All content and graphics belong to bri.net unless otherwise stated. All media displayed on this site are copyrighted to their respectful owners, no infringement intended. If you would like to see anything removed please contact us. It's a non-profit site - don't sue us man.
There’s no harder working band in music right now than Los Angeles rock group, Killola. And if you don’t know that, just ask them. They’ll tell you. Their 2006 debut LP Louder, Louder!, made industry folks spanning from MTV and Alternative Press all the way to Dave Navarro stand up and take notice. And in an industry where being overlooked is easy even with a label and management, they managed to make a noise without it. Their highly anticipated sophomore album, I Am the Messer (slated to ship around March 25th), is expected to–and in my humble opinion, absolutely does—add another brick to the path of rock righteousness that the foursome have been building for the past five years.
I recently got the chance to snag some time with and talk to half of the band (guitarist Mike Ball and drummer Dan Grody were ‘MIA’ as Lisa put it), front woman Lisa Rieffel and bassist Johnny Dunn, about their new album, finding a booker that gets them, and…Stanley Tucci? Yes, even he came up.
IMPORTANT: This is NOT an EXACT transcript of the interview! Some of the questions and answers have been shortened. This is just a rough script to give you a good idea of what was said. And to give you something to read if you’re bored at work. To hear the whole thing, download the audio, people!
Amanda Mack: Thank you so much for actually taking out the time to do this. I know how busy you guys are.
Lisa Rieffel: Thank you for calling us.
Johnny Dunn: I was just getting a back rub at breakfast. How cool is that?
[Johnny and Lisa talk about a fan, Daina [pronounced “Dinah”] who they realized they’ve been calling the wrong name for the past few years. Needless to say, they’re pretty embarrassed when they are corrected by a friend of hers. They have now affectionately renamed her “Donna”.]
AM: Alright, well, let’s jump right in I suppose. Now recently, you guys did a video for “Barrel of Donkeys”, which is actually on Louder, Louder!, your first album. And there were some attempts a few times before that to do the video and it didn’t quite work out. So, how did this come about?
JD: We met [this woman] at a party for video production professionals. It was like a really big warehouse with a million computers in it.
LR: And then she, several months later after we’d forgotten about that meeting, she came to a rock show and said ‘I really wanna do a video for you guys’. But you know, we live in LA and a lot of people say a lot of things and so we were like ‘Oh yeah, do you? Cool, yeah, keep in touch.’ She actually was being honest and had a whole studio and entire crew of professionals, people who worked on CSI running cameras and shit. It was unbelievable. We didn’t understand how cool it was gonna be.
AM: I’ve been one of the lucky few people who’s actually heard I Am the Messer, which is the second album by you guys and to me, it sounds different from Louder, Louder but, you know, in a completely good way because the album’s amazing. Was the writing and recording process any different for that one?
LR: Well, we paid for this one [Laughs]. So, that was different. I think this was just an amalgamation of the last few years and being more comfortable with each other and really understanding each other, and really growing as a band. We’re quite proud of the new album and we took some risks and I think we did well.
JD: Yeah, and we had a little more fun this time. Any band that has more than once recording under their belt will tell you that the first one is really more kind of awkward and you’re a little nervous in the studio. For me, it was my first time really making anything that was quality, you know? Looking back on that, that was great. I wouldn’t trade that in for the world. But the second time around was way more fun and way more loose.
[Lisa recalls how unnerving it was recording their first album in front of the album's producer, Luke Tierney of The Penfifteen Club and The Playing Favorites, someone she had idolized for a long time.]
AM: With that said, were you nervous at all about falling into the sophomore slump? You know, as far as being personally satisfied with I Am the Messer?
LR: Well, I don’t really think about that. I’m always concerned with competing against ourselves and wanting to top whatever it is we’ve done next and figure out new ways to blow people’s minds!
AM: This is probably the most important question you guys will answer the entire interview and it’s only because there is a bunch of kids that would probably rip out my throat if I didn’t ask this. How close are you to actually making your upcoming US tour happen?
LR: Ah ha! Let me tell you, we’re closer than ever. We just, for the first time (Killola is 5 years old), we just signed with a booking agency so we’re doing all these really cool shows. I wanna do it this summer.
JD: It is definitely right around the corner. We’ve been, for the past 5 years, in our own little lets-do-it-ourself bubble and it’s been really cool. But, when someone comes along and they get it, and they really are genuinely interested in what you’re putting together artistically and they’re genuinely interersted in you as people, that’s when you’re not so hesitant to let them in the bubble and we found someone who’s really, really part of our—she gets it!
LR: She kicks ass as an agent but she’s also a really cool human being…which, we’ve had a couple of assholes [laughs] and it was really a nice, welcomed change.
