by Bill and Kate Jotzat

Since 2001, Savannah, Georgia's own Kylesa have been about taking chances musically, expanding their boundaries and not worrying about being genre specific. This sludgy, doomy, psychedelic/ metallic (whatever you want to call them) band has been at it now for 10 years churning out one great album after another along with relentless touring. Ignoring popular trends, one thing this band wants to keep is that the music is overall heavy and impactful but anything else goes. The current lineup consists of two guitarists who share vocal duties, a bassist that also plays keyboards and one of if not the only duo drummer rhythm section out there in rock music. This lineup coupled with great songwriting makes Kylesa one of most the innovative bands playing heavy music today. We caught up with singer/guitarist Laura Pleasants and singer/guitarist Phillip Cope who are currently on the Metalliance Tour with St. Vitus, Howl, Helmet, Crowbar, Red Fang and Chicago locals Atlas Moth to talk about the band's musical vision.

How did the demise of Damad (the previous band of founding member Philip Cope) lead to the formation of Kylesa back in 2001?
Phillip Cope: Well I just pretty asked Laura (Pleasants) if she wanted to start up a band after jamming together for awhile. That's pretty much how Kylesa started. We just sort of closed down Damad and a couple of the guys came with to form Kylesa.
What was the original vision of the band and has it changed over the years?
Phillip Cope: The vision really hasn't changed at all. Laura and I agreed we didn't want to put limitations on the band and had the foresight to know that what we were into may change over time. We didn't want to be stuck in one style. Laura Pleasants: We didn't want to be pigeon holed into any one genre, being friends, we hung out together and listened to all kinds of different music and were turning each other onto new stuff all the time. We knew we wanted to play something heavy as I was kind of joining the remains of Damad who were heavy and sludgy but from the getgo we wanted to do something out of the ordinary. If you stick to a certain tunnel vision you'll probably end up shooting yourself in the foot and only be good for say three records. Well it's not always true but I wouldn't want to keep writing the same record over and over, we would of gotten bored. We wanted to explore, experiement and push boundaries. Phillip Cope: Speaking strictly for us we wouldn't want to do that. It works for some other bands but not for us.
Laura, with your vocals being more promiment on the new album, Spiral Shadow, do you feel the music has evolved differently?
Laura Pleasants: We just wanted to write good songs. I wanted to improve my vocals, my approach and sonically add more to the music. I kept hearing different things with the new music we wrote which didn't call for screaming all the time. Phillip Cope: We listen to our fans alot. We heard alot of good input from our fans on our last album, Static Tensions, that people were really digging Laura's melodic vocals. So we allowed ourselves more space for her vocals on this new album. It's just another way to push our boundaries. Laura Pleasants: It doesn't mean I'll be only singing from now on, it's just another way to incorporate different sounds. We constantly try to refine and improve what we do. I feel I have alot of room to grow vocally.



You've had many drummers over the years with Kylesa, when and why did you decide to have two drummers?
Phillip Cope: Actually, we wanted two drummers from the beginning but it didn't work out on the first try. So we went at it a few years with just one drummer then once we felt we were all ready, we tried it again. We tried out many drummers who wanted to do the double drummer thing then we finally found two that worked for us. The original idea was to sound even heavier with two drummers. We already tuned super low, had lots of amps and were screaming so the natural progression was to have two drummers to thicken up the rhythym section even more. As time went on, we realized there was more to it than just being heavy, that the two drummers could add quite a bit sonically to the band.
How's this Metalliance Tour going for you, any crazy or just good stories to share?
Laura Pleasant: Well this tour is very different for us in that we are following the tour bus across the country in a car. We are driving say 85% of the time with no down time just driving and playing. We are also sharing gear like cabinets and drums so it feels very different than the way we have toured in the past. The tour would be even better if the drives were shorter and the band members didn't have to drive (everyone laughing). Phillip Cope: It's a bit frustrating not having your own van and gear and having the super long drives. We went and picked up our own heads, we got tired of borrowing them early into the tour. The cars themselves are nice cars but we didn't have room to hire a driver for the tour. Laura Pleasants: We really are enjoying all the bands, we toured with Red Fang last time, we like them alot. St. Vitus are are just getting better each night, they are veterans. Personally growing up, Helmet's Meantime record, I got into pretty heavily and to see them perform it every night is a real treat. It's just an overall great lineup on this tour.



Do you guys have day jobs or is Kylesa your job now?
Phillip Cope: We've been doing Kylesa full time for a few years now. The decision to do this full time made itself for us, so we do our fair share of side jobs here and there in between tours and recording. Laura Pleasants: It's really hard to have a "normal" job with our touring schedule.
Do you guys have any hobbies or do any noteworthy activities outside the band?
Laura Pleasants: This band is our life, it is all consuming! At least not at this point, we are putting all our effort into the band. We'll keep doing this as long as we don't get stuck in a rut, plateau or stagnate. Phillip Cope: The great thing about this band it has been a pretty straight upwards climb with little or now major setbacks so far. To be honest, I can't wait to start writing for the new record, we have alot of ideas in the works but this tour doesn't really allow for much alone or downtime to work on new stuff so it's just all in my head for now. I've been jotting down lyrics and doing some sampling but that's about it for now. We're the type of band that pretty much stays off the road when we write. (Laura nodding in agreement).
What has Kylesa not acheived yet that you want to see happen for the band in the future?
Phillip Cope: Well we've already achieved everything we have set for goals on and even more. For instance, just recently we got to play alongside Slayer, that's something I never would of thought of in a million years ever happening to us. Laura Pleasants: If we can continue to grow year after year that would be ideal. Being a musician full time is hard physically and financially and there are alot of sacrifices to living this lifestyle but if we could have less sacrifices that would be great (laughter all around).
With each album, I've noticed you seem to be getting more melodic and pyschedlic. Are you doing this purposely to attract a wider audience or it is just a natural progression of the band?
Laura Pleasants: Definitely a natural progression. We've never been a band that devised a plan to write music just to gain more fans. We've been a band now 10 years, if making fans purposely was our main goal, we would of done it 10 years ago. Although we are writing for ourselves we do want to share this music we create with others. Growing up, we've always admired bands that were just doing it mostly for themselves and not worrying about fame or fortune just making great music. Phillip Cope: We love meeting and hearing from new fans and are very appreciative to all the people who have helped us and supported us along the way. We've always just hoped that whatever we are into and writing people will enjoy too. Lyrically, I've always admired bands that write about real life experiences not fantasy or gore like some of the metal bands write about. Our lyrics come from real world personal experiences, things that anyone can relate to or experience themselves.
Is there any band or genre or anything for that matter that has had a profound influence on the band overall?
Phillip Cope: Well we have always admired uncompromising, long lasting, innovative bands. For example a band like the Melvins or Neurosis have enjoyed long, creative careers and are still to this day making exciting new music. I mean 20 years into their career, I've been blown away by some of the newer Melvins records. That's something Kylesa would strive to be like, we want to be one of those long standing bands that continues to put out great music that stands the test of time.


Links:
www.myspace.com/kylesa
www.facebook.com/pages/KYLESA/13205263444