Micky James and Mango of The Karma Killers. Photo Credit: Tara Dettman
New York rockers The Karma Killers are building up their name on this summer’s Vans Warped Tour and are slowly gaining a fan base along the way. Fans are getting a taste of their music off of their debut EP Strange Therapy, out now via Island Records.
Band frontman Micky James talked about how the band got their name and their music out publicly, and the early struggled made them a better band as time went on.
“Maybe the first two years of the band we did the Do It Yourself thing in New York City. Through that time period we were writing an insane amount of songs and wanting to get better as a band. Our producers (Shep Goodman and Aaron Accetta) got wind of a song that we put out a couple of years ago. He wanted to cut a production deal with us for an ep, and from there it was setting us up to hopefully get us some label attention, which it did and it took off from there.”
James shared his love of the Big Apple’s musical history but also talked about their musical scene’s recent struggles for musical acts to get discovered.
“I love New York City bands. I’m a big Strokes fan. I don’t think there’s too much diversity in New York. It’s becoming very stale. It’s like the one trick pony everywhere. Everybody’s looking the same and writing the same songs and playing the same music. I think that’s what it is. It’s all about writing good songs.”
“Actually there’s a lot of bands that, not intentionally put boundaries on what they allow to influence them,” added bassist Mango. “That knocks them into a corner that they can’t get out of, if you try so hard to fit into a scene. For us, we just see it as a big picture. There’s a whole world of music. It all means something to us, no matter what kind of music it is. That becomes a bit of a melting pot. It gives us a bit of originality to our sound.”
We Came As Romans, photo credit: Equal Vision Records
We Came As Romans today premiered their new music video for their single ‘The World I Used To Know’. You can watch the track at this link or from the bands Vevo channel below:
The video for ‘The World I Used To Know’ was directed by Nathan Willam and was filed in Detroit, MI, the hometown of WCAR. We Came As Romans releases tomorrow from the Equal Vision Records label, and you can catch the band all summer on The Vans Warped Tour.
Prior to all of this happening, Barrie built up his name and music by himself through the wonders of the internet. He explained how he built up SayWeCanFly and how he reached countless fans.
“In 2009, I decided I wanted to start a YouTube channel, which was the beginning of SayWeCanFly. I don’t remember the day but it’s near my birthday I’m sure,” he said, about his early years.
He placed a lot of energy into learning about how to use the internet, especially the various social media platforms, which is now commonly used (and not always properly) by many musicians in recent years.
“Social media has been my biggest tool. So I think for the first couple of years of Saywecanfly, when I didn’t really leave my house, I would literally come home from school every day, learn about social media and how to use it, and about the algorhythms and what works and what doesn’t. That was my version of college I guess? I knew that everyone, when they had a minute would go and check their Facebook. I always wanted to capture as many people as I could at the right time. I always wanted to bring people along on my journey and post stuff up every single day,” he said.
“There’s a website called PureVolume I used to use. I started posting stuff on there and kids started asking me for more. I started recording in my bedroom. As Saywecanfly grew I started working with other people. I’ve self released all of my albums. Between The Roses is my first full length that I just put out. It’s all been a learning process. I’ve had some offers from labels but I’ve always felt there’s more I’ve wanted to learn on my own, and there’s more I want to accomplish by myself before I possibly take that step. It’s definitely been a conscious decision and a really tough one. That’s what I’ve wanted to do.”
While he has built up quite the extensive following, especially on YouTube and Facebook, his fan base has come from some of the most unexpected places in the world. Aside from his recently discovered fans on the Vans Warped Tour stops and his previous tour supporting Metro Station, he shared some of the other areas he discovered to fans in.
“I have a huge following in Brazil, which is something I never expected and judging off of Facebook stats. Places like that and are way far away like New Zealand. It’s so cool to see how people across the globe have found my music, even if it’s small pockets of people. I think the strangest place is Poland. I have a small following there, which is cool. My grandparents were from there. I’ve never been there.”
“Just where people can’t speak English, it’s crazy that they listen to my music. It blows my mind.”
One man acoustic act SayWeCanFly, featuring 20-year old Braden Barrie has signed with Epitaph Records. He is currently on the Vans Warped Tour playing to capacity crowds in the Full Sail Acoustic Lounge.
SayWeCanFly has self-released music since 2009 and seen social numbers climb into the millions. Barrie’s huge social media presence has created a bond withSayWeCanFly’s fans that goes beyond the music alone, creating a family-like relationship between the artist and fans. Barrie recently formed his own label in PureWolf Records.
UK metalcore outfit While She Sleeps made their big return to North America doing this year’s edition of the Vans Warped Tour. While they are here in support of their latest album Brainwashed, they are going through the usual first day chaos of the tour. Aside from working on their long overdue suntans, they are managing to get their adventures started.
