Interview with Kill Cheerleader vocalist and bassist Ethan Deth

In what is easily the most officially “punk” interview PGA (and yours truly) has ever had the pleasure of conducting, bassist and vocalist of the notoriously wild band Kill Cheerleader broke the interview norm by interview himself. Literally seconds after asking my first question, Ethan inquired if he could read the questions to himself. What transpired after was an unorthodox, self-interview of sorts on the late-night streets of Toronto. Interrupted by some random drunks (all of whom were totally rad) Ethan shot out some rapid responses while in the background his bandmates packed their van and prepped for an overnight voyage to LA. Ironically this interview occurred on my birthday and seeing as both Ethan and I were pretty drunk we certainly had good fun with the questions. Here’s how the interview went down….

Just introduce yourself quickly. (Keep in mind Ethan is posing these to himself).
Ethan: Ethan Deth. Kill Cheerleader.

So, let’s start with some basics… how did the band form?
Ethan: In 1999, I wanted to start a dirty punk metal band, and I found Chad and Useless. We got along real nice. We couldn’t find a drummer; it took ‘til like, 2000 to find a drummer. We finally found him and instantly recorded a demo, which was a mistake… we should’ve waited until we’d played a few shows before we recorded a demo…

JD: [random drunk dude] Hi, I’m JD Fuck, and these guys are pretty good, so listen to the rest…

Ethan: [to drunk guy] Shut up. Stop listening to me! Yeah, uh, we put out that piece of shit demo….

At this point JD and Ethan speak for a bit, then Ethan realises he’s still doing the interview.

Ethan: Oh shit you’re taping.

Chris: Whatever. It’s all good. It’s fuckin’ rock n’ roll who gives a shit right? [laughs]

Where did you get the idea for your name?
Ethan: We used to be called Cheerleader, and then there were 30 other bands called Cheerleader, and we changed it to Kill Cheerleader.

As a band, what are your main musical influences?
Ethan: The first album by Guns ‘n’ Roses, the first album by Crue, Rambo 1, Rambo 2, and the Minipops. [laughs]

Chris: Rambo, nice! [laughing]

Ethan: Yeah!

When first playing shows in Toronto, you were allegedly banned from clubs due to your offstage antics. Can you elaborate on this?
Ethan: …Dude, this is going to take forever.

Chris: Do it in short-form. Whatever….

Ethan: Okay, we got banned from the Bovine because they didn’t pay us, so we smashed their glass door. We got banned from the Rivoli because we lit a mannequin on fire, and everyone thought the stage was lit on fire, but it really didn’t… they thought it was the stage, but it was just the mannequin. We got banned from Rauncho Relaxo because I kicked the microphone stand, and the sound guy was really insulted and he attacked me onstage. We had a fistfight on stage!

Chris: No way!

Ethan: Yep! [laughing]

Are your onstage antics anything like those when you’re offstage, and what exactly is a Kill Cheerleader show like?
Ethan: We’re fine gentlemen offstage. [laughs]

After your Toronto ban, you guys picked up and shipped out to LA. What were your main reasons for this move?
Ethan: We had nowhere else to play in Toronto, and we needed a new place to play.

Chris: Why did you pick LA?

Ethan: Cause… where else would we go? [laughs]

Where do you think you’d be now if you hadn’t gone to LA?
Ethan: Toronto I guess? I don’t know. [laughs]

Speaking of that ban, how did you end up playing Toronto again?
Ethan: We don’t. We just play the Vatican. It’s the only place that’ll have us.

Okay, now for your music. Your sound has got a brash, punk rock style. Is your music greatly influenced by your personalities?
Ethan: No, it’s just influenced by the power of bands like the Stooges and Sex Pistols and Guns ‘n’ Roses.

Are there any themes or messages at all which you convey with your songs?
Ethan: Uh… [long pause] no. [laughs]

Chris: There’s gotta be something behind the punk rock that’s going on up there.

Ethan: Yeah, I don’t have time to answer this one. Can we skip it? [laughs]

You’ve been getting ridiculously amazing reviews from some well-known people. What was it like for you when Motorhead’s Lemmy called you “the best rock ‘n’ roll band since Guns ‘n’ Roses”?
Ethan: We don’t care about positive or negative reaction… we just do what we do, regardless of whether people like it or not. Some people in the band don’t even know that he said that.

Why do you think that you’re currently getting so much attention and positive feedback?
Ethan: Probably because we just put out our first album.

What are your goals with your music career?
Ethan: To have fun.

What lies ahead for Kill Cheerleader?
Ethan: We’ll start World War 5.  [ END ]