The Canadian all girl rock band Kittie are back with a new release and a supporting tour. After some time off and a lineup change the ladies are and ready to rock. Drummer Mercedes Lander, who has been with the band since their inception in the mid nineties, took a moment out of her schedule to answer some questions about her gear, her influences, and how she can play with such energy night after night.
Interview by Bruce Moore:
B.M: You have toured pretty extensively with Kittie including the U.S. and South America. How do you maintain that level of energy and exuberance? You sound like you’re ready to go full bore every time you sit at the drums.
M.L: Honestly, I really just love playing. Whether, in a live setting or recording I’m always ready to go. I think you have to have a lot of energy to play for over an hour under hot lights and rock out on top of that.
B.M: Your fourth album "Funeral For Yesterday" was released not to long ago. How quick were you in the studio? Were you able to knock things out in a couple takes?
M.L: Things have gotten easier and easier every time I enter the studio. “The Funeral” drum tracks are either first or second takes which was great for keeping ahead of schedule.
B.M: All of that passion that you play with live must be tough on you physically. How do you prepare for the physical demands of a tour?
M.L: We seriously start practicing the set every day a month before we hit the road. I think out of any band I’ve ever met we practice the most. We're always playing whether we have a tour booked or not. Other than that we usually just make sure to eat right and get as much exercise as we can.
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B.M: Did you have formal education on drums?
M.L: Not really. I took lessons when I was 12 for about 6 months. My first drum teacher was great and taught me how to read drum music which helped me out a lot. My second teacher I felt didn’t care too much so I decided to start teaching myself which worked out wonderfully. I felt like that’s what I had to do in order to develop my own style
B.M: What about your personal influences? Which drummers were you listening when you first started playing drums?
M.L: Alex Van Halen was the first drummer that I really noticed when I was very young. Alex and manhole really had a large musical impact on me since I can remember
B.M: Overall, which drummers have you been the most inspired by?
M.L: I really love Vinny Paul
B.M: Past or present other than Kittie if you could be a drummer for any other band, which band would it be?
M.L: I would really love to go do something crazy and play for like a pop group, a rapper or be a session player. I think that would be fun. Either way I really happy with what I'm doing now
B.M: What gear are you using?
M.L: Yamaha drums and hardware, Evans drum heads, ahead sticks, and Zildjian cymbals. Yamaha sponsors me completely. I am on their world endorsee list. This means if I need a set of drums anywhere in the world Yamaha will supply them. They are a great company and have done some amazing things for me. For example when they built me my last set of drums they didn’t make a pink sparkle so they developed a new color for me specifically and now it is in production .The latest set of drums they are doing for me is a black sparkle set with pink hearts. Sean Browne my wonderful representative from Yamaha helped me design the paint job.
B.M: What is the toughest lesson you ever learned in the studio and on the stage?
M.L: I think just to keep and eye on my tempo definitely when I was younger. Other than that, wear appropriate clothing because your tube top is probably going to fall off.
B.M: What are the main elements of your drum sound and what are the most important tools you use to get that sound?
M.L: Just good old wood, metal, plastic and a whole lot of creativity. I like to keep everything very natural and organic sounding.
B.M: You have played on all of the Kittie releases, did you think about distinguishing the drum performances and sounds from release to release?
M.L: I think just natural progression and growing with my instrument took care of that. Learning new things through the years and improving have really helped to experiment more with each recording.
B.M: Are there any particular drummers you like whose names might surprise us?
M.L: I’m really into the drummer from Copeland Jon Bucklew and the drummer from Lucero Roy Berry.
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