I recently had the privilege of conducting a pleasant little interview with one of my favorite Hill Country bands, Free Kittens and Bread. This interview has been long in the making, so I am excited to publish this finally. Here are the links to FK&B’s various social medias (Bandcamp, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook). Without further ado, here’s the interview!
How does it feel to be a band that warps and blurs the divisions of genres and kind of just does their own thing? Some of your songs are super kick-ass, upbeat rock songs and some are more mellow and americana/folk influenced, so how does it feel to put this variety of songs onto the same record and still have such an awesome, cohesive sound?
Chase: Well firstly, thank you for regarding our songs as such. American Miserablist was definitely a mixed bag, and across the board of Free Kittens & Bread stuff, it does shift around a lot, but this isn’t an intentional thing. It feels nice to be able to put out a handful of songs that are completely different genres and still maintain certain idiosyncrasies that makes us us, but at the end of the day, I’m just writing what comes to mind at the time – sometimes it’s an angry cowboy song, sometimes it’s a sad emo song.
Mark: It’s great having the versatility to switch our sound between sets depending on the audience or the bands we’re playing with. And whenever Chase isn’t trying to show us some brand new 3 minute song he somehow wrote in 3 seconds, it’s exciting to jam and see what comes out between our separate influences.
Gabe: The variation in song styles keeps things interesting during the set and over a long touring period. The FK&B catalog allows us to mold into any type of venue or situation as we see fit. It’s nice!
Kaci: I love it! Playing a mix of songs like that makes the shows more interesting. It’s fun to see how the crowds react to an “angry cowboy song” right after a more melancholy one. It’s a great feeling too to know if we suggest learning any kind of cover the whole band is probably already on board with it.
Clint: As someone that gets to play these songs after they have already existed as a finish product for a while, it definitely helps that things are so eclectic. Going up and playing the same tunes, night after night, things can easily get stagnate, but I don’t ever feel that way playing these songs, which is rad.
“Going up and playing the same tunes, night after night, things can easily get stagnate, but I don’t ever feel that way playing these songs…”
Being based primarily out of Austin, do you feel that the strong, welcoming music community of the Lone Star state helped you establish your roots as musicians in a way that being a musician in any other city could never compare to? Which fellow Austinites are your favorite musicians/which played the biggest role in helping you grow in the local scene?
Chase: Definitely. Honestly, I moved to Austin to get better in a hurry. There are so many good musicians here, and it’s damn difficult to make it in this town as a musician. To me, the local scene seems scattered. There are a bunch of tiny scenes, and I feel like there are more lost musicians in between the scenes than there are in the scenes themselves. Toss a dime into any crowd and you’re bound to hit a musician. Some of the fellow musicians here that helped me grow are Christopher Thornton (The Cowardly Leon), Nicholas Tompkins (Pickles), and Mark Hawley (Free Kittens & Bread).
Mark: The ability to step out and see a show of any genre any night of the week certainly helps broaden your horizons. Not to mention the KUTX DJs kill it every single day on the radio. Plus, everyone here is so talented, it can feel intimidating at times. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for Magna Carda. They introduced me to so many fantastic experiences and scenes that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about, and I’m super thankful for them. Some other local acts that hold a special place in my heart include Sweet Spirit, John Dee Graham, Golden Dawn Arkestra, Capyac, Ephraim Owens, and Sun June.
Gabe: I think that the sizable amount of varying artists around this city allows any musician to find their niche. I’ve played in a number of different projects/genres around town and have never felt out of place. Some of the artists around town that I like are Jackie Venson, Edison Chair, Wildchild, etc.
Kaci: Absolutely! My community ended up a little more toward my hometown, San Marcos, in addition to Austin. We call ourselves at least honorary Austinites though, since most of us have lived there at some point. The local musicians that played the biggest role in helping me grow were Josh Massie (White Wives, Bluebonnet Plague, A-F Records crew), Justin Conway (Conwaythewhale), Zack Wiggs (The Oh Hellos), Christian Wiggs, Tara Miller (Rock Bottom Strings Band, Conwaythewhale), Michael Alan Gill, BEKIND, and FK&B.
“…everyone here is so talented, it can feel intimidating at times…”
I’m sure many other people ask you this as well, but what bands/projects do you all play in outside of Free Kittens and Bread? Do you think that your activity in these bands overlap with FK&B, or are they their own separate entities?
Chase: I do more of a singer/songwriter thing called Half Man and I recruited pretty much all of FK&B to play in it. I apologize for nothing. I’m currently trying to start another punk band called Anti-Porno.
Mark: Every now and then I’ll fill in on bass with Camp Life, which is always a nice change of pace. They should have a split with Arizona Landmine coming out at some point, and they’re working with Barf Wave Records for their next full release, so I’m stoked to see what’s next for those guys. I’ve also worked with Chase on some of his Half Man recordings. I try to not stretch myself too thin between projects, though.
Gabe: Outside of FK&B, I have a few projects of my own: BEKIND – a poppy indie-rock band that is a little more uplifting, The Spells – a duo with Kaci Taylor (mentioned below) which focuses on catchy folk-pop, and my own personal set of songs that has yet to be released or recorded (does it exist? well…). I also play in Chase’s solo project called Half Man, and have filled in on drums for Clint’s other band Conwaythewhale. I’m pretty much always interested in playing new projects and new music, so hopefully that list will grow in the future!
