Interview from Indianapolis Music
A conversation with Kill Hannah
Interview by Saint Mykal
10.09.03. The Patio.
Kill Hannah w/ Loretta & 7DFC
There's no doubt that Loretta embodies the raw energy and emotion of alt-rock like no other band in Indianapolis. Paired with Seven Degrees From Center, whose epic bombast paints every song something personal and the bill is guaranteed to fulfill any guitar rock enthusiasts taste for style and substance. But add in Chicago's Kill Hannah, with their wall of guitar post-wave rock and the night is sure to be charged. Mat Devine, singer/songwriter of Kill Hannah, took a moment to reflect on the bands sound.
IMN: Kill Hannah's sound seems to draw from the 80s new wave/post punk influences while combining some of today's more liberal rock phrasing and infusion of technology. Was this direction a conscious effort?
KH: Every single thing we do is a conscious effort. One benefit to being unsigned in Chicago for seven years is that you have the opportunity to define your own identity. I think the result for Kill Hannah is a combination of all the musical elements that really mattered to me... there's just something about those songs that shaped me early on; songs by the Cure, the Smiths, U2, Psychedelic Furs, etc, that just had so much more power than a lot of the bands I hear on the radio today.
I think we accomplished something similar on this record. It would be great to know that we can mean as much to kids today as those bands mattered to me when I was growing up. it was important to us though, not to ever sound 'retro' in any way.
IMN: As far as stage presence goes, is it hard for the group to step past anyone who might cry "glam rock"?
KH: That's kind of absurd. I cringe when I hear that term, not because of the innovators like Bowie and T-Rex, who I love, but today's 'glam rock' usually implies tacky motherf*ckers in pink coats who really have no sense of taste. Besides that, though, if anyone makes the mistake of referring to Kill Hannah as 'glam' just because we wear eyeliner, then they haven't heard the record.
IMN: I've noticed a small theme in a few of Kill Hannah's songs - anthems to the outcasts if you will. Is it a fair assumption that the band champions the underdog - perhaps even having been the underdog themselves?
KH: Absolutely. I've always had this strange instinct of wanting to protect all the little misfits out there. They're the ones who grow up and change things.
Kill Hannah will be at The Patio on October 9th with Loretta and Seven Degrees From Center. The doors open at 9pm and the cover is $5
-- Saint Mykal
