{"id":1634,"date":"2011-06-19T19:24:41","date_gmt":"2011-06-20T02:24:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/?p=1634"},"modified":"2014-08-01T20:08:49","modified_gmt":"2014-08-02T03:08:49","slug":"pop-evil-interview-and-cincinnati-show-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/?p=1634","title":{"rendered":"Pop Evil Interview and Cincinnati Show Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Pop Evil is a Michigan rock band that is gaining steam across the country. As the band is set to release their 2nd<\/sup> studio album, War of Angels, <\/em>they are poised to build upon their top 15 album Lipstick on the Mirror<\/em> with top 10 single \u201c100 in a 55.\u201d Before the album has been released, it has already seen commercial success with its first single, \u201cLast Man Standing\u201d being featured prominently at televised UFC events and part of the television soundtrack for this year\u2019s NHL Stanley Cup Finals.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy caught up with lead singer and a founding member, Leigh Kakaty. The two previewed the band\u2019s show in Cincinnati at Yeatmans Cove on Tuesday. They will also be playing on Wednesday at McGuffy\u2019s House of Rock on Wednesday. They spoke about the grind between albums and the hard work and passion that has been put into the new album.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I just had some questions about the new music that I am hearing on Octane all day, which is great. So we\u2019ll start with the new album stuff. You got the new album coming out July 5th<\/sup> right, War of Angels?<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: Finally. We\u2019re just excited it\u2019s finally coming out. Obviously, being at Rock on the Range, you saw the big thing that I did.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Tearing up the music contract?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: Right, letting the fans know that we are at a new label. E-One Entertainment that is all about believing in Pop Evil and we are excited about that. Finally, it was going to come out June 28th<\/sup> but Best Buy was going to give us a good circular look. So they wanted it out July 5th<\/sup>. So we again made sure we did what they obviously want, the best exposure for the new album. Since we waited this long, we want the best chance for the album to succeed. So July 5th<\/sup> it is. I can\u2019t wait. The CD, some of them for our CD release show back in our hometown are at my house back at home.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: In Michigan?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: They are in Michigan. So they are out technically. They are at our band house that we have.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: I haven\u2019t seen it. I was actually in Michigan yesterday and I forgot. I forgot to have my friends that were coming from Grand Rapids bring them, we played in Flint which is about 2 and a half hours away. But I actually get to see it tomorrow in Baltimore for the first time. Hopefully things go well. But the point of that is that they are actually coming, they are out, they are finally here. I know the fans have been waiting but to be honest, the band members seem to have been waiting even longer. So we\u2019re just excited to have the music a chance to be heard the right way and the way that we wanted it. So we couldn\u2019t be more excited about July 5th<\/sup>. Can\u2019t get here any faster.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: So tell me about \u201cMonster You Made.\u201d What\u2019s the song about?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Leigh: \u201cMonster You Made\u201d is one of my personal favorites on the record. It means different things to different people, but you know it\u2019s just one of those concepts of realizing you are doing something wrong, hurting people around you that you love the most as we have done in this band and changing your ways and realizing the most important things are what\u2019s right in front of you. It\u2019s just one of those songs that has helped me personally and I know it\u2019s going to help a lot of people. And that\u2019s why we play music and that\u2019s why we write music. I just think \u201cMonster\u201d is along the same lines as \u201c100 in a 55\u201d and that it is very relatable. Some of my favorite songs growing up as a kid were some of those most relatable songs. So to be able to have one of those that will be relatable to people and fans and give a Pop Evil mark on this rock genre is very humbling.