Kings of Leon Revealed: 13 Things You Didn't Know About Rock's Hottest Band

For Austin Scaggs' feature "God, the Devil and Kings of Leon," check out our new issue now.

Video: Pete Maiden

For Rolling Stone's new cover story charting Kings of Leon's God-fearing, booze-swilling rise to rock stardom, Austin Scaggs followed the Followills from Tennessee to Australia, swilling wine and partying with huge stars like Chris Martin along the way. RS also visited the Kings in their Nashville homes for an intimate tour of their private lives — watch the video, above — and managed to squeeze a few more facts and hilarious stories out of the foursome. Here's 13 of the most enlightening:

1. All of the Kings go by their middle names. So what are their real first names? Singer Anthony "Caleb" Followill, drummer Ivan "Nathan" Followill, guitarist Cameron "Matthew" Followill and bassist Michael "Jared" Followill.

2. In their teens, the Followill boys threw parties at their dad, Ivan's house. When Ivan deemed that the party was over, he put jalapeños in the microwave. The fumes burned peoples' eyes until they vacated the premises.

3. In their earliest years evangelizing through the South with their preacher father, the family traveled in a Chrysler. "It would backfire," says Nathan, "and we were so embarrassed that when we'd pull into a church, we'd have to kill the engine and coast into the parking lot." Ivan could also backfire the car on command, say, when they were driving by a construction site. "The guys would literally drop to the ground," says Nathan. "I don't know how my dad did it. He was a man of God. He was gifted."

4. When he was three years old, Jared would jump up on the arm of the sofa, unclasp the lock on the front door, and climb up onto the neighbors' roof. Jared was also known around the neighborhood for riding his scooter, naked. "I'd wear a T-shirt, so I wasn't completely naked," Jared says. "I'd be casual, but naked from the waist down."

5. When the Kings played Saturday Night Live last September, Caleb walked the backstage halls and took a moment to pause in front of a portrait of Chris Farley. Growing up, he was obsessed with the comic. "I knew I was going to be on Saturday Night Live," he says. "I didn't know that I'd be singing." Nathan remembers the phone call he received on December 18th, 1997. "Caleb was crying his eyes out and he kept saying, 'He's dead! He's dead!' I was like, 'What? Dad's dead?' "

6. Caleb was 14 the first time he smoked weed, in Henderson, Tennessee. "I was with [cousin] Peanut, and we were in a graveyard," says Caleb. "I was like, 'I don't feel it,' but when we got home I was eating a bunch of chicken tenders. Peanut said, 'What the fuck, man, you're gonna kill your buzz.' That's when I realized, 'Maybe I am feeling this?' "