From #2: BLACK KITES!

BLACK KITES

*// Black Kites is touring Europe this summer, what can we expect? What is Black Kites about?*

      TOM/ We toured last summer with Zann from Germany and had a great time. Robert from Zann mentioned bringing us over to Europe the following summer and we were pretty honored and excited. We will be touring with California's Ghostlimb from August 1st until August 21st.  So far we are playing in Germany, Netherlands, UK, Belgium and France, along with a possible show in Slovenia and a show in Prague.

     Black Kites is about many things.  I grew up in the hardcore scene of the early 90s in the United States and really loved the ethos, dialogue and music of that time. So much of my idea of what hardcore is about was influenced by that time of my life. Bands like Endeavor, Groundwork, 108 and Frail were very influential to me. I wanted to start a band that captured the sound and ideals of that time while still inserting some more modern song writing. Jeff and Jay both seemed to be on bored with idea.  We are a vegan straight edge band and all feel passionately about issues of human rights and human dignity.

       JAY/ Personally, I've always thought of Black Kites as a live band, if that makes sense. So I think that you can expect to hear the songs you may have heard already on record but more exciting, dynamic, and engaging than they are on record. As far as what we're about, I think that's kind of a hard thing to pin down. Yeah, we're vegan and straight-edge and that's certainly one of the things that brought us together. I think that more than that; however, Black Kites is three dudes that love playing hardcore and find a lot in the world to be horrified with. You can see that love of music when we play and you can feel that horror and disgust, too.

*// Where did you get the name Black Kites and what does it stand for?*

                               TOM/ Before Jay started playing drums for us our friend Pete Martin was our original drummer. We never played a show with Pete and we wrote about 5 songs with him before he left the band.  Pete came up with the name Black Kites.  A Black Kite is a type of bird and we thought it sounded great.  No special meaning really, just thought it sounded nice.

*// Now Jay answered the “what does Black Kites stand for” question already, being a vegan straight edge band. But are there other messages you consider very important for Black Kites?

    TOM/ Black Kites is Jeff Guerriero, Jay Wiggen and Tom Schlatter. We started the band about 3 years ago.  I was looking to start a new band but at at the time I was 29 years old and didn't really know anyone locally my age who was still playing this type of music. I felt a little discouraged. I posted on a local hardcore forum that I was looking for people to start a band with. Jeff responded. Jeff and I had met on numerous occasions before, I didn't think of him at first for the band because I didn't know that he liked this style of hardcore. Jeff and I shared many of the same personal politics and views on DIY hardcore, so it was a great match.  Pete Martin was our first drummer and helped us write our first few songs. Pete moved away soon after and Jeff suggested we ask Jay to play drums. Jay fit in extremely well in terms of playing style, personal politics and influences of music we were going for. I am super fortunate to have found younger people like Jay and Jeff who still have admirable convictions and want to translate them into the hardcore scene. I hate to generalize but it's something that's rare in the younger generation of hardcore today.

      Once the three of us were rehearsing regularly I suggested we get a bass player.  Jeff seemed to like the dynamic of the three of us though and convinced me not to.  We recorded our first demo ourselves on my computer and started playing shows soon after. The response was quite nice and we felt very supported.  All three of us have different roots in the different sub genres and sub scenes in New Jersey so in a way we were able to garner support from all those places and introduce people to each other.  The scene in New Jersey is made up of people with so many different approaches and ideas but we all admire what each other are doing.

*// You were talking about the ideas (on different themes)  that matched with Jay and Jeff... what ideas were you talking about? Do we talk politics? 

      TOM/ I have very strong convictions toward combating racism, sexism and homophobia. Sadly, the majority of people in the hardcore scene here don't share these convictions. The hardcore scene is plagued with some extremely immature and offensive behavior, which is mostly a result of punk rock boys starving for attention. There is a large "punk for the sake of punk" mentality that really isn't interested in building any kind of community, but more focused on figuring out ways to live out some Peter Pan-esque fantasy. Much of the scene in New Jersey is centered around partying and getting high, no real community or political context to speak of. I felt really isolated at times in my political stances and my preferences to view the DIY scene as an alternative to drug use and apathetic behavior. Jay and Jeff were unique in that they are two young people who have the same convictions as I do. We all share these convictions and our passion for making DIY hardcore mean something; a way to educate and communicate ideas. I probably sound too serious here and I don't want to come off that way. We have a great deal of fun too, I love the friends we've made over the past 3 years playing in this band as well. But, I feel when you play music you're passionate about and everyone in the band shares these same convictions, it can be that much more rewarding.