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Tell me how you\u2019ve evolved with this album. I have the old album, the Lipstick Album, that\u2019s what I call it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: Everybody does. It\u2019s very different. \u201c100 in a 55\u201d was written in 2005. So it was one of those songs that kept following and kept building and you could feel how big it was. Unfortunately, at the time it was written, Matt and Tony our bass player and guitar player, were not in the band. We were still kind of a part time band driving to Detroit every week trying to record and play gigs. We were demoing and recording with Al Sutton who had done Kid Rock. So we were driving there, saving up all the money we could, playing covers. And finally, when Lipstick on the Mirror<\/em> was released, they were kind of still demos. I mean we didn\u2019t have the money or the budget to get the big A-list producer to give the justice that we wanted the songs to have. So the success we had with Lipstick on the Mirror<\/em> with recording and me and the band, they were just demos to us. Yes, we fine tuned them and yes we did the best we could. But we didn\u2019t have the big major label budget that could get us the big pimpin\u2019 producer that could get us that ultimate sound quality that we wanted. So on this record, our focus the whole record was the music. It sounds easy, but it isn\u2019t. We wanted to make sure that we moved to Chicago for six months. No girlfriends, no friends, no parents. It was just all of us together, the five of us making the first record we always wanted to do together without any jobs, no part time jobs. This was a full time project. And you know Johnny K, who produced War of Angels. He totally brought us to the next level.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Was he with you the whole time?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: The whole time. He was with us the whole time. He was just incredible. He took us as his little brothers and was kind of like instead of being in the studio saying \u201cHey what did Disturbed use on this sound?\u201d No, No, this is the exact mic they used, this is the exact preamps they used, this is the exact guitar amps that they used. So it was nice to be in a position where the music could get the best chance to win and sonically sound, sonically have the best quality that we wanted, that we always wanted. So to me, we\u2019re calling it, and I know that I speak for the guys on this, this is really our first album as far as we are concerned. Not to take anything from Lipstick on the Mirror<\/em>, it did what it did to get us here. It really is a testament of you have a song that connects, it doesn\u2019t matter where you record or how you record. A song like \u201c100 in a 55\u201d and \u201cHero\u201d those songs are still big for us today. It\u2019s a testament to the band and our work ethic at the time that got us here. And we are certainly proud of Lipstick on the Mirror<\/em> but we are just so excited for this new album to kind of put us in a different kind of mind state of what we are capable of and we look forward to a future with Pop Evil and our music.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: So you guys have been together for almost ten years.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: November<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Like anniversary, exchange ring time. So where do you see yourself in ten more?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: Obviously, we\u2019d like to be doing it at the highest level we can. But hopefully happy. I\u2019d like to see hopefully in ten years that we laid a bit of \"\"<\/a>a legacy down with songs that people all over the globe know and can sing and can bring them closer to the Lord or bring them closer to their families and friends and hopefully bring them closer to our band. I preach not only religion and family and all that. Music is religion to us. Music is what brought us here and music is what kept us together up until this point. Hopefully it will continue to do so. If not, you just have to stay humble and trust the Lord that he\u2019ll continue you on the right path. With that said, I\u2019m not thinking about ten years. That\u2019s the one thing this business doesn\u2019t allow you to do. I don\u2019t know when I\u2019m going to be able to see my family again. You play, you play, you play. You can\u2019t make plans. There are no vacations. It\u2019s really hard to ask a musician where he\u2019ll be in ten years when he doesn\u2019t know where he\u2019ll be next week.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Except Cincinnati<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: Well Cincinnati yeah. I\u2019m certainly not thinking of ten years from now. We\u2019re just going to keep grinding. We\u2019re just going to keep making the best music we can. Making sure it\u2019s rock n roll in all cases and from my end being a lyricist, that I can write songs that connect and hopefully bring people closer to themselves and hopefully make them remember what is the most important and that\u2019s family and music.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: So how do you guys write most of your stuff, lyrically and musically? What\u2019s your process? Do you guys get together and do it? Do you do it separately?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: I think that\u2019s the most common asked question from writing. We write it all. We\u2019re not afraid to co-write. We have a song we did with Mick Mars on the record which part of being a musician is learning what other musicians are doing that you might not be doing that can trigger a melody, can help trigger a lyric, can trigger a phrasing technique that you weren\u2019t think of. It\u2019s kind of like being a parent. You watch how your grandparents did it, then you watch how your friend did it and say, \u201cI didn\u2019t think about that.