PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF FOR US WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH YOU AND YOUR MUSIC AND TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
Hi! We are Kathleen Turner Overdrive and we are a melodic and eclectic punk band from Toowoomba, Queensland Australia. The members of KTO are Lizzard on lead vocals, Mark on guitar and vocals, Adz on bass and vocals and Danny Sharkz on drums. We have been playing music in various outfits individually and collectively for many years and across different genres. Mark and Lizzard started in indie covers bands in the early 90s, including outfits such as Adios Amoebas, The Band That John West Rejected, Mahitabel’s Kittens and even an early iteration of KTO. Mark also played in original bands including contemporary folk band Blister and grunge band Therapy of Noise. They also played with members of Therapy in Dinosaur. Adz played in metal bands like Zenith and Soul Toker. Sharkz plays has played in local heroes Kasper and noise merchants American Frauds.
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM OR SINGLE?
Lizzard: ‘Autosomal’ is a six track EP of rollicking tunes which tell stories that are sometimes serious (without being ‘sermony’) and sometimes tongue in cheek. Our dislike of fascists, racists, homophobes and xenophobes and our love of horror, sci fi, social justice organisations and animal rescue shelters permeate what we do.
Mark: We recorded this EP with a really cool guy in outer north Brisbane, Adam Merker of Anders Debeerz Studio and he was so amazing to work with. I would recommend him every day of the week. Then it was mastered by Jack Shirley of Atomic Garden Studios in California, and wow!! We are blown away by the end product.
WHAT INSPIRED THE ALBUM OR SINGLE?
Lizzard: The time was right for us all to knuckle down and get creative. We were creating songs that we loved and knew we had to record them.
Mark: We had some really great material that we loved playing, and we had also done a locally-produced demo called ‘27’ that we loved but felt was lacking a bit in some of its production values. Dan had recorded with Adam before and raved about him, so we thought ‘why the fuck not!?’.
The first single ‘Unseen’ was inspired by a friend who I have followed on Facebook for a while who I knew when I worked in the mental health sector. I don’t know what her diagnosis is and that’s not really important, but her she was chronicling her chaotic life and I really felt for her, and found her journey fascinating, and it inspired me to write the song. It ends with a sense of optimism and hope and we all deserve that.
CAN YOU SUM UP THE ALBUM IN A FEW WORDS?
Lizzard: It’s an eclectic romp!
Mark: Unique take on the punk rock genre…
WHAT RECORD CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND WHY?
Lizzard: ‘Never Mind the Bollocks’ by The Sex Pistols. After a pretty traumatic childhood in which I
learned to make myself as invisible as possible and keep my mouth shut, I was amazed by the bunch of blokes who were saying what they wanted, no matter the consequence. The adults around me hated everything about them. I was sold!
Mark: That’s hard to pick. As a very young kid I loved the early Beatles albums, and have always been inspired by them. My favourite punk band is The Clash and while not my favourite album the one that had the biggest impact on me was ‘Combat Rock’. Joe Strummer was the Dylan of his time, and I always loved his delivery. And Mick Jones was such an understated and underrated guitar hero.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO FILMED BY YOUR BAND OR ANOTHER ARTIST?
Lizzard: I love the clip for You Am I’s song Berlin Chair set in a warehouse (or some other large open gym-like space), with the happiest man on the planet and a lovely femme dancing their hearts out.
Mark: I have always loved the over-exposed videography of both The Damned ‘Smash It Up’ and The Saints ‘Know Your Product’. Similarly stark was The Cure’s ‘Play for Today’. Videos are a great promotional vehicle but sometimes they are so dumb. 80s metal videos of lingerie-clad groupies or guitarists playing monster solos in the desert. WTF?!
WHAT WOULD WE FIND YOU DOING WHEN YOU'RE NOT MAKING MUSIC?
Lizzard: We have a few rescued animals that demand my attention and a yard that turns into an inner-city jungle if you take the time to blink. I also need to appease my need for horror, sci fi, and documentaries on cemeteries, disasters, history and crime!
Mark: I work full-time in the community sector and currently drive 3hrs/day round trip. I love watching new stuff on streaming platforms and getting back into reading. I play music alot in my spare time - casual solo jams often result in arrangements that turn into new songs.
DO YOU GET NERVOUS PERFORMING LIVE, IF SO HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?
Lizzard: Not so much anymore. These days I get excited for the fun to start!
Mark: No not for ages. I get a bit rowdy if I’ve had a few drinks but I love performing.
HOW DID YOU FORM THE BAND?
Lizzard: In its latest iteration, Mark, Adz and I reached out to our mate Danny in late 2019 after our original drummer had to leave. It’s been onwards and upwards since then.
Mark: It was great to have known both the lads for ages. We were huge fans of Danny’s previous bands Kasper and American Frauds, and Adz is always huge fun to watch playing bass. His basslines are really tight and he plays with his drummer in the pocket! So it was great to have it lock into place, especially as we had started out just playing covers of a very eclectic array of songs in our own style. And as we started writing more originals both Danny and Adz had the chops and the creative nouse to help the band take the form and develop the sounds that the songs all needed.
HOW DO YOU WRITE? - DO YOU HAVE A KEY SONGWRITER, OR DO YOU ALL WORK TOGETHER?
Lizzard: To this point, I have written the majority of KTO songs. I don’t play an instrument but that doesn’t stop me from creating melodies. Usually, the inspiration for a topic will suddenly pop up (prompted by current events etc.), from there I will come up with a melody for a chorus, write the lyrics and then sing it to Mark. Oftentimes I will take the verse melody to him as well. From there, he writes the accompanying riffs and we come up with a first draft arrangement. We use Garageband to lay down a demo which we then share with Adz and Dan. Then it’s over to them to make suggestions and grow the song. It’s a totally collaborative process.
When Mark writes a song, he does the Garageband thing and we take it from there.
Both Adz and Dan have come up with riffs which Mark or I have written accompanying lyrics for, and then the above process has played out to get to the finished product.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Lizzard: Punk inspires me. The ideology as presented by Joe Strummer and The Clash excites me. The broad sound of punk thrills me.
Mark: All sorts of things. I think about some of the shitty things that happen to people in this world and that motivates me to write songs. I have a bit of a pessimistic outlook on life and tend to feel we are living in a dystopian world that George Orwell couldn’t have imagined. But good things too - I have written songs about my wife and kids and also reflective songs about my own failings and misgivings as a human being.
WHAT IS NEXT?
Lizzard: Fun times ahead on the good ship KTO. On September 30 we are playing a benefit gig at The Brightside Brisbane. All profits will go to 4 Voices, an organization that supports girls and young women who are dealing with domestic and family violence or who are at risk of homelessness or social isolation. On October 22 we are traveling to Melbourne with our mates Krave, to play a show at ‘Whole Lotta Love’. We are also heading into the studio in October, working with internationally renowned music producer Steve James. Holy Joe, are we excited for that!!!
Mark: Yeah the recording with Steve James, who has been involved with the production of bands like Sex Pistols and The Jam, will be absolutely epic. We have two new songs we have been doing live that we love, and more stuff on the backburner. We have also been more involved with community radio icon 4ZZZ in Brisbane and would love to do more stuff to support them. They have been really supportive of our music.
PLEASE TELL US ANY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS SO WE CAN SHARE
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicalrelics
Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/TBGmev32Uox2ubf96
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/artist/kathleen-turner-overdrive-34464621?cmp=ios_share&sc=ios_social_share&pr=false