ChitChat - With Blake Cateris from Molly & The Krells
Interview By: Jade Guida
Jade:
It is well known that Molly and the Krells have such an incredibly unique sound. Give us a quick sales pitch if you had to describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music.
Blake:
We’re a punk rock band with a penchant for honesty and angst!
Jade:
How would you describe the evolution of your sound and music over time? Do you have a vision for the future?
Blake:
Our first few releases have a much more raw feel to them and that came from us being a band still trying to find our sound. I’m still incredibly proud of what we did in Relationshit and Losing Friends and they remain a snapshot of the band at the time we released them but, naturally, bands and people grow and we wanted to keep moving forward.
We also wanted to make sure that our song writing and live show was deserved of making the jump to a bigger & more slick sound - we didn’t want to use incredible sounding releases as a crutch for our live performances.
Jade:
What is the writing process like for you as a band? Is it a collaborative effort? Do you have a main songwriter?
Blake:
I’ll (Blake) get the foundations of the songs down (lyrics, melody, chords) and once I feel like it’s a solid song at it’s core, I’ll take it to the band for them to work their magic on and we turn it into a Molly And The Krells song.
I’m not a guitarist by any stretch so it’s great to see what Ian and Dan come up with to breathe new life into the ideas. Same goes for Chip, I’m incredibly handicapped when it comes to ‘drum talk ’and Chip is a drummer who always approaches songwriting with the song’s best interests at heart so we’ve got a good little system going for songwriting.
Jade:
Looking at your back catalogue, As a band you are creating pieces that are addressing some pretty big topics while also having a really catchy sound. How does the music affect the lyrics and vice versa?
Blake:
It feels cheesy and a bit of a cop out to say, but we just let it come naturally. We don’t approach songwriting from the angle of “ok we need to make this sound like a Green Day song”, that’s not to say that our influences don’t creep into our thought processes subconsciously. I do enjoy picking up cool transitions, chord progressions or drum ideas in songs and figure out how I can add them to my arsenal and apply them to my own songs though.
I’ll usually have something on my mind and after many painstaking sessions I’ll find a way to articulate what’s on my mind through song. I’ve always been drawn to melody and I struggle quite a lot to write songs that aren’t melodic (big shouting chorus’ aren’t my thing). I’ll usually (but not religiously) work out the lyrics first and structure the music around the lyrics, once the idea’s there, I’ll finesse each part to make sure everything sits right.
Jade:
You play an alternative genre of music and within that punk, punk rock and rock community we do tend to see a lot of gatekeeping and preconceived ideas about who does and should listen to this style of music. What would you say to people who might think this genre isn’t for them? How do you think we can tackle making all genres more accessible?
Blake:
I think for the most part, genres are much more accessible now than they used to, and it’s much more accepted to blend genres together too!
But there are a few FB groups that come to mind instantly when reading this question. People will go out of their way to announce, on a public forum why one band’s music sucks or their new release is terrible because it’s DifFeReNt. It’s a behaviour people carry out when they feel insecure about specific aspects of their own life, so they’ll project a opinion, often purposefully controversial, to coax a reaction out of readers with the intention of gaining some recognition for their thought processes. It’s a lazy tactic that doesn’t win any points with me. Being a critic is easy, being a supporter and encourager of someone’s creative aspirations carries way more integrity and I’m all about that. In an ideal world - and to a degree relevant to this question - one’s music tastes are autonomous and shouldn’t be dictated or chastised by others. Unfortunately we don’t live in an ideal world. I wouldn’t say anything to someone who said our music isn’t for them. I’d just let them get on with their day.
Jade:
There has been a lot of discussion this year about the importance of the arts and music sector. Do you think there has been enough emphasis on the importance of local music and arts? How do you think people can contribute to this conversation and keep this part of the industry thriving?
Blake:
There’s definitely been a big shift from the start of the pandemic, any business that relied on face to face interaction has suffered tremendously. I’ve noticed as a whole, people have begun to look inwards and there’s a collective sense of camaraderie that has started to develop over the last couple of years.
Promoters have insisted on punters holding onto their tickets and not requesting a refund with the #keepyourticket movement, removing the stigma around local bands and the idea that because they’re local, means it’s not going to be a quality show. It couldn’t be further from the truth! There are some epic shows going around for $10-15 that would put an $80 international act to shame.
There’s also the conversation I’ve started having with people about raising the perceived value of live music, stop charging $10 for a show when there are three great acts on the bill putting their heart and soul into the music! The music is deserved of an entry fee of at LEAST $20. That should be the new norm. I guess the flip side of the coin is that bands can’t afford to sit around complaining “we deserve more!” but then get on stage and put on a pathetic performance, we should be charging more but that also means that the punters should getting quality.
I often get sick of dwelling on the financial side over the creative side because for most musicians, myself included, the dichotomy between the two is jarring at times, if I’m not constantly creating and making headway with music or a new song, my self-worth begins to diminish. BUT it’s the “Music Business”, both sides are important to have a grasp on.
