Answering this is the vocalist from Sunflower Fox and the Chicken Leg – Kaity Heart.
A song that made you want to make music?
‘Barracuda’ by Heart. Just a battle cry of epic proportions. It just makes you feel like you wanna get up and conquer the world.
Best rider you’ve had?
Not in Sunflower – but several of us are in a touring dance band (that pays for Sunflower!) that has had some GREAT riders! We’ve had just some beautiful accommodations, fancy dinners all that good crap. Honestly Sunflower would be thrilled with a case of Hamms and a pot of cheese fondue.
Craziest moment you’ve had in the band?
Getting the phone call from Ron Nevison that he was gonna mix our album was pretty nuts. Since we literally did a shot in the dark email….!
Deepest lyric one of your songs features?
‘Take me Back’ on the surface sounds like wanting to go back home after a tour – which was absolutely intentional. But honestly, I wrote the lyrics when I was in a pretty dark place. I was considering ‘home’ to be the place you exist before you are born… and the only way to get there is to get rid of yourself. In 2020, when I wrote these lyrics, I was extremely suicidal as all our gigs were canceled, I (like most of the world) was feeling incredibly isolated and the idea of never playing music live again kept being thrown around in the media. I absolutely took that to heart and was like well, if I can’t be a musician there is literally no point in living. It was incredibly hard. So that’s what that song is really about.
Easiest song you wrote?
‘Shadow Girl’ was the first. I had the idea for the chorus almost immediately and then the simple verse just showed up. It was how I sold the members on the band!
Favourite song in your set?
In the first album it’s probably ‘Shadow Girl’ as there are just so many sections, it’s so exciting…coming up in the second album there’s a song called ‘Tequila’ we’re really excited about. There’s a huge scream in it that’s fun to perform.
Guest you’d most like to feature on your record?
There isn’t one person. I would be thrilled if any of our influences from the 70’s wanted to join us: Fleetwood Mac, Heart, Aerosmith, The Eagles, Thin Lizzy, Bad Company… the list is huge!
Hardest thing about being in a band?
Probably just the managing of personalities and emotions. It’s not like a normal business, we’re dealing with your very soul in this music and sometimes you need to tread lightly when it comes to criticism. I mean we’re a team, and I, as the singer, am incredibly cognizant of that fact.
Interesting fact about one of your members?
Our keyboard player Al is a bonafide PHD holder. I think he might have a couple? I don’t know, he is wicked smart. hahaha
Jokes you have in the band?
‘A440 is f*cking ARBITRARY!!!’ Sometimes the band goes down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theory that A432 is the hum of the universe and everyone gets into these weird arguments about it. Finally, our keyboard player Al just yelled out ‘A440 is F*CKING ARBITRARY! IT’S SCIENCE PEOPLE!’ and now we say it all the time. We also consistently pick on our poor drummer Kyle because he’s the youngest. We made him rerecord his shakers in ‘Take Me Back’ several times by changing the direction of the shakers…it’s a 5 minute song… he almost killed us hahahaha.
Key to writing a song?
There isn’t one thing, it’s going to be different for everyone! In fact, I feel like even for me when I’m writing lyrics and melody lines it completely depends on the song. Sometimes it all just comes to me in a matter of minutes, sometimes I use free writing to put it together like a puzzle, sometimes I use what the boys have written and go from there. There is no right or wrong way to write a song… so I guess that’s the key!
Longest distance you’ve travelled to play a show?
We’ll literally go anywhere. This band is very road experienced… we’ve all toured the United States with other groups. And not in buses… in vans. Like a true road warrior haha. The longest I’ve ever gone was from Minnesota to South Padre Island in one shot.
Most inspiring musician you’ve experienced?
Joan Jett live is completely amazing. She’s got a stupid amount of energy, and it’s like sexy, and confident. She’s like a little punk rock pixie. Her band is analog – it literally sounds like CBGB’s. I would kill to be that cool.
New band you’d recommend?
These girls aren’t super new, but they’re amazing. If you haven’t gotten into The Pierces…you should. They’re fantastic! 13 Tales of Love and Revenge is an amazing album!
Opening for this band would be ideal?
Again, there isn’t any one band. We would take any of influences! I’m always going to say Heart because they’re my favourite band. But the newer classic rock bands like Greta Van Fleet, Maneskin, Dirty Honey… etc would also be sick.
Place you’d most like to tour?
The UK. We’re getting so much love from over there, radio play, fans, blogs…all the things. So to go over there and and actually meet the people that are supporting us would be amazing.
Quote you’d like to pass on to our readers?
‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ Our band LIVES by this statement. We’ve pretty much gotten everything by shot in the dark emails and just asking. I mean. The worst that anyone can say is no. So we just go for it.
See us live at?
We’re working on it! 2024 is our year!!
The old days of music were better than the current, do you agree?
Yes. Absolutely. Music is incredibly oversaturated. We’re competing with so many different streams of entertainment it’s overwhelming. It’s significantly harder to get a fan base when you’re competing against literally anything and everything!
Unusual merchandise?
For the second album we’re working on a deck of tarot cards that will go with our singles and there will be some other fun surprises there! I also like giving out zots, pop rocks and stickers to fans as well
Variations you’d like to do on any of your songs?
We’re going to be rewriting a lot of these songs to perform live-rewriting harmonies so they’re easier for the boys to sing, rewriting guitars and keyboards so that it’s fills out the song in the best way so we hit all the good stuff life without sacrificing the song. We really don’t want to use tracks.
What do your fans mean to you?
Everything. The fact that there are still people out there like us that like this style of raw rock and roll is AMAZING. We so appreciate anyone who can see the awesomeness of this style of music.
X-rays or any treatments needed for band related injuries?
I don’t think so? Although our rhythm guitar James (and my partner in crime) was having back issues playing guitar for a while… he went in for x-rays, thought it was from playing too much. Turned out it was from a BB lodged in his tail bone from when he and his buddies were playing with BB guns when they were kids. It showed up in an X Ray and it remains there to this day! He had no idea it existed!
You’re late for a show, whose fault is it?
Our bass player. Hands down. He forgot something, he’s eating a sandwich, there was a girl or god knows hahaha. It’s why we love him.
Zoo animal that next describes the personality of your band?
Well of course the easy answer is a fox. Mischievous, flies under the radar with our own strange agenda, enjoys snacks and has a weird laugh… but really I think we’re more like a Rhino. Barreling through the music industry on our own, smashing goal posts and grunting a lot. We look like bumbling idiots but we’re thoughtful and intelligent.