Kittie - Morgan Lander (vocals, guitar), Mercedes Lander (drums), Jennifer Arroyo (bass), Lisa Marx (guitar)
8/6/04
Worcester Palladium - Worcester, MA
Interviewed by: Eric
Morgan Lander: Hey guys, Rick James died. We're sad!
Music Infusion: Yeah, I just heard that. It's so sad.
Morgan: What else is Dave Chappelle going to do now? (laughs)
MI: I guess they are saying he may make a movie.
Morgan: Yeah, that's what I hear.
Mercedes Lander: I heard that Dave Chappelle is playing Rick James.
MI: Yeah. It's gonna be great!
Morgan: We'll just wait for Jennifer to get back to get started.
MI: Alright, sounds good. So, you guys big Rick James fans?
Morgan: (laughs) Yeah! We actually have The Best Of Rick James.
Mercedes: Morgan spilled Rick James' milk once
Morgan: Yeah, I've met Rick James.
MI: Really? How was that?
Morgan: He was very mad at me. I spilled his milk. It was at a radio conference. Actually, it is kind of funny because I totally forgot about that. Do the other girls no I've met Rick James?
Mercedes: No. I've kind of met him too. I was scared of him.
Morgan: (In Dave Chappelle voice) Rick James! So yeah, I spilled his milk. It was a huge radio conference thing. Pretty much all of the radio stations go there and broadcast. They were doing this conference in one room. Rick James was there and drinking milk and one of the radio stations were interviewing him. I was so tired because I had just flew in that day. I was tired and I spilled his milk… it was funny.
(Lisa walks in)
Mercedes: Did you know that we met Rick James?
Lisa Marx: No!
Morgan: Yeah, I spilt his milk once. He was drinking milk and it was at a radio conference with all of these different radio stations. He was doing an interview and left his milk there and I spilt it.
Lisa: Oh, I thought you said you smelled it.
(Jennifer walks in)
Morgan: (To Jennifer and Lisa) Here, sit down.
Mercedes: Yeah, so I just brought up how Morgan met Rick James.
Morgan: I had forgotten about it.
Jennifer Arroyo: How could you forget meeting Rick James?
Mercedes: I met him to.
Jennifer: How could you fucking forget meeting Rick James?
Morgan: It was like 3 or 4 years ago.
Jennifer: 3 or 4 years ago?
Morgan: Yeah it was out in Las Vegas at a radio conference. And this is the funniest part… you know how you go to all the different areas? Well, he was there in one and was drinking milk. He left his milk there and I spilt it. Rick James was mad! I was just so tired and I knocked over Rick James' glass of milk.
Jennifer: What did he say? Show me some titties!
Morgan: Alright gentlemen, shall we commence?
MI: Great. Your new album "Until The End" was just released. Let me first off congratulate you on it. I think it is a great album.
Morgan: (smiling) Thank you!
MI: How does it feel to have it out there finally?
Morgan: Good!
Mercedes: Thank God we got to put out another CD.
Jennifer: That's all we really wanted to do. Last year it all evolved with a lawsuit. There was a lot of drama, which has all been settled in our favor.
Morgan: It is a big relief. There was a lot of doubt of whether or not we were going to have the opportunity to do another album. We put blood, sweat, and tears in to it and we worked really hard. We are just happy and thankful.
MI: How do you think it compares to your previous material?
Morgan: No comparison. No comparison at all. I mean the first album… it totally counts because that is what our fans got into us with. We are known for that. I think "Until The End" really found our balance between heavy and melody. We are working with the best of the best. Our lovely ladies! It's the first time that Jennifer has been on an album. We have Lisa now and everything is the way it always should have been.
MI: Speaking of that… you have had some line-up changes over the years. How did you hook up with Lisa?
Morgan: Well, we… (to Lisa) you go ahead. You can explain it.
Lisa: Ok, I was in a band called To See You Broken and a couple friends of mine went to a Kittie show about 2 years ago. They gave them a CD and that is how they knew of that band. Kittie was trying to find a guitarist and Mercedes thought of To See You Broken and that's that.
MI: Great. What was the recording and songwriting process like on the new album?
Morgan: Well, the songwriting was done over the past couple of years. 6 songs were done prior to last summer. It was spring of last year.
Jennifer: Yeah.
Morgan: It was March. We did just kind of a small demo. Then we sealed the deal and settled everything with Artemis. We were told we were going into the studio and had written 4 songs then. As for the recording, it was actually done fairly close to here. It was over in North Brookfield, MA.
Jennifer: Longview Studios!
Morgan: Longview crazy farm.
Jennifer: Yup, it is a farm. Horse shit galore.