“It’s fucking hot though. It’s starting in California. It started in the deep end of the heat. It’s cool though,” says bassist Aaran Mackenzie, about dealing with the Southern California dry heat.
“We’re trying. We’ve got some sunscreen on. Obviously you can’t burn,” he adds, talking about getting a tan while not sunburning at the same time.
Loz of While She Sleeps. Photo Credit: @hennythepooh (via Facebook)
Another minor dilemma was their vocalist Lawrence “Loz” Taylor did not arrive with the rest of the band, due to visa issues on the US embassy’s side. Fortunately the problems were resolved quickly and he only missed one show.
“They said it was a problem with the visa. I think the printing system went down,” said Savage.
“It was worldwide in the US Embassy. We got through it first and then Loz was a little later,” added Mackenzie.
Fortunately this got resolved quickly with friends coming to the rescue. “We have Beartooth’s singer [Caleb Shomo], We Came As Romans’ singer and Capsize [Daniel Wand] filling in. They’re all filling in a song each. Everyone’s supporting us and it’s a good family based thing. It’s cool everyone’s helping us out,” explained Mackenzie.
“The thing is the kids are there and will still enjoy it. It’s something different. Whatever will happen,” added drummer Adam Savage.
This is their second time on this tour and they admit they have learned from their experiences from the first time on how to better prepare themselves to last on this lengthy journey. 52 days is quite a while and they were up for the challenge.
“It either makes you or breaks you. You’ve got to be pretty tough to last the whole thing. It tests you but being British, we rarely get to America and it’s a novelty for us. You see it in movies your whole life. To be here and being in the mountains in Los Angeles is like a dream come true,” explains MacKenzie about what being on this tour means to him as well as the rest of the band.
While She Sleeps on Warped Tour 2015 (via Facebook)
Brainwashed is their latest album (out now via Razor and Tie in North America and Search and Destroy in the UK), and continues their growth process from their debut album.
“It’s kind of the same, like our previous albums. It’s a natural progression in our band really,” said Savage.
“It seems like some concepts like we’re sung about on This is the Six, but we’re not beating around the bush any more. The title Brainwashed, we’re trying to tell people how it is about this stuff. We did the writing in a similar style as we did to our first mini album (2012’s The North Stands For Nothing). We all moved in together and we tried to really clinch the four live parts of the writing than writing the whole album on a computer and then on ProTools. We all moved in together and played stuff live together as much as we could. I think it’s come out really good,” added MacKenzie.
“A lot of things we’ve learned and many things are different learning curves. You learn a lot of things from this session and put it into this one and all sorts of different stuff on the next one,” concluded Savage.
Being that While She Sleeps have began to venture across the globe and reaching new fans everywhere they play, their longtime fans and friends back home have been supportive of their ambitions. Mackenzie summed it best about their longtime supporters: “We’ve been in this band since school. This is all they’ve known us to do and that’s all we’ve known. So they get it.”
Billy Stevens and Micky James of The Karma Killers. Photo Credit: Tara Dettman
Rock music in the New York City area was once engrained within their DNA, as history has spawned a number of once promising acts within the music scene and made that region a desired destination to launch many artists’ careers at one time.
After years of crafting their sound and fine tuning their songwriting skills, The Karma Killers are taking their music onto the road and sharing their music with the masses. They have released their debut EP Strange Therapy via Island Records and have been playing every day this past summer on the Vans Warped Tour’s Ernie Ball stage to lots of new yet enthusiastic fans on each tour stop.
“It’s been fantastic. It’s been really great,” says frontman and guitarist Micky James, about their touring experience. “The kids have been very receptive so far. It’s been hot. We’re getting into the groove of things and the swing and becoming really awesome. I can’t wait until we work on the rest of the tour.”
“It’s the first time on this tour and our first real tour. We did a little run to South By Southwest, but this is the first real tour. We’re really trying to catch on.”
Billy Stevens of The Karma Killers. Photo Credit: Tara Dettman
Their band name came together by sheer accident and evolved from there. Taking musical influences ranging from David Bowie and the Cars to Billy Idol, U2, and The Ramones to a variety of new wave and classic punk rock, they began to build a foundation of what is heard on their ep.
“Billy (Stevens, guitars) had this name Killing Karma at first and then we talked about it. We thought it was a cool name, but we wanted to throw in a “The” in front of it. We wanted it to be like The Rolling Stones. Micky was like ‘what about the Karma Killers?’ It was that simple. We all thought it sounded good. We were strangers at the time. We had just met. It was the first or second night we had met each other and we walked away with a band name,” said bassist Mango.
“I liked how it had a meaning to it. I see a lot of bands that don’t have that kind of thing to it any more. I thought it was cool. That’s what I was drawn to,” added James.
