What artist would you say most inspired you to do music?
Looking back at your previous band, The Explicits, the sound was much more gritty and punk. Is the music you make now a result of where you are at in your musical tastes or does the writing process dictate where the songs will go?
I like to think that my song writing has evolved and matured throughout the years. I still love writing gritty punk songs, but I couldn't be happier with the music that we're making in Fit For Rivals.
Fit For Rivals has been looked at by major record labels. How do you feel about the state of the industry today and the state of rock music in general?
Being an unsigned band is tough, but workable. You just have to bust ass and continue doing what you love no matter what. The industry is scared to take on anything that isn't considered 'in' right now. It's hard to get anyone to take a chance. There's so many regurgitated bands and artists out anymore that I can barely tell who is singing what on the radio. I hope the industry improves, musically and financially.
When I post bands for Under the Radar Music, the majority of bands I find that have been overlooked are female-fronted. While there have been some success stories, do you think there is a still a problem with females in rock being looked at differently than their male counterparts?
Yes and no. Guys in other bands and club owners usually think I'm the merch girl because I'm typically the only girl there...and then find out I'm actually the lead singer. It's fun proving people wrong. I've honestly had worse experiences with other females in bands to be honest. Everyone just needs to chill out and realize we're all in this together.
You recently started a Kickstarter project to raise money to make your new album. What are the benefits of this versus going through a record label and what are the drawbacks?
The benefits are that we get to have more control over our song selection and overall sound. The drawbacks are we have to work to come up with the money to front the project and promote it on our own. Either way, I'm happy where we're at right now and I'm excited for the opportunities ahead.
You get to pick any artist to tour with for your upcoming album. Who would it be?
Nine Inch Nails.
What's in your cd player/mp3 player right now?
I've been listening to Emily Haines & The Soft Skelton a lot lately. Haines is the lead singer of Metric and released a solo album not too long ago.
Thanks for doing this and best of luck with the Kickstarter program. Looking forward to the next album.
Thank you, Mark! You're awesome!
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