Kings of Leon originally embraced country music. While there, they met songwriter Angelo Petraglia, who helped the siblings hone their songwriting skills and introduced them to the musical influences of Thin Lizzy, the Rolling Stones and the Clash in particular. Their youngest brother, Jared, who had briefly attended public school, was more influenced by the music of the Pixies and the Velvet Underground. When he and their cousin Matthew also moved to Nashville in 1999, Kings of Leon was formed. They named the band after their grandfather Leon, who died in January 2014. By 2002, Nathan and Caleb had received interest from a
Caleb and Sol while Sol sung with the University's highly esteemed Gospel Choir led by Cedric Weary. With the exception of occasional singing duet requests, Caleb and Sol did not perform consistently until 2009. Caleb met Scott and Marisa Frantz while attending Calvary Fellowship Church in Eugene. After playing on the worship team for nearly a year together, Caleb approached Scott about recording an album in Scott's converted garage studio. After hearing some rough cuts of their songs, he agreed to take on the project. Throughout the 3-month recording process, Scott naturally became a part of the band and collaborated with Caleb and