10 Quick Ones with RAZORWIRE HALO – April 2018

According to a recent press release: “February 13, 2018 – Kansas City, MO based electro-rock band Razorwire Halo has released their single, “Sweat,” from their upcoming EP Retaliate, due out March 27th, 2018. “In the last couple years each one of us have had major hardships in our lives that have hit us deeply in various ways. Physically and emotionally we have been beat down and broken. The upcoming EP focuses on some of these experiences and the emotions involved. ‘Sweat’ is a sexually charged track that focuses on pure unrestrained passion between two people.” – Tak Kitara (Vocalist)”  We get the band to discuss new music, influences, and more in our 10 Quick Ones…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Skylar: We put a lot of personal feeling into these particular tracks. Listening repeatedly will reveal more each time, both lyrically and musically.

Darrell: These songs have been personal to us, so people will find that they can relate to those feelings. I’m interested to hear stories from the fans about them.

Kyle: So many layers!!! I mixed the album and still things catch my ear. For sample “sweat” had I believe 7 layers of guitars with 3 different synths, 2 basses, etc. there’s always something new to catch the ear!

Tak: Exactly what Kyle said. We are huge fans of layering. It allows for listeners to come back and listen to the tracks over and over and continue to hear new parts of the song. You can listen to the song in your car and then on headphones and it will be two different experiences. We love to hide cool little easter eggs in our music and our visuals. For visuals you will see a returning theme of 3’s. It might be in a logo, album cover or even glitch marks on our promo images. Musically we will had samples, or vocal phrases that link other songs in our catalog. I like to make connections between tracks that may not be noticed by others but connects them for me which I really enjoy.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Tak: For me it was Nine Inch Nails. It was the first time I heard of them. My brother was playing NIN in his room and I was just floored by the sound. Later on around 2000 I saw them live for the first time on their Fragility tour. I was blown away by it all. That show is what makes me strive to make our show bigger and better.

Skylar: My (11 year older) brother was my direct line into the music world and really opened my eyes. I’ve enjoyed creating a collective sound since way back in school band, and the passion has only increased since then. I think I knew I wanted to be *in* a band after watching music videos of Orgy and Smashing Pumpkins on MTV and realizing it could be done. It was my ‘Eureka!’ moment!

Darrell: I was a kid when I discovered my dad’s record collection, so I grew up with The Beatles, Queen, Billy Joel. That’s where the love of music came from. When I heard Siamese Dream from The Smashing Pumpkins, that’s when I knew i had to play and write music.

Billy: Definitely the first time I heard Chevelle and deftones. The way they blew me away listening to the records made me want to make someone else feel that way.

3. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Tak: Nine Inch Nails, Orgy, Garbage, Stabbing Westward, Marilyn Manson

Skylar: Daft Punk, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Bjork, Smashing Pumpkins

Darrell: The Smashing Pumpkins, Butch Walker, The Beatles, Muse, David Bowie.

Billy: deftones, chevelle, ugly kid joe, rob/white zombie, trivium

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be?

Tak: Mine would be Trent Reznor. He was a huge influence on me.

Skylar: Trent Reznor, all the way!! Everything he touches is gold. #heroworship  😉

Darrell: Matt Bellamy from Muse.

Billy: There’s so many that would be fun… but if we got someone like Trent Reznor, there would be no better fit for us.

Kyle: Butch Vig! In my opinion the noisy but clean style of his production would be a perfect match to Razorwire’s style.

5. ​​​​​​​How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before?

Tak: I feel like our music is a blend of Electronic/Industrial Rock based around a dystopian future.

Skylar: Depending on who I’m talking to, I’d say Electronic Rock/Rock/Industrial Rock… and I’d describe our musical influences.

Darrell: Usually people enjoy hearing the “if you took this band and that band, and they had a kid who was friends with this band and then they dated this other band”….

Billy: Industrial hard rock

Kyle: Industrial synth-y noisy rock haha

6. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

Tak: For me the best part is being able to be creative and write music that I love.

Skylar: Creating a unified sound that provokes feeling and emotion in one way or another. I hope someone can get something from it, like I have/do from the music I listen to. There’s nothing better than that pure affection/joy/sadness/anger/passion you can get from music. <3

Darrell: Being able to create art with amazing people, and share it the world. Sounds idealistic, but the music is why people should be musicians.

Billy: Falling asleep in one city at night and waking up in another city to play music. No better feeling than to share your art with other cities.

7. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Tak: I play a lot of pranks on people and we play a lot of video games.

Skylar: I’ll cook on occasion, but more often than not we call out for pizza.  If we are out on the road, it’s grocery stores or take out! It’s rare to see Kyle or Darrell without a guitar in hand. They.seriously.never.stop. 😉 It’s a good thing, I swear.

Darrell: Drew, the live show engineer and fantastic human, is a great cook. When we have the chance to live like normal, he is the best. We have also met some really great people on the road who take care of us.

Billy: Yeah… about that… we usually call In delivery or something, everyone but Tak drinks; don’t really do the acoustic campfire stuff.

Kyle: I tend to always be playing something completely out of left field in practice haha, also I’m a horrible cook…

8. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

Tak: Most likely I would be doing something with either technology or in the film industry as I love both. Maybe a CGI designer for movies.

Skylar: I’d love to do something where I’m still creating or building something. Architecture? Engineering? Something like that.

Darrell: Maybe a basketball coach somewhere.

Billy: Touring as a stage manager, production manager for tours.

Kyle: A sound engineer, which I am!

9. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”?

Tak: I am one of those people who dont regret much. I learn from my mistakes and it gives me perspective on life. Maybe I wouldn’t have bought that Behringer V-Amp when I was younger. That was a mistake for sure.

Skylar: I’m not sure I could single out a particular event that would require a complete “do over”. There are plenty of little things I’ve learned from, but as long as I strive to keep improving myself I figure I’m doing okay. ^_^

Darrell:  I have always tried to learn from everything I’ve done, or everyone I meet. Good or bad, it is who you are.

Billy: Not really, everything I’ve done musically has put me here and I can’t be any more happy.

10. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Tak: That’s a tough question. Maybe Nine Inch Nails, The Downward Spiral or The Fragile. I love all the unique instruments and sounds used on both albums. I would love to figure out how some of them were created.

Skylar: Holy cow, that’s a loaded question. I’d just love to be a fly on the wall for any of a million recording sessions for my favorite bands. I’d love to see just how they approach their music! I suppose I’d have to pick Depeche Mode Ultra if I were pressed. That was the very first CD I owned and I’ve probably listened to it a million times.

Darrell: Sgt Pepper from The Beatles! The overwhelming musical talent, the incredible innovation in both music and the recording process. That album changed the world.

Billy: High voltage from ac/dc, that was my very first cd I ever owned.

Kyle: Nirvana – Nevermind. Again butch vig, but some of the stories on how he went about getting takes from Kurt are pretty awesome.

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Category: Interviews