KAATO – Slam!

By starrymag | August 4, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

M: Over the years of working with different producers and musicians the song writing and production of our music has grown into its own and we’ve been able to establish a distinctive sound that we can proudly say sounds like KAATO – a mix of classic rock, glam rock, power pop and hard rock mixed together to sound like music made in 2019!

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

M: Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, Boston, Styx…There are just so many bands that have influenced us in some way. It’s impossible to name them all!  We have constantly been developing our sound and although it has always been influenced by the same bands, it’s only been recently that we’ve been able to tap into what makes them so great and shape it to sound like KAATO.

 

Q) How did the move from Australia to Nashville impact your music?

 

K: That’s a good question! We get asked that all the time. The part of Australia that we’re from is New South Wales and the government there over the past couple of years has been getting worse and worse. There is a war being waged on the younger generation. Music festivals are being forced to shut down due to police fees, the city has “lockout laws” that prevent venues and small businesses from making the money they need to survive. It’s disgusting. I had already been traveling to the USA before all this started happening and it was always a goal for us to live over there. So we got our U.S visas this year and began to make the move! You can spend your time fighting the government, but why waste your life. We’d much rather be making music! We find America so inspiring, it’s truly such a beautiful country. It’s called the land of the free for a reason! We can live more comfortably over here and Nashville is a place that lives and breathes music. It’s just such a good environment to work in.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Communication.”

 

K: It’s a fast, neurotic and pseudo-sexual hard rock song that outlines the progression of communication technology in the modern age and the problems that come along with it. Inspired by a story of an obsessed lover that, no matter how hard he tries, can’t get through to his partner despite the ease of 21st century mobile communications.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

M: I think everyone can relate to the lyrics of the song. Everyone has had a moment of trying to get through to someone and no matter how hard they try it just doesn’t work.  It’s relatable in a lot of the terminology and the groove of the song makes it so easy to get involved and enjoy it.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

 

M:  The music video has a lot of imagery using old school telephones and telephone cables. The main focus is on the band and it’s a performance-based video with a lot of cool visual effects and cuts that make it really interesting to watch. It’s a mysterious, energetic video that fits the mood of the song perfectly.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics? 

 

K: I wrote all the songs on this album, except the Japanese bonus track “Boo Hoo,” which Hunter and I wrote together. It’s really cool! There wasn’t really a theme at all with my lyrics. I just want people to be able to put their own meaning to a song and not have that intention set in stone. I write songs differently to some artists. I would ask myself questions like: “Does that word or sentence make you see a beautiful picture in your head?!” “Yes!” “Then why does it have to make sense?” I guess I might be strange like that…. And I usually write music before lyrics which to some songwriters is a big no-no. But fuck them. [laughs] In reality, there was no real theme or approach, just what sounds good and what was good enough to make it on the album. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t rush some of the songs, but in the world of songwriting you could spend years/forever making changes to a song. But there’s always that point where you’re doing it to the detriment of the song and you don’t even realize. I think my time constraints allowed me to naturally focus and prioritize what was important and what I needed to let go of.

 

Q) Your new album Slam! is out now. How much of hand do you have in the production of your music? 

 

K: The production of this album was a lot of work, but so much fun! It was really just a few guys at home making some music, you know? We recently just built this studio. It’s not a huge super crazy professional studio. It’s just a home studio and It’s been a new and exciting process for us. We used awesome, very current gear with simple production techniques. Back in the 70’s they kept it simple and didn’t seek total perfection and that’s something we wanted to channel. For example, we used a lot of analog emulations, (SSL and NEVE preamps, TUBETECH Compressors, etc.) in the digital domain. But we decided against using pitch correction on the vocals. This record is 100% natural vocally. There is NO AutoTune AT ALL. What’s the point of lying to people!? As Kurt Cobain once said, “I’d rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not.”

 

Q) What can fans expect from a live KAATO performance?

 

K: Lots of fun, loss of inhibitions, drinking, eating, smoking, laughing.  Pure rock-n-roll hedonism basically. [laughs] Were all about having a good time, letting go and connecting with the audience. In this era, I think that not many acts get outrageous enough, in regards to not only the musicality, but the demeanor in which they perform. We leave it all behind when we get on stage and are committed to ensuring the audience feels something and experiences, something they don’t anywhere else. We’ve always based our shows and tours on the big 4: MUSIC, FOOD, DRINK, SMOKE. It’s less of a show and more of a party, a secret that everyone’s in on, not just the band. Also, a lack of separation between the audience and the band members. We eat with our fans. We talk with our fans. They can have as many things signed at the merch table as they want. Life’s too short for limits and I think that this hands-on approach has really garnered us with success because it’s not something most of our fans find elsewhere. Plus, they become a part of our family and that’s all we want. A big happy global family. [laughs]

 

Q) What songs off your Slam! have you been enjoying performing live?

 

M: Honestly, they are all so much fun to play!  Usually our setlist runs in a particular order and we open the set with “Glamour Queen.” That is always one of my favorites. On top of that we usually end the show with “Somebody Someday” and by that stage there is so much energy in the room and on stage that it is always an absolute blast to play!

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your new album as a whole?

 

K: Slam! Is just what KAATO really sounds like! Of course, we’re always further refining the sound and the songs, but I think this is a raw and real album that shows the world who we really are and that we mean business. We just want to reignite the passion for real music with real instruments, the stuff that makes you feel connected to the music, you know? We want people to know that real rock music isn’t dead and never will be and that it can take on a new shape and form for the modern era.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you? 

 

M: We have played at some great venues all around the world but one of our favorites has to be Brand New in Osaka, Japan.  It’s were our first Japanese tour started and its somewhere we always return to.  It’s only a club but it has such a great vibe to it and the sound is amazing there.  Apart from that, we played HRH Sleaze in 2017 at the Sheffield 02 and that was the biggest stage we’ve played to date. It was awesome to have that much room and a crowd that big to play to. So, hopefully, we’ll be playing some more festivals like that in the near future.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

K: Man! There’s so many awesome musicians I’d like to collaborate with! I think at the top of the list would be Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Paul Gilbert, Eddie Money, John Waite from The Baby as well. As I said before the list could go on and on. Most of the time I prefer to work independently. I think it’s an important process in keeping your style yours, but working with other like-minded musicians is always a fantastic experience. They can show you trains of thought you would never have gone down and that’s an equally important step in growing as an artist.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

M: Our music taste changes constantly and what we are listening to could be different each day!  Recently though I’ve been really enjoying a band called Foxy Shazam.  They remind me of The Darkness and I really like their combination of classic rock with modern music. It’s something we are trying to do and I think if they were still around we would be perfect on a bill together.

 

K: Recently, for me, it’s been Paul Gilbert and Roadmaster, a deep cut US 70’s hard rock band. I’m always on the lookout for great new rock-n-roll and these two have really been hitting the spot.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

M: Social media has given us a chance to reach so many new fans all around the world. We are able to share our music to people who would have never heard of us if it wasn’t for social media.  It really is one of the most important tools as far as being in a band goes. You can constantly keep your fans up to date and communicate with them all through messages and comments. It makes the separation between fans and friends a whole lot smaller!

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

M: Thank you!!! Our fans are so special to us. We play music because we love it and the songs are a representation of ourselves.  The fact that there are people out there that love them as much as us and are as supportive as they are means the world to us. We really wouldn’t of made it this far if it wasn’t for them!