This guy’s a sweetheart.

CK: Get out of that mess, and come see Life of Agony. Did you know (LOA guitarist) Joey Z produced our new CD? And Pete Steele is on it?

MI: Yeah, I know, Joey Z. just opened Method of Groove Studios in Brooklyn, NY. How was recording?

CK: Recording in Brooklyn was a lot of fun. We “rednecks” from Syracuse had a riot drinking tequila, as well as Budweiser with our pal Dean, and eating Calzones every G-d damn day. That was our diet. Joey Z is amazing. He is so full of life and energy! He’s the most optimistic person I’ve ever met. He’s got a lot of great ideas as far as songs and tones in the studio. We learned a lot from him. And we had a shit load of fun in the process. I must also thank our friend Rebecca for shacking us up for a month while in Brooklyn. And we need to thank Pete Steele for hanging too for a session. He is so witty and such a comedian. He had us all pissing our pants right away. We hadn’t met him before, but he was a cool dude right away. I wish I had his wit. Fucking genius!

MI: I hear. I was at a show in Studio 1 in Newark once and really sad about something, and Joey Z. smiled at me like a ray of sunshine straight into my heart. LOA River Runs Red is the album that got me through high school. And yeh, Pete’s definitely a genius. Proper accolades accorded, so… I hear you’re touring Europe soon.

CK: Yeah, we are touring the UK in mid January.

MI: Good luck – it interests me to know how people react to you there because you really sound American. How come you guys sound like a bunch of down-home rednecks when you’re from freezing cold Syracuse NY? You sound like a cross between cowboys and rednecks.

CK: Ha. You are funny. Um, I suppose we sound “redneck” because of the influences of the band. After the break up of Godbelow (the first incarnation of BNS), the remaining guys wanted Brand New Sin to have a more seventies classic rock sound….the guitars to be bluesier and the vocals to have soul. Everyone nowadays seems to think that sound is mainly southern, but Thin Lizzy is from Dublin, and Molly Hatchet is from Buffalo, NY. We just sound the way we sound…even though we are from shitty Syracuse.

MI: Shitty freeze your ass off Syracuse – wow, the southern legend spoiled. So what’s new?

CK: We have a new CD out titled Tequila. We call it the Tequila Record. Yeah, after releasing Recipe last summer we went out on the road with BLS. We came home for the holidays and immediately started writing new material. Kevin’s wife was pregnant and Kevin wanted to stay home for the winter, so we took that time to hibernate in our bar/practice room and write a new record for 2006. The new CD, it’s really raw. Everything about it. We basically recorded it live, all in the same room…Joey was really patient with the process…but we didn’t want it to sound so processed like everything out today. Our first single is Motormeth (which you can hear on their Myspace site).

MI: Nice, and congratulations to Kevin, Where’s the single getting airplay?

CK: Nowhere. Ha. The video has been submitted to Headbanger’s Ball, but we haven’t heard anything yet. It’s on Sirius and XM radio, and there’s a few markets picking it up.

MI: Hey, BLS is a good similar kind of musical vibe for you guys. How were the crowds?

CK: The BLS tour was AMAZING! Zakk’s loyal fans were great to us every night. We just went out on tour with Mushroom Head and Soil, and every night you’d see BLS fans wearing their colors
showing their support for us. It’s great to see that!

MI: Another fkn redneck and he’s from NJ, go figure. You have anything else to say?

CK: Yeah, if you listen to BNS’ recorded stuff and you dig it, come out to show if we are near. We are definitely a live band through and through. I promise that our show won’t disappoint ya. Tequila!