Kineto
Kineto is one of the weirdest
and most complex bands I've ever come across and the thing is that they
do nothing on purpose or because they want to show off. Everything comes
out naturally to them and the uniqueness of their music can't be ignored
or neglected! A very original band with a very original sound! So, read
below what Dan Menapace, the band's bassist told us...
1. HELLO! HOW ARE YOU? “TRANSFORM” IS A VERY
COMPLICATED ALBUM I THINK. SO, CAN YOU GIVE US SOME INFO ABOUT IT? WHEN
DID YOU START TO RECORD IT, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO FINISH IT AND WHO
WAS THE PRODUCER?
Doing great thanks. The CD took very long
to finish almost a year I think. We used a lot of effects so most of the
time was spent on post production and mixing. I think I must have done
35 mixes before I got one that was close to acceptable. The CD was produced
by the whole band, and I handled the recording, mixing and mastering aspects.
2. WHEN DID KINETO START TO EXIST AS A BAND? WHICH
ARE YOUR MOST IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR? CAN YOU PRESENT US THE LINE-UP
AND ALSO TELL US IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE WITH OTHER BANDS?
The current lineup has been together for about
a year and a half. Forest, Noa and myself have been playing together 3
years before that under the name B-Phase. I would say completing our debut
CD and supporting Spock’s Beard when they played here in San Francisco
have been our most important achievements.
3. YOU CHARACTERIZE YOUR MUSIC AS HARD ROCK, HOWEVER
I BELIEVE THAT YOUR MUSIC IS CLOSER TO PROGRESSIVE METAL SINCE YOU EXPERIMENT
A LOT WITH YOUR MUSIC. HOW DO YOU COMMENT ON THAT? ARE THESE EXPERIMENTATIONS
A NATURAL PROCESS TO YOU OR SOMETHING THAT YOU WORK A LOT ON IT, IN ORDER
TO ACHIEVE THEM?
Since our sound is so diverse, I wouldn’t
consider ourselves completely progressive, but we do have some progressive
influences which affect our sound. The experimentations are definitely
a natural process. I’m constantly trying new techniques that push my limits
as a bass player. If I’m having too much trouble working out a song, I
put it in the vault and come back later with some different approaches.
4. I HAVE NOTICED THAT IN YOUR SOUND, EXCEPT FOR
THE CLASSIC HARD ROCK/HEAVY METAL INFLUENCES YOU HAVE TOUCHES FROM OTHER
GENRES LIKE BLUES, JAZZ… DO YOU AGREE? WHICH BANDS AND ARTISTS DO YOU CONSIDER
AS BIG INFLUENCES TO YOU?
I would say there are a few parts in our music
that are jazz and funk influenced but not much blues that I can hear. Some
of my biggest influences are Rush, Primus, Tool, Pink Floyd, Michael Manring
and a band from NY called Skeleton Key.
5. OK, SINCE WE TALK ABOUT INFLUENCES, I WOULD
LIKE YOU TO NAME 5 OF YOUR ALL TIME FAVORITE HARD – ROCK/ HEAVY METAL ALBUMS…
Rush-2112, Primus-Pork Soda, Tool-Aenima,
Faith No More-Album Of The Year, and Soundgarden-Badmotorfinger.
6. THE LYRICS, FROM WHAT I COULD UNDERSTAND SOUNDED
TO ME QUITE STRANGE AND I HAVE THE FEELING THAT “TRANSFORM” IS A CONCEPT
ALBUM. CAN YOU TELL US WHO WRITES THE LYRICS AND ANALYZE THE THEME OF EACH
SONG THAT YOU HAVE INCLUDED ON THIS ALBUM?
I would say the most of the songs deal with
the subject of change as a recurring theme, but we didn’t consciously set
out to write a concept album. Forest and I have been sharing the lyrical
duties and that seems to work well for us. We both have a weird fascination
for scientific phenomena for some strange reason.
7. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO RELEASE A SELF-FINANCED
FULL LENGTH ALBUM AND NOT A DEMO-CD AS MOST OF THE BANDS DO? DO YOU THINK
THAT THIS WAY, YOU MIGHT ATTRACT THE ATTENTION OF MORE LABELS?
Well we made a demo CD before Rick joined
the band, but the songs weren’t recorded very well and we wanted to rerecord
those and 7 other new songs that we had written and make one full length
CD that would show the diversity in our music.
8. YOUR SOUND IS NOT THE EASIEST ONE TO LISTEN.
IT NEEDS A LOT OF ATTENTION. DO YOU THINK THAT THIS COMPLICATED SOUND OF
YOURS MIGHT BE AN OBSTACLE FOR THE LABELS TO SIGN YOU? HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT
OF DOING THE THINGS SIMPLER IN ORDER TO FIND A CONTRACT OR EARN MORE FANS?
Songs that are a little more complex always
seem to hold their own longer for me. It’s really what the song calls for.
If I write an overly simple riff I try to use some odd timings to change
it up and make it more interesting. Being unpredictable is part of our
sound plus we like faking out our audience when they think a stop is coming.
We know our music is a little too left field for most major labels, and
I don’t mind that. I’d rather get on a smaller label and keep control of
the creative side of our music. Making simpler music would just be selling
ourselves short.
9. I WOULD LIKE YOU TO THINK AND TELL ME SOME
OF YOUR FAVORITE LYRICS THAT YOU READ FROM OTHER BANDS AND INSPIRED YOU
IN A WAY TO COMPOSE YOUR OWN MUSIC.
Pretty much all of Neil Peart’s lyrics have
inspired me over the years and still do. Other great lyricists that influenced
me are Jon Anderson, Roger Waters, Kevin Gilbert, Don Henley, and Peter
Gabriel.
10. WILL YOU DO ANY LIVE SHOWS IN ORDER TO PROMOTE
“TRANSFORM”? WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER FROM THE FIRST TIME YOU PLAYED ON STAGE?
DO YOU HAVE ANY METHOD TO LESSEN THE STRESS THAT YOU FEEL BEFORE PERFORMING
LIVE?
Well we just finished doing a long stretch
of shows to promote Transform. We finally made it down to Los Angeles this
year which is always fun and we got to play some shows with our friends
from Paper Pills. The first show is always stressful but after we get through
the first song it isn’t as bad. I try not to think about a show too much
beforehand, that usually just makes it worse.
11. ANOTHER STRANGE QUESTION: HAVE YOU EVER DREAMED
A MELODY THAT YOU TRANSFORMED IT INTO A SONG OR COULDN’T YOU REMEMBER IT
AFTER YOU AWOKE?
For some reason, I come up with ideas during
complete silence. I tend to hear riffs and drum patterns more than melodies
but they rarely sound as good when recorded. Only Boston’s guitars sound
better than in my dreams.
12. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME! I LEAVE
THE LAST LINES OF THIS INTERVIEW TO YOU…
Thanks for all the interesting questions and
remember a gig is a gig unless of course there’s no one there, then it’s
rehearsal.
Dan Menapace
Nick “William_Kidd”
Parastatidis
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