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Hrvoje Bubić: Intervju s Klondike Kate
Hrvoje Bubić
Klondike Kate je dvočlani punk sastav iz Tacome,SAD-a, kojeg čini Kate Roxwell (bubnjevi,vokal) i Brenda Davidson (gitara,bas,vokal). Njihov zvuk se naslanja na tkz. Riot Grrrl pokret s početka 90’ih, a za Solin Live govore o svom djelovanju kao i o svojoj diskografskoj kući PIG Records.
For the start, tell us about your beginnings, influences, your former bands Kerosene Basket, Lucid and previous projects.
BRENDA: I have played music all through out school. Flute, sax choire.then in high school guitar . I started listening to black metal first off venom. slayer ECT.then shortly moved on to punk rock like d.r.i, black flag, MDC GBH ECT. AFTER HIGH SCHOOL. I started playing bass in my spare time to music cds.i found the pixies band inspired me and I loved the simple straight forward down picking sound .so I developed my style.I also was inspired by the band the lemons from Tacoma as. in 1994 John purkey from tacoma wa asked me to play in a band called lucid.we were stoner rock with a heavy in your face edge. The band Ended due to alcoholic drummer unfortunately. About a month goes by and I get a knock on the door and its(serial killer) Ted Bundys brother Rich Bundy. Him and his friend Rod For Him asked me to join a band which I named later kerosene basket. We sounded like zappa esc meets. And attitude. Rich was the zappa I was the attitude w out saying anything.just my sound and presents.I became pregnate and played 8 months pregnant on stage.more than any man in music could do! Haha.after a couple years we had split due to relocating myself to the woods to raise my children for the next 13 yrs.playing only in my spare time but wrighting music this time. After kids grew up a little I decided I wanted to play music again and 7 years ago joined Klondike Kate.at first I was bass player only.I had a week to learn the set and go on tour w KK. about a month into it our guitar player quit. I went home and for a week straight I tought myself to sing and play bass so when I came back to practice I surprised Kate and could sing and play the bass.so we went through 13 guitar players for different reasons. Finally we decided to just be a 2 peice female punk band. I bought a splitter an switch and play through a guitar amp on one side and destotion and bass on other side. Leaving us with a full sound on stage and an awesome heavy distortion with an old school punk sound. You can find this sound on our new CD titled 13.5. We recently went digital w CD baby. You can find us on 140 different web carriers like Amazon.we do have you tube videos under Klondike Kate band..
You collaborate with PIG Records, well know record label. Can you tell us more about that, what is your function in PIG Records?
KATE: Klondike Kate shares a friendship with Dave Portnow of PIG Records. About ten years ago, the band was pitched to him, but it wasn’t until he saw Klondike Kate play live at one of his ‘Pigfests’ that he fell in love with the band’s energy, performance and music. We are true to the lifestyle and sound of punk rock. We are the real deal. We played shows booked by him, he has us reprsented on his label, and we are friends.
BRENDA: Pig records liked us for being unique. And woman of course! They are our also one of our distributors. David portnow good friend of ours makes a vynal record every year and invited us 2 years ago to be on shut the fuck up and listen volume 8. David also holds Pig fest every year which is family friendly all day music fest. He wanted to start a kid a jam and elected Kate and myself.so every year we have kk kids jam. We teach the kids with in 30 min how to play and sing punk rock.I teach the lyrics and write the song.Kate teaches the basic drum beat and usually another band member will teach basic guitar notes and picking to the kids. After about half hour these kids get up on stage and show what they have learned. Our goal is to have a consultant punk sound for at least a minute or two. We sign the lyrics page give it to the kush and off they go w the experience of being on stage in punk band. Usually the kids are under 12.
Right now, you got band Klondike Kate, that includes you as bass player/vocals and Kate Roxwell as drummer. Tell us about Klondike Kate, influences,styles .
KATE: Klondike Kate started ten year’s ago when I drummed with a fellow named Jeff, who played guitar. We wanted to play punk, and after spending a summer in my backyard, DIY, sound proofed shed, we emerged to play in a well known punk venue, Hell’s Kitchen, in Tacoma, on a Wednesday night.
Klondike Kate has progressed since then, taking on new members, and learning from them. We have played with well known bands and in large and small pubs and venues. Now, I am the only original member. My influences were are old school punk bands such as Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys, MDC, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Black Flag, Youth Brigade and TSOL. I grew up in the ’80s and back then, records were bought from independent record stores. Now, its nearly impossible to find indie music stores in the USA, so that nostalgic feeling of flipping through the newest record imports is over, but the internet makes old school bands, and our music instantly available.
