The Beginning

The Kottonmouth Kings began in 1995. [1][2] D-Loc and Johnny Richter; are both natives of Placentia, California, meeting each other at the young age of eight years. D-Loc met Daddy X through "a friend of a friend" and began hanging out, going to clubs, and partying at X's house. Daddy X had been in the music industry previously as a member of Humble Gods, as well as working with other early Hip-Hop acts, such as Eazy E. Soon enough D-Loc and Johnny Richter began to hang out with Brad X on a more daily basis. After one day of hanging out in Richter's VW van, Richter as the silent type began to rap to the classic hip-hop tracks from the radio by (one of which was the song "Hey Lover" by LL Cool J), shocking both X and Loc. After hitting every rhyme, Daddy X, decided that they should record some songs, and try to perform at the local pubs bars, and clubs. Afterwards, he also began to sing note for note on songs from classic rock groups, one of his favorites being Led Zeppelin.

P-Town Ballers (P.T.B.) & Cottonmouth

Originally when they started the group it was called "P.T.B." for "P-Town Ballers, because of their Placentia roots, and included Tim "Johnny Richter" McNutt, Dustin "D-Loc" Miller, and Steve "Saint Dog" Thronson. In 1995, they recorded a 2-track demo tape at the 1605 garage studio with the songs "So High" and "Bump". Brad X booked them to open for Humble Gods shows (Mainly punk rock shows), at which they didn't get a very good reception, but still maintained a small local following with an original hip-hop sound. After teaming up with Kevin Zinger (founder of SRH Promotions), then Surf/Skate promoter, The name was changed to "Cottonmouth". With the funding of Kevin Kinger and the early success of Brad X's band "Humble Gods" (then on Hollywood Records), Cottonmouth went into a better studio in 1996 and recorded a full-length demo tape. Most songs from that tape would later be re-recorded for the Kottonmouth Kings' "Royal Highness". During the early days of "Cottonmouth", the band was playing small clubs throughout California. Johnny Richter had to leave the band because he had a warrant for his arrest for the distribution of marijuana, and wanted to deal with it. So Brad X filled in the role. A few months later, however, the band gained attention from Capitol Records and signed a 3-album deal (without Johnny Richter). The name was changed to "Kottonmouth Kings" due to a copyright issue with a local East Coast band calling themselves "Cottonmouth."

During the first stadium US tour after the release of "Royal Highness", Saint Dog was released from the band due to bad publicity. Johnny Richter, whom always remained with the band after the record deal as a background vocalist, was invited back into the band and replaced Saint's spot in the group. Saint Dog later went on to a solo career recording with his brother "Big Hoss".

The Kottonmouth Kings have gone on to be 2-time guest judges in the coveted "Cannibus Cup" in Amsterdam. They've also achieved the cover of High Times Magazine as the 2007 Stoner band of the year. They continue to this day recording albums, and selling out clubs on 3 world continents.

• Information copied from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kot...