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***Photos used by permission of KAS StClare***
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The Metal Pit : Hello
Kas,welcome to the Metal Pit
KAS STClare: Hi Nick Great to be
here!
The Metal Pit : I heard through the
grapevine (hmmm) that you are a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan but I don't want our
readers to think that has influenced me or this interview in any way at
all,right......haha?
haha! Of course not!
The Metal Pit : How did you and
Claudeous meet and decide to form a band together?
We met thru some mutual
friends. They’d been talking about him for months before I got here and what an
excellent guitarist he was, so I was really stoked to meet him.
The Metal Pit : Can you tell us about
Claudeous and the rest of the band?
Claudeous is a story in himself! Can play
multiple types of instruments, and any style including classical, jazz, etc. and
exceeds at all of them so writing with him is a pleasure, but sometimes he can
go way above my comprehension in time signatures and riff changes. Some of our
new songs are far more brutal than the ones that we have on our web pages.
Joe Lopresti, our drummer (nicknamed Dredhead) is a really laid back guy
with great drum skills! willing to try any music we throw at him... which is
cool cuz some heavy metal musicians might think some stuff is too far off
base... but not joe.. he’s always positive and creative about the
music.
Brian McCarver, our new keyboardist, is also laid back and open minded
with music! He’s got some incredible compositions going on in that head of his
and we can’t wait to start writing w/ him. Up until now it’s just been learning
the previously written material.
Marcel Eaton, our new bass player fits right
in! He’s an awesome bass player and killer dude. We’re lucky to have him in the
band.
The Metal Pit : The bands name is
very unique, where did it come from?
I brought that name with me when I moved
here from Oregon. Always had it in my mind because I always wanted to combine a
mix of melody and mayhem. So when Claudeous and I decided to start the band I
threw the name at him and he loved it.
The Metal Pit : I assume the "Serpent" is Claudeous and you are the
angelic "Seraph", and your music is meant to represent the two extremes of your
vocal talents and the style of your music as both beautiful and brutal, am I
close?
Yeah! You could say that... except I’m the evil one, and Claudeous
is the nice one haha! We stand between good and evil... bring it together in a
sense.... Our motto (or whatever you call it) is "between good and evil...we
wait...
The Metal Pit :
Claudeous is still currently in the band Dragonlord and you were previously in
Inflicted Chaos,which are two very different kinds of bands, how were you able
to find a common ground musically?
The cool thing about
Claudeous and I, is that we both enjoy many different types of music. But we
love to play metal. We were both pretty much open to lots of different styles,
so when we started writing the music it just flowed. It was killer because we
didn’t set out to have any specific sound or NOT have any specific sound. We
just went for it and things just came together.
The Metal Pit : I really liked some of
the tunes you did with Inflicted Chaos and the cover of Jefferson Airplane's
"Somebody to love" was very cool,are you a fan of classic rock and older
Metal?
Most Definitely. I love many types of music and different eras! As
for the heavier music I dig death metal, power metal, hardcore, grindcore,
gothic, hair metal :), black metal, hard rock, neo classical, etc, etc...... you
get the idea.
The Metal Pit : How would you
describe the sound of Serpent & Seraph to potential new fans who may not
have heard you yet?
I wouldnt really know how to describe it. Its heavy metal
influence, but we dont really have a specific sound that we are going for or
sound like, which may become a problem when trying to find a record label. But
hey, we gotta do what we gotta do!! If I had to I describe it as a
death/gothic/black progressive band... hows that grab
ya!?
The Metal Pit : The band is currently
unsigned but has a demo cd on the verge of being released. Is the band producing
the cd yourselves?
We had some of the drums recorded in a studio, some
here at home, and we are having it mixed by Greg Marshall and mastered
elsewhere.
The Metal Pit :
Can you tell us a little about some of the songs that are going to be on the
cd?
We will have 8 songs (I think) on the cd. Maybe 9 depending on if I
get the vocals written in the next few days....
I write about many different
things. GLOOM & DOOM! My favorite! ‘Imprisoned Eternal’ & ‘Enslaved’ are
about the typical destruction of our planet & civilization as we know it due
to ignorance and greed...
‘In the Wake’ will be our up and coming video . It
is a slower song that I wrote about someone who has experienced sexual abuse. I
work with an organization called ‘Predator Patrol’ that educates people about
child molestation awareness. We also educate the children as far as safety,
knowledge, and communication concerning this matter. The song is based on that
concept.
‘Diary of Your Death’ is based on the elfin-queen’s future vision
in the novel The Lord of the Rings. She loses her mortal love and is left to
walk the earth alone while mankind slowly vanishes.
Metal Pit : "Predator
Patrol",what a very cool and noble cause.I applaud you for that
Kas. I absolutley love
the tune "Between the Grave and Thee",will that be on the cd as
well?
Well thank you... it will!!
The Metal Pit : I also really like
"Forever Lost" because your voice is so hauntingly beautiful in that song.
Thank you again! , we actually changed that one up a little bit and extended
it . We are sending it off to the violinist. Malcom Watson did the violin on the
original one and we are hoping he can do it on the recording for the
cd!
The Metal Pit : Who writes the lyrics
for the band?
I write all the lyrics. My favorite place to write is in the car. At times, when my brain just
freezes, I go sit in the car and take a copy of the cd to listen to. Many of my
lyrics were written that way. Also, Sometimes I wake up and write words that
come to me in a dream... but those can be quite confusing when I wake if you
know what I mean!
The Metal Pit : You have
an amazing voice Kas, were you professionally trained and at what age did you
decide that singing was something you wanted to pursue further?
