When he's not pounding copper into functional art, vacationing on secret Mexican getaways or blaring sax on stage with local legends the Dirty Birds, Jimmi Davies is working it out with his latest band, Resident Kings. Lucky for us, he had some time to talk about this brand-spanking-new Olympia supergroup.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: Tell us about your new band ... what's the deal?

DAVIES: This new project is a combination of several of us who've been playing music in the Capitol City for many years. There's probably over a hundred years of combined experience between the five of us, a fact that makes my back ache and my eyesight bad, and causes me to crave Metamucil and yell at those kids to get the hell off my lawn. Here's the run down on the players: 

Tim Brown: bass guitar. Former member of the Noses, current member of the Dirty Birds

Michael Esparza: lead guitar/vox. Current member of Chief

Brian Sparhawk: rhythm guitar/vox. Founding member of Death Squad, former member of Fitz of Depression, Two Ton Boa, the Tide and probably a lot more projects that we don't even know about

Ryan Mungia: drums. Founding member of Simple Ritual, the Pitz, and God knows what else ... he's enigmatic

And me, Jimmi Davies: lead vox and that's all. Current singer/sax/harmonica player for the Dirty Birds

My music history is long and storied, but let me give it to you simply: I started a punk rock band in 1985 in East Tennessee called Slim Jim and the Beefsticks and I never looked back. I've been in bands the whole time, with only a few months of not playing, so I guess that's about 25 years total playing time. It's a wonder I still have a voice ... or a liver. And, quite obviously, I no longer qualify for the moniker of "Slim Jim."

VOLCANO: How would you describe the Resident Kings' sound?

DAVIES: We're so green that it's difficult to say, but for the time being it seems to lean toward melodic heavy rock. This is the first time I've been in a band with two guitars, and the interplay between them (Esparza and Sparhawk) has been very cool to see develop. Three of us in the band are singers, so there is a grand opportunity for vocal harmonizing, and we're starting to phase that in as we write. I'll leave it to the experts to describe our sound after they listen to us, because it's hard to describe it when you're listening to it from the inside. You know?

VOLCANO: Why/how did this band come together, and what are your intentions?

DAVIES: For me personally, I just wanted to do something different. I've been playing the sax and singing for the Dirty Birds since 1995. I really love my band, but I was feeling the need to put down the sax, put away the harmonica and try something different. Mike Esparza and I have been trying to get back together and play for nearly 17 years and it's just never worked out except for the occasional Night of the Living Tribute Bands gig at the Capitol Theater (we've performed as the Doors, the Yardbirds and the Sex Pistols), so we just figured it was time. I'd had several passing conversations with Brian about playing some music together "someday." So, one day I just called him up and we had a little meeting over some strong coffee and decided to get together and see what happened. We dragged an amp into my living room and he started playing, I jumped in with some ad-lib vocals and the ball was rolling. We rounded out the line up with the Dirty Birds bassist Tim Brown, who is just as talented as all get out, and human metronome Ryan Mungia - and there ya have it ... Resident Kings was born. Now we practice in Ryan's basement, which sounds kinda dirty but it's actually extremely clean. It's great because we're surrounded by cool choppers and nice folks who stop by to listen and encourage or offer constructive criticism.

VOLCANO: Anything else you'd like readers to know?

DAVIES: Keep your eyes peeled and your mind open, and look for us playing out by mid-to-late summer.