latest news
As of January, Annie McKinley will be replacing Reid Blakley on guitar as Reid moves back to Calgary. Annie has been playing music with Evan and Jes since they were teenagers, and we’re very excited to have her on board.
MP3s
King Bob – Figure It Out (download)
King Bob – Angus (download)
King Bob – King Baby (download)
