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By MIKE DURIAN
Published: September 7, 2010
Published: September 7, 2010
After 14 years of rocking Kittie still has more to offer
If you are a metal fan and aren't familiar with the Canadian heavy metal band Kittie, you must
be living under a rock.
Kittie's first claim to fame was in 1999 when the band's track "Brackish," from their debut
album Spit, became a hit. But the all-female band has come a long way since then.
Throughout Kittie's 14 year career, the band has experienced many lineup changes and has
recorded five albums, including its latest release In The Black. The band has made a big dent
in the metal world and still isn't done!
I got the chance to speak with Morgan Lander, lead guitarist/vocalist, via phone about Kittie's
recent touring, upcoming plans to take a break and how much the band has evolved.
OOTB: How is the current tour going?
Morgan: So far its been really awesome actually. This whole year has been really crazy. We've
been doing a lot of touring. Everybody in all the bands are really cool, the shows have been
great! It's kind of nice 'cause every day DevilDriver has a barbeque, it's kind of like an end of
summer thing going on right now. We're having a good time, as always!
OOTB: So you also have some upcoming headlining dates as well?
Morgan: Yeah actually. We're main support for the DevilDriver tour and that concludes on
September 16th. I believe that LA is the last show.In order to make our way back home instead
of driving all the way across country, we decided to pick up a few shows. So we have about
eight headlining shows on the way home and that takes us to September 25th.
OOTB: You've been on tour most of the summer, recently did the "Thrash and Burn
Tour" and did the "Happy Daze Tour" with Insane Clown Posse in May and June.
Morgan: The ICP tour was actually a lot of fun to be honest with you. We definitely were
reluctant going into it cause we had no idea what to expect. A lot of talk of crazy crowds and
you really don't know what to expect unless you're in that scene, especially with Juggalos (fans
of Insane Clown Posse) and that sort of thing. But everybody was super nice to us on that tour.
Although we were the only metal, rock act on the tour, we went over really well with the
fans and we had a really good time. It's a good atmosphere going on over there with the ICP
camp. All the crew was super nice, all the guys in the bands and everything. It was a lot of fun!
OOTB: I saw Necro several years ago on the "Sounds of the Underground Tour" and
he was pretty much booed off the stage. So does that mean you can put a metal act on
a rap tour, but you can't put a rap act on a metal tour? What do you think?
Morgan: Yeah I don't know. I mean I've heard a lot of horror stories about different bands
opening for ICP over the years and getting pelted with stuff or having a real hard time. And to
be honest with you that is sorta what we expected. But things went over very, very well. Kids
just wanted to have fun. Juggalos are crazy and just want to get in the pit and have a good
time. I guess we must have been doing something right. So things went over just fine!
be living under a rock.
Kittie's first claim to fame was in 1999 when the band's track "Brackish," from their debut
album Spit, became a hit. But the all-female band has come a long way since then.
Throughout Kittie's 14 year career, the band has experienced many lineup changes and has
recorded five albums, including its latest release In The Black. The band has made a big dent
in the metal world and still isn't done!
I got the chance to speak with Morgan Lander, lead guitarist/vocalist, via phone about Kittie's
recent touring, upcoming plans to take a break and how much the band has evolved.
OOTB: How is the current tour going?
Morgan: So far its been really awesome actually. This whole year has been really crazy. We've
been doing a lot of touring. Everybody in all the bands are really cool, the shows have been
great! It's kind of nice 'cause every day DevilDriver has a barbeque, it's kind of like an end of
summer thing going on right now. We're having a good time, as always!
OOTB: So you also have some upcoming headlining dates as well?
Morgan: Yeah actually. We're main support for the DevilDriver tour and that concludes on
September 16th. I believe that LA is the last show.In order to make our way back home instead
of driving all the way across country, we decided to pick up a few shows. So we have about
eight headlining shows on the way home and that takes us to September 25th.
OOTB: You've been on tour most of the summer, recently did the "Thrash and Burn
Tour" and did the "Happy Daze Tour" with Insane Clown Posse in May and June.
Morgan: The ICP tour was actually a lot of fun to be honest with you. We definitely were
reluctant going into it cause we had no idea what to expect. A lot of talk of crazy crowds and
you really don't know what to expect unless you're in that scene, especially with Juggalos (fans
of Insane Clown Posse) and that sort of thing. But everybody was super nice to us on that tour.
Although we were the only metal, rock act on the tour, we went over really well with the
fans and we had a really good time. It's a good atmosphere going on over there with the ICP
camp. All the crew was super nice, all the guys in the bands and everything. It was a lot of fun!
