Catchin’ Up With Kittie

The first interview I did with Kittie was featured on this website. The second interview was featured in another publication. This interview was the first to feature the entire band and, once again, we’re proud to present Kittie to the Ballbuster readers.

I was a little late in getting to the venue, which was kind of a bummer because I was supposed to interview the band before the show. But, after watching the band perform an explosive set, the band was kind enough to take a few minutes to answer a few questions backstage. They were exceptionally friendly and before I even finished my first question, the band was talkin’ up a storm.

It was a quick conversation. But, here you go.

PAUL AUTRY: I was talking to Chris on the phone the other day and…

KITTIE: Awwww, Chris is great. All the people at Mazur PR have been really supportive of us through our label problems and they’ve been working really hard to get our name out there and, you know, just kind of workin’ the underground. They’re really supportive of our music and what we’re doing right now, which is great. We’ve got a loving, happy family going on right now.

PAUL AUTRY: Is the whole record label thing off-limits or can we talk about that?

KITTIE: No, we can talk about it as much as you like…to a certain extent. It is important to talk about it.

PAUL AUTRY: Well, I saw the press release and I was just wondering what your thoughts are. Basically, I think they should all be shot for being that rude to a band like Kittie.

KITTIE: WOO! Well, I think it’s just a case of them not doing their job and not fulfilling the commitments that they made…and the promises that they made. Even an idiot can see the marketing potential and the potential of this band, musically and otherwise. I think it’s really unfortunate that the opportunity has sort of been wasted because they’re greedy, silly, whatever.

PAUL AUTRY: Well, I’m not trying to suck up or anything. But, the way I see it, Kittie is a lot bigger than any record label. I mean, you have something. I’ve spoken to Morgan and Mercedes before and I got the feeling that you truly believe in what you’re doing and I don’t see a lot of that is what I do.

KITTIE: Oh, we do. We believe in it so much that we sort of just wish that we had a supportive label backing us that believed in it as much as we did, that supported it as much as we did, and put as much into it as we did. It’s all of our lives, you know, and nothing can take that away, no one can take your ambition and drive away from you. They could try to stop it…but, they won’t.

PAUL AUTRY: Last time I spoke with you, you had mentioned that you don’t write on the road because it’s really hard to do and, if I’m not mistaken, you played about three or four new songs, some of which were untitled…and they’re the first ones with Jen. So, where did these songs come from?

KITTIE: Actually, we played five. And there’s gonna be plenty more where they came from. We didn’t actually write on the road. We were pretty much off the road for about eight or nine months, we took some time off. Jen doesn’t live in Canada, it’s kind of a weird setup where she’ll fly up and we’ll start doing stuff. It ends up working out and it’s really cool. We’ve all become amazing musicians and we’ve taken this band to a completely new level. It’s not even the same band as before.

PAUL AUTRY: Your first album was…well, it wasn’t death metal, put it that way. Your second album leaned more towards death metal. So, what can we expect from your third release?

KITTIE: Well, what did you hear tonight? Death metal…I’m just kidding! I think we’re still very, very far from death metal when you think about it… like classic death metal bands and, like, the speed and blast beats and all that stuff. But, we are influenced by a lot of more extreme music now. I think just because we’ve all become a better band together, we’ve all grown as musicians, that we’re obviously gonna wanna try to play more technical things…and in this genre of music, you’re not gonna slow it down, you speed it up. That’s just sort of the way things go.

PAUL AUTRY: So, you’re saying you’re gonna go from thrash to speed metal?

KITTIE: Uh, no. We’re not thrash or speed metal, it’s kind of hard to explain. We do listen to a lot of extreme types of music. But, at the same time, like, with the more melodic songs, the melodies are a lot stronger and they’re even more soaring. We’re gonna mix it up. I think the band is on a different plane. It’s pretty much a different ballgame right now and when you put people together in a room with badass riffs, something good is gonna come out of it.

PAUL AUTRY: Since this is the first time you recorded with Jennifer, how has that whole experience been?

