I read on Ultimate-Guitar.com once that Gerard Way refuses to allow his band to be known as an emo group, which is fair enough. It’s not his fault, after all. I read another article in Kerrang! ages ago about a girl who claimed that “MCR Saved My Life“. That’s a prime example of what I’m talking on about. How can a band save your life? It’s not like they ran into a burning building to save her… Anyway, I’m losing track of my point.

A band is never really emo, are they? Sure, they can be depressed/depressing, but so was Kurt Cobbain, he wasn’t classed as emo and never will be classed as emo. He will always be classed by many (but not by me personally) as a rock god who dressed and acted like an everyday American citizen.

Now you may say “What about the music?“. If you listen to “emo” bands and compare them to a punk band, the structure and musicianship are essentially the same. Power chord rock, fast agressive guitar solos, hard-hitting 4/4 drum beats… Where’s the difference? What they’re singing about? Maybe. An “emo” band sings about hating themselves and the people around them, punks bang on about hating the establishment and wanting to destroy various things (I’m sterotyping, I know, but these are just examples). Essentially, both are about hating things, both are negative… There’s a pattern forming here.

Tokio Hotel, often called an Emo band

Anyway, onto another thing; Dress. I like some of the dress sense that comes with “Emo” (I wear black a hell of a lot and swear by Converse – I’ll never proudly wear guy-liner though), but how can your dress sense be set into a class of fashion that ultimatly decides your taste in music? Is it because your favourite band dresses like that or because you want to make a statement? Probaby both…

With punk, most people dressed the way that they did because they wanted to rebel and make a statement with it. Others just did it because they thought Johnny Rotten (or whoever) was a God, and thought that following his beliefs was the way forward. With emo, they dress like they do mostly because they want to copy the band they love so much (these bands have no real stature or oppinions that the fans follow – they just want to be copied – big difference) but when they do it, they emphasise one little thing called ‘emotions’, most of which include them crying in a corner somewhere, usually over the most trivial things. This really reflects onto the band (or bands) that they’re following. They may love the band, but they’re killing their reputation without even knowing it.

So, I will ask again, do you still think there’s a viable reason for creating a new style of music for something that is just Punk but… dressed up? Sure, you may think that MCR or whoever you happen to worship deserve a whole catagory to themselves just because they’re gods in your eyes, but they already have a catagory, and it’s called pop-punk.

That’s all the emo is. Dressed up punk, or (as I said) pop-punk for short. I know that an article like this one isn’t going to really effect the minds of the masses a great deal, but I just want people to take heade of the fact that emo isn’t (and should never be) a style of music. It will only ever be the dress sense that a group of fans have adopted – nothing more.

“We went really dark, a lot like an old horror movie theme” says founder Jonny Smith of Kill Brand Clothing‘s late 2009 line. “We were doing the last designs right before Halloween, so that might’ve been an inspiration in terms of what was going on – what movies were on, and what everyone was doing. We went with it though. We got a couple of new designers that were just sending us ideas that were really dark, and I thought “You know what? We are Kill Brand, so we should go darker with it. We should give it a shot“. The summer is always so bright and so poppy. Some people might really love it, and some people might be a little scared, but I’m thinking the scared people will think “Ok, well I trust them, so this is ok to wear“.”

Zach Merrick collection

Variety is the spice of life, something Jonny agrees with, a man whose position means he can enjoy creative freedom.

“Yeah. The freedom to be able to do that is very great. As a business owner, I don’t really have to check with anyone to see if something is going to be ok. It could be the worst decision ever made, or it could be the best. I’m willing to take those gambles in the expression of art, and range.”

As with any given story, Kill Brand Clothing‘s story inevitably has its beginnings. Drumming in Tokyo Rose at the time, musician Jonny Smith formed Kill Brand Clothing in earnest around 2001. Here, Jonny charts its formation, and steady growth.

“What happened was I had this hot pink T-shirt. Everyone made fun of me for it, so I just spraypainted K-I-L-L to do a gig, to toughen it up, and make it a little edgier. It took off from there, and a lot of my friends were asking for versions of it and what not. It really started as a joke, and then it went from there.”

When K-I-L-L was spraypainted on that pink T-shirt, was that two middle fingers to those making fun of it?

