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
Matthew L. Nathan Matthew L. Nathan Vice Admiral Matthew L. Nathan is the 37th Surgeon General of the United States Navy. Nathan received his Bachelor of Science from Georgia Tech and his M.D. from the Medical College of Georgia in 1981. He completed Internal Medicine specialty training in 1984 at the University of South Florida. Nathan then served as the Internal Medicine Dept Head at Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 1985 Nathan transferred to Naval Hospital, Groton, Connecticut as leader of the Medical Mobilization Amphibious Surgical Support Team. In 1987, Nathan transferred to Naval Medical Center San Diego as Head, Division of