A Dirty Dozen with KYLE MORRIS from THE UNLIKELY CANDIDATES – August 2020

According to a recent press release: “Formed in Fort Worth, Texas in 2008, The Unlikely Candidates have released three EP’s since 2013, and are grateful that years of hardship and hard work finally yielded rabid fans and rave reviews. As the song goes: It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock & roll and in the case of The Unlikely Candidates–one of the most energetic alt-rock bands to ever take a stage–their long journey includes years of crisscrossing the U.S. on tour; record label fiascos; bones broken on stage; and tour bus disasters. The Unlikely Candidates is Kyle Morris (vocals), Brenton Carney (lead guitar), Cole Male (guitar), Jared Hornbeek (bass) and Kevin Goddard (drums).” We get singer Kyle to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

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?

I think “High Low” almost feels like an extension of the character in our last single “Novocaine.” This guy that is stuck in a world his own and this is the more melancholy side of the chaotic slacker life, where everyone has kind of moved on and you are left there still on the couch wondering what’s next. A sort of the party is over or party of one type song.

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

I always loved to sing. I just never knew I was good at it. The first time I really sang in front of people was at a little high school kick back and Cole our guitarist was playing some songs. I was drunk enough to sing a few covers, and just the feeling I got from performing and playing with someone was intoxicating. In the back of my head I thought, I want to do this forever.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I used to have The Hives Greatest Hits album when I was younger and I watched videos of what a madman their singer was, it resonated with me. I didn’t know I wanted to be a performer, but he was like a rock and roll super hero. I looked up to him and wanted to be like him in some way.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Probably The Strokes, Bright Eyes, Gorillaz, OutKast, and Led Zeppelin.

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

Damon Albarn of the Gorillaz/Blur. He’s been in the game for so long and he’s still so inventive. He brings so much soul to everything he does as well.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

We have really bad musical ADD so we switch styles constantly. I prefer to chase the song and let the style suit it, rather than stick with a style and let that dictate the song. So a lot of people talk about how varied our sound is. It’s good and bad, keeps it fresh but also if they really like one song it may end up being the only one like that. All of them have big melodies and swing for the fences. All have an alternative rock bend to them.

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?

Jared cooks for sure, we used to pitch in money for him to make crock pot meals when we all lived together. Cole gets the drinks in, usually a whiskey and coke. If anyone grabbed a guitar it would be Brent noodling around a bit.

8. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

I get star struck easily unfortunately. I can’t really remember really, I know I was when we played with Rivers Cuomo of Weezer.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

I love playing live. It’s where I feel most honest in this world. I thought about this the other day and I’m not sure. It would be cool to teach in some way, music or English maybe. Helping someone grow and achieve the realization of their own dreams has got to be pretty rewarding. Maybe I’d help develop other artists.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

That’s a cheat question! Haha. Maybe if you could associate the band with an animal what animal would your band be? A fox? I don’t know. Guess I should know the answer to my own question. I’m tired of answering the question about what the band name means or how we started. Good foundation questions, I’ve just done them a lot.

11. 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”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I probably wouldn’t have spent so much time making the video for “Ringer.” It’s a cool video but it took me months to put together and not many people saw it. Other than that, I’m sure there are plenty but for the most part we do our best and let cards fall where they may.

12. 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?

Any of the second era of Dylan albums, would be cool just to see where his head was at and the things around him that were woven into is magical mystic lyrics. I respect him and his words quite a bit so even a look into that would be interesting. I’m sure he would have been a trip to hang around as well. The Beatles White Album sessions might take the cake as well.

THE UNLIKELY CANDIDATES LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Category: Interviews