Recently I got the opportunity to chat with Eddie Veliz, the singer and guitarist for Los Angeles-based hard rock trio Kyng. Not only that, but I also caught the band live at Bogart’s in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the first date of their summer tour with Black Label Society and Wovenwar. After Kyng’s set was over, Eddie and I had a brief but insightful conversation.

Tuned Up: Thanks for taking the time to chat with me, Eddie. Burn The Serum just released a few months back now on Razor & Tie Records, and we actually covered it here on TUNED UP around the time of its release. Talk to me a little bit about the writing process.

Eddie Veliz: The writing process was weird this time around because we were on the road. A lot of the parts that turned into the album were written on the phone with voice memos: trying to record guitar riffs, vocal riffs, and just humming tunes into the phone. As soon as we got back home, we jumped right into our rehearsal room and started melding everything together. Before we knew it, we had an album. There was not very much pre-production because we had very little time to get it done and get it out, so a lot of the songs maybe weren’t as short as other people wanted them to be. But those are the songs and we’re gonna play them the way they are.

Well that’s exactly the attitude you want to have with it. I wanted to ask you about the whole touring situation; you guys have been on the road forever. Practically anytime I look, you’re on the road. You had a little bit of a break not too long ago, but just got back on the road. You played a couple of shows with Black Stone Cherry and We As Human, and now this tour with Black Label Society and Wovenwar has just gotten underway. How does the constant touring affect you guys as a band? How do you like touring, and what kind of cities have you enjoyed the most?

It’s funny because we go on bouts where we love it. We hit the road, we can’t wait, and it’s go, go, go, and there’s other times where it’s like “man I want to be home.” It’s totally bittersweet and right now I have things going on in my home and in my life. I’ve got a rad girlfriend and I just want to make things happen; you want to do that family and friends thing. You just kind of get taken away, missing birthdays, holidays, and all that. So there’s a give and take – sometimes it’s a bummer; sometimes it’s not that bad, but “it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll.”

This band has been together for four and a half, five years now. We have our second album out, we’re definitely road veterans, we’ve taken a whole lot of bumps, and we’re withered. We’re a bunch of old dudes that still want to rock. We love playing Atlanta though; we have a lot of friends out there. Baltimore is great just because people still know how to rock there. You go out there and they come in drones. They just want to rock – they don’t care who is playing. Certain parts of Canada have been amazing, so it really depends. We’re not big fans of playing LA – they don’t care; they’re too snobby. And that’s where we’re from, so we know the drill. You play a show out in LA and you have a hundred-some odd dudes folding their arms and staring at you like “oh I have a band too and I would have done something different.”

Talk to me a little bit about Razor & Tie. That label is super-diverse, from the singer-songwriters to the Artery Recordings imprint all the way to Kidz Bop. I think it’s safe to say that there’s a little bit of everything on Razor & Tie. What does the label offer to you guys?

They’re really trying to do something with music that at times we’ve forgotten: trying to break bands in rather than trying to get that one song from that one band, sucking them dry and kicking them to the curb. We keep our fingers crossed – to us, being on a record label is like being hired at a department store. You have a lot of workers and a lot of people doing cool stuff. Some people get ahead of you and some get behind. Hopefully they can treat us all like equals, people dig the album, and we can make a whole lot of money for them and us.

What about your inspirations? I know every musician and even non-musician has so many different inspirations and influences – past and present. What is that like for you, and how have some of these influences shaped you as an artist?

I pay homage a billion and one times over to Tony Iommi and Jimmy Page. Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin: those are my top artists. I love a ton of bands but those are the ones. When I die, the last song on my last breath, I want to hear “The Rain Song” by Led Zeppelin and that ending of that guitar. Then there’s the big fat riff that was created by Tony Iommi; I try to make it a point to rip him off in every song that I write. *laughs*

I feel like every time I think about “present” artists, I get deeper and deeper into the classics. Not that there’s not a lot of bands out there because we love The Sword; those are our brothers. The Sword, Red Fang, Orange Goblin, Baroness, and all those other bands that I guess people would consider “stoner rock.” But we also like David Bowie and Prince and Depeche Mode and The Smiths. We love Pantera and Opeth, and I could go on. There are so many great bands out there, but as of now? Brand new as of 2014? I couldn’t tell you. I try to keep up but I just can’t. It’s funny because my girlfriend loves a lot of brand new bands; she plays them for me and I’m like “that sucks, turn it off.” There’s a handful every now and again that’s cool though.

Now does your girlfriend like your band? I know some bands with loved ones who just so happen to be their biggest fans, and then there are others, not so much.

I don’t know, but I don’t think so. She’s not been really straight with it. She says she does and she knows some songs, but then again she’s watched us play so many times. On the other hand, my brother, who recently passed away, God rest his soul. He was one of our biggest fans. So I know that feeling too: he would wear the shirt and know the songs and he’d be at every show in LA. I miss that dude a ton, and I know the feeling to have that champion by your side. No matter what you write, they’re going to love it.

Thanks again for taking the time to chat, and I look forward to catching you guys on the road once again, hopefully in the near future.

Feel free to check out my review of Burn The Serum if you’d like to give it a read, and keep an eye out for this Los Angeles-based trio, who are bound to stop by a city near you.

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