Gritz King Is ​“Here To Stay”

The saxophone slides in with an almost whisper of vocals behind it that are practically an instrument unto themselves, setting the smooth as silk pajamas vibe of ​“Here To Stay,” the latest single by New Haven-based producer and musician Gritz King — a.k.a. Stephen King — released this week.

“This is all me,” said King about the song. Described as ​“a little bit of vocals and saxophone” with ​“a nice vibe, a cruising vibe,” King added that it’s something ​“you might have playing cleaning or cooking, being around the house,” which is something we have all been doing more of in the past year, though King has not let it deter him from his artistic endeavors.

“I’ve had more time to create,” he said. ​“I think the stuff I’m releasing is better, has more of a purpose behind it, more thought behind it. I take more time with it, so it’s better for me, better music.

King has been able to work remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic, but like everyone else who performed live regularly, he had all of his gigs cancelled once everything shut down.

“Before I was busy musically, artistically in general. I had gigs with Phat A$tronaut, with The Jam, and a bunch of private events all cancelled.”

King was also involved in a play being put on by Collective Consciousness Theater — Skeleton Crew — that was shut down in the middle of its run. The church he played at regularly also closed.

“I didn’t even realize how much I was doing until I wasn’t doing it,” he said. ​“You don’t realize how much until it’s gone.”

King ended up releasing an EP in April 2020 titled Morning Music. It was still a change of plans, but mostly in timing.

“With the EP, I knew I wanted to release it in 2020,” he said. ​“If Covid-19 didn’t happen I would have released it in the fall. The past two years I’ve gotten better at starting and finishing songs. The good thing about Covid-19 is I could sit down and say, ​‘I can put out an EP.’ I saw people releasing stuff. I knew I could do it. With Covid-19 I thought, ​‘this don’t have to stop, this can start something else.’”

He included the song ​“Love In Quarantine Times” on the EP. ​“Covid gave me more ideas,” he said. ​“It had its pros through all of its cons.”

Except for a guest appearance by musician Kyle Jamal, all the music on Morning Music is played by King, who produces and plays sax, keyboards, and ​“some drums.”

“I’m teaching myself bass,” he added with a laugh.

As a member of Phat Astronaut he has been able to keep up with music there as well. The band released a single last year, ​“Rare Fruit,” and has much more planned for 2021.

“Phat A$tronaut is still rehearsing,” he added. ​“We took around one to two months off to figure out and change up how we did things.” They ended up practicing at The State House. ​“There’s more space, so we can socially distance, and they have a sound guy.” All of this helps the band keep their creative vibe flowing. ​“We’re doing a lot of virtual gigs, and there’s a recording that’s coming out this year,” he said. ​“It feels good, I’m grateful for them. We still move how we move. We’re not stopping. We’re still building, still growing. That train hasn’t stopped.”

As far as solo shows go, King appeared at the inaugural show for the At Home In New Haven series back in May 2020, an experience for which he is grateful.

“That was cool, a good experience, and really started the whole virtual thing,” he said. ​“That was good hope, a good thing, to see people come. I got worked up seeing who showed up. It made me really happy, especially after I was told how many people showed up (around 75). It was cool, different.”

King hopes to do more livestream shows this year until he can once again perform live in front of an actual audience, something he is more than eager to return to.

“I love performing,” he said. ​“It’s the thing I actually have a passion for. Even At Home got a piece of that. My appreciation for performing in a room has grown. I didn’t have as much before.”

King also has been teaching saxophone lessons online that he was previously teaching in person, and is in the process of building that up. ​“I don’t want to get stale,” he said.

To that end he keeps making plans, and music. ​“I have a lot of songs and more projects. After I release this single, there’s another with more visuals, and one more EP with three or four songs,” he said. ​“When I hear ​‘album’ I think it has to have a theme. It’s more than songs on a record. Before the year is over, I will have an album that’s connected and together, a purposeful project. With an EP the songs fit together but could also be released as singles. With an album it’s a journey. You gotta hear the whole thing.”

King has also been working on developing his acting career. He said he ​“got the bug” while participating in Co-op High’s school-wide musicals while he was a student there. After taking a break from acting in college, he then got involved in community theater.

“I love theater and want it to be a part of what I do,” said King. ​“It’s still kind of new to me. I still strive to be better at it. I say to myself, ​‘you’re not bad, how can I become better?’”

To that end, King noted that he and others from Collective Consciousness Theater have been working on ​“brushing up” during Covid.

“We’re doing two monologues a week to keep us going,” he said. ​“We trade tips and motivation, so we can be already sharp when things open up.”

Before appearing in Skeleton Crew, King performed in Pass Over at the same theater in 2019. In February 2020 he also performed in Sharece Sellem’s Daisies on Harlem’s Doorstep at the Norwich Arts Center.

And while he is always self-motivating, he looks to his community and his friends for inspiration, including musicians Jeremiah Fuller (“he’s always creating,” said King) and Trey Moore (“dude’s just doing things.”) ​“They definitely get me excited,” he said. ​“They make me say, ​‘why aren’t you doing it too?’ The locals have really put a fire in me.”

Some might say King is one of those community members who get others excited as well, as he remains hopeful and creatively charged.

“I’m still learning and growing,” he said. ​“After all of this we will come out better than before.”

The single ​“Here To Stay” as well as other music by Gritz King is available on all streaming platforms as well as Soundcloud.