Morgan: It was the first time we had ever recorded outside of Canada and we hooked up with Steve Thompson who is also new to Kittie. We just went there for a month and recorded for about 3 weeks. It was just really easy and laid back. There was nothing to do because it was a farm and so all we did was work. It was good.
MI: What are your favorite tracks on the album?
Jennifer: Each one of us has a different track I think.
Mercedes: My favorite song would have to be "Daughters Down." Just because the meaning of the song and the song in the general. It just really hits home. It was the last song that we did before we left the studio.
Morgan: I don't know. I like all the songs! But no, I'm kind of partial to "Until The End" because I am really proud of the lyrics and what the song is about. The music turned out beautifully. I'm also partial to "Red Flag" though. It's kind of becoming one of my favorite songs. It stands for everything that this band is about in just one song. There is heaviness. There is melody. It's pretty much the epitome of the band.
Jennifer: Ah, I can't pick just one. "Pussy Sugar" because that is just bad. You can just run in the streets with a mallet and beat people. I think that one day in a free world we could do that. (laughs all around) So yeah, "Pussy Sugar" and the track "In Dreams" because I just love that song. It's just one of those songs that you hear and it gets in your head. It also has the happiest bass line written ever (laughs) so it's fun.
Lisa: "Burning Bridges" is my favorite.
MI: It's a great track! Now, when you first came out, the main focus was that you are all girls. Do you feel that has passed yet?
Jennifer: I hope so because that is annoying!
Morgan: I personally feel that when we first came out our age was a little more of a factor because of the gender thing. I mean, obviously the gender thing is never going to go away unless one of us decides to get a sex change (laughs all around). I think we have all grown up and become a really great band. As always, we just want to focus on the music. It's something that we will never get away from, but it isn't something that we will try to play up or talk about all of the time.
MI: So, right now you are on tour with Candiria, 36 Crazyfists, and Twelve Tribes. How's the tour going so far?
Morgan: AWESOME!
Jennifer: Dandy.
Mercedes: It is one of our favorite tours we have done, to be honest with you.
Morgan: Yeah, it is definitely up there in like the top 3.
MI: That is what all the bands are saying.
Morgan: Oh really?
MI: Yeah, we did some other interviews and everyone is saying that this is one of their best tours.
Mercedes: We're having a great time. All of the bands are really, really cool. We're just happy that no one is a dick. (laughs)
Jennifer: Most definitely. When someone like that is on a tour it can really… well, I don't want to say stress on a tour, but you know how it is when someone is a jerk. It is so much easier to just be cool. It takes far more effort to be an asshole.
Morgan: Exactly. And everyone loves laughing at a jerk. (laughs all around)
MI: Now, I am sure that you have run into a lot of fans. (all of the girls laugh) Do you have any good stories?
Jennifer: Yeah! Dude, I have so many different stories.
Mercedes: Yeah!
Morgan, Yup, there are a lot of stories. I mean, there is usually a story like every night. It is just one of those things. But, we definitely have some over zealous fans.
Jennifer: You have guys running up on stage trying to kiss Lisa. Or… well, titties are ok.
Mercedes: Or sometimes when people are a bit inebriated at the end of the show. Like the guy with the mullet last night! He called me Jennifer. He was like "Jennifer, you are the best drummer in the world." (laughs all around) I was just like "Thank you. Thank you."
Morgan: You don't even want to correct those kind of people.
Mercedes: Yeah, because that would just mean more conversation.
Jennifer: And the majority of the time you know that they mean really, really well. Oh god, Rick James! (looking at the TV as the news flashed on) I'm sorry.
Morgan: Oh, I can't believe he died!
Jennifer: Turn it up! Real quick, I'm so sorry guys.
MI: Nah, it's all good.
(TV voice) …His cocaine addiction led to his spell in prison on assault charges. He suffered a stroke in 1998 during a comeback tour. He also had hip replacement surgery. Rick James was 56.
Morgan: Oh man! It's so sad.
Jennifer: No! Fucking Rick James.
Morgan: The biggest and best show of the tour has a black cloud over it now. We are giving a shout out to Rick James tonight for sure.
Jennifer: Oh definitely. For sure! But yeah, we have some over zealous fans. They mean well. Regardless, we love all of our fans to death. Sometimes they are a little touchy, grabby. But, I suggest that no one do that unless they want to get knocked the fuck out (laughs all around).
Morgan: But, they come to shows and they support the band. It's all good.
MI: Right on. So, if you could tour with any bands, dead or alive, what would your dream tour be?
Jennifer: Metallica.
Morgan: Yeah, probably Metallica circa 1988.
Jennifer: Cliff… thank you man!
Mercedes: Yeah, we could tour with Metallica with Jason Newstead because I used to have a crush on him.