Josh Grisby of The Karma Killers. Photo Credit: Tara Dettman
So what was their reaction to how they fit into this year’s Vans Warped Tour lineup, considering they are not either pop-punk, screamo or any of these other subgenres that this tour is well known for featuring every summer? “I mean a lot of the bands here seem a little different from us…but it’s cool. We feel like there’s a bunch of different bands out there. We like that,” said James.
The real surprise came where they had some fans who were familiar with their material on some of the earlier stops across California, where the Vans Warped Tour began. Plus the irony of it all is the band had never played anywhere on the West Coast prior to this moment.
“The past two shows there were actually kids actually knew the words. I was completely shocked. This is so new to us. Even kids knowing our band name is or knowing the words is incredible,” said James.
“It’s crazy. We’re literally on the other side of the nation from where we come from and where we’ve always been playing in New York City. To be in California and see even one or two people that are aware of the band’s existence, it’s awesome,” added Mango.
Within a relatively short period of time, The Karma Killers grabbed attention within their own area through their songwriting and strong live shows.
“We started in 2012 in New Jersey. I was starting off writing a bunch of songs as a solo artist and this guy I was recording with, I was looking for a band and he knew our guitar player and was introduced to Billy [Stevens]. Billy knew Mango [bassist], and a couple days after that we were writing songs and it instantly clicked. We found the name of the band from there. We wrote a bunch of songs. We played in New York City for years. Just breaking our backs trying to be a do it yourself rock n roll band. We took some steps and now we’re here.”
“I’ve been in bands since I was ten, kind of like hardcore bands in New Jersey. Then I started writing songs when I was 18. My old band fell apart and I was looking for something else and something new, and this fell in my lap. It was a blessing,” said James.
But Mango shared the moment where the band knew they had something special and made the band click. After sifting through songs James had written on his own, they knew that they were into something that could make the Karma Killers special.
“Actually he had on his own did a demo track, I guess you could call it. When Billy and myself heard it that is what started the band. We got wind of that song and that track, and we loved it so much, we thought it was great. From there we got together and we kind of molded it together as a solo artist, but it eventually took on its own life. It really became the Karma Killers after some time.”
Lastly, being on their first tour, the Karma Killers have faced a learning curve towards necessities of life on the road. “Three days without showering was definitely interesting. We ran out of water on our van wagon,” said Mango, boldly sharing his Warped Tour moment.
“At the first day in Pomona, I had to shower at the amphitheater and I forgot my towel. So our tour manager Christian, who is the man, gave me paper – pieces of paper you’re supposed to put down on a toilet bowl. I dried myself with that! It’s probably the worst shower I’ve ever had. At least I took a shower. For me that’s my most interesting moment.”
“Now we know we’re going to keep that tank filled with water, so we can shower every day.”
Within the lineup of each year’s Vans Warped Tour, there is often a hidden gem amongst the crowd of names who perform amongst their multiple stages. On the Full Sail University Acoustic Basement tent each day, Canadian artist Braden Barrie’s one man act SayWeCanFly is getting heard each day in front of curious fans. He is enjoying his time playing for new fans and has had this moment as a goal of his since his teenage years.
“Literally Warped Tour’s been my dream for a long time. Since I’ve been doing this more and more, I try to think past that and set higher goals, but it’s cool that I’m finally meeting a goal I’ve had forever. I’m so excited just to be there and be in that world,” he says, thinking about the opportunity on the tour.
Much of this year has been a growing process for Barrie, as he spent time touring with Metro Station across North America, promoting his album Between The Roses, as well as reaching fans on his various social media pages through a variety of YouTube videos and fans discovering his recordings on Bandcamp. This was all done by himself and without the assistance of a record label or distribution companies.
He talked about some of his favorite artists who helped shape his sound. “My first album I ever bought was by Relient K, which is kind of a Christian band. I grew up listening to a lot of Christian music, kind of like rock stuff. I think the first album that caused me to start writing was Awake by Second Hand Serenade, which was the first acoustic artist I got into.”
“After I found him I started listening to a lot of indie acoustic artists that literally play with their acoustic and sing. So that was just seeing that other people had done it and was possible to have a good song with just your voice and a guitar.”
“For some reason acoustic guitar has been my favorite sound. I feel so free when I play it. Just seeing other people do it inspired me to start writing it and realized it was possible.”
Actually this is his second time on the Warped Tour, following his brief stint appearing on one date in Toronto, ON on a prior year. “I’ve had a small, small taste. The first year I did the Acoustic Basement Tent and the second year I did the Ernie Ball Stage, which was a little bigger. It will be cool doing the tent the whole entire summer.”