OOTB: I saw Necro several years ago on the "Sounds of the Underground Tour" and
he was pretty much booed off the stage. So does that mean you can put a metal act on
a rap tour, but you can't put a rap act on a metal tour? What do you think?
Morgan: Yeah I don't know. I mean I've heard a lot of horror stories about different bands
opening for ICP over the years and getting pelted with stuff or having a real hard time. And to
be honest with you that is sorta what we expected. But things went over very, very well. Kids
just wanted to have fun. Juggalos are crazy and just want to get in the pit and have a good
time. I guess we must have been doing something right. So things went over just fine!
| ©Copyright 2009-2010 Out Of The Blue. |
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| Album Releases |
| In The Black (E1 Music, 2009) Funeral For Yesterday (X of Infamy Records, 2007) Until The End (Artemis, 2004) Oracle (Artemis, 2001) Spit (Artemis, 1999) |
An interview with vocalist/guitarist Morgan Lander
| Band Members |
| Morgan Lander (lead vocals, guitar) Mercedes Lander (drums, vocals, piano) Tara McLeod (guitar) Ivy Vujic (bass) |
Out Of The Blue ootb646.com
Kittie has been touring nonstop and recently released a brutal video for "Die My Darling." Band photo provided by publicity.
Kittie toured Columbus three times in 2010, including a March
show at Alrosa Villa when this shot of Morgan was snapped.
Photo by Jared Perkins. See all photos from this show.
show at Alrosa Villa when this shot of Morgan was snapped.
Photo by Jared Perkins. See all photos from this show.
OOTB: Are there any bands out there that
you would like to tour with?
Morgan: Absolutely! All kinds of bands to be
honest with you. I mean we love opening up
for bands. This is the first time we've opened
up for bands in 10 years actually this year.
There are all kinds of bands like Trivium, Bullet
For My Valentine; obviously the holy grail of
opening slots Metallica. Even some older bands
like Megadeth, they still do their thing. All kinds
of bands we'd like to tour with or open for.
OOTB: Do you think the current lineup is
the strongest lineup to date?
Morgan: Absolutely! To be honest with you it's
one of the most stable lineups that we've had.
Actually it IS the most stable lineup that we've
had for the longest period of time. I think it's
chalked up to maturity, everybody being on the
same page and having great chemistry as well.
We all work really well together musically and
on stage. We all kind of have the same
common goal for the band and having that kind
of group mentality usually helps with keeping
you would like to tour with?
Morgan: Absolutely! All kinds of bands to be
honest with you. I mean we love opening up
for bands. This is the first time we've opened
up for bands in 10 years actually this year.
There are all kinds of bands like Trivium, Bullet
For My Valentine; obviously the holy grail of
opening slots Metallica. Even some older bands
like Megadeth, they still do their thing. All kinds
of bands we'd like to tour with or open for.
OOTB: Do you think the current lineup is
the strongest lineup to date?
Morgan: Absolutely! To be honest with you it's
one of the most stable lineups that we've had.
Actually it IS the most stable lineup that we've
had for the longest period of time. I think it's
chalked up to maturity, everybody being on the
same page and having great chemistry as well.
We all work really well together musically and
on stage. We all kind of have the same
common goal for the band and having that kind
of group mentality usually helps with keeping
things solid. And I mean its been pretty stable for the past, well Tara has been in the band for
five years and its been stable with Ivy joining the band in 2007. But like I said, its been the
longest running stable lineup that we've had.
OOTB: How do you think Kittie has changed musically over the years?
Morgan: I don't know. I mean obviously comparing the difference between when you're 14
writing songs and when you're 28 writing songs is a lot different. There is a lifetime of
experience in between that. Not only is there a lifetime of experience, there is also a lifetime
of touring. And it's all about evolution and growing and maturity. A lot of people don't realize
that the first album we put out was written by 12, 13, and 14 year old girls. So obviously there
is going to be room for growth and maturity over the years. We are the same band, we just
evolved into something more age appropriate, and thats not a bad thing.
OOTB: In The Black has been out almost a year now, any plans to take a break from the
road and start writing and recording a new album?
Morgan: Yeah actually, when we're done with this DevilDriver tour and the headlining shows
we are going to be home for a few months. We'll definitely take that opportunity to write and
start to put our ideas together and prepare for the next album. We don't really have any plans
to go into the studio as of yet, but with that much time under our belts I'm sure we'll get a lot of
things done. And, we'll be able to sorta map out what our next move will be. Most likely we'll
probably have something after the new year. Plus, we'll get to enjoy the holidays at home.
OOTB: Who came up with the concept for the "Die My Darling" video?