Kaci: The members of the projects I’m in definitely overlap, but musically, not always. I started out with my own acoustic solo stuff and I intend to pursue it more in the future. Right now, I’m in Free Kittens & Bread, BEKIND, Half Man, and The Spells. Between those bands there’s only about 7 steady members total, so there’s not a lot of anxiety or unfamiliarity with the bands. I love being in multiple projects across different genres! It keeps things from starting to feel stale.
Clint: I’m kinda all over the place with other projects. When I’m back home, I’m usually playing with my band Me & Betsy Lee, as well as Winter Fires and Conwaythewhale, the latter of which, I wouldn’t even know these cats without. The lead singer, Justin, introduced me to Free Kittens and Bread. So maybe not musically overlapping all the time, but definitely some personal overlap.
“I try to not stretch myself too thin between projects…”
What would your dream show be? What venue, performers, and cool venue stuff (like a balloon drop, a laser light show, or confetti) would you want?
Chase: My dream show would be something like Bob Dylan’s 30th Anniversary Concert where pretty much all of my favorite artists get together in a band and we all play my songs and just have a good ‘ol time, and the crowd is into it, and like a million spontaneous chants are started in between songs in a very Jeff Rosenstock-esque way, and then Leonard Cohen’s ghost appears at the end of the last song to welcome me into Death, because I want to end on a high note – like that episode of Seinfeld where George makes a great joke and then leaves the room.
Mark: Hmm, that’s a difficult one, but imagine this…Hyde Park – the sun just set and dusk ensues. Outkast opens the show with “B.o.B.” and the crowd goes wild. They’re followed by the Red Hot Chili Peppers with John Frusciante (duh, there are no other live iterations of RHCP that matter), and then to close it out, no one other than The Replacements featuring a zombified Bob Stinson literally shredding guitar to the bone. Then like 3/4 of the way through their set, some pyrotechnic underestimation lights the stage on fire, and everyone escapes unharmed until it’s all burned to the ground, at which point Tommy Stinson comes out like Calvin and urinates on the ashes to extinguish the few remaining embers. The end.
Gabe: My dream show is at Stubb’s Amphitheater, playing with BEKIND along side GROUPLOVE and twenty-one pilots. Those two bands influenced the sound for BEKIND a ton, and I’ve always wanted to play a large outdoor hometown show. All of the aforementioned confetti-light-balloon stuff would be involved. I would also love to play a Spells show at The Paramount Theatre in Austin someday, complete with a full orchestra and a changing set.
Kaci: Well, Stubb’s Amphitheater here is pretty cool. So is Red Rock Amphitheater in Colorado. I think I’d want Laura Stevenson, Angel Olsen, and Car Seat Headrest. My favorite artists have been more on the chill side of things for a while. As for cool stuff… a t-shirt cannon would be a lot of fun.
Clint: Dude, honestly, I think my dream show would be like the weirdest bands to put together. It would probably be a disaster though. Like, you can’t have Captain Beefheart on the same bill as Carcass, Townes Van Zandt and Fugazi. But yeah, that would be cool to me. I think I’ve had that dream.
“…and then Leonard Cohen’s ghost appears at the end of the last song to welcome me into Death, because I want to end on a high note…”
What does the future hold for FK&B? I know you were recently on an almost full US tour, but are there any exciting shows/tour planned for the future?
Chase: After the tour, all I’m focused on for us is writing a new record.
Mark: FK&B has a couple local shows at Spiderhouse Ballroom on April 25th and Stubb’s on May 2nd coming up, and a super short Summer stint, but we’re mainly focusing on new music at the moment.
Gabe: I know we’re playing this summer around Texas, and I’m trying to talk to somebody at SpaceX about a Mars show. Nothing other than that.
Kaci: We’ve got a lil July tour planned for this summer and we’re in the process of working out this next album.
Clint: Just waiting for someone to tell me where to be.
“…I’m trying to talk to somebody at SpaceX about a Mars show…”
And finally, a fun question. On a scale of 1 to Jeff Rosenstock, how DIY/punk is each member of FK&B?
Chase: As far as DIY – more Jeff Rosenstock than Jeff Rosenstock is right now. As far as punk – like maybe a 2.
Mark: I’m certainly no Jeff Rosenboss, and I was definitely more punk before I was ever DIY, but I’d say I’m currently at a Jeff.79 DIY level in regards to the work I’ve done.
Gabe: 0; I am literally the least ‘punk’ person to have ever been in a punk band. I didn’t know who Jeff was until our last tour in November 2017. That isn’t to say that I dislike the scene – I’m just the guy in the white Nikes and running shorts over on the side watching World of Warcraft videos and listening to 24K Magic.
Kaci: I used to be very punk. Most of it was because that was the most welcoming music community I’d found at the time. There are a lot of singer-songwriters and more indie/folk musicians in my life now — but a few years back, the ones I met were through bands like Bomb The Music Industry! and Anti-Flag. My tour backpack had “Never Get Tired” embroidered on it. I still love those bands, but I feel like DIY/punk can be extended to a range of different lifestyles. Finding ways to live happily without negatively affecting others is punk. Doing what you love how it can be done, be it recording in your bedroom or booking your shows or driving your own car on tour can be DIY. I think maybe I’d fall somewhere around Roger Harvey or Frankie Cosmos on this scale.
Clint: I like to think I would fall closer towards the Jeff tipping point on that scale. At least I hope I do. I could probably being punker and more DIY-er lol.
“Finding ways to live happily without negatively affecting others is punk. Doing what you love how it can be done, be it recording in your bedroom or booking your shows or driving your own car on tour can be DIY.”
Elyse Picks 