For NYC’s IKILLYA, it’s all about the journey
When approached about making their upcoming headline gig at the Knitting Factory a benefit show for those affected by the recent Trump administration travel band, New York metal band IKILLYA didn’t hesitate to say yes, adding Iraq’s Acrassicauda to the bill in the process for Sunday’s show.
“For us, it was a no brainer,” frontman Jason Lekberg said. “And every other band on the bill, when I proposed it, they said, ‘Absolutely.’ We wanted to be involved however we could, and we’re just excited to be able to make some kind of difference.”
That’s the climate in the music biz these days, especially in New York, with musicians from every conceivable genre banding together to make their voices heard after an election (and its aftermath) that hit them hard. If there’s a positive at the moment, it’s knowing that people are getting informed, fighting for what they believe in and making their voices heard.
Yet for Lekberg and company (Eric Jackson, Rob Broderick), it’s not just the product of a new president in office, but seeing and hearing things while on the road that made them cringe. When they returned to write and record their upcoming third album, it was with a different mindset.
“We feel like we’ve got this megaphone and we’re gonna use it,” Lekberg said. “Our new record is a lot more political and, as a band, we’ve decided to take a very clear stance. Maybe we can provide safety and security and strength for someone else who feels alone.”
This renewed energy, coupled with their usual heavy attack and subtle hooks, has the future looking bright for a band that is doing things the old-fashioned way. For IKILLYA, their form of social media is meeting people around the country and playing music for them. And if they have to build their fan base city by city, that’s a price they’re willing to pay, and one a lot of bands and artists aren’t.
“I think a lot of it has to do with how our culture has changed,” he said. “We live in what I like to call the post-American Idol world. It’s a world where a lot of people forgot, or were never taught, that being a musician and being a ‘rock star’ requires a whole lot of work and it’s not just standing on line outside of a super dome for 12 hours and then you’re discovered.”
In other words, you become a band by playing — not in a garage, but in front of people.
“Live performance is the place where you experience music,” Lekberg said. “What happens in the studio, it’s an exciting thing and I love to record, but it’s probably the most stressful point of my entire life because you could not have a brighter microscope on you. And that’s a manufactured product. But that live experience and seeing a band that has perfectly honed their craft and put the work in so that they’re tight and they’re a machine, that’s an emotional experience that resonates with you, regardless of genre or style or song.”
And while IKILLYA delivers in the studio and on stage, they do occupy an interesting spot in the metal world, as they’re likely too heavy for radio and not “extreme” enough to bring in that world. So where do they stand?
“I feel like we fit somewhere in the middle,” he laughs. “We’re not Cannibal Corpse, but we’re also not Five Finger Death Punch. But I think this is truly representative of the music we want to make. And from a marketing perspective, that’s what I say to the band. Let’s look at the bands that are at the heavy end of radio and let’s be standing outside that show for people who want something a little bit heavier that still has hooks and melodies. That’s kind of where we sit.”
Few would know the inner workings of the business better than Lekberg, whose day job is running the marketing company Lekberg Enterprises. He’s been behind the curtain at major and indie labels, and he’s put his knowledge to work for his clients and his own band. And he’ll be the first to tell you that the music business is not for the timid, especially these days.
“The white noise is louder than it’s ever been, and I think it’s more difficult to market an artist today than it was 10, 20, 30 years ago,” he said. “Back then, you had print, TV and radio, and that was it. And if you had enough cash to make sure that you were properly positioned in those three places, you would either sink or swim and you would know immediately. Now there’s everything out there. It takes more money and far more effort now to break through.”
But in as honest an assessment as any musician can make, Lekberg isn’t really looking for what he used to anymore. Would he turn down platinum albums and stadium tours? Absolutely not. But his vision has changed and he’s fine with that.
“When I was a kid, I remember the first time I saw Bon Jovi and just being like, ‘Holy crap, that’s what I want to do,’” he laughs. “That’s why I grew my hair long. The back of the New Jersey cassette tape, that was it. I had these dreams of being a rock star, but the longer that I was in the industry and the more that I grew to learn, for me now and especially this band, it’s about the journey that we’re going through as musicians, as people, and the art that we’re creating through that. I stopped worrying that I have to get to everyone, and it’s more about creating the most authentic piece of art that I can that’s the truest to what we do. We love being on the road, we love playing for people, we love writing music and we focus on the journey and hope that people will discover us along the way.”
IKILLYA plays the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on Sunday, Feb. 26. For tickets, click here
For more information on IKILLYA, click here
