Death Do
1.) We’re super excited to be speaking today with acclaimed art rock band Death Doula; greetings and salutations gang and welcome to Vents Magazine! Before we dive into the Q&A mosh-pit, could you all say ‘hi’ and introduce yourselves to our ever-inquisitive readers? Hi, I’m Kyle. I play baritone guitar. I’m 6’1 and an aquarius. my birthday is feb 2. and, Keith here too. I play bass and synths. I’m as tall as Kyle but less aquarius. Hey folks, it’s Kerry here. Lead singer, guitarist, lyricist, and major Aquarius. Though I’m just a little shorter than Kyle and Keith. 2.) Major kudos and accolades on your freshly-minted debut album Love Spells! Kerry, can you talk about what inspired one of the very best LP releases of 2024? Kerry: Omg thank you for such a huge compliment! Most of these songs are about my relationship with Kyle, my partner. But, you know, life is full os surprises and left turns. My maternal grandmother died and I wrote Dory Joins Alfred about it. And the wealth disparity in Portland and at large really pisses me off, and I wrote Entanglements about it. I tend toward abstraction and both of those songs are examples. But sometimes direct lyrics are the best way to demonstrate a point, and I’d say Dirty Shirt is a good example of straight up saying how I felt at the time. 3.) Kyle, Love Spells was recorded by rightly lauded Adam Lee and mixed by the superlative Bob Cheek! What was it like for the members of Death Doula to work with these two musical visionaries? Kyle: Working with Adam and Bob gave us a space to think more instinctually and emotionally in how we related to the music, instead of having to think about technicality or the physics of sound. Adam’s microphone capture is so good, I never had to worry about whether or not the recordings would be ‘accurate’ to our live sound, I was able to focus purely on creating music. And the mixes from Bob came back so fast, like 48 hours later, sounding better than I could’ve imagined. Kerry : Yeah, Adam Lee actually mixed Disembark and The Witness, and both of those mixes are so beyond scrumptious. 4.) Kerry, we’re big admirers of the tune Poet For Hire which is the second song on the new Love Spells LP! What’s the inside story on this gem of a ditty? Kerry: The lyrics for Poet for Hire were written while driving, as so many of my poems are. It’s sort of about lusting after someone, and taming it momentarily but knowing it’ll return, knowing it’s about to consume you. Feeling so good when they pay you attention, but knowing that there’s a comedown on the other side. It’s all a bit abstract, but I like it that way. 5.) Keith, in your humble opinion what differentiates the Love Spells album from the Distinguished Competition on the 2024 music scene?