Firstly, hello! How are things?
KK: Hi! Great!
Rewind a bit, tell us how you got into heavy metal and joined Barn Burner?
KK: My brother gave me a copy of Kill 'Em All by Metallica on cassette when I was 9 and told me to study it carefully. That just fueled a life long obsession with metal. I started Barn Burner at first as more of a classic rock sounding band but eventually found out that we were better and having more fun playing metal.
In your sound what can you offer fans of stoner/sludge rock and metal as opposed to fellow bands like Bison B.C.?
KK: Bison is just flat out much heavier than us, they are one of the best sounding bands around right now. We aren't trying to offer up anything in hopes that we can be the stand out band of this genre, we just really like playing and writing songs. We have a great time doing it and do try to push certain boundaries but our primary focus is just to do what feels right. I hope listeners can appreciate that and hear that we aren't trying to be just another heavy metal band with a million sub-genre classifications.
Your second album Bangers II: Scum of the Earth's been out for a couple of months now, how has the new material been playing?
KK: Those songs are actually kind of old for us now so we have been playing them live for over a year. They are really fun to play and people have been reacting really well to them. On the other hand we are getting really stoked to write some new stuff.
Are you pleased with the outcome of the album or is there anything you'd rather you could go back and do slightly differently?
KK: The album itself we are really pleased with. The only thing I would change is the artwork, people are not reacting well to that which I think might effect their appreciation of the music.
How does it differ from your previous record, which you also gave the title of Bangers?
Also, what's with naming your albums "Bangers"?
KK: It's a lot heavier than the first record, mainly due to the production and how we developed as players. It's commonly said that when you hear a really good song you call it a "banger", so we were really excited about the songs we wrote and called them all "Bangers". I would also refer to metal fans as Bangers, so the album title has a couple of different meanings.
You're on the verge of touring Europe, looking forward to hitting the road and are there any places you're looking forward to playing?
KK: We always love touring Europe, its by far our favorite. I particularly like Germany and Switzerland. Sweden is also really great.
Has anything crazy/weird happened in your travels on tour?
KK: We had to get the locks on our rental van changed 3 times, which we thought was pretty insane that they kept breaking. A couple of weeks later we got in an accident and destroyed the van. It's safe to say that that particular van was cursed.
Which of the bands you've toured with have been the most fun to hang out with?
KK: Our good friends in Bison actually are probably our kindred spirits when it comes to bands we've toured with, but its hard to pick favorites. Between Bison, Ramming Speed and War Animal I'm not sure who would be my favorite.
What happens at shows and touring that pisses you off something royal?
KK: We call them string touchers. They are the dudes that get really excited when you play, which rules, but decide to show it by trying to strum our guitars while we are playing. This makes the guitars sound like shit therefore making us sound like shit and unable to properly play when someone else is trying to play our guitars at the same time. A real bummer.
What motivates you musically to play in Barn Burner?
KK: I feel like there aren't a ton of things I'm really good at but writing and performing music is something that makes me feel pretty awesome. Even if no one else likes what we are doing I don't think I could ever stop doing it.
Looking ahead what are the longterm plans for the band and are there any goals you're looking to hit in the future?
KK: We are going to be releasing Bangers II on vinyl shortly and starting to write a new record. We also hope to do some more touring in the spring.
Do you have a message to fans coming along to any of the shows in Europe?
KK: Come prepared to party with us!
