It’s great to talk to you Christian! Tell me some stuff about the band, how long you’ve been together – all that good stuff.

This band has been together since 2001. Before that Skylar and August, the two guitar players, and myself actually played in a band based out of Michigan from ’92 to ’97. I’ve known these knuckleheads for a good twelve years. After that band broke up we all came out to California seperately. We started putting our own projects together with different people. It wasn’t the same. It may sound cliche, but the chemistry just wasn’t there. I was used to working with these guys and I think it was the same for them, too. After all theses things ended up not working out we decided to give it a go again. It’s worked out great. We’re still at it and starting to work on our third record.

I’ve got your two current releases. Tell me some more about the new CD.

The new one is actually straight-up rock like what you’d expect but with a little heavier vibe. We’ve always had kind of a dark edge and that’s still there. The songs are coming along better and stronger. It’s really exciting. We’re at a good place right now and I can’t wait for people to hear it.

When do you think the new CD will be ready to release?

We’re writing now, trying to get 12 really strong songs. I’d imagine Spring 2005.

Killingbird has been together for a few years now. What was it like when you first got together and started playing out?

The place is closed now, but it was at the Coconut Teazer. It was a great place. It was a small, dark room. We begged and had about 60 of our friends there. It was just cool to be on stage playing a show in Hollywood! It was one of those dreams. That first gig was about four or five months after we officially got together. We wrote enough originals to play a set. We love playing live.

I really dig your sound, too. Your style of music is probably one of my favorites. I like to call it “sleaze rock.” You put me in mind of Taime Downe and Spike from the London Quireboys when I hear you sing. I guess those are obvious influences?

Thank you. Taime and Spike are definitely two of my favorite singers. We’ve had the pleasure of opening for Faster Pussycat a couple of times. Taime’s still got that thing. He’s got such an original, unique, cool style. Two or three years ago we had a song on a compilation that Faster Pussycat was on and it was on honor just to be on there with them. I grew up with them. I love the London Quireboys, too. That first record, A Bit Of What You Fancy, I listened to that constantly!

“Sex Party” and “Misled” are probably two of my favorites from that record.

You’re fuckin’ right! “I Don’t Love You Anymore,” I thought that record was gonna be huge. “7 O’Clock,” you’d hear that on the radio all the time. It’s the perfect drinking song! It’s making me want to drink just talking about it! Oh wait…I already am!

What would you say is Killingbird’s biggest claim to fame so far?

We started in January 2001 and by January 2002 we were signed. It was just amazing to have somebody pay to put your record out. We’re realistic. It’s not like we’ve sold millions of copies but it’s cool to know that we could stop in Knoxville, Tennessee, and find it in a store. That’s just an amazing thing. Getting that first record out was huge. It might sound corny, but just touching people with your music is cool. People tell us that when they start drinking or getting ready to go out that they’re playing our record. That’s amazing! We’re getting them set for party mode. It’s an honor.

What’s your ultimate goal for the band?

The first thing now is just getting…our last record was a step up from the first one. We just wanna make the best record that we can. Ultimately it would be great to just get out there and tour the shit out of the country. That would be the ultimate goal. To do that every night and tear it up.

Are you doing any live gigs now or are they on hold until the record is finished?

They’re on hold. We’re just focusing on the record right now. I’m sure we will soon before the record comes out just to try out some of the new material. We’re probably start playing early this year and then hit it harder when the record comes out.

I really dig your version of Vain’s “Beat The Bullet.” I’ve always loved that song and to hear your take on it is really cool. What happened that you picked that song and were there any other covers you’d tossed around?

That was just a song that all of us had loved. You can still listen to Vain’s No Respect. You listen to it and the songs still stand up. It’s such a classic record. Seeing how we were on the Metal Sludge compilation and we’re somewhat of a new band, Metal Sludge covers a lot of the 80s stuff. We wanted to show that that’s where we come from, too. We didn’t really have to research that song or anything. We just went in and recorded it because we knew it. We blew it out in one night. Other bands I’m in to are Motley Crue, Guns ‘n Roses – those are a given. I’m a huge fan of Tuff, What Comes Around Goes Around and Religious Fix are killer. Pretty Boy Floyd, Faster Pussycat, LA Guns – that first record is a masterpiece. The first WASP record is so scary and great. For me, that was the time. I got into music as a really young kid. I got into KISS then. When Shout At the Devil and Look What The Cat Dragged In came out, that was my time. Some newer stuff I’m listening to, I just got a CD from Michael Thomas…

Fastback! That CD is killer man.

It’s actually in my car right now. It came out really cool. It’s a cool fucking record. Those first two songs are really killer. I was blown away by it. That’s my record of the moment!

Has your experience in the music business been what you thought it would be or have things turned out differently from what you expected?

The funniest thing is when I was a kid in Michigan living in a really small town, I’d grab my Metal Edge every month and read it cover to cover. I’d buy two of ‘em. One to take the pictures out and put in my locker and the other copy to keep. You’d hear about this place called the Tuff Muff Mansion. Then you meet Stevie and they were actually living in an apartment. I thought all those guys were driving around in fucking Ferraris and shit! You saw somebody in a magazine that had a record out and you’d think “Those guys have got to be loaded!”

Like most things in the entertainment biz, it’s about 98% perception. You get to create an image for yourself and people will believe it.

Yeah, those bands always had killer clothes. It’s like the rap guys now, I guess. You see them wearing all this expensive jewelry and it’s probably all rented!

What do you want people to know about Killingbird?

I just want people to check out our website. We’re a straight-up rock ‘n roll band and we love hanging out with people. We’d love to sit down and talk about Vain or Tuff all night if you come out and see us! We’re just music fans. To be able to have a couple of records out that people have purchased, we’re humbled by that. We love to go out and play and have a few drinks. We are who we are – we’re just a dirty rock ‘n roll band! We clean up pretty good when we need to, though…

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