INTERVIEW WITH JOHN KAYE & THE OVERLORDS BY SHEMROK CHRIST

HERE AT DRC , SOME MIGHT GET THE IMPRESSION THAT WE ONLY LOVE HIP HOP, BUT THAT IS NOT THE CASE. WE ARE JUST AS INFLUENCED BY OTHER TYPES OF MUSIC AS WELL. FROM THE THUNDERING SOUNDS OF ROCK GODS LIKE LED ZEPPLIN,BLACK SABBATH AND JIMI HENDRIX. TO THE COLD SWEAT OF FUNK FROM JAMES BROWN, SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE,GEORGE CLINTON, AND THE METERS.ALL THE WAY TO THE TRIPPED OUT DUB EXPERIMENTS BY LEE "SRCATCH " PERRY AND THE REBEL YELL OF THE CLASH.HIP HOP FOR ME STARTED AS TWO TURNTABLES AND A STACK OF DUSTY WAX. BUT A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE SAMPLER. I STARTED LISTENING TO THESE GREAT ARTISTS WHO I WAS SAMPLING. NOT ONLY DID THEY INSPIRE ME TO START MAKING MY OWN ORIGINAL DUSTED MUSIC, BUT ALSO TO SEEK OUT OTHER BANDS FROM ALL TYPES OF GENRES .MUSICANS WHO WERE JUST AS INSPIRED BY THESE SOUNDS AS I BECAME.MUSICANS THAT FORMED THEIR OWN BANDS AND KEPT UP THE LEGACY STARTED BY THESE GREAT ARTISTS I HAD DISCOVERED SO MANY YEARS AGO.
SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH YOU? WELL, I NEVER STOPPED LOOKING FOR GREAT ARTIST THAT INSPIRE ME. ONCE I WENT THRU ALL MY RECORDS , I STARTED LOOKING IN OTHER PLACES FOR GREAT BANDS. LIVE VENUES, THE IDIOT BOX, AND THE MAGIC INTERWEB.I FOUND ALOT OF CRAP BUT I ALSO FOUND ALOT OF FLAVOR TOO!ONE OF THE GOOD THINGS I DISCOVERED WAS JOHN KAYE & THE OVERLORDS. A HARD ROCKING BAND OF MUSICANS LED BY THE VOODOO LIKE CHARMS OF LEAD VOCALIST AND BAND LEADER JOHN KAYE. THEIR CLASSIC ROCK SOUND FEELS LIKE IT SLITHERED OFF ONE THE DUSTY PIECES OF VINYL I LIKE TO SAMPLE. YET SOME HOW , IT STILL SOUNDS BRAND NEW.SO DRC TRACKED DOWN JOHN KAYE TO ASK HIM A FEW QUESTIONS AND GET HIM TO DROP A LITTLE SCIENCE FOR ALL THE D-RATZ OUT THERE!


SHEM CHRIST :FIRST OF ALL CAN YOU TELL ALL THE D-RATZ OUT THERE ABOUT YOUR BAND AND THE MUSIC YOU CREATE?


JOHN KAYE:Most members of The Overlords are World Class players. I hire who I can when I can, if they're available, and in town, when I need them. The names I could run by you and who they played with would be to much 'name dropping" so I won't, but I can tell you most anyone who calls themselves a musician would probably know them.

SC: WHAT TYPE OF THINGS INFLUENCE YOUR SONG WRITING ?

JOHN KAYE: Songwriting comes from many different influences. Good experiences as well as bad. Mostly love relationships that usually are on the upswing and most definately, in most musicians life's, eventually crash & burn. In a word "Women"


SC: YOU GUYS REAL KEEP IT REAL WITH THE CLASSIC HARD ROCK SOUND. WHO ARE SOME OF THE BANDS THAT HAVE INFLUENCED YOU TO START A BAND AND RASIE HELL?

