Former Metalcore Vocalist Now Mayor of Port Royal, South Carolina

This week, the former vocalist of the Southern rock-influenced metalcore band Fight Paris, Kevin Phillips, won the mayoral race in Port Royal, South Carolina, beating out the incumbent Joe DeVito roughly 60 percent to 40 percent, as Lambgoat pointed out.

Port Royal is a smaller town of around 15,000 not far from the vacation destination of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

In the mid-2000s, Phillips fronted Fight Paris, the Georgia-based act that released the album Paradise, Found on Trustkill Records in 2005. Fight Paris’ music is mix of metal, rock and punk with a regional twist reminiscent of other Southern metal bands such as He Is Legend.

READ MORE: Mayor of City in New Mexico Hung Out With Testament at Local Tour Stop

But now, Phillips is officially the mayor of Port Royal.

“I’m sunburned, dirty, exhausted, but couldn’t be happier or more proud of Port Royal and the people of Port Royal,” Phillips told the local newspaper at about 9:30PM on election night (Nov. 7), which followed 13 straight hours of campaigning from the former rocker.

How did Phillips get here? His political journey was seemingly ignited when he first went to law school. After graduating from South Carolina’s College of Charleston with a communications degree, he then received his law degree from Charleston School of Law.

Later moving to Beaufort, South Carolina, Philips practiced law out of Schiller & Hamilton Law Firm on Lady’s Island, South Carolina, specializing in injury and worker’s comp cases. Phillips won the Port Royal mayoral race this week by focusing on the town and its people.

From The Island Packet:

Phillips, a 41-year-old attorney who moved to the town in 2017, chalked up the win to an exhaustive six-week campaign that focused not just on one group of people or area of Port Royal, such as the downtown village near the waterfront, but all the city’s neighborhoods and people. The town’s residents, Phillips said, are diverse, ranging from retires to military residents to long-time residents and newcomers. He heard two themes: Residents felt as if they were not being heard, and they also are concerned about over-development.

Below, listen to Fight Paris’ 2005 album.

Want more rock news delivered to you daily? Subscribe to the Loudwire newsletter and download Loudwire’s app for the latest.

Fight Paris, Paradise, Found (2005)