AM: [Laughs] You mind naming any of those assholes for me?
JD: We don’t have any individuals that we know of that were assholes. I’m sure this goes for any big city: there’s assholes and there’s people who are down. But, in Los Angeles it seems to be the ratio is a little higher from douche bags to cool people and it’s nice to meet someone who’s really not trying to completely own everything for themselves. They wake up thinking about other people like we do. We wake up and we wanna make other folks happy and it’s nice to kinda match up with someone who’s down for the cause…”
AM: You guys, like you mentioned, pretty much did everything on your own before that but you did managed to embrace the new ways that music is being distributed. So, do you feel the inevitable death of CDs will be a good thing?
LR: Well, yes and no. I gotta say, though, I come from a place where my friends and I would go to Tower Records at midnight and wait for like, the new Snoop Doggy Dog album, ya know?
JD: I was in line for Guns and Roses Use Your Illusion I.
LR:Me, too. You tell me that and I swear to God, I probably saw you there and we never met! But anyhow, there’s the ritual of going and getting it and having it be an event and coming home and unwrapping and having a tangible CD.
JD: I think it’s important to have a CD player and a tangible book to read.
LR: Absolutely. However, the benefit of the Internet is that not all those people would probably get out to a store. I mean, like, I suppose if you’re, I don’t know… Evanescence [laughs] people would probably go to the store. But when you’re an independent band trying to get out there, the Internet is such a great way to get the message across to people. So, in that respect, we completely embrace it.
AM: Now Lisa, you’ve become kinda famous for your on stage attire.
LR: Is that right?
AM: How much goes into the thought process of actually figuring out what you want to wear that night?
LR: Well, it usually involves a panic attack…or 12. And it’s usually about 30 seconds before we’re about to leave for a show. Okay, we just had this huge show with Girl in A Coma at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. And so for a month, I’m like ‘Oh, I’m gonna get a bomb outfit. I can’t wait. I’m gonna go shopping.’ And that never happened. And so, cut to a half hour before I’m supposed to leave. I’m digging through my closet and I just find whatever isn’t horrible and I run out the door.
AM: If you guys were portrayed in a movie, who would you like to see casted as you guys?
LR: Mary-Louise Parker cause we have the same eyes! I don’t know. Maybe Russell Crowe could play me.
[Laughter]
JD: I think…
LR: Stanley Tucci!
JD: Who’s that?
LR: I don’t know!
JD: Who’s the guy who stole Pee-Wee Herman’s bike [from Pee-wee's Big Adventure]?
AM: No idea.
JD: Francis [Buxton, played by actor Mark Holton]. That’s who I want for me. I guess maybe Ryan Dunn [of Jackass fame] can play me. He’s related.
AM: That’s really funny that you say that. Me and Marie [note: It was actually me and Justine who had this conversation] or somebody were talking about a year ago and we kinda came to the conclusion that there were a lot of simularities between you and Ryan Dunn and we were gonna ask if there was any relation but, we never really got up the nerve.
JD: I’ll you guys speculate and do some research.
AM: What do you personally feel has been your biggest accomplishment as a band thus far?
LR: We’re still around! We’re 5 years old and we’ve seen a hoard of bands in that time come and go and we are at a place now where I feel like I’m the happiest with what we’re producing and with who we are and our performances. So, in that respect, I would say the consistent growth that we’ve experienced, I’m really proud of. Because we work really fuckin’ hard and it’s just nice to have something to show for it.
JD: I think what might have been our biggest accomplishment is the people that we’ve kinda brought into this circle of fans and friends that are now kind of related to each other through this music.
LR: I don’t want to change my answer but I would like to add the amount of support that we’ve received from you guys has been unbelievable! Our fans kick ass, man. You guys are psycho, we love it.
AM: That’s about it. Thank you guys again for taking the time to do this.
LR: Thank you!
JD: Thank you!
LR: Stanley Tucci to ya!
***
To find out more on these wonderful creatures, you can check them out on their Myspace (myspace.com/killola) or at their official website Killola.com. While you’re there, be sure to order Louder, Louder!, I Am the Messer, and their live DVD Killola: Live in Hollywood.
JD: Yeah, and we had a little more fun this time. Any band that has more than once recording under their belt will tell you that the first one is really more kind of awkward and you’re a little nervous in the studio. For me, it was my first time really making anything that was quality, you know? Looking back on that, that was great. I wouldn’t trade that in for the world. But the second time around was way more fun and way more loose.
LR: Is that right?
come and go and we are at a place now where I feel like I’m the happiest with what we’re producing and with who we are and our performances. So, in that respect, I would say the consistent growth that we’ve experienced, I’m really proud of. Because we work really fuckin’ hard and it’s just nice to have something to show for it.