EMQ’s with KIRRA
Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Oklahoma City, OK based Hard Rock band, Kirra. Huge thanks to guitarist Daxton Page for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
My name is Daxton Page, and I’m the guitarist for KIRRA. Originally, I left a camp/school in Oklahoma that got young kids together to learn how to play an instrument, and always play with other musicians to form a band. A couple kids came with me but ended up flaking out. Luckily, I met Zach Stafford, our drummer, through mutual friends of our parents. After, we searched through tons of ‘musicians seeking musicians’ websites, and found our luck with Craigslist when Ryne McNeill answered the ad. He had a friend, Jesse, who could sing and play guitar, so we thought it was a perfect match considered we wanted to be a dual guitar 4-piece band. At our first rehearsal, we wrote a song that would turn into ‘Drown’, off our first LP “Run Away”. Then, we knew we had something we should pursue together. In 2018, Jesse unfortunately passed away in a car accident, and in April of 2018 we found Gabriel Parson to be our permanent new singer, and we’ve since released a couple singles ‘Sixteen Suns’ & ‘Decider’, as well as our new full-length album “Redefine”.
How did you come up with your band name?
Jesse had suggested the name to us, and we thought it sounded short, simple, and catchy so we said “yeah!”. He eventually told us he had a stockpile of cologne that was called Kirra, and that was where he got the name. Turns out, it’s named after a beach in Queensland, Australia!
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
Locally we are from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in the US, which is smack dab in the middle of the state. The metal/rock scene there is very underground. There’s lots of metal shows, but I think the breakout bands are underground at the moment, which is exciting! More regionally speaking, bands like Blacktop Mojo, Nothing More, Sons of Texas, and Lullwater are starting to get some traction and we are all in the Southwest part of the country. So, it looks like the South is where it’s at for rock/metal at the moment in my opinion.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Our first LP with our new singer Gabriel, called “Redefine”, which is an apt name considering this album is a shift stylistically from the past. It’s 17 “songs” in total, and the reason I put songs in quotations is because some of the songs are more like transitional pieces or intros to other songs. We wanted to be able to take our time with a long piece of music so we could get a message across, but we didn’t want the audience to have to sit through a 2 or 3 minute intro if they just want to get to the songs.
Who have been your greatest influences?
I would say the bands biggest influences are artists like: Alter Bridge, Sevendust, Tool, Shinedown, Avenged Sevenfold, and Twelve Foot Ninja. Personally, my biggest influences are people like Mark Tremonti, Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Mayer, or Tommy Emmanuel.
What first got you into music?
When I was a kid, I grew up in a music-loving family, no one really played an instrument, except for a cousin who showed me my first couple chords, and an uncle who played as well. However, I really fell in love with guitar when I started to hear guitar solos like the one in ‘Like A Stone’ by Audioslave or ‘Open Your Eyes’ by Alter Bridge. I was so drawn to the emotion that could be expressed from a guitar solo; I knew I wanted to do something like that.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
There are so many it would be difficult to narrow it down to one. If I had to pick one, I’d say work with Nothing More. We toured with them back into 2018, and I really admire their creativity and passion. I’d also like to collaborate with a lot of the bands I listed from our region earlier.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Download probably. I’ve seen so many great performances from the festival with awesome crowds it would just be surreal to be a part of.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
We’ve had lots of great gifts from fans, but we’ve never really been given a weird gift. SO, I guess I don’t have an answer for that one unfortunately! In due time, check back in on that haha!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Seek the truth at all costs because the alternative is worse.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Probably Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. He was an insane talent that left a mark but had a lot more to share I feel.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
There are no words to describe the connection you have with an audience that is into your music, and just feeling it with everyone else in the room. It’s timeless, almost transcendent or a religious-like state. I hate the downtime in between those moments, I almost wish we could do multiple full shows a day on tour, but that would wear us pretty thin haha.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Get rid of ticket/venue monopolies so artists can sell tickets for the price of THEIR choice.
Name one of your all-time favorite albums?
“Blackbird” by Alter Bridge. I have lyrics from the title-track on my arm for my grandmother. It’s a stellar hard rock album.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Whichever is most accessible, so I would say downloads. If “best” means sound quality, then I think it’s pretty subjective.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Probably the night we played our hometown with Sevendust and Tremonti at the Diamond Ballroom. It was packed and full of fans and family, it was a special night to say the least. Plus, we got to see spouses after a month away.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Probably teaching. Something like Philosophy, Psychology, or Economics. I’d like to think of myself as an informed-amateur in those fields, currently. I know enough to know I need to know more haha, but if I had time to develop my studies, that’s probably where I’d end up.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Probably Jonny Hawkins, Brent Smith, Mark Tremonti, Clint Lowery, and Steve Vai. All differing personalities and perspectives, I think interesting discussions would happen during dinner!
What’s next for the band?
More and more music, and hopefully a tour, once all the COVID stuff dies down. We’ve really been writing a lot during this downtime and we hope to get music out as often as possible in the next few years.
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
We have all our releases on Spotify, Apple Music, and every other digital streaming service. If you want to keep up with us, you can check out our Instagram: @kirra_music, Facebook: Kirra Music, and our website KirraMusic.com
Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?
Biscuit. Though it is cake-like, I would label it a cakey biscuit, as opposed to a biscuity cake haha.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thanks for having us on, hopefully we can do this again! I would just say go check out our new album “Redefine”, and our singles ‘Caving In’ and ‘Free’!
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