KITTIE: Well, first off, we haven’t recorded yet. We probably won’t be getting into an album until we’re finished with all of this Artemis Records nonsense. Our ultimate goal is to not be on the label and to put out the album on a label that’s gonna support us both financially and in their hearts and minds and blah, blah, blah. But, I think it’s really been great. I think it’s like, now, we’re a complete puzzle. All the pieces fit. We’ve all grown as musicians and as people and we finally found the people that share our vision with this band and are more concerned with the evolution of the music. Why fuck with it…we’re fucking shit up!

PAUL AUTRY: How has it been (Jennifer) writing songs with the band?

KITTIE: It’s been really cool and it’s probably one of the most relaxed situations that I’ve ever been in. I’ve been in bands since I was 15 years old. But, in this situation, it’s like, wow, this is so smooth and there’s no this that and the other thing. I have to agree with the piece of the puzzle thing because it’s so smooth and creative and bouncing ideas off of each other. In other bands, sometimes it doesn’t work out that way or someone doesn’t wanna do something a certain way because they have their own ideas and they don’t wanna hear anything else and all that. With Kittie, that’s not the case. It’s totally different when a group is all on the same page, especially when it comes to creating songs. We want to write the best songs as possible, obviously. We wanna have our hostile moments, our beautiful moments…and it’s all there. So, it’s been…I’ve been lovin’ it, you know what I mean?

Kittie’s already a set kind of sound and Jen has a different, totally amazing playing style and that put a different dimension into an already set style. Mercedes and Jen are amazing together as a rhythm section, and bouncing ideas off of each other, I’ve seen Mercedes become an even better drummer and Jen become an even better bass player…and me just sitting back and “thumbs up everyone!”

This is the first time ever where Mercedes has come up with something and it’s like, “Hey guys, let’s put it in a song” and it’s actually been like she’s writing the guitar parts, which is really cool.

PAUL AUTRY: So, when can people expect to hear this line up on a CD?

KITTIE: Well, I wish it was like, “Our new CD’s coming out tomorrow!” But, that’s probably not gonna happen. Time will tell, again, with the whole legal situation. Hopefully a summer release in 2004…and I say hopefully. Fall release, maybe, perhaps, pending.

It’s really the legal issues of the band. It’s NOT the fuckin’ band, I can tell you that.

PAUL AUTRY: Yeah, I know. I’ve seen the press release and I’ve lost a little faith in the music industry when someone could stick a knife in your back…and you’re such a great band with a lot to offer.

KITTIE: I haven’t lost faith in the industry only for the fact that a lot of bands have to realize that they have to take matters into their own hands, just as this band has done. A lot of bands don’t realize that and, sooner or later, they just fall apart.

You can’t let that dictate what you do creatively. No matter what happens with the label situation, we’re still gonna write music because we LOVE to write music. You can’t let something small like that wreck your life.

Seriously, there are bands out there right now, no fuckin’ shit, writing music like, that’s what’s on MTV right now or that’s what they’re hearing on the radio…or they’re being TOLD what to write. That IS NOT happening here. We’ve been lucky because we’ve never been told anything…like, Artimis has never been there at all. So, Kittie goes off and does their own thing and sometimes, they’ll hook us up with a radio interview or something like that. But, for the past year, it’s been nothing.

When it came time for final comments, there was a five-minute conversation about the fans and how the band really appreciates each and every one of them and they do their best to meet as many people as possible. One thing that was perfectly clear…Kittie is a very fan-friendly band. We also talked a little more about the whole “writing music” thing, although the flow of the conversation went in a whole other direction. We also talked about the new website, which is listed below. It’s the OFFICIAL KITTIE WEBSITE and it’s where you need to be if you wanna keep up to date on the band.

They were all in agreement about thanking the fans for standing by them and they wanted you to know that they’re working really hard on a great new album that should explode our mind once we finally get to hear it.

http://www.kittierocks.com