Kill Matilda, for the uninitiated, is a punk/metal-ish band of misfits from the wilds of Vancouver. That's in Canada, for those of you who both failed geography and missed the headline.
The band has become known throughout their homeland for their luscious licks, crazy back story, relentless touring schedule and vivacious, outspoken primal screamer/front woman Dusty Exner. Now, with the help of an indiegogo campaign and a new, zombie-proof set of hell-on-wheels, the band has embarked on a mammoth, six month tour of the United States.
We spoke with Exner from the road in Kansas, as the band was headed to the limitless bounty of Nebraska. We talked a bit about how the tour was going, and why they decided to commit so much time, cash and energy to a tour of this size.
"American bands have a HUGE advantage over Canadian bands," she explained. "Even if you never leave your home state, you're at a better advantage, because there are just so many more people."
"We wanted to hit as many places as possible," she continued, talking about the tour length and layout. "We really wanted to break into the American audiences. We've even been booking the tour on the fly, so that we can play more in areas that have been more supportive."
That kind of flexibility in booking has allowed the band to linger in areas like the deep southwest, where audiences have embraced the act and wanted to hear more. Exner says that the band has been getting a huge response from the all-ages crowds, including shows in Albuquerque played to large, entirely under-21 crowds. Des Moines City Council, consider this more shade thrown in your direction.
You can check out Kill Matilda Gas Lamp on Thursday, Jan 22. But in the meantime, we asked 'em 10 Good Questions.
1: Who's Matilda and what did she ever do to you?
Have you ever seen a zombie movie before?
Yeah.
You know how a lot of times the zombie plague has been started by an outbreak of some military virus, that has been developed in some secret lab, and they don't want anyone to know about it? Well a lot of people don't know that that actually happened in Canada a while ago.
Really.
The Canadian government created this virus and it started zombifying a lot of people. The government started hiring a lot of Zombie Managers—it was actually really good for the economy—to kind of go town to town and kill all these zombies before they could wipe everyone out. So that's how we met; we were all zombie managers.
You don't say.
What we found out, was that if we show up in towns posing as a touring band, people tended to freak out less. Because everyone wants to hear live music. That's good. Nobody wants to know their town is overrun by zombies. So it was either "We're here to play you music!" Yay! Yay! or "We're here because of the zombies" Ahh! Ahh! It just makes our jobs much easier.
I can imagine.
So anyway, the virus that got out and started all the problems was being developed under the project code name Matilda. So our band name is a jab at our side jobs. Because we're all out to Kill Matilda.
2: You're a band with punk and metal influences, two genres known for aggressive and outright anarchist overtones. You're also from Canada, a land renowned for its people's overbearing politeness. When you play gigs in Saskatchewan, how do you avoid being stoned like witches?
Just Saskatchewan?
Yeah.
So you've been there?
Yeah.
Yeah. We just don't play there very often. We mostly just avoid it entirely.
3: Speaking of Canada, what's the deal with curling?
It's like lawn darts on ice. It's giant shuffleboard.
And are you guys fans?
Only when Canada is defeating the US
So. Yes.
4: Did you write your own Wikipedia page?
Um...No. It...spawned from the internet somewhere.
Really?
Yeah. But I'd like to change it, I just don't know how. I'm web-deficient when it comes to that stuff.
What would you change?
It's just outdated. Can you do it? I'll send you stuff.
5: Which has been the more exciting three city swing: Agua Priete, Albuquerque, Midland, or Tulsa, Topeka, Lincoln?
Well, we haven't actually gotten to Lincoln yet, but I'd say Agua Priete. Those three dates were great, because we played in mexico and didn't know what to expect, and it was awesome. Then we played in Albuquerque, and played for, like, all 12 year-olds. And in Midland, we opened for Saving Able, which was kind of a big deal.
6: Name three bands that have influenced your sound, without mentioning Concrete Blondes, Bikini Kill or Comeback Kid.
Misfits, Iggy and the Stooges and the Distillers.
7: On instagram you posted a picture from Las Vegas of Dusty in front of one of the Treasure Island pirate ships. On a scale of 1-10, how much does it suck that they stopped doing the ship battle show?
I don't know because I've never seen it. That was our first trip to Las Vegas, so we have nothing to compare it to. That's like asking a Mormon kid how much they miss Christmas.
8: Is the song “Geisha With a Switchblade” as dirty as I think it is? Because I've listened to it, and it sounds pretty dirty.
Yeah. Well, it's dirty, but it's also very nuanced. I wrote that song about the worst serial killer in Canadian history. For many years, women have been going missing in Canada, mostly Aboriginal women. An Aboriginal woman is four times as likely to go missing in Canada than a white woman. So there's a big issue about how they're treated in Canada, and how the police treat their disappearances, which is usually like they're no big deal.
So for years, all of these women were going missing and nothing was really being done about it. The police would dismiss their disappearences to their own families. "Well, maybe she's just out on a bender." "Maybe she just picked up and started over somewhere else."
So that song was written from the vantage point of a vigilante sex worker who decides to get justice against Robert Pickton. So everything in the song can be read two ways. It can be about sex, or it can be about murder.
9: You ran an indiegogo campaign to raise funds for a new van. How's that beast working out for you?
It had it's ups and downs, but it's stabilized now. It's name it Helga, and it's our home. We're grateful to our fans for helping us get it, because it's provided us with a safe, if sometimes terrifying way to get around.
10: As we've previously discussed, you guys tout yourselves as pretty serious zombie hunters. While in Des Moines, do you plan on having a meal at our famous Zombie Burger?
Yes? Let's say yes. I didn't even know that was a thing.
Oh, it's a thing.
I'm a vegetarian though, so can I eat a non-meat zombie?