I started drumming on old drumkits in punk rock ‘houses’ in Tacoma, WA, when I was a teenager. Since then, I picked up different beats from the musicians I have jammed with throughout Washington State, USA. The area that we live in right now, includes Seattle and Tacoma, and it is packed with amazing artists. Its from our area, that the city of Seattle rose to become known as the mecca of punk and grunge sound in the ’90s. So,through the years, I have had the pleasure to jam, or play, with some really great musicians during late night sessions, and behind the scenes at shows and festivals. Our music is influenced by the music of old-school punk bands, Riot Grrrl music, and bands and musicians from the west coast, USA, punk scene.
Brenda came to Klondike Kate about 6 years ago, replacing another bass player who was in the army. We instantly became best friends. The guitarist in the band, at that time, quit shortly after she joined. So we auditioned other guitarists. Many of these guitarists played shows and recorded music with us, but Brenda and I stayed together.
At the end of it all, Brenda and I are the core of the band. We’ve stuck together since the day we met. Many people who come to our shows talk about our connection and energy. I adore Brenda and we have both navigated the waters of becoming a well know band together. That includes surviving a lot of good, and bad, stuff at shows, from industry people and other musicians. Our connection is solid, and it shows on stage.
Playing as a two-piece punk band made our music tight. We learned to fill space in songs with vocals and playing style. We stick to mostly old-school punk tempos, with some hardcore and punk rock sounds. Our lyrics are funny, and some are dramatic, with songs like Snot Rocket – about blowing your snot out one side of your nose, and Wonder Woman, which has become a song about women kicking ass.
Brenda and I finally recorded a full albumjust as a two-piece band, and put it out last year. We both play and sing. The album is called, Klondike Kate 13.5, and is available digitally, on bandcamp, ReverbNation, CDBaby, and other digital download sites. We also have videos on YouTube. CDs can be bought at shows and are available from Kunaki.com. They will ship one directly to you.
BRENDA: Speaking for my self this band kk is inspired by 1 st wave death metal and 2nd wave punk rock.early 80 s genre music. How ever we do have other lables we catergorize with being woman. Like riot grrlz;.L7,7 year bitch, kitty, ECT. The riot grrl era was popular mostly 90 s into 2000 but popularity died out in the USA shortly after that. So we could be looked at as the second wave of riot grrlz as well.but we are a 2 peice band so we are a bit unique.
Plus we trade off singing songs. Brendas voice is loud kinda scary growly and screams. and Kate’s voice is high pitched motherly tone w a loud yells.
We are the same age
She is an 8th grade teacher. I am a care provider for Dshs.we both have carreers single mothers
All of our songs have a dark humor to them even though we sound serious.
For the end, what are your future plans, new Klondike Kate album, possible arrival in Split,Croatia?
KATE: Klondike Kate band will continue to perform, write songs and record well into the future. The band plays as a two-piece and sometimes with a guitarist. We play a few times a month throughout the west coast of the United States, and we hope to play other parts of the USA ,and internationally. Next year, we would like to play a tour in Croatia, and in other countries in Europe and Asia.
Za početak, recite nam o svojim počecima, utjecajima, vašim bivšim bendovima Kerosene Basket, Lucid i prethodnim projektima.
BRENDA: Bavila sam se glazbom tijekom svog školovanja. Flauta, zbor saksonista, tada u srednjoj školi gitara. Počela sam slušati black metal, kao prvo Venom, Slayer itd. Zatim sam ubrzo prešla na punk rock kao D.R.I, Black Flag, MDC GBH itd. Poslije srednje škole, počela sam svirati bas gitaru u slobodno vrijeme. Među cdeovima sam pronašla Pixies, bend koji me inspirira i volim jednostavan, izravan, nabrijan zvuk, tako da sam razvila svoj stil. Također sam bila inspirirana bendom Lemons iz Tacome, kada me 94′ John Purkey (član Lemonsa, op.prev.) me pozvao svirati u bendu pod imenom Lucid. Bili smo stoner rock(rock inspiriranim zvukom 70’ih,op.prev.) s žestokim pristupom „u tvoje lice“ pristupom. Na žalost, bend je prestao s radom zbog bubnjarevog problema s