interview with Kill No Albatross
Have any of you played in other bands? Liam, Josh, Crosty, and Sallas all played in a band called Gatling. Kyle played solo stuff. Also, little known fact: Liam was the bass player for The Pretenders during the late '70s.
How is it that you started playing music?
Crosty and Sallas took guitar lessons in elementary school.
Josh had a massive desire to after hearing a few albums that clicked.
Liam and Kyle... we still aren't sure. But it's a good thing they did.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?
Kyle Collins – Vocals - Age: 72
Alex Crosty – Guitar - Age: 47
Josh Pinkney – Guitar - Age: 12
Liam Kilawee – Bass - Age: 33
Alexander Sallas – Drums - Age: 9
Have you had other previous members? Not yet.
Did you make music even when you were young?
Between the ages of 12-16, Sallas and Crosty made death metal/techno/acoustic rock songs in Crosty's basement. No, we're not kidding. "The Disguise", a track from these sessions, was featured on 1010 CFRB's The Richard Syrett show for a while.
Josh was 14 when he started playing guitar... yeah. Kyle and Liam have also been playing since relatively young ages.
Where are you from? We're from various parts of Ontario, Canada (Stoney Creek, Hamilton, Burlington, and Erin).
What year did the band form? 1957.
What's your style of genre? We sound a like combination of Thrice, Alter Bridge, Coheed and Cambria, Deftones, Cannibal Corpse, Carly Simon, and The Carpenters.
What inspires you? Salmon and soundscapes.
How often and where do you reherse? At least twice a week. We usually rehearse in Sallas' basement, though sometimes we go to a forest and headbang amongst the trees.
How have you developed since you started with the music? We've all been through puberty.
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? Four of us are fans of glass blowing, aerobic equipment, and black metal. Josh doesn't have any other interests - he just sells shoes.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? We'd love to work with a booking agency. We're looking to tour on an international level, so any assistance helps.
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? Absolutely. There are plenty of great labels out there.
What made you decide to make this music? We didn't decide to make it - it came of its own accord.
What are your songs about? Riffs.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? We all compose. Kyle and Sallas write the lyrics.
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? We start by playing Yu-Gi-Oh, sampling our outbursts, and basing the lyrics around them. We then write the music by creating riffs that we think would make cool Guitar Hero charts.
Do you compose in a certain inviroment? We usually compose in a forest with mostly deciduous trees.
Have you done any covers live? We've done Welcome Home (Coheed and Cambria), Stockholm Syndrome (Muse), and the Game of Thrones theme.
Future covers may include Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey), The Unanswered Question (Charles Ives), Mausoleum Door (Buckethead), and Necrosis (Incapacitants).
What language do you sing in? Swahili.
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? 0-950,000. We usually cap out at around 4.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? 10-12.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? All of our shows are exactly the same, in that they're never the same.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? Sallas' basement.
What was your first gig like? Josh vomited after a leprechaun ran on stage and spat on his forehead, georgecrotty.com, and Liam jumped through a window.
What was your latest gig? We never play past 7:30 PM because we have strict bedtimes.
Have you had to cancel a gig? No, and we never will.
Where have you played live this year? We just finished a touring cycle that included spots at Lee's Palace (Toronto), Crobar (Montreal), Cafe Dekcuf (Ottawa), The Atria (Oshawa), and a TV performance on CHCH.
Where do you plan to gig the comming year? We plan to venture out as far as Calgary. Also, Sallas' basement.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? Shirts, stickers, and buttons. We've been selling merch for about 2 months. As of this writing, we have 3 shirts left. ACT QUICKLY!
Where can people buy your merchandise? killnoalbatross.bandcamp.com. Or, they can come to a show.
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? Unless it's a Corey Feldman album, you should pirate it.
What do you think of my work? It's REALLY good! This is probably our new favourite blog.
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? We plan on printing off this interview and taping it to Kyle's forehead at every show we play so that people can read it.
Do you have any role models or idols? Corey Feldman, Paul Irwin, Josh Pinkney, and Hasan.
Why do you think that they exist? Because their parents had sex.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? All bands except us are terrible.
What have been your biggest obstacles? Social media and navigating the world of exposure.
What advice would you give other bands or artists? Learn how to rehearse. It's not enough to just practise 'the songs.' Practise your whole show. Modify your songs for the live setting - a live performance and a recording are different mediums, and have different requirements. Include your audience in your show
How do you get psyched for a gig? We share a plate of brussel sprouts while playing Duran Duran records on repeat.
Do you have any new material? We're recording in February next year, and the EP should be out in May. Until then, check out our first EP, Lost in Darkness and Distance. It's on every online platform you can think of, and then some.
What are your web sites?
Also, find us on Twitter and Instagram by searching our band name.
How can people reach you? With their arms. Or, they can email us: [email protected].
What are your plans for the future? Take over the world.
Do you have something to add?
Many albatross species are in trouble and need our help. Commercial fishing practices are considered the greatest threat to the survival of many albatross species. Other threats include loss of habitat, introduced predators, eating or becoming tangled up in plastic, oil spills and climate change.
Most albatrosses are found in the Southern Hemisphere: Antarctica, Australia, South Africa, South America. Only 3 albatross species are found exclusively in the North Pacific (Hawaii, Japan, California and Alaska): the Short-tailed albatross, Black-footed albatross and Laysan albatross. Waved albatross is an exception that breeds in the equatorial Galapagos Islands and feeds in the South American coast.
