We got to sit down and chat with Redlight King singer and frontman, Mark Kasprzyk and discuss the new full-length album set to release later this year, “Moonshine” and about their single off the album “Lift The Curse”. Along with what the writing and recording process was like working with a producer who helps them find the right path and keeps them moving.
Side Stage Magazine: So I saw online that some of you are from Los Angeles and some of you are from Ontario.
Mark Kasprzyk: Yeah Julian and I are kind of the original guys, I started the project and brought him on board right away. He had played in other bands with me, we are from Hamilton, Ontario. So then we moved to LA and ended up signing a deal with Hollywood Records, and at that time we were going through different bass players and drummers. We’ve been through a bunch of different guys but we got a pretty good line up now.
Yeah, I noticed you guys have Brian Weaver, I recognized him immediately from ‘We Are Harlot’ He is so incredibly talented he looks like a great asset to the band.
Oh my god he’s Awesome, he’s so good he’s so in the pocket man, it’s hard to find bass players who are musical and can live in that world. Everybody’s not just playing 8th notes, you know the rock parts are very intricate and they play off one another and that’s kind of always been important to me, He’s a perfect fit.
After listening to the new single “Lift the Curse” I notice there is a lot of bluesy vibes and tones to it, I’m curious does the rest of the record sound like that too with those same type of tones?
I think that’s a more straight-up rock song on the record, I think a lot of the other songs have more of an ode to the late 60’s early 70’s rock tones ya know? That one is leaning more towards the late ’70s, ACDC early Aerosmith kind of vibe. The rest of the record has a lot of soul influence and a lot of Hendrix, kind of Mitch Mitchell’s style drums. It’s very exciting because it’s a technically challenging record, But it works on multiple levels as far as listeners go ya know? I think it’s a deep record. I hope you enjoy it.
So Why “Moonshine?”
Yeah so “Moonshine” is the title for two reasons and honestly the first reason being that I was going to the studio every day, I kept passing this old 1973 Ford Econoline van, you know the old 70’s boogie vans that whole vibe, that whole trend. Well this Is kind of like that, it was a 4×4 and looked like a Baja van and on the side of the van faintly it says Moonshine. So for weeks I pass this van and finally I met the owner who was an old guy about 82 years old, he was the second owner. I just told him how much I loved the van and then I would go and visit him every couple of weeks while we were doing the record. Then I purchased the van from him, he allowed me to buy the van from him and so now I own the van and her name is “Moonshine.” So that was kind of the inspiration it was what was happening and it was in the right era of the influence musically and sonically.
The other thing is I see music in colors, so to speak, so there was a lot of purples and light blues and that’s kind of the color of this van. It has shag carpet in it and stuff like that. So basically it’s not a liquor reference, some people might think of that immediately but moonshine to me is more of an era, more of a cosmic view of music, earth and how we all live and move on this planet kind of vibe.
I’ve read that you have a love for older bikes and your dad likes older cars have you ever restored anything?
I like it all to be honest with you, I like anything with a motor, a real old motor. I did a 1950 Panhead and I’m doing a 77 Shovel head those are both Harley’s and I got the Econoline. I don’t think I own anything new which is Awesome and cool but also a pain in the ass sometimes, you find yourself wrenching on it a lot. I just love it so much it such a part of my culture, it fits so well with what I do musically.
So throughout this recording process how long were you guys in the studio?
Well, I was in the studio writing with my producer, Jimmy Messer. We were co-writing some songs and the band was doing some writing and jamming on different days. It was really a sort of piece together record. I had some songs previously written for a solo album that didn’t make the solo album so I revamped those songs and sorta came at them with a different approach with the band and you know it was probably about thirty songs written that we narrowed down to ten.
I’m really excited about it so it was a lengthy process from front to back it might have taken a year but when we actually went to record the album I think it only took a month or two. I’ve known Jimmy for over a decade and we are really close friends I really trust him from a producer standpoint.
Just to kind of get out of my own way and out of my own head. I found with some of the other records I tended to be a bit of a control freak, but in this case, I was very open to the best idea in the room wins ya know? It would be simple things like I’d sing a song four or five times through and we don’t like to do a lot of comping which is why I think you’ll hear this record and think “Wow this is a band playing” it sounds like a full band, we did full takes. I would let him (Jimmy Messer) choose, I would hear things I didn’t like and say ah but he’d say “No No That’s a great performance” and I may not be perfect but that’s the realist one and you know I gotta trust him because in my mind we can be in our own heads all day about what we think is our best effort but it may not always translate so as a musician I think its great to have a good team and a good producer/engineer on your records.
I can see how getting in your own way and wanting it to be perfect can play a factor, and we are all our own worst critics every single time so it’s good that you have a producer who can keep you on the right track and you trust.
I think I subscribe to the “Neil Young Method” where you sing it a couple times then after that now you’ve ruined it, ruined the chance of something spontaneous and original and it’s become habitual almost or you sort of start to mask something or start to play it in your mind or sing it a certain way that may not be a hundred percent honest, or true or in the moment. I think it’s about being in the moment and there’s a lot of vocal riffs and a lot of those moments on this record, Moonshine, where it’s pure rock ‘n’ roll because of that. Because we didn’t go in and repair things, we took chances, and I certainly took chances vocally and it was the most challenging record vocally that I’ve ever done. I’m really happy with the way the record came out. It is a shift for our band and the sound so I’m really excited to see how people will receive it, I think we are going to get a lot of new fans as well.
