Features

Bloodsimple's Kyle Sanders: The Daily Vault Interview

by Darren Paltrowitz

bloodsimple_200 Bloodsimple first came to my attention as a band “featuring former members of Vision Of Disorder.” However, Bloodsimple quickly stood on its own feet, inking a deal with Bullygoat, Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray’s imprint on Warner Brothers.

The New York-based quintet has toured with the likes of Alice In Chains, Stone Sour, Trivium and Sevendust. Summer 2007 saw a stint with Korn on the Family Values Tour, which preceded the October 2007 release of Red Harvest. The band’s second full-length, as produced by Machine, has been earning substantial U.S. radio airplay with first single “Out To Get You.”

Bassist Kyle Sanders kindly answered my questions via e-mail.

The Daily Vault: What do you wish more people knew about Bloodsimple?

Kyle Sanders: Well, without sounding like an asshole...nobody does what we do, like we do, in the conditions we do it in, for what little we do it for!


How would you describe Bloodsimple to someone who's never before heard the band?

Well we all come from backgrounds of metal, hardcore, and jazz, so it's not your run of the mill horseshit...but it's not so far beyond that you can't relate. Tim’s throat alone should at least get your attention.

Again, to the uninitiated, how would you describe Red Harvest in comparison to A Cruel World?

Red Harvest is much more organically written. Songs came together as a band in a jam room rather than one dude laying down riffs on a computer. Plus, two years of constant touring together didn't hurt.

How does your live show compare to the records?

You try and make a record as full and live as you can but nothing compares to a live show... that volume and energy just can't be captured in a studio.

Music industry critics have deemed albums to promote tours nowadays rather than vice versa. Is that something you agree with?

Album sales are in the shitter. We tour our asses off to promote the band and hope to have a career where we can tour whenever we want.

Compared to simply being on a major or indie, what is it like being on a major-distributed imprint started up by a peer like Chad Gray?

Chadness is our middle man...our go-to guy. He's an artist as well and really knows what we do and go through, so it's great to have a friend like that to deal with when something is not going right.

When Bloodsimple began, people pegged the band for being an "ex-members of" band. When did you notice Bloodsimple to start becoming a band of its own?

Well, unless you’re 18 years old, you're gonna be an “ex-member” of something. After we started touring, people knew we were nothing like any of our past bands, and were Bloodsimple... that's it.

The band Ash recently announced that their new album was their "last album." In other words, they were only going to release singles and EPs through their website at their leisure. Would you envision Bloodsimple doing that at any point?

I couldn't tell ya. I wouldn't doubt it if the industry stopped printing CDs, like they did with LPs and cassettes...then it would force bands to release digital singles or fewer songs online...That side of the biz is in rough shape.

When can we expect more music from Bloodsimple?

We already have new ideas, but hope to tour on Red Harvest at least until the end of '08. We may release something for the hell of it on our MySpace site, though.

Finally, any last words for the kids?

I'm just thankful kids still support live music and continue to follow up on what we're doing. I love touring and hanging out with familiar faces and new ones. Without you we'd have nothing!


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