“Yeah, in a way” admits Jonny. “But it was very tongue in cheek. It was just members of my band and friends who said “Oh, nice pink shirt“, and this was before pink was very accepted. So in a playful way, yeah. I just thought it was the toughest word I could think of, and then more and more people kept asking me for it. I realised that no-one had a trademark or anything, so I went from there, selling them from out the back of the van and at shows, and so on. They were spraypainted (laughs).”

[quote]

From selling Kill Brand Clothing T-shirts from the back of a van, Jonny spearheaded the company’s growth.

“I went from selling them from the back of the van to actually investing in a screen printing machine. We were basically just doing graphic tees and what not for awhile. I had a screen printing machine in my room – I had a one bedroom apartment, and so I was screen printing them in my room. I stopped playing music, and then started doing clothing full time, but kept in tune with the music, so I would go on different tours, selling merch instead of playing. That was after I tried to take it a little more seriously.”

Kill Brand Clothing’s growth came at a cost, the cost being Jonny‘s position in Tokyo Rose. Jonny took the decision to leave, wishing to concentrate mainly on Kill Brand’s expansion.

“Basically, I got a little busy with it. I was playing music for a long time, and wanted to be able to have a home, and not a van (laughs), not that I was able to buy a home straight away. But I just wanted to be able to get something more stable.”

Obviously, this prompts Dotted Music to ask Jonny which he would deem more important: music, or designing clothes?

“I’m interested in both” Jonny asserts. “I still play in a band, but just don’t travel. With designing clothes, I’ve just always been coming up with ideas for whatever design – I’ve always drawn as a kid. So basically, it goes hand in hand, and uses my creativity on both ends.”

Jonny’s name is prominent in literature written about Kill Brand, which leads one to wonder the following: exactly how many hands are at work in the clothing label’s engine room?

“As far as owning the company, it’s just me. We do have a bunch of designers that we go to for different ideas. A lot of the time, I just jot down an idea for a shirt, and then think of who can do the best job. Our in-house guy is a kid in high school; he’s young, he’s seventeen, and he comes up with a lot of great ideas. He’s a pretty cool dude.

All Time Low's Zack Merrick

We work as a band as well; we make money, and put it right back into the line. It’s like when a band puts out an album; they have to pay back the label, so they work, they go out and tour, and make the money back. How much we have coming in is how much we put out, so every once in a while, we put out a lot more pieces, and then if it doesn’t do so well, the next one’s not gonna be as big (laughs). It’s always a gamble.”

It’s safe to assume that musical groups approach Kill Brand Clothing with rough design ideas, as Jonny confirms.

“We do a lot of collaborations with bands. They’ll hit me up, even just to do their own merch. They’ll say “We have some music, and we want you to use this idea that we have – it’s cool“. When we do collaborations, it works out that we send them designs using their ideas, and then we work from there.”

Collaborating with musical groups whose forte isn’t clothing design likely has its drawbacks, the drawbacks being that musical groups might suggest weak design ideas. Jonny disagrees, however.

“There haven’t really been any bad at all. It’s very laid back, this whole business. They say “How about this idea?“, so it’s a lot of just bouncing ideas off of each other. Bands are easy to work with because they’re just focused on the music, and they trust us in a way. They say “Whatever. You look like you know what you’re doing“. We gear a design around their style as well, so if it’s a poppier band, we’ll make the design bright and colourful, and if it’s a darker band, we’ll match what they do.”

However, the fact still remains that musical groups might suggest weak design ideas. The possibility of weak design ideas being suggested doesn’t phaze Jonny though, it must be noted.

“Usually, we’re friends, so it’s easy to say “Well, I don’t know“. A lot of the bands that we work with were friends of mine at one point first, so I’m comfortable enough with them to say “I don’t know man. I don’t like that too much“. Also though, if they’re behind it, we’re willing to take a chance on something, even if it’s not going to be profitable. We’re not totally corporate over here.”

As a given item enters the design process, that item undergoes a series of critiques, whereby certain aspects are improved upon. A designer has to know when a given design cuts the mustard, and is ready for distribution.

