By: Rob Cavuoto
IKILLYA is to the New York City metal scene as Lamb of God is to the Virginia metal scene. With endless grooves, and raw, undeniable emotion in their music, IKILLYA has not just taken a step in the right direction with the release of their debut record Recon
The ferocity that follows the moment of clarity created by the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Creating music has been their primary goal. I caught up with IKILLYA’s guitarist David Kerr to talk about the band.
IKILLYA
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Rob: Tell me a little about the band’s origins?
David Kerr: The band itself is around 5 years old, as Mansa and Jason have been playing together since 2006, albeit under different names. I joined around two years ago, and we’ve settled into that line up. All the songs we play have been written with me, so in many ways it’s a new band now. None of us are from New York City but we all live here now, and have done for quite a while, so it’s pretty cool just to have that mix of backgrounds.
Rob: How do you define your music and how do you want it to be classified?
David Kerr: With all the different genres and sub-genres and elitism in metal and heavy music, defining is kind of a dangerous term, as a lot of the time its subjective. We like to think of ourselves as a metal band, plain and simple. We have groove elements, death elements, as well as a lot of influences from out with the heavy music world that we try and incorporate, consciously or not, but really, we’re a metal band.
Rob: Where do you get your inspiration from when writing songs?
David Kerr: Inspiration comes from many places. Speaking for myself, it can come from listening to other music, from a random idea in my head, from just jamming on my guitar…anywhere. I would say though that music that inspires me is not usually metal. I love metal, but I try not to listen to it for inspiration, as I don’t want to come up with something that sounds like someone else.
Rob: Tell us about the songwriting process for the band? Did each member contribute to the writing of the release?
David Kerr: Yeah everyone contributes. Usually we will bring some riff or musical ideas to practices and work on them as a group, but we all write our own parts. Obviously someone may have a suggestion as to an idea for another instrument, but we never dictate what to play. Most of the initial writing is done by Mansa and myself, with Jason bringing in all the lyrics. I usually bring in a demoed to for us to work on, whereas Mansa prefers to just write a whole bunch of riffs, that we can then use in different songs or parts.
Rob: What do you want fans to take away from your music?
David Kerr: We hope they enjoy listening to our music, that they can relate to it, that it moves them like it does us, and that it helps inspire them towards whatever they are hoping to achieve.
Rob: What has the highlight been for you in launching your band?
David Kerr: There have been a few great moments, but I think the completion of Recon was a big one. It took around a year to do, with scheduling and such, so it was really great to have something we are proud of and happy with. It’s something we can positively look back on as we get older. It was also nice to find out that Alex Skolnick (Testament) and Chris Adler (Lamb of God) are fans of our music, that doesn’t really hurt either.
Rob: Any favorite song on the CD?
David Kerr: Everyone in the band will give you a different answer, but for me it’s “Escape Plan,” It’s maybe not the most accessible song, but I really like some of the musical textures in there, and it is really fun to play live. It’s got a lot of energy.
Rob: How did you come up with your name?
David Kerr: That was actually an ex-member’s idea. It was also before my time so I hope this is accurate. As far as I understand it they were messing around trying to come up with a name, and people where throwing out stuff like I’ll burn you, I’ll destroy you etc., and Seven, our ex drummer, said, what the hell, I’ Kill ya…and it stuck. Hey, we know all the good band names are taken, so why not have something easy to remember and to the point? Also, it doesn’t hurt our SEO.
Rob: When can we expect to see you guys on tour?
David Kerr: Well right now the musical landscape and economy as a whole aren’t in the healthiest state. Of course there are many reasons for this and it’s a debate I’m not going to get into. Suffice to say though, the traditional method of jumping in a van and touring isn’t always as wise as it once was. You can end up dumping a whole ton of money for barely any gain.
As a result we’re really trying to limit our shows just now to the Northeast of the USA. We’re spreading out here and trying to grow a fan base and recognition. If the right opportunity came along we’d totally jump on it, but we are being reasonably cautious just now so we can play as many places as possible – playing shows can actually be expensive! Though it’s an awesome feeling to get out there and play for and meet new people.
Rob: What does success look like to you?
David Kerr: Hey we’re already successful, we are in a band with people we like, writing, playing, and recording music we love, meeting new people, experiencing new things, and progressing as people. If that isn’t success, I don’t know what is.
