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
Jared and Jerusha Hess Jared and Jerusha Hess Jared Lawrence Hess (born July 18, 1979) and Jerusha Elizabeth Hess (née Demke; born May 12, 1980) are husband-and-wife American filmmakers known for their work on "Napoleon Dynamite" (2004), "Nacho Libre" (2006) and "Gentlemen Broncos" (2009), all of which they co-wrote and which were directed by Jared Hess ("Nacho Libre" was co-written with Mike White). They also produced music videos for The Postal Service's third single, "We Will Become Silhouettes", and The Killers' 5th annual Christmas Charity single "Boots". Jerusha was born in Omaha, Nebraska and Jared was born in Glendale, Arizona. Jared is a graduate