Who do you think influences you the most musically?
I’m influenced by so many different styles of music because I look at music from all angles. For me I might hear a certain player, playing drums, a Steve Gadd or a Mitch Mitchell, and I’ll think “Man, that’s the sound I want to go for!” Or a Ginger Baker kind of guy or even may here a Bill Withers record and think to listen to those hi-hats.
They are very detailed influences for me, obviously the wider vision of the composition it means a lot to me. When I hear a great song, it’s usually because of those details all fit and intertwine with one another and create a great song.
This particular record, there was a lot of soul influence, which was very interesting because I was listening to a lot of Charles Bradley when I wrote the single and that made me go back in time and listen to Curtis Mayfield records and interesting records like Sam Cook. And of course, the songwriter guy in me is like “Bill Withers is a man’s man and Tom Petty is the man’s man, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan they are more of poets.”
So there are all these influences and there’s straight-up Americana of a guy like Bruce Springsteen that never really gets old and you go back to and then there’s Bob Segar and I’m like “Whoa Night Moves is Insane” Then I’ll start to go into this punk hole where I’m listening to Iggy Pop and The Stooges and I’ll think I gotta do that ya know what I mean?
It never stops for me. As I said, a lot of those simple early AC/DC records I’m like that guitar tone, I mean I play a 63’ Fire jet which is what Malcolm Young played and I play it through a Marshall sometimes, an Orange and it’s like “That’s the sound!” Because I am using amps and guitars from 1963, I gotta tweak it a little so it’s me, and a lot of that comes out in your hands. You can get the same guitar and amp to three different people and it will all sound different. I think those are some of my influences for this record. I really relied on band members to play out the parts so we could make it translate to something good.
How long have you been playing guitar?
Not That long, only 20 Years… It doesn’t mean I’ve been doing it right for 20 years it just means I’ve been playing it my way–Self-taught guy. I just used to watch really really good guitar players and try and do that, and I am a lefty so I couldn’t ever hop up with guys because it was always upside down. I always had to play guitars upside down and do the “Kurt Cobain thing” the “Hendrix thing.” That also is a reason why I play the way I play too. So, everything happens for a reason.
You guys have a tour coming up on September 21st till October 4th and it starts out in Vegas do you guys have a lot of fun out there?
We love Vegas! Vegas has always been good to us, we have always got love on the radio there and the fans always come out. We had a really great show there. We opened for Linkin Park there when Chester was still with us, and that was a blast! We had so much fun with those guys! A lot of bands come out of Vegas, a lot of producers are living in Vegas. A lot of people who I know in LA move to Vegas. It’s either Nashville or Vegas. [Vegas is] a good place to start for us. I am excited to go play there I am excited about the whole run. It’s a short run, but it’s to shake the dust off and get ready to drop this album and get out there and do some serious touring.
How do you like being Independent?
It has its pros and cons, I’ll be honest with you, but I think at the end of the day it’s better to be Independent. Besides the obvious control that comes along with it, I think it’s about ownership at the end of the day and pride of ownership and you’re working for yourself. Always, but you know that at the end of the day, it’s going to come back to you and it’s going to be transparent and they’re not hiding the revenue or the numbers like big labels can so easily do, as well with publishing.
At this point in my career, it’s really about ownership and as far the label we are with, they are partners and friends and that’s important too, right? There’s more heart and craftmanship with Indy Labels because you get people who aren’t making as much money who give a shit.
The hope is to make something great that people love, I mean that’s always the hope but when the big businesses get involved, things happen and compromise starts to creep in and all of a sudden you find yourself unhappy, and then your team changes and you’re starting again. It’s been an interesting experience but I am much happier now.
When was the first time you went overseas, where did you go?
That’s a good question. I think it was Germany? England? I had been over there with other bands before, but for me, European crowds are pretty rowdy. They’re loud and they are ready to go at the jump. Where I find sometimes in the US, you have to warm up to each other, then all of a sudden it’s rock. But then again it depends you go play Carolina Rebellion it’s like as soon as the guitar starts it was like “AHHHH” and it snaps, but in a club atmosphere, I think it’s a warm-up. Anywhere we can play where our music is translating I’m a happy guy.
I’ve read you have learned how to say “Hello, How are You?” in many languages is that because you spend so much time traveling?
I think it’s mostly because I am Canadian, and In Canada we really support multiculturalism. I just think it’s a sign of respect when you can learn something of someone’s culture and when you meet someone of that culture and you drop that.
I had a guy– I was taking a uber somewhere– and he was Eritrean, which is a small little African country, and I started talking in Eritrean and he lost his mind. He was like “How is that even possible?” It’s Cool! I enjoy it. I honestly think we are all in it together and I stand for Unity, I stand against racism, I stand against miscommunication and those things so for me it’s just a way to bring people together.