I’ve
always been a singer, I think.... My brother, Vido Sinn, is an incredible
guitarist & musician and his passion for music influenced me since I can
remember. He was seriously ahead of his time so it kind of made me listen to
metal in an entirely different light than what was sold in stores. As far as
pursuing it further I think it was around high school that I decided that I too
can get out in front of a crowd.
I tried guitar, but never got really good
at it.. my passion was vocals.
As far as training....I was in choir but
never had professional training.
The Metal Pit :
You sing both clean and extreme vocals, does that take a toll on your voice and
what things do you do to try and take care of your throat?
I think
any kind of extreme vocals takes a bit of toll on you’re voice, but its not too
bad if it’s done correctly. It’s not like screaming at football game or anything
like that!!! Now THAT is brutal! I don’t really do too much to take care of it
(shame on me). I know I will when we are touring though!!
The Metal Pit : Who are some other singers
that have inspired you?
Oh that’s a biggy! do we really want to go there? If
I name one, I have to name them all!! Ok... lets go there...my Mom was a huge
classical music & rock n roll fan so I have many different types....But I’ll
just name a few...
Phil Anselmo, Mark Hunter, Ann Wilson, Geoff
Tate, Christina Aguilara, Don Dokken, Krista Adams Santilli, Debbie Gunn, Lita
Ford, Kam Lee, James Hetfield, Etta James, Luciano Poveroti, Freddy Mercury,
Debbie Gunn, Robert Plant, and on & on.....
The Metal Pit : Wow, that
is a pretty eclectic array of vocalists Kaz. What is your opinion on women in the Metal scene
today?
I think they are awesome!! Metal women rock!!
I can’t believe some of the vocals that are coming
out right now! So impressive!
The Metal Pit :
Personally I think the talent level of females in Metal has just exploded within
the last several years, but do you think women have finally reached the point to
where they are respected for their talent from fans,the media and male
bands?
I think a really good female vocalist has always
been respected in any genre of music. I think as far as accepting women into
metal, women like Debbie Gunn of Sentinel Beast and Doro Pesch of Warlock began
carving a path and really gained a respect for women in this
genre.
The Metal Pit : What
advice would you give to a young woman who may want to follow in your footsteps
and are you comfortable as a role model for them?
I would
say go for it! And don’t let anything hold you back!! Don’t be tied to one
genre, make it your own, and don’t get discouraged... that’s far too easy to do
in this business.
Me a role model??? If that should ever happen I would be
honored :)
The Metal Pit :
The band is from Sacramento California (U.S.) , what if the town like and what
kind of Metal scene do they have?
The metal scene is pretty good! We
have killer venues and there are quite a few people and bands that really make
it great! Mark Gilmore, formerly had a show called ‘local licks’ on a local
radio station and he was a huge part of the success of the music scene here.
Then we have bands that are seriously awesome musically, AND they are out on the
scene supporting. Bands like Jack Ketch, Awaiting the Apocalypse, Wings of
Innocence, Death Under Fire, Psypheria, Restrayned, Deadlands, Steel Savior,
(just to name a few) are always supporting other shows & other bands and it
really does boost the scene!
The Metal Pit : I am familiar with "Death
Under Fire",in fact Mel was a former Maiden of the month for
us. Has the band had the
oppurtunity to play a lot of live shows and if so what have been some of your
favorite clubs to play in?
We’ve played 20 or so. Reno is by far the most
fun. We played a place called Knuckleheads there, but I hear all the venues are
just kick ass! Also, Madhouse/Club Cocomo in SF, Cheyenne Club in Las Vegas,
Roosters in Alameda are on our favorites list.
The Metal Pit : What can fans expect
to see at your live shows?
Our drummer, Joe, does a strip show... no I’m
kidding. We really do try to put on a good show for the fans. We change up the
atmosphere, the mood, and we try to take the crowd on a journey from beginning
to end. We’re all about theatrics and drawing the crowd in! But not too much; we
don’t want the theatrics to take over the music, just enhance it!!
The Metal Pit : If given the
oppurtunity, what band would you love to tour with?
I’m drawing a blank
on this one...I can’t think of any one specific band that I would want to tour
with. There’s just too many!!! All of them !!
The Metal Pit : Other than singing and being in the band what kinds of
things do you enjoy doing in your spare time....if you have any of
that, haha?
Besides the music and football, I love outdoors.
I have my degree in Natural Resource Mgmt. w/ my specialty in Wildlife Biology,
so give me some outdoors and I’m entertained for hours sometimes days! Hiking, biking, surfing, boogie
boarding, snow boarding, horse back riding....
The Metal Pit : Once the cd is finally released, what are the future
plans for the band as far as touring?
We are
hoping to tour. I suppose we just have to wait to see if the cd takes off.
Should it do well, we will be in your town soon !
The Metal Pit : Where can fans find out more about the band and
check out your music and merch?
For now we have our Reverbnation
page. Reverbnation.com/serpentandseraph
Or our facebook
page
Facebook.com/serpentandseraph
The Metal Pit : Kas, what does it mean
to you to be chosen as the Metal Pit's Maiden of the month?
Completely and 100%
honored! I thought, Me? Really? It feels incredible to be on the same magazine
as so many of our great female singers!
The Metal Pit : On behalf of myself and the Metal Pit we want to thank
you for spending time with us today. I think the band is great and am really
looking forward to hearing the cd.We wish you luck in all that you do and hope
to see you at one of your shows sometime soon.
Cool! Thanks Again!
It was
great talkin with you! Thanks to all the readers out there, And thanks Nick for
all you do for the scene!
Horns up
brothers and sisters..........
Nick
Rohm.
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