 It was through the miracle of MySpace that I found Tris Katone, an artist many of us would not have heard of otherwise. At first listen his music is poetic, deep, honest, raw, and nasty. All the things rock-n-roll should be. I became an instant fan and I think you all will to. If any of you are on MySpace you can find Katone at www.myspace.com/Katoneisfuck or at his site: www.KATONE.com.
Since 1998, Katone has brought forth 4 albums (Committing Suicide, The Next Devil, Plastic Udder, and Erotic Crystallization Inertia.), and numerous singles on his indie label, DAINTY SUICIDE. I may be in the wrong part of the country but the only place I've found his stuff is online and through eBay. What impressed me most about his work is the way he openly provides MP3's of his stuff to his fans from MySpace and his site, which is where I picked up some of the songs at that I have of his. What follows is the via email interview done 4/14/06.
| "It's not so much about sounding good as much as what feels right to me." |
First I wanted to ask about influences and the impact they have had on you. I've heard fans say your some sort of gimmick, which clearly is not the case. So, I wanted to know who your influences are and how they shaped the sound you have?
I've heard it many times that I wear my influences "on my sleeve". I do in fact have many influences and artists that show through in what I'm doing, and I've identified that. Earlier on, the collaboration of Trent Reznor with Marilyn Manson really appealed to me. I felt it was a dead on great match up. But, going back even earlier than that, are my Rock and Roll roots. Bands like T. Rex and KISS really lit the spark for me, and I'm a huge Bad Company fan as well.
My earlier work had much more of an Industrial sound to it, but ultimately, the Rock and Roll began to come out more and more, and continues to do so. Yes, I've heard that I sound a bit too much like certain other artists at times, and some people are really quick to judge on those first few lines of a song, and therefore, the word "gimmick" (referring to a Marilyn Manson sound) has been thrown at me now and then. It doesn't bother me as much as it used to. There's no denying that my sound tends to resemble other artists at times, but at this point, I believe it's clear that I'm very well into my own thing.
I noticed that a lot of your material is self-produced. Is there a special reason you did that? Is it because you can control more of what YOU want on a album rather than what the record company might want?
When I started on with my solo material, I did have some friends of mine in on the sessions. When I began closing in on what I considered to be my sound, I started staying up all through the nights into the next mornings writing when no one was around yet. I think I simply got tired of waiting for people to show up at my studio and so I began doing all the tracks myself. That's how it started and I haven't had it any different since.
Yes, I think it has become a bit of a control issue. I know this because I have brought guitar players in from time to time to maybe add a different flavor. And while these players far surpassed my own guitar playing abilities, I eventually ended up erasing their brilliant tracks and redoing them myself. I think I've become picky that way. It's not so much about sounding good as much as what feels right to me. My record company has been very supportive of my choices and decisions and there has never really been any artistic tugging and pulling going on with my songs. Very seldom have I been called on to change anything, and if so, they have been very minor changes, mostly pertaining to mixes, actually.
Do you think MYSPACE has helped a lot in getting out the word about you and your music or has it adversely affected you in some way?
MySpace has been interesting to say the least. Yes, of course being from an Indie label the added exposure has been fantastic. And, yes, many new fans have come forth to show great appreciation towards my music. The personal contact on MySpace is what I feel has been a missing link between bands and fans. I take time out as often as possible to return emails and such. I find that once a connection is made with the fans, especially with MySpace, that it's important not to lose sight of what the Artists are doing there to begin with.
It's very easy to get caught up on the friendly side of things sometimes and it can be pretty easy to get side tracked when people are sending you gifts and so on. But, with that said, I find that MySpace has the capability to do amazing things on many levels of Artist Promotion.
Last year you were told you had polyps on your vocal chords and had to rest them(I do a lot of research). So what's the status of that and do you think that will change the way you do things vocally? If so, how?
It was actually July of 2005 that I was diagnosed with vocal chord polyps. I had begun work on the new CD, and I was writing and recording alot. It hadn't been that long since the last tour and I really didn't give myself much of a break in between. I began to lose my voice frequently and the soreness was getting almost unbearable. A specialist advised me to stop singing altogether for at least six months, and I was warned of the possibility of surgery.
It was pretty serious stuff and I was devastated by the news. I was the good patient and followed the doctor's strong advice because I felt my career was on the line with this. I was given the good news in December that my condition had improved and that I could proceed with my recordings with caution. I did in fact see a vocal coach for a few weeks to see how I would be able to work things out. I resumed my vocal work on the CD in January and so far all has been well. The real test will be the road. By changing the order of some songs on the list and going out with an enhanced monitor system, things should be fine. There are some subtle changes in the way I'm doing certain things, but I really can't hear any difference and I don't think anyone else will either.
So how is the new album, I do believe it was titled KILLER, coming? When can we pick that up?
"KILLER" is the name of the new CD and it is set for release on May 30th. That is the latest date for West Coast release only. There have been recent, heated talks of a new distribution set up that would put this CD throughout the states. I'll know more about that hopefully sooner that later.
Tell us about your tour, are you doing any touring this summer and if so what are you looking forward to the most about it?
Yes, I'm heading out this summer to tour once again. I've been in contact with members of my touring band and just about everyone from last time will be on board. The tour is not set to kick off until July and so dates are not yet set in stone. All tour dates will promptly be posted on KATONE.COM and My Space as soon as they become available. I always look forward to the road and I love touring and performing. I think the initial excitement for me generally comes from playing the new material. People will look forward to hearing the older stuff, and those will be there as well, but I'm usually pretty psyched about bringing the new songs out. I feel there is plenty of great live material on this new CD.
--Glittergirl
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