Simply keeping the conversation going is the main thing. Making sure it’s constantly present in our mind to support local businesses, being positive and thinking “yay live music!” instead of thinking “ugh, how much is this gonna cost?”, the latter is a dangerous and unhealthy headspace to be in if you profess to be ‘all about supporting the scene’. There are probably plenty more aspects to discuss too but this is what’s fresh in my mind, would love to chat more about it!
Jade:
This has been a hard year for up and coming artists, as a band that has been writing and gigging for a while, can you give any advice to artists just starting out about how to ride out more difficult periods? How have MATK managed to stay so productive in 2020?
Blake:
Find people that you want to be in a band with, that are your friends, not just someone you’re in a band with. If they don’t have much band experience, but are willing to learn and always asking questions, that’s SO much better than having someone that knows how to do things but just can’t be fucked. Drive is everything. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Make music for yourselves, the implication is selfish but it’s not intended in a way to be perceived as if you’re fucking off the rest of the world but what I mean is that the minute you start thinking “we need to write a song like ‘this band’ because people like ‘this band’ ”, your integrity goes out the window. Make the music that YOU want to write and find your crowd. Other than that, go see bands! I think people get too caught up the thought process “oh I can’t be seen at this show because it doesn’t fit my brand” fuck off, go to that Aqua concert if you really like Aqua.
Even if it’s not a band that you want your band to play a show with, be a fan of music. Go see a glam show, a punk show, a shoegaze show, stop thinking about what other people think and enjoy yourself.
Jade:
You recently released “EXPECTATIONS”. Can you let us know the origin of the song and what it means to you?
Blake:
I’m glad you specified ‘what it means to me’ because I think it’s important to understand and song can mean whatever you want it to mean, if it resonates in some way with a listener, it’s a win for everyone. I’ve been reading up a lot about what we know about mental illness in the 21st century and it initially came as a rude shock to find out that a lot of symptoms of anxiety, moreso than depression, I’ve been displaying for a while as I’d spent so long convinced that I didn’t have either conditions.
To me, it’s me expressing what I’ve been going through the past few years getting caught up in the concept of comparison and waking up to myself and realised how detrimental it’s been to my self-esteem and productivity. In my early twenties I started having these ‘episodes’ where I’d wake up at like 3am and start questioning every choice I’ve ever made in my life leading up to where I was at that moment, it sucked! But then I’d eventually fall back asleep and wake up to take on the day like that mini existential crisis never even happened. I took great solace in finding out I wasn’t the only one that did this too. That was the catalyst for putting the pieces of this song together to form Expectations.
The song is me acknowledging that there’s something wrong, finding out what the issue is and finding a way to remedy that.
I started with the chorus. I had it written out in a note in my phone with a melody in my head that I put in a voice memo and I kinda sat on it for ages. I think it actually started out as the first verse of the song and after fleshing the full song out, it stood out as the strongest stanza in terms of diction so I had a light bulb moment to move it to become the chorus. I knew it was worth pursuing but I didn’t have any other incentive like where it could fit in a song so it got pushed to the back of my mind. The 2nd verse came about after I got into this state of mind of feeling quite inferior to all the amazing singers out there doing amazing things, especially those that enter onto the talent shows. It really took a lot of work to break out of that spiralling mindset and to realise, quite simply: Who cares if you’re not as good as them?! because it’s not about that, and shouldn’t be. Music isn’t a competition. But I had this verse basically venting about how a lot of them chase their 15 minutes through these shows only to get left dead in the water at the end of it because they’re never developed the tools to navigate the industry by themselves - I also stress that there’s still some merit in the shows and there are a handful of singers that go on with a complete understanding of what they’re getting into and use what’s given to them to their advantage.
I think the 1st verse was the most difficult thing to finish, it’d been reworked over and over again till I got to a point where I had to tell myself “you’re saying everything you want to say so just leave it!” - this is the section that touches on the 3am existential crisis’.
The negative and jaded language of the verses is counteracted by the uplifting energy of the chorus, finding a way to deal with those destructive thoughts via a healthy coping mechanism - for me that’s rock n’ roll, at a sick bar with my mates.
Jade:
If you had to create a playlist that EXPECTATIONS was going to be on, what are some songs that would be on that playlist?
Blake:
Whack this baby on shuffle:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3eqbVNVoNFEWdrcld1Smi7?si=uvEFSvw3To-ROJB1VyHVEA
Pressure Drop - Black Heart Breakers
Four Simple Words - Frank Turner
Title Holder - The Interrupters
A Boutique Affair - Catholic Guilt
Glad That You’re Gone - The Hard Aches
One By One - Against Me!
Underrated - Nerdlinger
This Is Your Death Song - Everclear
Don’t Take Me For Granted - Social Distortion
Keep Yourself Warm - Frightened Rabbit
Expectations - Molly & The Krells
Thank you for the amazing questions Jade <3
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