JOHN KAYE:
The bands that are pretty hardcore rock, or harmony driven, have always been my
influence. Beatles, Stones, Bad Co., Badfinger, Led Zepplin, AC/DC, Kiss, .38 Special, Bryan Adams, some other off the wall bands like Triumverat, Gentle Giant, Crack The Sky, Apocalyptica, Gogol Bardouex, X, The Deviant's, CSNY, Pantera, Kinks, Zombies, Buckinghams, Left Bank, Chicago, ZZ Top, man the list goes on & on ...

SC: ALL TIME FAVORITE GUITAR GOD?
JOHN KAYE:Hands down there are 3, neck and neck, for my favorite Guitar Gods in no certain order. Phillip Sayce, Joe Bonamassa, and Jay Kaye




SC: I KNOW MOST SO CALLED POP MAINSTREAM MUSIC CONSIDERS RAP AND ROCK BEING FUSED EITHER A DEAD TREND OR PLAYED OUT, BUT THE TRUTH IS THESE TO GENRES HAVE BEEN MUSICAL BED MATES SINCE THE EARLY 80'S. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE MIX AND DO YOU FEEL ANY BANDS HAVE GOT IT RIGHT YET?

JOHN KAYE:Rap & Rock were a natural. There's so much out there that Rocks with rap. It was said Rock & Roll is dead. Same thing for the na-sayers about Rock & Rap. It's to good to put it down.

SC:CRAZIEST OVERLORDS LIVE SHOW STORY?

The Craziest Live show... I won't kiss and tell. Come to our next gig. It maybe the craziest yet.


SC:YOU GUYS HAVE A REALLY HARD SOUND , KINDA LIKE BAR FIGHT MUSIC . OR MUSIC TO SEDUCED A WOMAN TO. HOW DO YOU GUYS GET SUCH A DIRTY ANALOG SOUND IN THIS DIGITAL AGE?
JOHN KAYE:It's digital. Good producers are worth their weight in gold.

SC: IF YOU COULD JAM WITH ANY MUSICANS ALIVE OR DEAD WHO WOULD IT BE?
JOHN KAYE:Hendrix

SC: WHAT MUSICAN ALIVE OR DEAD WOULD GO ON A DRUNKEN COKE BINGE AND BEAT UP PAPARAZZI WITH ?
JOHN KAYE: Ozzy. He's pretty harmless even coked out. Keep in mind Paparazzi is a job just like musician. The have mouths to feed, besides, it's always great to get your face in places where no one else but them can get you. Good, bad, or indifferent, publicity is always good for anyones career. Look how much longer some celebs stay in the public eye doing bad shit and having photos taken of them.

SC: CAN YOU TELL US WHATS IN STORE FOR YOU AND THE OVERLORDS AS FAR AS UPCOMING RELEASES AND LIVE SHOWS?
AND WILL THERE BE ANY MIDGETS AT SAID LIVE SHOWS?

JOHN KAYE:L.A.'s a hard nut to crack. Since pay to play rules the roost, I doubt many Overlord shows will be in L.A. Since I only want to perform originals, when I do a show, I have to pay for players, venues, promotion, etc, etc. You get my drift? It's insane what's happened to the rock scene in L.A. Yes, midgets are welcome to all Overlord shows.

SC: FINALLY QUESTION. ITS YOUR FUNERAL WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR TOMBSTONE TO READ?
JOHN KAYE:"Life was a cakewalk and I licked alot of icing!"


"A message to all who pursue the golden ring; Know your worth. Playing for free has truly hurt the L.A. scene and opened the door to alot of no talent bands. It's a popularity contest out here. Stay true to your art and play where and when you can afford to do it. Remember, it's not for the money. Money is an indicator that you're doing it right. The free gigs you play are advertising your band, Keep everything top notch. If you're good, you'll survive"-JOHN KAYE

"WORDZ TO THE WISE......................NICCUP!"

YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT JOHN KAYE & THE OVERLORDS(as well as john kayes other music endeavors) , HEAR MUSIC AND FIND OUT LIVE GIG DATES AT


www.theoverlords.com,www.SoulPatchLtd.com,and www.johnkaye.com