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 Byers Jared Byers Jared Byers is a drummer. He was formerly the drummer for the Christian rock bands Relient K, Bleach, Royal Empire Music and Audio Adrenaline. Byers had previously filled-in on drums for Audio Adrenaline during a tour in early 2007, which were to be the band's final shows before reuniting in 2013. He also played drums for The Rocket Summer on tour. In 2003, Jared Byers and his brother Milam, who was also in Bleach, took time off after their brother, Joshua, was killed while deployed in Iraq. The brothers returned to playing in the band around the time