When we last saw you guys at the Whisky in 2008 I thought you had a great show. It seems like an awful lot has happened since then.
KIN: yeah, thinking back on it, it’s kind of blurry.. but yeah a lot of touring, recording a new album, lost a singer, got a new one and still rockin.
You have two great CDs out and have put in a lot of hard work regularly touring the States and Europe. Now with a new singer in tow where do you think Vains of Jenna stand at this moment?
KIN: I think we sound better than ever, Jesse brings something to this band that we really need. He’s a great frontman and a great singer. Looking forward to write and record new stuff. And to get out there and see the world!
Being away from home so long must be hard for you all?
KIN: Not really, I love touring, I love going from city to city. The hardest part is coming home from tour, I always go a bit crazy then… If we would just be sitting around in LA doing nothing i would probably miss Sweden more, but we always have stuff to do.
How much of a surprise was it when Lizzy left? How did it all roll out? I’ve heard a few different stories.
KIN: Basically he quit because he wasn’t interested in this band anymore, plus he didn’t want to be away from LA for a longer time. It was quite a shock for all of us at the time, but thinking of it now, we should have known, because he just wasn’t into it anymore. You gotta have fun doing it, and he wasn’t having fun.
How are things working out with Jesse: he’s got a pretty different style to Lizzy? Was that intentional on your part to look for someone so different?
KIN: Jesse was the first one that me and the guys thought of. We’ve seen him round hollywood playing clubs before, and I think he’s a perfect fit for this band. Yes, his style is different to lizzy’s, but in good way!
And there’s the talk of re-recording the 2 CD’s? I love the rework of “Everyone Loves you when you’re dead” Are you seriously considering reworking more songs or was that just to give us a taste of Jesse?
KIN: We’ve re-cut the vocals for 3 songs off “The art of telling lies” so far, including “Everybody loves you when you’re dead”. We’ll see what happens with the rest of the album, we might have Jesse do the rest of the songs too! Right now we’re busy with touring, rehearsing the songs and writing new songs.
The second CD “The Art of Telling Lies” is such a cool album, a real step forward.
KIN: Thank you, yeah I’m quite happy how it came out!
Where did the name of the band come from? It’s pretty cool and striking.
KIN: JP the bassplayer came up with it on a drunken night. People always ask if it has got to do with Jenna Jameson or something like that, and it has nothing to do with that. It means nothing, it just sounds and looks cool!
What is your take on the current Swedish music scene? For such a small country it really does seem to fly the rock flag.
KIN: Yeah, I think Sweden has always had a good music scene. A lot of good rock n roll like Backyard babies, Hellacopters and Babylon bombs to name a few..
A lot of people get into rock n roll and starting bands and all that because there’s nothing better to do in Sweden, at least in small towns..
How important have people like Stevie Rachelle, Bam Margera and Kat Von D been to Vains of Jenna?
KIN: They’ve been very important, without them we wouldn’t be we we are today. They’ve supported this band since the beginning, and just shows how cool they are! They care about music.
It was a shame to hear that the volcano has postponed this year’s Stockholm Rockout – there’s was a great line up planned. I believe that you are still playing a cut back date on May 1st? Are you guys also playing the rescheduled dates in September?
KIN: yeah we’re playing may 1st, it’s gonna be great! Haven’t heard anything about the September one yet.. It depends if we are in Europe or in the States.
Any other festivals this year in Europe?
KIN: We’re playing a small festival in Gothenburg called rockstars wildside, that’s about it. Wish we could do more, I love festivals.
Give us a quick plug for the UK tour in May. What can people expect?
KIN: First of all I have to say that we’re so fuckin exited to go back to the UK, love it over there. We’re gonna put on great rock n roll show, and we’ll have a blast!
You don’t want to miss this people!
Where is the best place to tour?
KIN: Everywhere we’ve been so far has been fuckin great!
I read in an interview that you said you were looking forward to playing places like South America, Japan and Australia as you had concentrated on the States and Europe.
How are those plans going?
KIN: We have nothing booked yet, but we’re working on it! Can’t wait to go to all those places!
What was the worst reception you ever had and did you get anything out of the experience?
KIN: We’ve had a few ones where people have thrown bottles and stuff at us. But you learn something from every show you do i guess. We like to play music whether it’s for 12 people or 1200.. We don’t like bottles though! haha
As the main writer in the band where do you feel you have moved stylistically from the demo days?
KIN: It’s just better now. I don’t ever really think about some style of music I want to do. For me there’s just good and bad. Now we write good songs and we didn’t really do that before. It might sound arrogant, but hey, you gotta be a fan of your own music or you won’t go anywhere..
Where do you write best on the road? In the studio? Or are you one of those people who is just constantly writing?
KIN: There’s always new ideas that pops up in my head, it’s not as easy to get everything recorded and put together on the road, so usually when we’re home from tour I write most of the stuff.
Any new music you can’t wait to get out there?
KIN: Working on new stuff right now like i said, and i’m really exited for people to hear it!
What are your plans for the remainder of 2010?
KIN: Keep touring as much as we can, record new stuff and get the fans something new.
What is the best way for people to find the latest Vains of Jenna news?
KIN: We’re really good at connecting with the fans, so just send us questions on myspace or something. Myspace is where you find all the updates too!
And finally as we ask everyone: what is the meaning of life?
KIN: To live it! The meaning of life is to do what you want to do. Don’t listen to people who try to bring you down! Live your dreams, take risks and balance everything out good.
Try to help other people as much as you can, and don’t ever think you’re better than anyone else. Do the best of what you’ve got! ..I’m still trying myself..
Thanks for taking the time to speak with us at theRockpit.net Nicki. We hope you have a great rest of the year.
KIN: Thanks! You guys rock!