Jennifer: Yeah, I think to tour with Metallica would be great. I would love to tour with Slayer one day. We toured with them on Ozzfest and it was great. Pantera needs to get back together and figure their shit out! I don't know if that will happen.
MI: Yeah, sorry to say but I don't think that's going to happen. (laughs all around) But it is your dream tour!
Jennifer: Yeah, a girl can always dream!
Morgan: My dream is to be a support band. We have been doing headlining tours for the past 4 years now. It's great because we know that all of the people who are coming to the shows are coming to see us, but we would like to play to other people.
Jennifer: Yeah, expand operations.
MI: You guys looking to do that after this tour?
Morgan: We hope so.
Mercedes: We hope to get on tour support after this.
MI: Cool. So, some questions for each of you. Favorite Food? Favorite Movie? And Favorite 80's song?
Mercedes: Oh, you are asking the wrong people because I dislike the 80's in general. (laughs all around) Umm, my favorite food would probably have to be meat. Meat in general. What was the other question?
MI: Favorite movie.
Mercedes: My favorite movie? Probably Evil Dead 2 or any Molly Ringwald movie from the 80's. Because Molly Ringwald did do movies in the 90's and they were awful but I own all of them. I own this one movie called "Malicious" and you see her tits. Favorite 80's song… hmm… it would probably be "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake because one time, Jen, Morgan and I were all on a ferry. We thought it would be funny to play it and we played it throughout the whole ferry ride. (laughs all around) We must have played it at least 4 times in a row. Everyone was like "What the fuck is wrong with these people?" (more laughs)
Lisa: (cannot make out favorite food or movie due to loud guitar in the background during a soundcheck) My favorite 80's song would have to be "Wheel In The Sky"
MI: Nice! Journey rocks!
Jennifer: My favorite movie is (insert loud soundcheck here)… and Showgirls. (laughs all around)
Morgan: Showgirls Jennifer?!?
Jennifer: Yeah… that movie is comedy. Have you ever seen it? It is such comedy. It's fucking stellar. Food… anything like Caribbean cuisine. I'm really into that. Favorite song… Stryper "In Retro." That's the first thing that popped into my head so I'm gonna say that. But "Seventeen" by Winger is great. That's a good karaoke jam.
Morgan: Ok, my favorite food… I like mozzarella cheese. I could eat a lot of that. I also like salted cashews, those are another one of my favorites. And I'm pretty down with the barbecue eel. Umm… and avocado (laughs all around). So, I have many. My favorite movie is something really bad. I'm kind of down with Night Of The Living Dead. I like the re-make, I like the original. I can't pick a favorite. My favorite 80's song… I don't even really care (laughs all around). My favorite 80's song is "Strange Animal" by Larry Gowan. (singing with Mercedes) "You're a strange animal. That's what I know!" He's Canadian. He does play keyboard for Styx now.
MI: I'll have to check him out… I love Styx.
Mercedes: Larry Gowan is the fucking shit! That is like prime Canadian 80's music. Morgan needs a Larry Gowan lunchbox.
Morgan: I do! But seriously, you need to check out Gowan. He is fucking awesome!
Mercedes: The video has like monkeys. They are black and white animations with a monkey and this guy dancing. (At this point Mercedes stands up and is dancing like a monkey while singing) "You're a strange animal" (laughs all around) The video fucking rocks. It is like evolution or something… the guy has a loincloth.
Morgan: It's a classic!
MI: That's great… I will definitely have to check Gowan out. So, how did you guys decide on the name Kittie?
Morgan: Oh, back to something boring (laughs all around).
MI: Hey, we have to have some basic ones.
Morgan: I know (laughs). We were like 12 years old and we wanted to kind of fool people that we went to school with. When you think of the word Kittie, you don't think of the kind of music we play. Like, you do now, but not then. You would hear the name and be curious or whatever. You know, we are a girl band and our name is Kittie and it's not what you would expect. That was our silly way of trying to approach that.
MI: Now, another question for each of you to answer. If you could only have 3 CDs for the rest of your life, what would they be?
Jennifer: Ohhhhh this is gonna be fun.
Morgan: I can pick my top 3 right now. Far "Water and Solutions." Silverchair "Diorama."
Jennifer: It sounds like you said Diarrhea.
Morgan: No I didn't Diarrhea (laughs all around) I said Diorama. And Today Is The Day "Temple of the Morning Star."
Mercedes: Oh ok. I'm going to say HIM "Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights," Silverchair "Diorama," and American Nightmare "Background Music."
Jennifer: Ohh… Life Of Agony "River Runs Red," Biohazard "Urban Discipline," and Kittie "Until The End." Ohhhh (laughs all around. Morgan high-fives her)
Lisa: Definitely My Chemical Romance. Maybe Isis and The Cure.