“A lot of it is just hit and miss” the Kill Brand founder confesses. “We work a lot like a band; when we’re designing and we come out with a line, we’ll say “Ok, we have four that are almost the hit singles“, and then the couple that show that we appreciate art and what not. There’s the eleven minute songs, and the three minute songs, so we incorporate that with releasing a line. We’ll do trend spotting, and we’ll feel what’s going on as far as colours and what not. We’ll go from there for the ones where we think “Ok, this is to help keep us in business“, and “Ok, this is what I think is cool“, or “Ok, this is what we think are cool“.”

Feedback regarding new Kill Brand Clothing designs comes from friends of Jonny, as Jonny amiably reveals.

“I’ll get a design, and I’ll send it to a few of my close friends through instant messenger. I know they’ll tell me if it’s horrible, so I trust my friends a lot. If everyone’s in agreement that something is horrible, or something is great, then we’ll just run with it, and try our best to make it work.”

As curiosity strengthens, it causes one to wonder about Kill Brand Clothing‘s identity.

“The cool thing about us is we’re not really mainstream” Jonny proudly declares. “We have a lot of followers, so I like to think that they back what we’re putting out. We can change our lineup a lot; for example, this season we went really dark. With whatever art we were being submitted, we thought “Ok, this is cool. Let’s just run with this“, and went from there. Hopefully, people still say “Alright. Well, that’s cool“. If they think it’s cool, then it must be cool. There’s some companies that I’ve always looked up to, like our good friends at Rockett Clothing. If they back something, then we think “Alright. Well if they like it, then it must be something cool“. We try it out, and hopefully, it’ll have the same response.”

A tee from Zack Merrick Collection

Kill Brand Clothing designs have been requested by stylists from GQ Magazine, featured in Alternative Press and Wonka Vision Magazine, and worn by celebrities. Seth Green, Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump, Steven of Steven’s Untitled Rock Show, Nicole Richie, Ashlee Simpson, and Jessica Simpson all have worn Kill Brand designs. Groups such as Second Hand Serenade, Fall Out Boy, The Used, My Chemical Romance, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, and countless others all are noted fans of the label itself. Approached on the subject of what bands and celebrities have worn Kill Brand Clothing designs, Jonny talks us through how this celebrity endorsement process works.

“We’re actually putting out a line next week with Zack Merrick from All Time Low, the pop band. They’re gonna be submitting their designs, and we’re gonna be putting them out through our label. We work with bands from that genre, where it’s really poppy, to death metal bands like The Black Dahlia Murder and Unearth. As far as celebrities, we’ve had actors like Seth Green and Ashlee Simpson wearing our designs on TV. That’s been a really big help, since we don’t really have to pay them. It’s usually just favours, where a friend of a friend knows someone, or we know them directly. They say “Yeah, ok. I’ll wear a shirt. I’ll support you guys“, so it’s always been that. Like I said, we don’t really come from corporate money. Everything that we’ve done has been usually a favour, a payback, and we try to do the same thing with other people.”

Which path Kill Brand Clothing will travel in the years to come is anyone’s guess, though steady growth will likely be at the heart of its agenda.

“I’d like to go as big as I can” Jonny confirms. “We are starting another line through Kill Brand called Kids Into Living Life, which is gonna be a little more acceptable (laughs), and not as shock value. As far as Kill Brand goes, I don’t plan on stopping any time soon with it. Hopefully, we’ll make moves where we don’t have people turn on us. We made the decision to keep our supporters, by not really selling out too much, and not really running too many ads, and making it hard to find so people don’t feel silly wearing a shirt at the mall, or to a show where everyone has the same thing on.”

Check out this video about the Zack Merrick Collection of clothing:

Robert Gray is a freelance interviewer, whose interview series “Hit The Lights” can be viewed exclusively at Ultimate-Guitar.com. If you wish to contact Robert, you can email him at robertpgray@ymail.com.

Accidentally, we’ve got few examples of these cool merch products, and we are going to give them to you! I don’t expect that you are a fan of STS9, but isn’t it a great chance to become one, or at least get a couple of geeky clothes for free, as an Xmas present?

What we are giving away

• White STS9 Derby Hat
• Red STS9 T-Shirt
• White STS9 Socks (yes, a pair of branded socks)

The photos are at the bottom of the post.

What you need to get the prize pack

Subscribe to this blog. Dead simple! Just use this RSS link, or subscribe via email (in the sidebar on the right side). On December 22nd, I will publish a post with simple instructions on how to claim your giveaway entry. Only subscribers will see that post though.

