I Wrestled A Bear Once

The Gauntlet: Are you in Los Angeles still?

Krysta: Yeah, we are in Los Angeles finishing up our record.


The Gauntlet: Are you just mixing out here?

Krysta: We actually wrote, recorded and mixed the album here. We are in the process of mixing down right now. Mixing as we go.


The Gauntlet: How did you end up in LA for the album?

Krysta: When we started out as a band we had a fan named Ryan who knew about us before we even toured. He worked as an engineer with Ross Robinson (Korn, Glassjaw, Sheryl Crow). Ross owed Ryan a favor and he wanted to do our record. Ryan invited us out to record the album and it has been awesome.


The Gauntlet: Has Ross been bringing out the Sheryl Crowe in your voice?

Krysta: No. I don’t know about Sheryl Crow. I’m not a diva, I am just a girl.


The Gauntlet: That is really cool though that you get to work with Ross.

Krysta: Yeah, it makes us happy that we aren’t giving money to some douchebag. He is doing it for the fact that he really enjoys our music.


The Gauntlet: How long have you been working on the album?

Krysta: We have been here since November working on the album. We will be driving back to Louisiana probably tonight. That’s going to be fun, but we are used to long drives. Just bring a lot of coffee and listen to some classic rock tunes and 80’s music.


The Gauntlet: Is the album done?

Krysta: We have one more song but we are mixing it down as we go. I am really proud of this album as we put a lot of heart into it. We got to do what we wanted to do. If people like it they like it, if they hate it, they hate it. If people really like us, they will love this album. The fans know we love them. We are always talking to people outside our shows. We don’t have big heads or anything like that. I even bake cupcakes for people when I can. We really like the fans.


The Gauntlet: Cupcakes?

Krysta: Yeah. I really enjoy baking. My uncle is a fairly well known chef and I really enjoy cooking. Hopefully one day after the music thing, I don’t know if it will ever end as my whole life has been music, I will put up a café and cook. Cupcakes and coffee, it will be awesome. Cupcakes with a shit ton of frosting.


The Gauntlet: I hate frosting. It's just a big glob of sugar. Most places put on globs of frosting. Any tour dates being lined up?

Krysta: We have some shows lined up in March with a band called Greely Estates and a band from Japan called Fact. They are really unique and hopefully they can teach us to speak Japanese. We are also playing the New England Metal & Hardcore Fest which is really cool. The first day of our tour we are playing with The Devil Wears Prada. We were actually offered that tour but I believe that The Devil Wears Prada turned us down. What are you gonna do.


The Gauntlet: They really said no?

Krysta: Yeah. Apparently they listened to us and were like “yuck, hell no!” We are playing the one show with them and also SXSW. Also we were also supposed to be on a tour with The Number Twelve Looks Like You in March as well but that didn’t happen either.


The Gauntlet: There has been a good buzz lately about IWABO. Do you think maybe The Devil Wears Prada is afraid of being upstaged?

Krysta: I don’t know. I don’t listen to a lot of the music that comes out today. I listen to a lot of Radiohead, Bjork, Led Zeppelin and stuff. A lot of what comes out now is too generic and repetitive. I hate when guys whine when they sing. It drives me insane. Being a vocalist, I hear the vocals when I listen to a band. I grew up around the dudes in Suffocation. I remember when I first started screaming, the singer was shocked and said it was awesome. I also like Protest the Hero because their music makes you think. I don’t like the bands that are …[breakdown]…[whine]…[breakdown]…[whine]. Id the Devil Wears Prada don’t want us on tour with them, I don’t care. I never really listened to them. We put them on. We put them on and they are good at what they do, just not my cup of tea.


The Gauntlet: When you play with them at SXSW you should get your band to take position in the front row and turn your backs to them the entire set.

Krysta: That would start a war though. They’d probably try to do something. I am the only one in the band from New York so I have that New York attitude. When people try to start in with us, I am the one that gets involved. My boyfriend, Steven, then says “god, why do you need to start in with people?” I just try to keep my peace.


The Gauntlet: Is there a firm release date yet?

Krysta: Not yet. We are hearing late Spring, early Summer. It is a long time to wait for the new material, but we will start playing some of it when we begin touring. Hopefully they won’t be saying ‘what the hell is this crap, turn it off!’


The Gauntlet: Was it a good experience writing the album in a more fast paced environment?

Krysta: Oh yeah. We have been on tour up to Halloween of 2008. We went into the studio to begin writing in November. We had a few things here and there, but we have mostly been on tour so had no time to write anything. We took what we had and needed to write a lot more songs. I had to come up with vocals for ten songs all at once. We are actually surprised at how fast paced this album was to write and record.


The Gauntlet: Have you taken any of the Los Angeles life in?

Krysta: Yeah. I actually like LA a lot more now. We have been staying a bit north of Venice wear the studio is. I don’t like driving, especially in the day time. I actually hold the seat out here when we have to drive anywhere. I feel like once we get to where we are going that there could be death the next time we get into the car. It is terrible. I am not afraid to drive, but we have seen so many accidents. Louisiana is much more laid back. Most of the time we are just at the studio though. It is ok though as we aren’t the type of people that go out to clubs. The studio is right on the beach so that is more than enough for us. We really like In-N-Out Burger though and eat there whenever we can. That is our daily adventure.


The Gauntlet: Animal style?

Krysta: Oh hell yeah.

The Gauntlet: Any excitement in Los Angeles?

Krysta: [Steven] and I were walking down the Oceanfront walk with our dog. I have gone running down there in the past and Ross has never had a problem. But we were walking with our dog and some 15 year old kids pulled a pistol and on us and said “bang bang, you all slide?” I was like what does ‘slide’ even mean? Steven and I just starred at them. Steven and I are Scottish and Irish and we both just heard the bagpipes in the back of our heads and were like don’t fuck with us. I am not dying from some 15 year old kid who doesn’t know where his head is. The one guy said to his friend “do you want to take this fool out?” and the other replied “no, I feel bad taking him out in front of his girlfriend.” That was the first time I have had a gun pulled on me. It was insane.


The Gauntlet: Being the only girl in the band, do you request the windows be rolled down for those long drives?

Krysta: Oh yeah! Our drummer, I don’t know what his problem is. He is just this insane gas ball. I fart too and don’t have a problem admitting that, be he is just stinky. I don’t know how he does that to a salad. He just stopped smoking cigarettes and is eating a lot of carrots and it is just coming out as carrot farts.


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Tags:  I Wrestled A Bear Once, fart, Iwrestledabearonce, Krysta - vocals, interviews

Jason Fisher    January 27, 2009