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Kill Baxter | ||
Brady Baxter, Aaron Pond and Tom Lunde of Kill Baxter recently spent some time with us to talk about their gig with their band Kill Baxter. Check out this fun interview that the boys recently completed that lets us in on some new things happening with the band and previews to what is next for them.
Band Members: Brady Baxter, Tom Lunde, Aaron Giere, Sadie Baxter, and Aaron Pond.
Isaac: It is a pleasure to be speaking with you via the email my friend. I read in your bio that you are originally from the Moorhead, Minnesota area.
Brady: I was born in Minneapolis, and have lived in Minnesota my whole life. I graduated from Minnesota State University in Moorhead in 2007 with a Secondary Education degree and I reside there currently. I currently teach 7-12 grade Social Studies 50 miles north or Moorhead, in Climax, MN. No joke, I teach in Climax.
Aaron Pond: Hi, my name is Aaron Pond; Guitarist and Backing Vocalist for Kill Baxter. I am originally from Sisseton South Dakota born and raised.
Tom: Yup, I was raised in a small town called Ulen 45 minutes away from Moorhead. It’s one of those towns where you know basically everyone.
Isaac: Elaborate on how you entered into the music industry:
Brady: My grandmother gave me my first guitar when I was 14. From there, I started a cover band in high school. We dressed up as KISS for some shows and played a lot of classic rock tunes. I spent my college years (the 6 greatest years of my life) searching for someone that shared my passion for music, which never happened. I created Kill Baxter in late 2006 as a solo project and began marketing my music online, though I didn't have a band to facilitate a live show. It wasn't until the summer of 2007, when Aaron Giere, Tom, and I started playing open mic nights around Fargo that Kill Baxter materialized into what it is today.
Aaron Pond: I started out playing the drums when I was 13 and when I turned 18 I decided to start playing guitar, and bought a home recording studio in the process of the past 3 1/2 years.
Tom: I started writing music as soon as I picked up a guitar when I was 14 but nothing came about until I started recording some of my music using a free program that I downloaded off the Internet called Audacity to record guitars and then used techno ejay 2 to create drum tracks. Once I made a few recordings Brady Baxter (Lead Singer & Guitarist of Kill Baxter) received a copy from my brother and we set up a jam session. From that point, we started writing together and the rest of the pieces fell into place to release our first album.
Isaac: As the Main Stream industry is re-shaping, what do you feel you will introduce into this new market of Indie dominated Industry?
Brady: Kill Baxter is an forward-looking alternative rock band that prides itself in writing a diverse array of music. Every member of the band has a different musical background as well as different musical influences. This diversity has afforded us the opportunity to reach out to almost every type of audience. Also, at 6'8", Tom might be the tallest guitar player on the planet! He is our freakish gimmick.
Aaron Pond: We will bring something that is not repetitive but catchy.
Tom: A 6' 8" guitarist who can do the splits.
Isaac: What is your definition of music?
Brady: In a world engulfed in sorrow and suffering, music transcends political and social boundaries. It is inherently good because it unifies the human race in a positive way. It is also truly pure in how it has become a world form of communication. Music cannot be constricted by a definition because it is more than just rhythm and melody. It is a feeling, an expression, an opinion, a lifestyle and a statement. Music does not exist to be defined, it exists to define.
Aaron Pond: My definition of music cannot be defined but be felt. Music is a interpretation of feeling and cannot be explained in words but felt by the thoughts and messages that is received in the words and melodies.
Tom: A collection of sounds that has unlimited possibilities.
Isaac: If you had to describe why it is important for you to be an artist, how would you sum it up?
Brady: Writing poetry and music has always been a positive outlet for the trials and tribulations incurred by my life. The fact that I am able to take my private thoughts and opinions and turn them into something beautiful that I can share with the world is amazing. I feel truly blessed to be a part of something so passionate and emotional.
Aaron Pond: Reason why it is important for me to be an artist is the freedom and endless possibilities to what you can create.
Tom: I guess it’s important for me to be an artist because it’s fun and there is no better way, that I can think of, to express myself then by creating something that I can enjoy along with others.
Isaac: Describe the concept behind the name Kill Baxter:
Brady: When I began Kill Baxter my friend Matt Kill, from my first band, helped record the bass lines on a few songs. It didn't take rocket science to realize our last names made a kick ass name for a rock band, hence Kill Baxter
Aaron Pond: Brady's last name is Baxter and a former member before I joined his first name is Kill. When you put 2 and 2 together very catchy name.
Tom: Brady and his friend Matt used to jam together and they called themselves Kill Baxter because of their last names; Matt KILL and Brady BAXTER.
Isaac: What I am enjoying about your music is its level of intensity. How would you describe your music to new and old fans?
Brady: I describe Kill Baxter as "Hard Rock with a mohawk." By that I am saying we convey socially and politically conscious lyrics (a la Punk music) accompanied by massive, rhythmically sound guitar parts.
Aaron Pond: The Intensity is Awesome! And The New Music is for the old and new fans; it is going to only grow more.
Tom: I would describe our music as a combination of hard hitting drums and guitars, chord progressions that are pleasing to the ears, soaring melodies with carefully selected harmonies, and introspective poetry.