*// Black Kites is a pretty busy/productive band, I see some nice gig/touring schedule but you also seem to release records on a regular base... How do you guys make everything work? Do you have jobs besides the band?*

      TOM/ When the band first began we all lived in New Jersey and we were playing almost 5 - 6 shows a month. Our touring has never been too extensive since we all work regular jobs or (in the past) attended school full time. Since last summer Jay moved to Brooklyn and is also in 5 different bands so things have slowed down a bit. It takes patience and communication to keep the band going strong. Everyone has to be on the same page with how much effort they want to put into something like this. We set up a weekly practice schedule and also try our best to set goals/deadlines for song writing and recording.  We've cut back a bit on shows since it has become quite an investment in travel costs to get us all together at times. As of now we average about 2 -3 shows a month in the northeastern United States.

      JAY/ More than being incredibly dedicated or working extremely hard or having to sacrifice to make the band work, I think it's just that this band comes naturally to us. We work well together; hence the three years of playing, touring, and recording. As far as jobs go, yes we're all employed in varying ways on various schedules, but there's always time somewhere for the band. If I'm ever at a point where I can live off of playing music I like, I'll have it made. For now though, I'll continue to drive box trucks.

*// Let’s talk releases. Your latest effort “Songs Written While Things Were Changing”. What is that title about. Was Black Kites at some turning point? Is there a general theme throughout the record?

      TOM/ We were writing this record when a lot of things were happening. Jeff and Jay were both graduating college and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives.  I was going through a divorce and ending a 10 year relationship. Writing the record was a healthy way to channel all of our anxieties about these changes into something positive. I remember we played a show just after recording those songs and we were all pretty moved; just emotionally exhausted. The name of the record is very blunt. I'm not really for abstraction, I like things to be said for what they are. Sure, we could have quoted some obscure dead writer in some line about perpetual change, but I think that's kind of useless for me. These are songs we wrote when things were changing. That's just what they are. When I suggested the title to Jay and Jeff I thought it seemed to fit everything around us. Jeff came up with the idea for the cover art. I think it conveys childhood and simplicity... a time when you are unaware of how much fluctuation life is going to throw at you. The contrast between the title and the art really convey the message well in my opinion (not to mention they are some funny pictures of us as kids).

*// You played a show w/ 108 in Brooklyn early January. 108 is amongst your influences... How did that go, how did you experience sharing the stage w/ them?*

       TOM/ When Rob Fish got in touch with us to ask us to play the show I was a little awe struck.  I've been listening to 108 for the past 14 years and they have been highly influential on my song writing. Although I don't subscribe to Hare Krshna I connected with their subject matter on a more general perspective.  They addressed issues of materialism, animal rights, sexism, personal isolation and much more.  I don't feel that you need to subscribe to a religion to connect with these issues, and so, as an atheist, I still regard 108 as one of the most important bands in hardcore. 

      Playing the show was an amazing feeling, and in a way, really grounded me.  As I said before I was awe struck when Rob contacted us about the show because I had looked up to him for years.  When I met him for the first time at the show we had a great conversation and I realized something that I also knew, but perhaps forgot about. Rob is just like the rest of us; he's a guy who loves music and is passionate about it.  We're all in the same situation and sometimes when you look up to people you forget that. Hardcore is not about looking at people like untouchable celebrities, it's about embracing each other as peers.  It was great to meet him and realize that one of my favourite bands is also a very intelligent and friendly band. 

        Our set that night was great.  We were thrilled to be there and I felt great about supporting a band like 108.  Many of our friends from New Jersey came to the show and we had a great time.  The 108  set made me nostalgic for my younger days and made me understand that no matter what age I am I should still pursue making music that I love.

      JAY/ I had mixed feelings about this show... on the one hand, I was excited to play with 108 who I really enjoy for various reasons. On the other, the vibe of the show was very weird. Kids were heckling 108 while they set up and throughout their set. This is disheartening to me for a number of reasons but whatever. More than though, it was at a venue that brought in a security guard for the night who consistently caused problems for kids. Multiple friends of mine and other people were put in headlocks by this dude just for going off and getting into the music. It seemed like he'd never been to a hardcore show before. I've seen some ignorant shit in my years of going to shows, but there wasn't anything ignorant going down to 108. Anyway halfway through the set he was encouraged to calm down and thankfully did. Just goes to show, ACAB.

*// So what can we expect in terms of new material? Anything soon?

We are recording 5 songs next month for a split with a band called Convulsions. The songs are pretty varied and sort go places we haven't gone before. I'm excited about them. We've played two of them at shows so far and the reaction has been great.

*// I think that’s it… say your thx, goodbye’s… whatever…

Thanks so much for taking an interest in Black Kites, it's been a pleasure to do this interview!