alkoholom. Nakon nekih mjesec dana i na vrata mi je pokucao Rich Bundy, brat Teda Bundya (zloglasni serijski ubojica, op.prev.). On i njegov prijatelj su me zamolili da se pridružim bendu kojeg sam prozvala kasnije Kerosene Basket. Zvučali smo kao Zappa (Frank Zappa, poznati američki glazbenik,op.prev.) kao i sami stav. Rich je bio Zappa, a ja sam bila kao stav bez da išta kažem. Samo moj zvuk i prisustvo. Zatrudnijela sam i svirala sam 8 mjeseci trudna na pozornici više što bi netko u glazbi uradio. Haha. Nakon par godina smo se razišli zbog moje selidbe u šumu kako bih podigla dijete sljedećih 13 godina, svirajući jedino u slobodno vrijeme ali i u to vrijeme raditi glazbu. Nakon što su djeca malo porasla, odlučila sam ponovno svirati i nakon 7 godina pridružila sam se Klondike Kate. U početku sam bila basistica, imala sam tjedan dana da naučim set i krenem na turneju s KK. Otprilike nakon mjesec dana, naš gitarist je odustao, otišla sam doma i za ravnih tjedan dana sam naučila samu sebe svirati bas i pjevati tako kada sam se vratila na probe, iznenadila sam Kate kako mogu pjevati i svirati bas tako dobro. Promijenile smo skoro 13 gitarista zbog različitih razloga, na kraju smo odlučile biti dvočlani ženski punk bend. Kupila sam podijeljeni prekidač i svirala sam preko pojačala za gitare na jednoj strani, a na drugoj distorziju i bas. Okružene punim zvukom na pozornici i sa sjajnom teškom distorzijom s zvukom stare škole panka. Možete čuti na našem novom CD nazvanom 13.5. Nedavno smo objavile CD. Možete nas pronaći na 140 različitih web stranica kao Amazon. Imamo Youtube snimke pod imenom Klondike Kate bend.
Surađujete s PIG Records, poznatom diskografskom kućom. Možete li nam reći nešto više o tome, koja je vaša funkcija u PIG Records?
KATE: Klondike Kate dijeli prijateljstvo s Davidom Portnow iz PIG Recordsa. Prije desetak godina bend mu je bio predstavljen, ali tek nakon što je vidio Klondike Kate uživo na njegovim ‘Pigfests’ koncertima pri čemu se zaljubio u energiju benda, nastup i zvuk.
Držimo se životnog stila i zvuka punk rocka. Mi smo prava stvar. Svirali smo neke koncerte koje je on rezervirao, on nas je objavio na svojoj diskografskoj kući, ujedno smo i prijatelji.
BRENDA: Pig records nas voli zbog toga što smo posebni. I što smo žene. Oni su i jedni od naših distributera. David Portnow, naš dobar prijatelj, radi vinilni album svake godine i pozvao nas je prije 2 godine da se pojavimo na Shut the fuck up and listen volume 8 (singl kompilacija diskografske kuće PIG Records, op.prev.). David također održava PIG Festival svake godine, koji je obiteljski cjelodnevni glazbeni festival. Htio je da dijeca sviraju i izabrao je Kate i mene. Tako da svake godine imamo KK svirku za dijecu. Učimo dijecu u 30 min kako svirati i pjevati punk rock. Ja ih učim text i pisati pjesmu. Kate ih podučava osnovni ritam bubnja, a obično drugi član benda djeci podučava osnovne gitarske note i sviranje prstima. Nakon otprilike pola sata, ova djeca se penju na pozornicu i pokazuju što su naučila. Naš cilj je imati konsultantski punk rock zvuk otprilike minutu ili dvije. Potpisujemo stranicu s tekstovima, odlazeći na zabavu i odlaze s iskustvom da su bili na pozornici u punk bendu. Obično su djeca mlađa od 12 godina,
Trenutno imate bend Klondike Kate, koji uključuje Vas kao basisticu/vokal i Kate Roxwell kao bubnjaricu. Recite nam više o Klondike Kate, utjecajima, stilovima.
KATE: Klondike Kate je počeo prije deset godina kada sam svirala bubnjeve s momkom pod imenom Jeff, koji je svirao gitaru. Htio je svirati punk, i nakon provedenog ljeta u mom dvorištu, DIY ( Do It Yourself, učini sam, op.prev.) zvučno izoliranoj šupi, došli smo svirati u poznatim punk mjestima, Hell’s Kitchen, u Tacomi, srijedom navečer.
Klondike je od tada napredovala, uzimajući nove članove, i učeći od njih. Svirali smo s veoma poznatim bendovima te velikim i malim pubovima i mjestima. Sad, ja sam jedini izvorni član benda. Moji utjecaji su pank bendovi stare škole kao što su Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys, MDC, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Black Flag, Youth Brigade i TSOL. Odrasla sam u 80’ima i tada su se ploče kupovale u neovisnim prodavaonicama. Sada, gotovo je nemoguće pronaći indie (indie-skraćenica od independet, neovisan, op.prev.) u dućanima u SAD-u, tako da je nostalgičan osječaj pregledavanja uvoza najnovih ploča gotov, ali internet čini bendovi stare škole i naša glazba je odmah dostupna.
