Citizen King

This article is about the band. For the King of the French called "the Citizen King", seeLouis Philippe I.

Citizen King
Origin	Milwaukee, Wisconsin,United States
Genres	Alternative rock hip hop
Years active	1993–2002
Labels	Don't Records Warner Bros. Records

Citizen Kingwas an American music group fromMilwaukee, Wisconsin,whose style was a mix ofhip-hop,soul,andpunk.They are best known for their top 40 hit "Better Days (And the Bottom Drops Out)",which peaked at No. 25 on theBillboardHot 100chart in 1999.

History

The band formed in 1993 after the breakup of their previous band, Wild Kingdom.Both bands received a lot of local recognition for their live shows. While Citizen King's first LP and EP were only commercial successes around Wisconsin, they were well received by critics. They were discovered by Speech fromArrested Development,who produced several tracks on their debut albumBrown Bag.They followed up with theEPCount the Days.

They toured withFishbone,and executives atWarner Bros. Recordssigned them after attending their show at the South by Southwest convention.The band's 1999 releaseMobile Estatesreceived moderate commercial success. The album's hit song "Better Days (And the Bottom Drops Out)"was played in thepilot episodeand the series finale ofMalcolm in the Middle.

Their first single and biggest hit was "Better Days (And The Bottom Drops Out)." It became aTop 40hit and wentgoldin the summer of 1999. It was also ranked on other Billboard charts, including peaks of No. 3 onModern Rock,No. 33 onHot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales,and No. 1 on Top 40 Recurrents.The band performed as part of Humble & Fred Fest atFort Yorkin Toronto that year.

A remix of "Better Days (And The Bottom Drops Out)" was used in the 2000 movieGone in 60 Seconds,and the original version was used in the video game,Street Sk8er 2,along with "Under the Influence". "Salt Bag Spill" was featured onThe Animalsoundtrack in 2001. The band was managed byJeff Castelaz,who later foundedDangerbird Records,and continues to manage keyboardistDave Cooleyin his work as a producer and mixer.

Despite the success of the album and the high chartingBetter Days,plus the constant touring, the band's popularity eventually dropped off, and Citizen King disbanded in 2002.

Cooley continued his career as a producer and has produced records for such artists asSilversun Pickups,Local Natives,Eulogies,Darker My LoveandThe Polyphonic Spree.Cooley also became a mastering engineer forStones Throw Records,overseeing most of the albums byJ Dillaand the label's founderPeanut Butter Wolf.

Personnel

• Mount Sims– lead vocals (1993–2002), bass (1997–2002)
• Kristian Riley – guitar (1993–2002)
• Dave Cooley– keyboards (1993–2002)
• Malcolm Michiles – turntables (1993–2002)
• Gintas Janusonis - drums (1993-1994)
• DJ Brooks – drums (1994–2002)
• Sage Schwarm – bass (1993–1995)
• John Dominguez - bass (1995)
• Cory Coleman – bass (1995–1997)

Discography

Albums

• Brown Bag LP(1995)
• Mobile Estates(March 9, 1999), peaked on Billboard'sHeatseekerschart at No. 27

Extended plays

• Sydney Hih(1997) (collection of demos and b-sides from 1993-1996)
• Count The Days(April 2, 1996)

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions						Album
		US	US Alt.	US Pop	AUS	CAN	GER
"Better Days (And the Bottom Drops Out)"	1999	25	3	11	86	20	95	Mobile Estates
"Under The Influence"		—	—	—	—	—	—
"Long Walk Home"	2000	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

External links

• VH1 article
• Burst Collective article