The catch? Dotted Music doesn’t have that many subscribers, as of yet, so entering this sweepstakes gives you a pretty high chance to win.

Of course you can unsubscribe anytime, and you can just check the feed on the 22nd, but I do hope that you’ll enjoy the blog and find info from the feed informative enough to keep it landing into your RSS reader or email box.

Please note: this contest if for the US residents only.
The prize won’t be shipped until early January, unfortunately.

About the promotion

STS9 will release their new studio effort Ad Explorata tomorrow, December 8, through 1320 Records. It’s the tenth release in their discography.

As the band explains, “Ad Explorata was inspired by the idea that there is always more to be discovered, manifested by the belief that you can always push towards the unknown and unexplored, and created by the will and desire for constant artistic evolution, expression and change.” Visit their website to read the full “Genesis of Ad Explorata” (check it out, awesome story!)

More info on the band can be found at their MySpace and Facebook pages. Follow STS9 on Twitter.

You can also listen to some of the band’s tracks, including the latest single, “Oil and Water” (always a pleasure to use the Topspin player):

More about the prizes

Here are pics of the sick prizes:

UPDATE: The contest is now closed, and the winner is Kimball Packard. Congratulations!

So what do we do so that we can sell without “selling out”? The main thing – if it does not hurt the music or artistic intent, do it.

You are a rock band, and everyone in it has a great body? Play shirtless! You are a jazz band? Got a really flamboyant bass player who always looks like he’s gonna launch his rocket when he solos? End with that, so nobody remembers your boring pianist. Play childrens music with punk influences? Pass out cookies to everyone who yells “NO NO NO!” during the bridge of “Time Out is My Time“.

Lady Gaga at MuchMusic Video Awards

Now that basic advertising is taken care of (learn to draw peoples eyes!) look at who is listening to your music. It is not everybody. I have yet to see a metalhead headbanging to the Cheetah Girls. You have an audience. They are the reason you come home from gigs with money. Never forget that, and learn about them.

Ask them questions. Talk to them. Sign their shirts and let them admire your gear. Teach them to play a song (they will love you; one of the bands I actively listen to taught me to play a song I liked on bass, it was the most amazing thing ever) and be a friend. But most of all, watch and learn. They are the source of your money. Learn to make that money flow much more readily. Let me show you some example fans (I made these guys up)…

• Yolanda Miranda Landa

Gender: female

Clothing style: really bright and preppy

What she does at shows: dances to the beat, talks with other bright preppy dressed friends

What she says about the band in comments on myspace/facebook/twitter: “OMG this is really catchy,” “I like that rly funky sound in ‘Danger’ at the show last night,” “(on Steve the drummer’s picture) u look so cute here!!”

What songs are on her (hot pink) profile: “Believe” by Lenny Kravitz, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye, “Take on Me” by Reel Big Fish, “Danger” by the Humanity

• Ian Pod

Gender: male

Clothing style: really lazy, wrinkled, stained, hair unkept as well

What he does at shows: sits off to the side, you usually don’t know he’s there, but he seems be a little early to the shows so he can watch the band set up

What he says about the band in comments on myspace/facebook/twitter: “cool music!”, “lol,” “nice solo in ‘Danger’!”

• Barry Apple

Gender: male

Clothing style: very formal looking, a little bit “hipster”

What he does at shows: usually at the bar with a shot or two, hitting on some women, taking business calls

What he says about the band in comments on myspace/facebook/twitter: “great job at the show last night! loved it!” “(on Steve’s picture) and that is why you get all the women, Steve,” “is that a bassoon on the recorded version of ‘Danger’? that’s cool!!!! record more of your songs XD!!!”, “lol Fred,” “stuck at work, listening to your music again”

What songs are on his (slick green) profile: “Supersonic” by Jamiroquai, “Walking on the Moon” by the Police, “Virtual Insanity” by Jamiroquai, “Take on Me” by A-Ha, “Readymade” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Certain Shade of Green” by Incubus

Now I’m gonna ask you some questions.

What do these fans have in common?

What seems to be the thing that makes these guys like the shows?

Assuming this is already a funk rock band with a lot of pop influences, what would the band need to do appeal to these types of fans even more?

Answers are in the next week’s follow-up article! Leave your own thoughts in the comments.