Greetings brothers and sisters, today on the Metal Pit from the Chesarena in Pittsburgh Pa. (U.S.) I have the distinct privilege of interviewing the one and only Mercedes Lander from the band Kittie.Yes the "Thunder Goddess" of the drum kit was gracious enough to give me some time today to answer a few questions for us about the tour and what lies ahead in the coming months for the band.
　
　
　
　
Metal Pit : Hello Mercedes,thanks for joining us on the Metal Pit today.

Mercedes : Hello to you and the Metal Pit and thank you as well.


　
Metal Pit : Kittie is currently on the "Thrash and Burn" tour how did you get involved with this tour and how is it
going for the band?
　
Mercedes : Well, this lineup is a little different than what we are used to, we thought it might expose the band to a slightly different crowd than we are used to.



Metal Pit : Yes, I agree and I still don't know why they are calling this the Thrash and Burn tour because these bands really aren't what I would call Thrash, I mean Kittie is closer to that than any of the rest of the them and I really wouldn't classify you guys as Thrash either, correct?
　
Mercedes : Kittie was,is and always will be a Heavy Metal band.We have never felt it necessary to try to fit into some of the more trendy  hybrid molds that seem to be out there today. We have never apologized for who we are or for what we do, we are a Fucking Metal band and proud of it.



　
Metal Pit : With the exception of Kittie the rest of this tour should have been called "The Guy-Liner Tour", don't you think, haha?

Mercedes : Lets just say we are all different and bringing us together to play for the fans can only be a good thing in helping to get our music out to a more broad spectrum of people as did our last tour with Insane Clown Posse, that band has some very diehard fans and they were so cool to us every night. We had some killer circle pits going at some of the shows and it was wild to see fans of all genres together and having a good time.


　
Metal Pit : Yeah, sorry not a fan of ICP or that type of music at all but I do understand what you are saying about appealing to a different kind of audience. The band seems to be playing a lot of festival type shows as a support act this year,was that something that just kind of fell into your lap or was it planned.

Mercedes : Well,I guess it was a little of both and we really have no problem being a support band other than the fact that we cant do our full set, but we love playing for our fans in any capacity we can. We did headline a few shows as well and will have a few more later on in the year as well.



　
Metal Pit : I read that the band has had it's fair share of problems on the tour,care to tell us about it?

Mercedes : Well, really the biggest problem was the bus we originally had kept breaking down,we even missed the first show on the tour and it was pretty much a constant thing we had to deal with until finally it Fucking Died which none of us were too sad about but the timing sucked and it made for a few very long and stressful days but now we have a new tour bus and things are going great with the tour. You know shit happens on the
road and that is the rock and roll life sometimes,you just deal with it the best you can and move on.



　
Metal Pit : The band will be finishing up this tour in a few weeks then heading out in support of Devil Driver, are you guys excited about that tour?

Mercedes : Fuck YES, this tour is going to be brutal. After Thrash and Burn we will have a few days off to rest our weary bodies but then it is back on the road for the Devil Driver tour which we are all very psyched up for.




Metal Pit : Kittie is a band of road warriors that is for sure, you guys just tour relentlessly. I think this is the 4th or 5th time you have been to Pittsburgh alone in the last few years. As a fan I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that because it seems with the emergence of the internet and all that comes with it,some bands seem to shy away from extensive touring and are content to just sit back and let the fans watch a You-Tube video of them playing live which most of the time is of very poor quality and in my opinion makes a very poor first impression for that band. What is your take on this issue Mercedes?
　
Mercedes : Oh God, I will never understand why some bands decide to take that route,I mean you have to tour and if you are in a band you should "want" to tour. I absolutely love playing live for our fans,there is no other place I woud rather be than on stage playing the music that I love. The internet is a great way to reach the fans and bands need to take advantage of all it has to offer but no way way in Hell can it ever replace taking your music to the fans and relating to them in a more personal level.You need to feel the music,get out in the pit and work up a sweat and get to experience that special connection between fans and the band.......there will never be a substitute for playing live, NEVER.




Metal Pit : I could not agree with you more Mercedes, very well said. Speaking of the internet, in the old days bands used to put up flyers and trade cassette tapes with fans and other bands as a way of self promotion, today with I-Tunes, My-space, Facebook and all the others it seems those ways of promoting a band have all but been forgotten. What are your thoughts on promoting the band?
　
Mercedes : You still do have some of that old school type of promotion going on and most bands have street teams that are a huge help when it comes to those types of things.As far as Kittie,none of us really get too involved in promoting the band other than playing live and selling some band merch but we all do pay close attetion to the cyber world and this band does take full advantage of those mediums to help get our music out to some fans that may not have a chance to see us play otherwise. The internet gets a bad rap for some of the things it has to offer but as far as promoting your band and your music,it is a very powerful tool if used in the right way.