Počela sam svirati bubnjeve na starim bubnjevima u punk rock ‘mjestima’ u Tacomi, WA, kada sam bila tinejđer. Od tada sam pokupila različite ritmove od glazbenika s kojima sam svirala kroz državu Washington, SAD. To je područje gdje mi živimo sada, ukljućujući Seattle i Tacoma, i prepuno je nevjerojatnih umjetnika. Iz našeg je područja, grad Seattle postao je poznat kao meka punk i grungea zvuka u 90’ima. Tako da sam tijekom godina imala zadovoljstvo đemati (improvizirano sviranje, op.prev.) i svirati s nekim zaista sjajnim glazbenikom tijekom kasnih noćnih sesija, i iza kulisa na izložbama i festivalima.
Na našu glazbu je utjecala glazba stare škole punk bendova, Riot Grrrl(underground feministički punk pokret, op.prev.) glazba te bendova i glazbenika sa zapadne obale SAD-a punk scene.
Brenda je došla u Klondike Kate prije 6 godina, zamjenivši basistu koji bio u vojsci. Odmah smo postali najbolje prijateljice. Gitarist iz benda je ubrzo odustao nakon što se ona pridružila. Pa smo radili audicije za ostale gitariste. Mnogi ti gitaristi svirali su s nama i snimali glazbu, ali ja i Brenda smo ostale zajedno.
Na kraju krajeva, ja i Brenda smo jezgra benda. Ostale smo zajedno od dana kada smo se upoznale. Dosta ljudi koji dođu na naše nastupe govore o našoj povezanosti i energiji. Obožavam Brendu i oboje smo plovile vodama da bismo zajedno postali dobar bend. To uključuje preživljavanje puno dobrih i loših stvari na nastupima, od ljudi iz glazbene industrije i drugih glazbenika. Naša veza je čvrsta, što se vidi na pozornici. Svirajući kao dvočlani punk sastav, učinilo je našu glazbu povezanijom.
Naučile smo popuniti prostor u pjesmama vokalom i stilom sviranja. Držimo se stare škole hardcore punk (podžanr punk rocka nastao u SAD-u kasnih 70′, op.prev.) tempa, uz neke hardcore i punk rock zvukove. Naši tekstovi su smiješni, neke su dramatične, kao što su Snot Rocket – o izbacivanju bale s jedne strane nosa, i Wonder Woman, koja je postala pjesma o ženi koja rastura.
Brenda i ja smo napokon snimile cijeli album kao dvočlani bend i objavile smo ga prošle godine. Oboje sviramo i pjevamo. Album se zove Klondike Kate 13.5, dostupan je digitano, na bandcamp, ReverbNation, CDBaby i drugim stranicama. Također imamo i video snimke na YouTubeu. Cdovi se mogu kupiti na našim nastupima i dostupni su preko Kunaki.com. Poslati će vam direktno.
BRENDA: Govoreći za sebe, ovaj bend KK je inspiriran prvim valom death metala i drugim valom punk rocka, žanrom ranih 80’ih. Kako god, mi imamo druge izraze za koje bi karakterizrali biti ženom, kao što je Riot Grrlz;.L7,7 Year Bitch, Kitty, itd. Era Riot Grrl je bila popularna uglavnom 90’ih u 2000’te, ali popularnost je u SAD-u nakon toga ubrzo nestala. Tako da bi nas mogli smatrati 2 valom Riot Grrrlsa, no mi smo dvočlani bend pa smo malo jedinstvene. Plus, mjenjamo se s pjevanjem pjesama. Brendin glas je glasno zastrašujuće dubok i vrišteći, a Katin je visoki majčinski ton s jakom jekom.
Oboje smo iste dobi.
Ona je učiteljica u 8.razredu, a ja sam skrbnica u Odjelu državnih zdrastvenih službi. Oboje smo samohrane majke i imamo karijere.
Sve naše pjesme imaju mračni humor za njih iako zvučimo ozbiljno.
Za kraj, koji su Vam budući planovi, novi album Klondike Kate, mogući dolazak u Split, Hrvatsku?
KATE: Klondike Kate bend će nastaviti izvoditi, pisati pjesme, i snimati ih u budućnosti. Bend svira kao dvočlani i ponekad s gitaristom. Sviramo nekoliko puta mjesečno po cijeloj zapadnoj obali SAD-a i nadamo se da ćemo svirati u ostalim dijelovima SAD-a, i u inostranstvu. Sljedeće godine, željeli bi smo imati turneju u Hrvatskoj, u i drugim dijelovima Europe i Azije.