So what was it that attracted him towards doing the Warped Tour? ”It was amazing because a lot of my fans end up going. A lot of times they can’t go to my shows on school nights but I know they always go to Warped Tour. I get to meet most of them.”
“I got to see most of the excitement. When the doors open, it’s a stampede of kids. It’s crazy how much passion is in the air. It’s really, really cool.”
Unlike many of his fellow tour mates, Barrie originates from a small town in the Ontario province in Canada. He talked about where he is from and how that affected his work ethics towards getting his music heard.
“I grew up in a place called Lindsay, Ontario. I didn’t realize how out in the middle of nowhere it was until I drove there from Pennsylvania. It was a 13 hour car drive and seeing how much distance it actually takes to get there. I think there’s like 25,000 people there. It’s actually really a nice little town. They have everything that you need. It always looks really nice. At first it was really hard to think past it and realize there’s more to the world. That was what drove me. I just wanted to get out of here. Everyone around me has this small town mindset and they’re going to stay there their whole lives. That didn’t feel ok to me.”
“I’m thankful to have grown up in such a small place. Everything I’ve experienced outside of that is amazing.”
Unlike many acoustic acts that perform on the live circuit, Barrie has mostly performed solo and without a backing band. He has devised a strategy on how to craft his music without the assistance of a backing band and has won over fans on each stop of a tour.
“I’ve jammed with my friends for fun, but Saywecanfly has always been me. When I record albums, I’ll have people come in and play. I had a guy come in and play cello and electric guitars. The live shows have always been me.”
The idea of a backing band has crossed his mind at times, as this scenario has been presented before. But he has reiterated that it may be a possibility at a later time, once he feels ready to do so.
“I’ve thought about the whole band thing but I want to get as good as I can on my own before I do that and before I take that step. I have a long way to go with that still. I feel like I want to get as amazing at playing solo so I feel super comfortable. It’s a process. I used to be super shy. I had a hard time playing for ten people. Every show I learn to be a little more comfortable, so I want to get way better at that.”
While his sound leans upon the singer-songwriter side, being around the Warped Tour has attracted him to some heavier sounds as well. But finding him in the mosh pit may not happen right away. “I love hardcore music. Underoath is my favorite band. No I wasn’t scared of mosh pits. I tried it once and got injured so bad. So I always stuck to the acoustic side. “
“When I started playing guitar, I started on electric guitar and I learned a lot of blues. I was listening to Stevie Ray Vaughn, BB King and stuff like that. So that was before I started singing. So I had those roots too.”
Lastly, he shared some of the artists on the Warped Tour he is excited to see while on the tour. “Definitely Pierce The Veil. I love Pierce The Veil. I love them because they incorporate so many different instruments in their songs. Their songs are so complex. This band called This Wild Life – these two dudes who play acoustic music. I’ve been listening to them a lot lately. A band called Pvris. They just put out an album. They’re kind of like Paramore and Lights. The girl who sings for them is super talented. Never Shout Never is one of my influences way back in the day. It will be cool to hang with him too. I’m excited to hang with everyone. I don’t listen to a whole lot of music, which is weird, so I don’t know a whole lot of the bands playing. But it will be cool to discover a lot of the bands playing and make friends.”
Memphis May Fire have released the audio stream of their new track, an acoustic version of their song ‘Beneath The Skin’ from the deluxe edition of their latest album Unconditional (Rise Records), due out this Friday. You can hear the track at this link or below:
‘Beneath The Skin’ is one of four bonus tracks on Unconditional The Deluxe Edition with new songs ‘My Generation’, ‘Stay The Course’ and another acoustic re-imaging; ‘Need To Be’.
Guitarist Kellen McGregor commented on the track:
“It’s always enjoyable to reimagine songs acoustically as we’re primarily a band that writes heavy music with a lot of riffing. ‘Need To Be’ made sense to choose considering it’s already a softer track from “Unconditional” & lends itself nicely to an acoustic interpretation. Reworking ‘Beneath The Skin’ was a fun challenge due to its heavier nature, but the process was very rewarding & it turned out more amazing than we could have possibly imagined.”
Memphis May Fire can be seen all summer on the Vans Warped Tour. Following a tour of Australia, Japan, Europe and the UK this fall, they will also play Warped Tour UK on October 18 in London, alongside Black Veil Brides, Asking Alexandria, August Burns Red and more.
Russian anarchist punk band Svetlanas are in the midst of an extensive world tour , including a run on this summer’sVans Warped Tour. Now the band is giving away two tickets to select shows of their remaining dates on the tour. You can enter the contest at the sign up form from their website:
Fresh off their tour of Europe opening for Punk rock legends The Dwarves, the band is on the road in the US supporting their recently released Revenge (Altercation Records) produced by Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves and Andy Carpenter, with Blag appears on the track.
