Kon Tiki Interview
Rockabilly has matured and diversified throughout Southern California over the past few years branching off into several distinct directions. Bands like Nekromantix, and Reverend Horton Heat throw a new variable into the formula fans of The Stray Cats have cove to adore. With a faster pace, emphasis on surfabilly guitar, and clean vocals Kon Tiki continues that trend with their own brand of “Nitrobilly”. By the Barricade reached out to the boys in Kon Tiki to find out more about their upcoming album Burning In Paradise. Check out all the info in the transcripts below!
Evan Elliott: Vocals/guitar
Trinity Hines: Vocals/bass
Brenden Hines: Vocals/Drums
I recently saw that you announced your next album Burning In Paradise. Can you tell me anything about that?
Trinity Hines: It’s warm, Paradise got really warm!
Evan Elliott: We are having a photo shoot very soon and we will be using one of the photos for the album artwork. the theme for Burning In Paradise is essentially a couple of things. a lot of it has to do with different personal struggles, such as getting over a girlfriend. I know it sounds kind of cliche but it’s true. There are also some songs that deal heavily with the destruction of the environment such as our title song “Burning in Paradise.” There is a line in one of the songs and I quote, “Modern man is a new disease on a feeble ecosystem.” Long story short it’s basically about living in an area that was once viewed as the paradise on earth has now become a slum of the future.
Between your first EP The Rise of Surfabilly and Dirty Magic I heard much faster pacing and a more pronounced guitar. What other types of evolution can fans expect with Burning In Paradise?
Evan Elliott: I’m going to go ahead and say I think I’m sitting with the best stand up bass player ever so expect a lot faster triplets on the bass. The drums are a little more psychobilly/old school but overall the new album will be a lot faster than our previous releases.
So you’re expanding on your “Nitrobilly” style?
Evan Elliott: Ya, we can’t consider ourselves psychobilly because we have clean vocals and it’s too fast to be considered rockabilly.
Trinity Hines: It’s like psychobilly bass with 90’s/80’s punk rock guitar with fast surfabilly drums.
Around the time the band started, the movie Kon Tiki was released. Is that where the band name came from?
Evan Elliot: I actually read the book back in high school for one of my English classes. We all sat down and decided on names and stuck with that.
Well how did you come up with the band’s backstory on your website and Facebook?
Evan Elliott: We weren’t always a three piece. We had a slide guitar player who wore a tiki mask so he was Kon Tiki himself. We sat down and as a joke we came up with an intricate story about who he was and where that persona came from.
Trinity Hines: That story on the album was actually the first thing I ever heard from Kon Tiki…
Evan Ellliott: With Dirty Magic we’ve come a long way. It was a quantum leap from The Rise of Surfabilly. We redid six of the songs.
Trinity Hines: We still need to redo “Supersonic.”
Evan Elliott: Ya, I haven’t played that song in two years… I have to remember how to play it…
In this interview you’ve said some of the billy genres. Starting now, how many billy genre’s can you name in a minute?
Evan Elliott: There’s obviously the general ones, rockabilly and psychobilly.
Trinity Hines: punkabilly, hillbilly, citybilly,
Evan Elliott: Hellbilly and dubstepbilly.
Trinity Hines: If dubstepbilly was a thing I would drop the genre.
Evan Elliot: No, you would drop the bass!
That might get expensive if you keep dropping that bass.
Brenden Hines: There’s all kinds of ridiculous ones. They just add billy to the end of anything nowadays.
Evan Elliott: Billy has pretty much become a suffix in music genres.
Trinity Hines: People will take whatever they like and add an upright bass player and BAM! They’ve got a new genre.
Members of Kon Tiki are younger than members in a lot of those genres. What inspired you to go this musical path?
Trinity Hines: I was a greaser for a while listening to The Stray Cats and Reverend Horton Heat. It was cool because I could get dressed up and still play really cool music.
Brenden Hines: Originally when I wanted to be in a band I wanted to be a front man and play guitar. I went from that to playing electric bass to playing drums. One of my favorite drummers is Slim Jim Phantom of The Stray Cats and that’s who started it for me.
Evan Elliott: I didn’t grow up in the rockabilly scene. The Offspring are my favorite band so I used to hang out with the OC punks and they got along with greasers to an extent. I grew up with bands like Bad Religion, Agent Orange, and T.S.O.L. so I had that style mixed into my sound. I met up with Trinity and his standup bass playing started it all.
Today is Friday the 13th and you’re headlining a show at Katz Alley. Do you guys believe in any of the superstitions?
Brenden Hines: We have a black cat but I don’t think that counts.
Trinity Hines: Well I’ve tripped on that cat so many times!
Do you have a favorite scary movie?
Evan Elliott: Event Horizon, but it’s predictable. I really like sci-fi movies because when you’re in space you have nowhere to run.
If you all starred in Kon Tiki: The Scary Movie who would die first?
Trinity Hines: I would die first because I’d be overconfident.
Who would be the murderer?
Brenden Hines: Trinity.
You’d be the murderer and first one to die? Sounds like a short movie.
Evan Elliott: Than I guess I’d be the murderer because I’m the angriest.
What would your final words be?
Evan Elliott: Hope you’re ready for the sequel!
Haha! Is there anything else you want to say to the readers of By the Barricade?
Evan Elliot: Be on the lookout for Burning In Paradise. Hopefully we will be in the studio by the end of May.
Trinity Hines: Shout out to our sponsors!
Evan Elliot: Kon Tiki is sponsored by Suavecito Pomade, Island Greaser, LSW Screenprinting, Noble Ale, Deuce Bridges. Thank you to everybody for making Kon Tiki what it is!
Keep it on Bythebarricade.com for more rock, punk and metal interviews, reviews, articles, and photos! Also, “Like” By the Barricade on Facebook to never miss a post. If you liked this article check out:
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