Misery Signals [Interview]

Misery Signals done a load of touring during 2009, hitting pretty much every corner of the globe with their brand of metal. I managed to meet up with the bassist Kyle Johnson to talk about all sorts of things ranging from the bands tour to the state of the music industry. Big thanks to Kyle for taking the time to do this, and a big apology for the time it took to find its way online.


Liam: If you could just introduce yourself and tell us what you do in the band.

Kyle: Hi, I’m Kyle, and I play bass.

Liam: You’re near the end of your tour I believe, which is quite a big one. How’s it been?

Kyle: Yeah, we’ve been at it all year long! It’s been pretty good. I mean, it’s had its rough spots, but mostly it’s been solid.

Liam: Where’s the best place you’ve played on this tour? I hear Spain was a first for you?

Kyle: Yeah, Spain was a first. We went there and the shows weren’t quite what we expected. The best shows of the tour so far in my opinion would be Vienna, Bologna, and actually last night in Glasgow. The UK’s been solid.

Liam: You’ve brought a good support with you this time round in Your Demise and The Number Twelve Looks Like You. How’s it been touring with them?

Kyle: It’s been really good. We done a tour with The Number Twelve in April so we knew them guys already while Your Demise are friends of friends of another band we toured with.

Liam: So where have you got left in this tour?

Kyle: After the UK we’ve got Greece, Finland, and Russia.

Liam: Then some well deserved time off, I believe?

Kyle: Yeah, man!

Liam: What have the band got planned after this tour then?

Kyle: Um, I dunno, it’s kind of all up in the air right now. I think we’re gonna take a few solid months off of doing nothing really, maybe a little bit of writing here and there and then re-evaluate things when the New Year comes through and figure out when to start recording. You know, play it by ear at this point!

Liam: ‘Controller’ has been out for about a year now. How has the response to that been compared to your first two albums?

Kyle: It feels like the response in a live setting has been stronger compared to previous records, but as far as sales go it’s been weaker. I think with every record we’ve done the sales have went down by a few thousand, you know, people don’t buy CDs anymore. I think overall, looking at the trend, it’s pretty much been on the same pace with every other record that we’ve done.

Liam: We will touch up on the CD issue later. You guys have been going for quite a while now. Karl (vocalist) has been with you for the past two records now. Do you feel you are a stronger band now with him than you were before?

Kyle: Yeah I think so. He’s more an athletic person than our last singer so he kinda goes longer onstage, has a stronger voice, and seems more excited about doing what he is doing you know, being younger and this being still a bit newer to him. I think he has a lot more enthusiasm to get onstage, I mean, he wasn’t a singer originally but he picked it up real fast. He’s kicking ass!

Liam: Over the past year there has been a lot more UK bands crossing over to the States. How do you feel UK bands are doing over there?

Kyle: I think it’s catching on. One good example is Bring Me The Horizon, they are huge in America now. Architects are over there now doing their thing. Hopefully that goes well. It’s good to see bands get the opportunity to break out. They seem to be doing really well. It’s a really hard market to break, so it can only be a positive thing for sure.

Liam: One issue I like to talk to bands about is file sharing. Obviously you guys were just starting up when it hit its prime, how do you feel it affects the industry, and your band directly?

Kyle: I think for a band our size it’s almost a good thing. I think if we were selling millions of records it would obviously affect us differently. Whether we sell 25,000 records or 50,000 records, we don’t really see a whole lot of royalties or money off of them either way. So having an opportunity to get our music out there whatever way possible I think helps us. Touring is where we make our money, that’s the kind of band we are, so I’m all about it, personally. I mean, I download stuff and I really don’t have a problem with someone downloading our music. It’s got to that point really when there is no stopping it, so you might as well embrace it and take advantage of it for what it’s worth.

Liam: You’ve been with Ferret for quite a while now. How’s the relationship between label and band at the moment?

Kyle: It’s fine. Everything’s changed you know? It used to be a lot more personal with labels in general, but the direction music has taken off in, labels now pick up as many bands as they can. Instead of having a few solid bands they have a bunch of bands, still a few solid bands, but a bunch of other bands they hope will take off. So, you know, they kind of stretch themselves thin compared to a few years ago so we don’t really see the label as much, or speak to them as much as we did a few years ago, which is fine. I understand how that shit works; I don’t feel badly about it. I mean I do like working with people who are more than just business, who understand you, you know, who you can have a personal relationship with, which we do at our label, even though it’s not as strong as it was.

We have a lot stronger relationship with the kind of people that put on our shows you know? Who take us out to dinner, look after us. People who just make doing what we do that much more enjoyable.

Liam: Well, I see the rest of your band are vanishing to find food so we’ll finish up round about now! Any last words for our readers?

Kyle: Yeah, I mean... well, I dunno. Haha. Thanks to everyone who has come out to see us play this year. It’s been a long year so we’re going to take some time off now, so I guess all you can do is be patient. We will be back before you know it!

Misery Signals album 'Controller' is out now via Ferret Music.