\u201d This whole business, I once heard Michael Jordan, we used to go to his basketball camp every year, and he told me once that all it is in this world is stealing people\u2019s ideas. You know what I mean. Respectfully stealing their ideas, and making them your own. And finding out what is best for you and finding your place in the musical world. But we\u2019re just going to keep writing. There is no set way. Every song is different. \u201c100 in a 55\u201d ended up being one of mine at the time where I didn\u2019t even know if it was going to be a Pop Evil song, but the band loved it. \u201cLast Man Standing\u201d was one that Matt and Tony were working on and we didn\u2019t know if it was going to be a Pop Evil song at the same time. The coolest thing about being in a band is that there are five guys that have musical inputs from five different areas, five different avenues and kind of meshing those together whether it\u2019s all five of us at the same time, a couple of us at the same time, or just one of us. It\u2019s about making those into a unique entity that is a Pop Evil song.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Then you play it for each other and get the feedback?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: We do. We get just as excited playing it for each other, playing it for our parents, our close friends. I remember playing \u201cMonster\u201d for our friends before it was even thought about, and \u201c100 in a 55\u201d for that matter. Each song has a life of its own.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: So you\u2019re going to be in Cincinnati. Is there anything you like to do in Cincinnati or you can remember having a day off?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: I haven\u2019t had a ton of time in Cincinnati with days off. I\u2019ve had some time in Columbus, I\u2019ve had some time in Dayton, I\u2019ve had some time in Cleveland. I just love Ohio to be honest. Being a Michigan guy, you always would think with the rivalry between Michigan and Ohio all the time, I wouldn\u2019t. But some of the craziest, coolest Pop Evil fans in the country are in the great state of Ohio. It\u2019s weird, growing up a sport\u2019s guy, you relate different states to their sports teams. And now when you\u2019re in a touring rock band that\u2019s growing, it\u2019s weird because some of the teams, and without saying teams that I don\u2019t like because I\u2019m a die-hard Detroit guy so I\u2019m a die-hard Detroit Lions guy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: So we\u2019re not going to talk about the Bengals?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: I don\u2019t have any bad blood for the Bengals. Not to age myself, but I am guilty. I did do the Ickey Shuffle and I did want the Bengals to beat the 49ers that year. So I shed some tears that year. It\u2019s just fun. It\u2019s just fun to have those in state rivalries. The people that love rock music and that come and support. Ohio has been incredible and been nothing but Pop Evil love in the state of Ohio and I can\u2019t wait for more good times in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Any crazy Rock on the Range stories?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: There are so many. We actually had a lot of family there this particular Rock on the Range. There were not a lot of stories this time. Everyone was good because we had been gone. I think we had been doing the Papa Roach tour for the last two months. So we didn\u2019t get a chance to do the Midwest, we were out on the West coast. Which whenever you get to the West coast, it\u2019s unbelievable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: So everybody comes to see you since it is within driving distance?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: Yeah, we had a lot of fans. Nothing abnormal. The first one was fun, definitely stories before Rock on the Range and after Rock on the Range. But Rock on the Range is always so business, management always flies out, the labels all come out. It\u2019s a good time. It\u2019s kind of like band camp, where you kind of see all your band mates that you have been touring with over the last couple years. And you just get together.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leigh: It\u2019s just one of those things where you get that many great rock bands together with that many great fans and you just kind of have a special day, with all the excitement, it\u2019s rare to get that all year long what Rock on the Range brings to you. Every band you talk to, every band member you talk to loves it, whoever has played it, it is an unforgettable experience. You wish it was Rock on the Range every day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pop Evil is a Michigan rock band that is gaining steam across the country. As the band is set to release their 2nd studio album, War of Angels, they are poised to build upon their top 15 album Lipstick on the Mirror with top 10 single \u201c100 in a 55.\u201d Before the album has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[894],"tags":[896,897,895,1792,893],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1634"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1634"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1636,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1634\/revisions\/1636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}