Jennifer: That Silverchair you talk about, is that the one?
Morgan: Yeah, I love that too. I might have to replace "Diorama" with "Neon Ballroom."
MI: That is a great album.
Morgan: Yeah. They were in their prime then. It was 1999 and I was like a depressed fucking teenager (laughs all around). That was the shit right there.
MI: Ok, so there is a lot of talk going on right now with the presidential election coming up. What are your feelings on that?
Morgan: I don't feel… I don't care.
Mercedes: We're Canadian. In my opinion, and not to say that political bands are wrong because they are not, I think that music and political activism should be separate. Music is supposed to be fun. I don't agree with people forcing other people's opinions through something like music where it is supposed to be about having a good time. You know what I mean? I just think that music and politicalness should be separated. And we try not to give opinions just because there is a presidential election because we want people to make up their own minds on whoever they are going to vote for. We don't want to influence anybody.
Morgan: And we're Canadian so what right to do we have to say? I mean, maybe if we were American we could but we're Canadian. Obviously what happens in the United States affects the rest of the world, but you know?
Jennifer: I like to keep opinions to myself. Like Mercedes said, I think music can be used as a vehicle for that and if that's your thing, that's your thing. I'm more interested in people coming to our show and just having a great time. Just getting away. If that is something that stresses them out or it's something that is always on their mind, at least they can get away from it for a few hours and have a great time with their friends. I do think it is important though that everyone gets out there and voices their opinion. I'll leave it at that.
Mercedes: Wouldn't you think that putting political messages in music is propaganda? (laughs)
Jennifer: Yeah, absolutely. It is full of it.
Mercedes: Ok, I will leave it at that.
MI: Alright, lets change the mood a little bit. I've heard that one of you had a very interesting experience on a flight recently? (laughs by all the girls)
Morgan: That was her (points to Jennifer)
Jennifer: There was this couple that had come on the plane and they were cool. I was sitting down and… you can ask these ladies here… I am particular about smelling good. I don't like smelling like funk too often. So this couple sits next to me and then it just smelt like shit. It smelled like someone shit in their hand and had rubbed it on their face and body. Something bad happened. I was like "It can't be me. No way." I was checking my feet and freaking out and I started to sweat because it was just so shitty. It was like some shit and put it right here (holds out her hand in front of her face) and you are just like whoa. At the end of the flight, the guy stood up and he pants on sort of like this (points to Lisa's pants). But, they were really light beige. There was brown on his ass and sweat around it. I was just like "Ohhhh." He wet farted it.
Mercedes: He wet farted it!
Jennifer: He shit his ass.
MI: That is terrible!
Jennifer: It was god-awful. I remember coming home and like (starts making a typing notion for an online journal entry). I was like "Fuck that! The world's gotta know what I went through for an hour and 52 minutes to the dot."
MI: You got that down, huh?
Jennifer: Oh I've got it down (laughing). It smelt like as if shit was right here in front of you right now and I had to sit next to it for almost 2 hours.
Morgan: That's not right.
Jennifer: That's so not right. And his wife was beautiful. I was like "Does she know he shit his ass?"
MI: Maybe she was just to embarrassed.
Jennifer: I don't know. But, how could you not know that you did that? The people in front of me were turning around too. So, it just wasn't me. Other people noticed.
Jennifer: But dude, it's shit! It's shit! How could you not know? You could get up. The bathroom was right there. You just walk a couple seats back and you can fucking shit your ass out the whole flight if you want to. It's just not cool! So yeah, that's what happened. It's funny though. I need to write more on the website. I like going on the website and writing dumb random stories that just happen. I've been really awful at it lately. Even Lisa was like "you gotta get on there."
MI: Any last comments ladies?
Jennifer: Kittierocks.com. Yeah… "Until The End." Buy it now bitch!
Morgan: Rest in peace Rick James. We'll miss you.
MI: Definitely.
Morgan: He was the Super Freak.
Jennifer: He died very young. Rick James we love you. (In Dave Chappelle voice) I'm Rick James bitch! (laughs all around)
MI: Thank you very much.
All of the girls: Thank you!
Jennifer: You guys are staying for the show right?
MI: Of course!
Jennifer: Ok, cool.
I'd like to thank Morgan, Mercedes, Jennifer, and Lisa all for taking the time out of their day to do the interview… it was a blast! Definitely one of my favorite interviews I have done yet. Thanks for all the laughs ladies! Much respect to Debbie at Mazur PR and Trent for hooking everything up. Be sure to check out an review of "Until The End" in the Album Reviews section and live photos in the Galleries section.