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King Black Acid interview (17.01.2003)
 The American band King Black Acid from Portland, Oregon, has gained cult following
in the psychedelic circuits all over the world. The band was founded in the mid 90's,
and is more or less in the hands and control of the guitarist/vocalist Daniel Riddle.
The band is known locally for its amazing live shows that are often formed of long
tracks with slow and devotional changes in the mood.
KBA's slow, atmospheric and
colourful music has been heard on five excellent CD's ("Wombstar Sessions" '95,
"Sunlit" '96, "Royal Subjects" '97, "Loves a Long Song" '00 and "Mothman Prophesies"
soundtrack '02) and on a couple of singles. Earlier on, the band has made records in two different incarnations:
King Black Acid and The Wombstar Orchestra and King Black Acid and The Starseed Transmission. On the latest CD the
line-up was: Daniel Riddle: guitar/vocals, Sarah Mayfield: guitar/vocals,
Sean Farrel: SH1/Rhodes/vocals, Rich Landar: keyboards/vocals,
Sean Tichenor: bass and Joe Trump: drums and percussions.
I've just heard that Rich Landar has left the band, and apparently
they also have a new drummer. I interviewed the bandleader Riddle in January via email.
So Daniel, you used to play in this, a bit heavier and more rhythm-based
band called Hitting Birth. You toured with Faust at some point. What was it like?
What were your musical influences back then?
 Riddle: Faust was great. Real nice folks. They seemed to try a little too hard to be
"weird" or "arty" but they played some cool music and entertained people.
Faust actually ended up hiring our guitarist Steve Lobdel.
He is still in the band to this day, as far as I know. Steve is an amazing player.
My musical influences vary so greatly...Beatles...Jimi Hendrix…Captain Beefheart...
Santana...Neil Young...XTC...Wire...Brian Eno...Can…The Birthday Party...
Bowie...Kate Bush...Talk Talk… I love music!!!
Did Hitting Birth make any albums? I've got one compilation CD, and the split 7" with KBA.
Hitting Birth made two full-length albums on CD "Thirst of the past three years"
(a comp. of remixes, unreleased songs and live stuff) and "Feel the Freest" We also released
a few full-length cassette only releases: "Another Yourself" and "Hits of Birth" as well as a few singles.
One 12 inch dance mix of the song "Love Me", a 7 inch 45 of Halleluja/Mayberry LSD,
a split 7 inch w/ "Drive On". I'm sure there are a few other releases... I just can't think of them right now.
You have played drums in the past. Was that your first instrument? How and why did you
switch to bass and then guitar? Do you have any "guitar heroes" you look up to?
Drums were my first instrument-yes. I just like switching up my instruments some times...
Guitar gave me more emotional range...more sonic range. I look up to any musician
who puts passion, blood sweat and tears into his or her music.
Please tell us some of your all-time favourite bands?
I don't have a favourite band... I like so many. I'm a musical slut.<7p>
I hear some psych, industrial, indie, post-rock, prog, pop and what ever
influences in the music of KBA. Am I in the right track here? What do you think
about bands like Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized? Would you still label the
music you play as coma core?
Riddle: I love The Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized. Coma core was what we where doing at first.
KBA has evolved and is evolving.
You have had a lot of different members
in different incarnations of your band.
Why is that? Do you throw people out, or do
they just disappear into the black hole? Or explode?
I could write a book on book on why I've had so many players in and out of my projects.
The main reason why some players don't last is because it takes lots of time, dedication,
skill, passion and drive to be in a group. Especially one that does not make a lot of money.
Very few people can keep up with me or put up with me.
Is there a message in your music that you would like to tell your audience? If so, what is it?
The message in the music is personal for every listener. KBA is emotionally demanding music.
The message (I would hope) is a universal one. Feel something.
How has the inclusion of your music in the Mothman Prohesies movie helped your band?
Have you had a lot of publicity? Participating in the Mothman movie was a great
experience that has helped us reach many new fans.
What's the situation with the Mothman Prophesies II
album with remixes and out-takes? Will it ever be released? Any plans for a new album yet?
We hope to put out a "Mothman Sessions" album with re-mixed songs and un-released tracks.
We are always planning on recording more songs. We are shopping for label support at this point.
Are there any old unreleased KBA material waiting in the vaults? Have you recorded any of
your shows for a future live release? I would love to hear a KBA live album!
We have at least three albums of un-finished un-released material. We just need a label
and some money. There are tons of live recordings of KBA out there but none that we released ourselves.
Do you play any of the old songs from the first two or three CD's live anymore? How does
the old stuff work with the new stuff? You used quite a lot of computer on the soundtrack.
Do you use backing tapes or sequencers on tour?
We still play "Alone on Mars". We use samples sometimes to fill out the music.
I feel that KBA evokes some same kind of emotions in the listener as Pink Floyd. Any comments?
I love Pink Floyd!
Have drugs played an important role in the music and ideology of KBA? How do you write your songs?
Riddle: Drugs have often effected or influenced KBA's music. Sometimes it's a positive and sometimes not.
There is no set formula I or KBA prescribe to for song writing. Every song requires it's own special attention.
Some songs are done mostly by me...others are much more of a group effort.
What KBA album do you prefer yourself? Why?
I love all of the KBA records for different reasons. I think I can safely say that
"Royal Subjects is the hardest one for me to listen to. I was going thru some rough times
during the tracking of that album. I was separating from my long time
girlfriend/key board player Melinda. The players all had drug or alcohol issues...as did I.
It was a real strange period of my life. I'm sure the music was suffering because
of all these reasons...and a lot more.
Have you ever played outside the US? Any plans for a European tour any time soon?
We have played in Canada. I have been planning on playing Europe my whole life!!!
What is it like for a band like KBA to live and play in Portland, Oregon?
Do you have a lot of fans locally? Do you get support from newspapers and radio stations and so on?
Riddle: We love Portland. It's a great place. We have loads of really dedicated fans and we are
turning more and more people on every time we play out. Local media has been good to us.
They have to be...we seduce them with our beautiful music and amazing live performances.
At least that's what I hear.
Have you written a lot new material since the Mothman Prophesies soundtrack CD?
What are your new songs like compared to the old stuff?
Our new material? I don't know what it sounds like. You would have to ask the KBA fans.
We write new songs all the time. We record one out of every ten songs we write.
There just is not enough time or money to document all the songs at this point in our journey.
How do you see the future of KBA? Any plans you would like to share with us?
The future will continue to bring us more success...more lessons...more fans...more songs...
more records…more joy...more pain... more experience...and hopefully more snacks.
Do you know anything about Finland?
Yeah... I want to rock Finland!. I can't wait to play there. It would also be really cool to
see the region of many of my ancestors.
Thank you very much for this interview. Anything more you would like to say to the readers?
I would like to add a shout out to our European high priestess super agent Monique.
Check out the cool web site she set up! Also check out www.kingblackacid.com for updates on KBA,
free mp3's, new photos, links to our video, etc… I would like to let people know they can write us
any time for any reason. Please check out our music. It might help you fill a huge hole in
your broken heart or inspire you to climb a mountain or it might even make you cry like a baby...
You won't know until you try.
I would urge folks to check out my other band as well. James Angell's Private Player.
I play guitar and sing back ups. James is an amazing songwriter. His record has received
amazing reviews and he has received personal phone calls from David Bowie, Paul McCartney and many others.
Just to give you an idea of what the band is like...our newest member is John Taylor of
Duran Duran on bass guitar. Just like KBA...this band is a class act.
Check out www.jamesangell.com.
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