By Heather Lusk
When guitarist Casey Harshbarger played at Zionsville High School during a battle of the bands competition as a sophomore, he realized what he wanted to do for a living.
“We didn’t win, but it was a pretty pivotal moment in my life,” Harshbarger said.
“I got to play ‘Eruption’ by Van Halen and pretty much got a standing ovation,” he said. “Right then and there I thought, ‘I’ve got to figure out how to do this for the rest of my life.’”
On June 1, Harshbarger returns to Zionsville with his band The Warrior Kings to open the Lincoln Park Concert Series. They will play from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The band has been together for approximately five years.
“We do original music of our own,” he said, along with covers of groups like Led Zeppelin. “It’s based on guitar. We do a lot of musical exploring.”
A uniqueness of their band lies in their lead vocalist, Benjamin Williams, who is also the drummer.
“It’s amazing that he can do both things at the same time, and not just do them but do them well,” he said.
Jeff Stone on bass rounds out the trio.
“We tried to really create a brand of music that people would kind of know,” said Harshbarger. “There’s an expectation for what we’re going to produce.”
The Warrior Kings’ albums are available for download on iTunes and Amazon. They perform throughout Indianapolis but are often at the Slippery Noodle or in Nashville at Chateau Thomas.
Harshbarger, who began his musical career playing the French horn at Zionsville Middle School, picked up a beat-up guitar in the band room and began taking lessons shortly thereafter. In the ’90s he began teaching guitar in Fishers as a way to continue doing what he loved
“I’m just happy to be making a living playing guitar,” he said.
