Interview with Kyle Kendall

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

• My dad was always blasting bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Metallica so I don’t think I really had a choice of it being a huge part of my life.

  Ever since the plans for animation on these videos fell through I’ve been building out scenes in Unreal Engine so some form of game development could be really fun.

  Either that, a poet or maybe I’ll take a stab at writing a novel sometime.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

• I definitely fit the mid-30s metal musician stereotype where I love playing video games, and going to the gym.

  I’ve been doing muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on and off since 2009.

  I think each one of my many obsessions plays their own part in helping the creative process.

How long has your band been around?

• My solo project 01:25 is brand new, with the first release being last month but “Our Sorrows” my other active band has been around since 2019 with some of my now defunct projects dating back to 2006 or so.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

• I’m based out of Flagler Beach, a little beach town north of Daytona and south of St. Augustine but I’ve been lucky enough to spend time a good amount of time in Central Florida, Southern California, and Honolulu Hawaii.

  I can’t say for sure if any of these places individually influenced me but I think meeting talented musicians throughout these places has definitely made me better.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

• The name “01:25” has a cool little reveal in the animated series I have planned for this concept album.

  Alternatively, my initials are K.K so I thought having the hands of a clock the shape of the letter K was pretty cool too.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

• The most memorable show was definitely the last “Our Sorrows” tour with “Alesana” “Picturesque” “Palisades” and “Vampires Everywhere.”

  It was my first time playing the Whiskey, an iconic venue that my favorite bands of my childhood would play all the time so I was more nervous for that show than anything else.

  We had such a great response and the crowd was so generous to us, I’ll never forget it.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

• Any time in the past I’ve been lucky enough to play House of Blues Orlando has been amazing, as well as The Masquerade in Atlanta. I absolutely adore those venues.

  I guess you could call it a festival moreso than a venue. But I’ve always been obsessed with the Wacken Open Air ever since I was a child.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

•  Whether it’s a great fit or not if I could share a stage with Opeth, Nightwish, and Sonata Arctica I think I’d be happy with how the rest of my life turned out.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

•  Understand why you’re writing and/or performing songs. Be true to that reason and yourself and not much else matters. Trust your judgement on things, be willing to learn and compromise.

If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be?

• Persistence is the single most important skill, especially as an introvert because you’re not going to have the same luxury of networking that an extrovert will.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

• Of released songs “Our Sorrows” has a song called ‘Anima’ that’s incredibly important to me. It was essentially a final letter that I was writing when I found myself in a really tough spot that we were able to visit from the perspective of those that leave too early and those that are left behind.

  In both the upcoming “01:25” release and the “Our Sorrows” upcoming release there’s some songs with very personal attachments that I’ll be happy to talk about on their release.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

• I think ‘Sink or Swim’ is my absolute favorite song to play live with Misery being a well requested song that we don’t really play live

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

• I have what I think is an interesting way of looking at songwriting where I look at being a songwriter as a conduit and the song ideas themselves as entities that want their stories told.

  Mostly my own mental illness is the inspiration if I can be honest but I do think I pull a lot of imagery from video games and anime.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

•  Each song has its own story to tell honestly, but I do think I have a consistent theme of loneliness and being misunderstood

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

• Oh of course, I think anytime you’re in a group of people you’ll have disagreements, like any friendship an open line of communication and transparency of intentions is key.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

• “01:25” will be consistently releasing singles until the album drops and “Our Sorrows” will be doing the same.

• “01:25” will be releasing the second track called ‘Fireflies’ 05/12/23

• It can be pre-saved at https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/0125/fireflies