Isaac: One of my favorite tracks is "Gaping Holes"; elaborate on the creative process behind making your music?
Brady: My writing is done in private, for the most part. This isolation helps me concentrate on the particular subject or theme of my poetry. Kill Baxter's guitar and bass parts are usually written by Tom, Aaron Pond, or myself. Most often, we come up with a melody or guitar riff and I begin sifting through my stack of lyrics to try to find something that fits nicely. Songwriting is an ever evolving process for us, and we are continuously striving to create something better with each song we write as a band.
Aaron Pond: One of my Favorite songs to play would be "Heaven" a new track with endless amount of emotion and Ballad; from Piano to rocking melodic guitars. It truly is one of my favorites especially the drumming and lyrics.
Tom: Before I start writing I like to have an idea of where I’m gonna go with a song. Generally the creative process starts with one riff and takes off from there. I usually have ideas that I want to incorporate into a song. Sometimes they make; sometimes they don't. I just want to write and perform music that I enjoy to hear.
Isaac: How important is the creative process when it comes to making music and rhymes?
Brady: Music wouldn't exist without the self-absorbed creative process musicians take part in. An artist has the ability to shut out the imperfect world in order to make something that is perfect to him or her.
Aaron Pond: Very important when music comes to rhymes just like poetry.
Tom: Extremely important. Some days you can start writing a song and finish it within the hour and then there are times where you start a song and finish it a month later. You need to be in the right mindset to write certain types of things.
Isaac: If you could perform in one spot in the world, which spot and why?
Brady: A massive outdoor concert on an exotic island in the Bahamas... or Madison Square Garden. :-)
Aaron Pond: One place I dream of playing is sold out at Madison Square Garden reason why is simple; [New York City] is one of the largest cities in the world and it is hard to make it that big to play sold out there.
Tom: It's easy to say a huge arena like Madison Square Garden in NYC so I will.
Isaac: When you are on stage and feeling the energy of the audience, how do you continue the level of intensity of the crowd?
Brady: I enjoy performing more than any other aspect of being a musician. The people I meet at our shows are some of the coolest people on the planet, and they deserve everything I can give them while on stage. When I am performing, my body becomes a tool that acts and reacts with the audience. The only way to sustain the intensity of an audience is to give 110% as a performer until the final note is played.
Aaron Pond: The Crowd is the Energy! What we receive from them is always great but only going to get better. We have not yet touched the tip of the ice berg.
Tom: Give the energy right back by rocking the tunes and enjoying the ride.
Isaac: Expound on the meaning of getting your debut album "Kidnapped and Stolen" released:
Brady: It was the first installment of my life's work, as well as the proudest moment of my life to this point. I was much too busy concentrating on the performance the night of our release party, so I didn't realize the magnitude of what we had accomplished at the time. We recorded the whole album in Tom's basement on my Macintosh G4 using Garage Band and a cheap RODE condenser mic, so we saw the process through from beginning to end. This album was also my first opportunity to produce music. It was trial by fire, without a doubt! I'm sure I put in over 200 hours tweaking every aspect of each track. I would get a sore back after sitting at the computer for 10 hours in a row but I hardly noticed since I was so fascinated by the process of perfecting our music!
Aaron Pond: (no response given).
Tom: It's a great start to the pursuit of a dream. Hopefully people hear our music, like our music, and want to hear what’s to come from Kill Baxter.
Isaac: What are some previews from Kill Baxter in the year 2009?
Brady: More shows in more cities... bigger shows. Another album... our second album will be released this fall, but we already have material for a 3rd and we're not slowing down any time soon! More merchandise... more marketing. A record contract... I plan on busting my ass to make 2009 the year I quit my day job.
Aaron Pond: Previews of Kill Baxter 2009 is going to be a whole new realm of Listening Pleasure!
Tom: Hopefully finish our album before the end of 2008. Gig and promote the crap out of our music.
Isaac: Family and Friends play an integral role in shaping and molding us.
What role did your family and friends play with your own development towards being entertainers?
Brady: My grandmother gave me every bit of artistic ability I have, from singing and writing to playing guitar. My mom and dad have always supported me in my musical endeavors and I owe them my life for this. They pushed me to be a part of music in school, and bought me my first instruments. They suggested I join musicals in high school too, and I ended up getting the leading role as Danny Zuko in Grease my Senior year. They pushed me to be the best I could be and that ethic underlies my efforts as a musician to this day.
Aaron Pond: Family and Friends play a huge part in my life as a musician and as a person.
Tom: Growing up my family encouraged me to participate in as much as I could. This included sports, band, choir, musicals, theater, etc... These experiences make it easy for me to get up in front of people but my development as an entertainer is still going.
Isaac: Final Thoughts:
Brady: (no response given).
Aaron Pond: My Dad Played professionally for 10 years back in the 70's to mid 80's and I just decided to start playing he helped me with my first guitar!
Tom: Keep tabs on us. It'll be fun to watch us Grow as musicians, writers, and performers.
Kill Baxter's Official Website
http://www.killbaxter.com/
MySpace Account
http://www.myspace.com/killbaxter
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