　
Metal Pit : I remember seeing Kittie play at Ozzfest in support of your first cd "Spit" which seems like it was about 100 years ago, haha. Anyway, I picked up the cd and had been playing it pretty much non stop by the time the Ozzfest show came around and I have to admit I was a little worried about how the mostly male crowd was going to respond to an all girl band playing on the hallowed ground that Ozzy built but I gotta say you guys just kicked everyone's asses and made quite an impression on me as well.I mean you were all just kids and you showed no fear and most importantly took no shit from some of the drunken neanderthals in the front row.From that day on I have been a loyal fan of the band and kinda feel like I watched you guys grow up before my eyes.

Mercedes : Thank you Nick,haha yeah that does seem like about 100 years ago. Alot has changed for us since that tour but it was a great opportunity for us to get our music out to some massive crowds and yes we were young but we also learned alot and everyone on the tour was just wonderful to us. We were so thankful to Sharon and Ozzy for that opportunity, it really opened up alot of doors for us back then.




Metal Pit : This business can be brutal on some bands and on their personal lives, what are some of the things about this business that you love and some things that really piss you off?
　
Mercedes : Well, we all love what we do. Making music and playing for our fans,we live for that no doubt. As far as things pissing us off we are not alone in the fact that we wish the actual artists who make the music would get payed. People seem to have this misconception that we are all rich rock stars who lead this really glamorous lifestyle with limos and mansions and all that....well let me tell you that could not be further from the truth as to who we are. As I said we absolutley love what we do, we could not do this everyday if we didn't love it, but traveling in a a cramped bus from town to town everyday and living on fast food is not what I would call living the life of luxury. The band unfortunately is usually the last one to get payed after the record company,managers and everyone else takes their piece,there really isn't much left over. I just hope someday we can all figure out a way to compensate the artist and even things out a little.If you are a band just starting out and you want to get into this to make money, do yourself a favor and chose another path because chances are that will never happen.



　
Metal Pit : Kittie are really pioneers in my opinion when it comes to females in metal,I mean there really weren't any all female metal bands out in the scene when you guys came along. What is your opinion of women in the metal scene today?

Mercedes : We are very proud on what we have accomplished in our career as far as helping to break down some of the stereotypes that existed in heavy metal but we as female musicians still have a long way to go. I personally see more female fronted bands out there today than strictly all female bands.I also see a lot of women who seem to be very comfortable in being "skanks" than they are in actually having any talent and those kind females hurt the legitimate musicians like ourselves who can actually play an instrument and sing.We are musicians,"we can play" and the fact that we are female and wear makeup and sometimes like to dress like a woman should not ever take away from the fact that we are musicians first and foremost.I think some of the ladies out there today have lost site of that and are more worried about how big their tits are or how tight their asses can be in spandex.




Metal Pit : Point well taken Mercedes. What kind of music do you listen to when not on stage?
　
Mercedes : People might be surprised but all of us have different types of music we like to listen to in our down time. Sometimes it is metal and other times it's pop music from the radio that you can sing along too. We love all types of music and appreciate talented performers no matter what the genre is.

Metal Pit : So what lies ahead for you and the band the rest of 2010?
　
Mercedes : Well,this current tour will finish up in a few weeks, we will have a few days off then we start the Devil Driver tour, then I think we have a few months off to end the year but who knows, there might be some surprises along the way as well, haha.



　
Metal Pit : Can we all expect a new cd from Kittie sometime in 2011?

Mercedes : We will be writing new stuff in the new year for sure and if all goes right there will be a new cd in the works for 2011.



Metal Pit : Where can fans find out about tour dates and band merchandise?
　
Mercedes : Fans can go to "kittierocks.com", and we are on myspace, facebook.......all the usual mediums



Metal Pit : Is there anything at all you would like to add to this interview?
　
Mercedes : Come out and see us play live, you wont be dissapointed and we would love to meet you. We really love our fans and the interaction with them is something very special to all of us. So, support the band and support heavy music any way you can.

　
Metal Pit : Mercedes, on behalf of myself and the Metal Pit I want to thank you so much for this opportunity.It has been an honor meeting and chatting with you today and I wish you and the band the best of luck with all that you do.
　
Mercedes : Thanks to you Nick and the Metal Pit, we really appreciate what you guys do as well.



Metal Pit : Your the best Mercedes, see you at the show.
　
　
Metal Pit : I also want to thank Morgan, Ivy and Tara from the band who chimed in from time to time to make this interview a very cool experience for me.
   This all would not have been possible with out Kittie's manager's Bill Meis and Stephen Pomroy who were both great and very accomodating to me.
    Last but not least , I can never forget my brother in Metal Blake Mossey who is the mastermind behing the Metal Pit who gave me the oppurtunity to write about the music that is my lifeblood.