Anarbor Interview with Mike Kitlas

Coutney Fry interviews guitarist Mike Kitlas

Enoch Magazine ) The weather’s heating up over here in Australia, and I’ve noticed that Hopeless Records has teamed you up with label mates All Time Low and a couple of others on a ‘summer sampler’. Do you feel like your sound is summery? Has being label mates with All Time Low scored you any extra fans, looking for something fresher from Hopeless?

Mike Kitlas: I think our sound is very versatile and universal. We incorporate a lot of different styles and genres into our music which gives our music a more unique sound. I guess you could say our music is “summery” but that’s not what we were shooting for on the digital release. All Time Low has done nothing but supported us and it really has broadened our fan base. We love those dudes and we cant wait to see them again.

Enoch Magazine ) You’ve only got an EP out so far, The Natural Way, are you pleased with how it turned out? Is it much of a different sound than what you presented to the record labels in your senior year of high school?

Mike Kitlas: Yeah, we’re very pleased with the responses we’ve been getting from it. The Natural Way does sound a bit different than our older stuff, but it still sounds like the same band to me. The new stuff is a lot edgier and I think it sounds different than a lot of the stuff coming out these days.

Enoch Magazine )Speaking of school, how many classes did you have to jig/wag so you could get to gigs or practices? Did your teachers get annoyed? Better yet, did these sacrifices cause you to flunk/fail any classes? Who was your favorite teacher anyway?

Mike Kitlas: We had to miss a lot of school our senior year of high school, we started playing out of town a lot more, but we still all graduated! Our teachers didn’t get annoyed, in fact a lot of them were really supportive of our situation, it was awesome to haeve them on our sides. Pretty much all of them were supportive and were always asking how the band was doing and asking for our CD’s. No, we all stayed on top of our school work while we would be on the road, so we got through high school fine. My favorite teacher was probably my senior English teacher, she was always way supportive of the band.

Enoch Magazine ) ‘Where The Wild Things Are’, which has an impressive 200, 000 plays on your myspace, is also the song on the Hopeless sampler. Did the book of the same name inspire this song in any way? What monsters were you afraid of as a child? What ‘monsters’ in life intimidate you now? How do you battle these obstacles?

Mike Kitlas: The book did not inspire the song in anyway. We were afraid of inner closet monsters and monsters under the bed when we were children. ‘Monsters’ that intimidate us now would probably just have to be all the greedy people in the industry. You just gotta be smart and make sure you’re always making the right decision.

Enoch Magazine ) Do you have plans to travel overseas? Will I see you in my country any time soon? You said you want to stand out, what makes you stand out? Is there an unusual country you want to play someday?

Mike Kitlas: Hopefully we’ll get to travel across seas! That would be way cool to play in the land down under. I think our music is a lot different than a lot of the bands that are coming out today, it’s something different than all of the v-neck, nike dunk wearing bands.


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2 Responses to “Anarbor Interview with Mike Kitlas”
  1. chrissy guino says:

    Courts, you have done it again. i always hang out for your next interview – you know how to nail the stuff an audience is after!

  2. chrissy guino says:

    Courts, you have done it again. You are opening a whole new world to me. some of these bands wouldn’t have enter my sphere of influence without you. i always hang out for your next interview – you know how to nail the stuff an audience is after!

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