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
Next of Kin (band) Next of Kin (band) Next of Kin are an English pop rock band from Braintree, Essex, comprising brothers Nathan (drums), Mark (guitar) and Kieran Bass (bass guitar). The band was discovered when the brothers visited the Musical Exchanges music shop in Birmingham, after an event at the nearby NEC had been cancelled. Shop owner Gary Chapman was impressed by Mark's guitar playing and put them in touch with Universal Music. They subsequently signed a record deal with Universal Records. The band performed on the "Smash Hits" tour in 1998 and supported Boyzone on their UK tour in 1999. Their most