Morgan: Obviously it was amusing! We were speaking with this Canadian director and he had
a totally different idea for the video. We were joking around about it one time, about doing a
concept video like from the ending of "Deathproof." That movie with the cars and chicks and
beatings and all that. We thought it would be a good idea and he sorta took a liking to it so he
kind of wrote it in that direction. So we just went to Toronto and filmed all the stuff and it was
an awesome time. We got Justin Shrink, who is our merch guy and good friend of ours, to play
the lead role. We thought it was important to find someone that we were really comfortable
with and that was comfortable with us 'cause of the nature of the filming and stuff. So we
made sure he was all taken care of and we didn't hit him too hard!
OOTB: What can you tell us about your and Mercedes clothing line, Poisoned Black?
Morgan: Poisoned Black started in 2005 kind of in between albums and in between projects
for Mercedes and I. It's another medium for our artistic ideas and stuff like that. We thought
designing t-shirt prints would be really cool. Thats kind of how Poisoned Black started. Our
online webstore www.poisonedblack.com right now has 35-40 percent off sale to get rid of a
lot of the older merchandise to make way for the new stuff that we're planning on putting up
this fall. So we have a bunch of new designs coming out for both guys and girls. If you check
that out you can get some good deals on some of our older designs and hopefully the new
designs will be up soon.
OOTB: What motivates Kittie to keep releasing albums and touring and all that you do?
Morgan: To be honest with you, really it's the knowledge that we deserve more and there is
still more out there for us. We definitely have had an interesting run in the 14 plus years
and had our fair share of ups and downs or whatever. It's the knowledge that we still have
something left to prove and we still have something left to offer is what keeps me motivated.
five years and its been stable with Ivy joining the band in 2007. But like I said, its been the
longest running stable lineup that we've had.
OOTB: How do you think Kittie has changed musically over the years?
Morgan: I don't know. I mean obviously comparing the difference between when you're 14
writing songs and when you're 28 writing songs is a lot different. There is a lifetime of
experience in between that. Not only is there a lifetime of experience, there is also a lifetime
of touring. And it's all about evolution and growing and maturity. A lot of people don't realize
that the first album we put out was written by 12, 13, and 14 year old girls. So obviously there
is going to be room for growth and maturity over the years. We are the same band, we just
evolved into something more age appropriate, and thats not a bad thing.
OOTB: In The Black has been out almost a year now, any plans to take a break from the
road and start writing and recording a new album?
Morgan: Yeah actually, when we're done with this DevilDriver tour and the headlining shows
we are going to be home for a few months. We'll definitely take that opportunity to write and
start to put our ideas together and prepare for the next album. We don't really have any plans
to go into the studio as of yet, but with that much time under our belts I'm sure we'll get a lot of
things done. And, we'll be able to sorta map out what our next move will be. Most likely we'll
probably have something after the new year. Plus, we'll get to enjoy the holidays at home.
OOTB: Who came up with the concept for the "Die My Darling" video?
Morgan: Obviously it was amusing! We were speaking with this Canadian director and he had
a totally different idea for the video. We were joking around about it one time, about doing a
concept video like from the ending of "Deathproof." That movie with the cars and chicks and
beatings and all that. We thought it would be a good idea and he sorta took a liking to it so he
kind of wrote it in that direction. So we just went to Toronto and filmed all the stuff and it was
an awesome time. We got Justin Shrink, who is our merch guy and good friend of ours, to play
the lead role. We thought it was important to find someone that we were really comfortable
with and that was comfortable with us 'cause of the nature of the filming and stuff. So we
made sure he was all taken care of and we didn't hit him too hard!
OOTB: What can you tell us about your and Mercedes clothing line, Poisoned Black?
Morgan: Poisoned Black started in 2005 kind of in between albums and in between projects
for Mercedes and I. It's another medium for our artistic ideas and stuff like that. We thought
designing t-shirt prints would be really cool. Thats kind of how Poisoned Black started. Our
online webstore www.poisonedblack.com right now has 35-40 percent off sale to get rid of a
lot of the older merchandise to make way for the new stuff that we're planning on putting up
this fall. So we have a bunch of new designs coming out for both guys and girls. If you check
that out you can get some good deals on some of our older designs and hopefully the new
designs will be up soon.
OOTB: What motivates Kittie to keep releasing albums and touring and all that you do?
Morgan: To be honest with you, really it's the knowledge that we deserve more and there is
still more out there for us. We definitely have had an interesting run in the 14 plus years
and had our fair share of ups and downs or whatever. It's the knowledge that we still have
something left to prove and we still have something left to offer is what keeps me motivated.
