In Session: Stephen King of A Little Overboard

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Releasing their debut single, “Goodbye For Now,” on Dec. 31, 2022, A Little Overboard is rapidly making a name for themselves. The song begins with a tranquil arpeggiated guitar that drifts naturally into the song’s first verse, as the whole band joins in. Featuring solid playing across all instruments, and a vocal that feels as confident as it does strong, “Goodbye For Now” ebbs and flows in energy and instrumentation. After the second chorus, there’s quite the effective guitar interlude – nothing flashy and out of place – before jumping into one last chorus to end the song.

I had a chance to sit down with Stephen King of A Little Overboard. What follows is our conversation.

Lucas Garrett: Thanks, Stephen, for taking the time to sit down! Tell us a bit about your band.

Stephen King: We are a 5-piece American rock band raised in Saratoga. The band was founded by reconnecting with childhood friends which is the fundamental piece to the group. We picked up our lead guitarist through a musicians-wanted forum, which was the final piece to the puzzle. The band has been writing in the studio at an aggressive pace working with some of the most iconic recording equipment.

We just played our debut show on Friday (Jan. 6^th), which went well, at Putnam Place, following up the release of our first single “Goodbye for Now.”

LG: Speaking of your single, that’s been getting some great traction lately! Congratulations.

SK: Thank you, the song is really special to me. When it was composed, it was all the long-lost-friends in the room again. It was almost as if everyone had waited a long time to finally get to speak, which everyone did in the form of their instruments.

It was one of those moments that will resonate with me and I’m sure the rest of the band. Everything just glued together wicked fast. All the settings behind the board were just in the right place, you know?

LG: That’s the best way to do it!

SK: It really is. Things like this cannot be forced – the setting was perfect and the mood was right.

LG: Speaking more to that songwriting, who are some of your creative influences?

SK: Everyone in the band has separate influences, but we all have some similarities, like Staind, Aerosmith, Guns n Roses, Alice in Chains, Led Zeppelin, and bands of that realm. I’d say U2 is a big part of my influences sometimes as well, and the band has also been known to jam some Queen and Elton John after a practice! Haha.

LG: Davey Johnstone (Elton’s guitarist) is one of the most underrated there is!

SK: That’s a fact. Our singer has such a dynamic range that it’s nice to watch him go from genre to genre.

LG: Your next show is on 2/10, correct? At Putnam Place? What else is in store for A Little Overboard?

SK: The band has been discussing putting on a show on March 17 to help raise money for a music academy in the Clifton Park area. We plan to continue writing in between all of this. The band also is buying a tour bus for the summer of 2024. It’s a 55-passenger tour bus, approximately 45 ft long.

LG: That’s terrific. Is there anything I may have missed that you’d like to discuss?

SK: We would like to thank all of our families and friends for the support so far, as well as our fans. Without them, none of this would have been possible.

LG: Thanks again for your time!