By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Nov 26, 2014 at 6:06 AM

King Washington – comprising bassist Billy Lee and guitarists Tyson Kelly and George Krikes – hails from Los Angeles, so it’s safe to say the recent hammering of cold winds, snow and sleet isn’t exactly something the band is used to.

The guys are more suited to wearing petticoats and frills – a signature outfit – than heavy winter coats. Even with the chilly weather, though, Milwaukee feels like a second home for the indie rock band.

In October, King Washington played a gig at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn before beginning an almost month-long residency stint here in Milwaukee, playing weekly Friday shows at G Daddy’s BBC – including the final one at 10 p.m. this upcoming Friday, Nov. 28. Even before then, King Washington has been cozy with the Cream City, playing Summerfest and even recording both of its albums here.

Before wrapping up its stay in Milwaukee this Friday, OnMilwaukee.com caught up with the band to find out about the extended stay in town, the beauty of residency shows and what’s up with those dapper old school outfits.

OnMilwaukee.com: How did this current residency come together? 

George Krikes: Well, we actually recorded both of our albums out here in Milwaukee. We met Joe Puerta at the Exchange Studios, over by Miller Park. Great studio; a lot of local work comes through there. We met Joe out in L.A., and that’s kind of how we got hooked up with Milwaukee.

Lately, we’ve been trying to do these regional residencies. We did one in New York in August, which was really special. We lived in Brooklyn and performed a bunch of shows in New York, D.C., Boston, Philly and the whole surrounding area. It was really great getting the buzz going in a region, an area. So we thought we’d do the same thing out here, kind of center ourselves in Milwaukee. We’ve been doing Milwaukee, Chicago, Rochester and a couple of shows in Racine and Madison.

OMC: Is that the reason why you guys enjoy these residency gigs, building buzz in a hub?

GK: Exactly. They’ve been working really well. We just played our last one in Rochester this past weekend, and man, every week, people are coming back, starting to sing the lyrics and bringing their friends out. We’re actually building a little following in these towns; it’s great.

OMC: Are you living right now in Milwaukee then?

GK: We’re basing ourselves here in Milwaukee, but then when we play Chicago, we kind of stay with friends out there, or when we play Rochester, we stay with friends out there. We’re kind of couch surfing.

OMC: How’s it going for you L.A. guys getting used to a big gust of Milwaukee weather right now?

GK: Yeah, last week was pretty brutal for us, but we bought some jackets and put on two pairs of socks. I don’t think we ever spent so much time in the cold consecutively.

OMC: What’s been the biggest adjustment in terms of that for you guys?

GK: Well, we spend a lot less time outdoors. We pull up to the venue, load in as quickly as possible and then we don’t see the outside again until we load back into the van. (laughs) It’s really cut back on my smoking habit, that’s for sure. Because I’m not outside in that.

OMC: Have you guys really gotten to know Milwaukee well in the past weeks or so?

GK: Yeah, we’ve actually spent a lot of time in Milwaukee in the past five or six years. We’ve gone to the old Safe House several times over the course of the years, the Hi-Hat, a bunch of great little spots around town. We love it out here; it feels like a second home to be staying out here.

OMC: What was it like recording your albums out here in Milwaukee?

GK: For our first album, we did a Kickstarter to raise all of the money for us to come out here and rent the studio and all of that. It’s so great to do it away from home because we live kind of in the studio when we’re recording, and there’s nowhere to really run off to. You’re just working 24 hours a day. You can’t go home to your girlfriend or your family or whatever; you’re just stuck in the studio.

OMC: Do you have a new album in the works right now?

GK: We’re not at the recording point yet because we’ve been touring, but throughout the tour, we’ve been working on new songs. We’re hoping over the next several months to record an EP and get that out there early next year. That’s what we’re shooting for – after we get home and decompress a bit.

OMC: Can you give me a taste of what you’re aiming for on this next album?

GK: We’re trying to keep it in the King Washington vein, which is a very diverse and eclectic sound. It’s not going to be quite as themed as our last album, "The Overload" -- that was kind of themed about all of the noise that we hear, the overload of all of that.

We’ve been toying with the concept of the phrase, "We got potential," as maybe a title track or as the name of a song. It’s kind of a little tongue-in-cheek – we got potential – to remind ourselves that we’ve got work to do. So what we’re trying to do on this next one is to write some music that’s a little more relevant and a little more focused, but still have that King Washington charm.

OMC: I saw you guys at Summerfest this past summer, and I have to ask: What is the origin for the fancy outfits you wear on stage?

GK: The name is kind of a nod to President Washington possibly being a king, the myth of him being offered a kingship. So it’s kind of an homage to the older times, a time when people dressed up a little more in full regalia. We’ve always been wearing our jeans and stuff, and we wanted to take it to the next level in terms of our appearance. So we got those suits made by the Beverly Hills Academy of Couture Art. They do a bunch of high fashion stuff, so they actually custom designed and made these outfits, perfectly tailored to every crack in the body. It’s pretty cool; we do pictures in them, and when we wear them, people kind of freak out.

OMC: I’m assuming the looks you get when you have to take those to the dry cleaners are pretty amusing.

GK: Yes, but the bills are not as amusing. (laughs) It’s like a three-piece velvet suit, so that’s like an $80 dry cleaning bill. 

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.