Devil's Gate Music
Related Articles
For those unfamiliar with KilliT, how did the band meet? There has been a few line-up changes. “Indeed. The first album was basically recorded when the original singer decided to leave but, in a bizarre twist of fate, Gaz answered the call we put out and turns out lives round the corner from Pete and Niro… the curse of North West London. Claire (rhythm guitar) and Ben (Bass) joined in 2017, and we finally have the line up in place for the future. It’s cost us a lot of time, but it’s time well spent if it means you get the right people on board.” Your sound has a classic killer dual-guitar sound. Every band needs two guitarists really don’t they? “Except the Eagles who need a minimum of 4! We initially performed as a 4 piece, but soon came to realise that it wasn’t faithfully reproducing the sound of the album without a second guitar. Niro is a pretty purist guitar player ie Les Paul into a Marshall, just solid tone and playing without too much in the way of effects and trickery, so it’s great to have Claire onboard now laying down some solid rhythm parts.” What was the experience like when you recorded your debut album ‘Shut It Down’ in 2016? What did you take from it as a band and how have you developed since? “As previously mentioned, it was a fragmented experience because of the line up change mid session – but ultimately it was for the best. Songs were rewritten in terms of melody/lyrics, and parts added, and we’ve gradually found “our sound” for want of a less clichéd er, cliché! We now have a studio here in London which we rehearse and track in, then give the legend that is Phil Kinman (MTR Studios) the task of making it kick even more ass.” What does the new material KilliT are working on sound like? “Killit v2.0! Gaz is always up for a killer vocal hook, and the first single and video ‘Love Is The Chemical’ has what Pete refers to as the ‘MEGA-CHORUS’ – we want to be making music that people sing along to en masse from an intimate acoustic show (like the one we just played for Sofar Sounds, London – still managed to get 6 police officers to turn up and we weren’t even plugged in!), to playing the Isle Of Wight Festival later this year. So expect big riffs, enormous drums, killer guitar and melodic catchy melodies with hopefully a decent lyric!” What happened at Sofar Sounds in London? Had the neighbours complained? “Another great use of police resources! Gaz made the joke that someone in a neighbouring multi-million pound apartment obviously wasn’t happy with their situation… 2 songs in at 830 on a saturday night, a polite and attentive crowd sipping Rioja and in wander 6 officers presuming it was all going to “kick off”. Seriously, we weren’t even mic’d up. Pete’s notorious for being able to power small villages with his drumming, and all he had that night was a shaker egg! Anyway, I’m sure it gave some vagabonds ample opportunity to run riot in the streets of Notting Hill that evening, unencumbered, and get some practice in adding to the knife crime tally.” KilliT have played at Ramblin’ Man, and are also, like you say, due to play at Isle Of Wight Festival in the Summer. What was Ramblin’ Man like, and how did Isle Of Wight come about? “Ramblin Man was great. A top festival and hopefully we can return next year. Great vibe. With IOW, Gaz was asked to be a Hard Rock Ambassador this year, which is handy for T-shirts… and getting asked to play the Isle Of Wight Festival! We played an acoustic set at Hard Rock London and Sarah and the guys there really liked what we do, and we were happy to oblige.” KilliT are also playing Wildfire Festival as well this Summer. How important are these grassroots festivals like Wildfire, Rockmantic, SOS, etc? Especially since so many live venues are at risk of closure? “The main thing we notice at these places is that it’s a community of fans who love rock and are genuinely up for seeing both new and established live acts. There’s a great bunch of people we stay in touch with that we see at these events, and that’s what keeps things alive. Without an audience there isn’t a scene. It’s sad when venues close on many levels, it’s short-sighted because without somewhere to play/see bands, there is no development within the industry, and surely we cant be happy to be a bedroom/YouTube music generation? Live is the only thing in music you cant steal or copy. There’s no substitute for a decent live gig, and it gives bands a platform to play and earn a living.” Britain voted for Brexit and a few bands that I’ve spoken to about it voiced their concerns about the possibility of more visas and more permits equalling more cost to bands. As a band, are you concerned, or is it a case of what and see what happens? “That was an embarrassing episode, but at least Trump was voted in soon after, so we weren’t the complete asshats of the globe for a while. KilliT is a multinational band, and there are obvious concerns – the main problem is that literally no one knows what lies inside the abyss. How on earth the man in the street was supposed to make an informed decision when David Davis hasn’t got a clue what it all means is beyond comprehension. Sadly, it is a case of see what happens, because the people have very little control over this now and it has no real precedent. Ooo politics… can we just play tunes please?” I spoke to a German band, and one of their members was denied entry to America because of the places that he had visited, KilliT are a multi-national band, has this led to any issues at borders? “Niro is from Israel – we got all nervous about playing The Gaza Strip until we realised he meant a gentleman’s club in Golders Green! Gaz has played a fair few countries over the years, and you do get questions in the US and Israel if you’ve been to certain parts of the UAE for example. It does seem a bit crazy that because you’ve been to a different part of the world somebody doesn’t want you go to another. I mean, who decided that one? We’re only where we are through accidents of birth, and as long as you’re contributing in a positive way, what’s the issue? An oversimplification, but the sentiment is valid.” Is Slash the last real Rock n’ Roll star? We have plenty of incredible bands and top notch musicians, so Rock will never die out, but actual bona fide stars that look like they were born wearing a leather trousers and a top hat? “Have you met Niro? Haha! Perhaps the era of “to hell with the consequences” rock n roll was subdued a bit by social media’s ability to make or break a career and the press’ desire to do the same to sell copy. We’re in a different era of music for sure – the industry has been playing catch up with technology for a while, and we have a generation of listeners who presume music is free on demand. There’s never been a better time to be able to get music into the public domain, but there is a lot of saturation. You can hear music from anywhere in the world, but it means there’s no filter and a lot of it becomes desensitising sometimes. It would be good to know that the industry is interested in longevity and not just single streams from one bland creation to the next. Rock is perhaps more niche than pop, but it has a strong identity, and whilst there’s good and bad in everything, at least this still seems to be a genre that has been pretty resilient.” With the exception of the festivals mentioned, what does the rest of 2018 hold for KilliT? “New songs! New videos! We’ve got our line up and a bunch of tunes we’re dying to record now and start touring. We’re armed with our festival set, playing IOW and StoneFree fest in London amongst a few others this summer. So it’s all about crafting some new material and along with the existing tunes getting it out there!!!” Can’t wait to hear the new material? Make sure that you follow KilliT on Facebook for up to the minute news, including all forthcoming live dates. Interview: Dave]]>
