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
Mark Followill Mark Followill Mark Followill is an American sports announcer. Early in his career, Followill worked in various positions at KTCK The Ticket in Dallas including as host of "The Ender." He still makes regular contributions to the station. He also had a stint at KTOK in Oklahoma City. Followill is the television play-by-play voice for the Dallas Mavericks, a position he's held since 2005. He and analyst Derek Harper won a Lone Star Emmy award in 2014 for their work on Mavericks broadcasts. Followill had previously been the radio play-by-play voice for the Mavericks on 103.3 ESPN Radio from 2001