A Perfect Murder

This interview with Kevin Randel of A Perfect Murder took place on July 20 in Providence, RI. Randel is a very honest guy with a lot of interesting views and opinions on just about everything. He has that southern kindness that I've heard a lot about, which I wasn't expecting due to how angry A Perfect Murder sounds. You learn something new everyday. Check out Strength Through Vengence out now on Victory.

PL: Introduce yourself.
KR: I'm Kevin Randel. I'm 26, a Tennesse native, right outside of Nashville; born and raised there. I've been singing since as far back as I can remember. Since my brother brought home some Kiss and Queen and Ozzy records. I got my first real band at 10 and I've been singing ever since.
PL: The rest of the band is from Canada, right?
KR: Yeah, everybody else lives right outside of Montreal.

PL: How tough is it with you living in Nashville?
KR: Its not as tough as you'd think it'd be. Because Bouch (Carl Bouchard-guitarist) and Yan (Chause-Drums), who write the music, are so talented, and they don't need me there with my thumb stuck up their ass to tell them "that doesn't go there." They don't need me to do that because Bouch was the original singer of A Perfect Murder when they started in 2000, so he's always thinking of song arrangements with vocals in mind. That takes a lot of load off of me. I come in, write my lyrics or they're already written, and then I put my vocal lines down on it-I work my magic (laughs).
PL: Do they send you tapes?
KR: I go up there. Its not like I just stay in Tennesse and never participate in the cold wintery Quebec. I go up there about every four to six weeks and we work on whatever we need to work on, whether its rehearsing for a tour or shooting a video or doing some stuff in the studio. Bouch and Yan are machines; they write so fast. Believe it or not, we've already got about eight songs for the next record. I wouldn't say they're complete, but Bouch is a total maniac when it comes to writing. They are so talented that it makes my life a lot easier than I am accustomed to. They're very talented musicians and I'm happy to be playing with them.

PL: What made you guys decide to keep the band name A Perfect Murder, even though you had three new members?
KR: In the hardcore scene, bands seem to change members left and right and always keep the same name. I think what they had established through the years with the old guys was not so big that it couldn't be overcome by replacing them with more capable musicians to where they were trying to grow and develop. With the old guys, not to take anything away from them; they're extremely talented, but what they had, they weren't able to help the band grow musically like the new guys are. They were very limited, had to play more simple type tunes, and now the band has been able to progress.

PL: Is it difficult touring before your new album has been released?
KR: I think it has its pros and its cons, to be honest with you. The pros are that you can build a little bit of a buzz about yourself. You get out there and get your name generated and get some hype going and people get excited for it. But, at the same time, if you don't have your album with you, people may lose that interest and maybe they won't go out and get it when they would have bought it on the spot.
PL: You do have the two song samplers.
KR: We do have the samplers to hand out at shows. I'm really excited about them hearing the rest of the album. The two songs on the sampler are good, but its strickly from a marketing standpoint why those songs are out there. I stand by every song we've done, so don't get me wrong on that, but the rest of the album shows off our much more thrashy southern type of aggression that we've really grown into. We're really excited about people hearing that.

PL: What would you do if you found someone's wallet on the ground?
KR: I'm a big believer in karma. I'd pick that sonofabitch up, and I'd ask around. Is there anybody around where it might be their wallet?
PL: No, but a lost and found is close by.
KR: I'd take it to the lost and found. You know, somebody might find my wallet on the ground and take my money, take my wallet and take my identity and do whatever they will with it, but I'd give it back because thats the type of person that I am.
PL: I asked this question to kids in a program that I work with getting them ready for middle school. I got it from a book about making choices. All but three wanted to look through it and take the money for ice cream. It was pretty disappointing.
KR: I would give the wallet back. Thats just the kind of person that I am. Maybe when I was little.
PL: These kids were 11.
KR: I don't even think I would have done that when I was 11. I'm not 11 anymore, but I just think that thats the way my momma raised me; not to cheat people and earn what you get in life. Thats whats most important. Its not what you take, not what you find, not what you steal; thats not being a genuine and true person, and it starts at a very young age. Another thing about it is, and I hate to get off on a tangent, but you really are who you surround yourself with in life. If you surround yourself with dopers and lazy people, you most likely are gonna be a doper and an unmotivated lazy person. Its a tragedy to see people do that to themselves these days, and I really wish that kids would wise up and learn that its not cool to go out there and get high and get drunk. Thats bull, man. Thats not the way to live your life, all medicated and drowning out your sorrows or trying to fit in with your friends. The best thing you can always do is be yourself.

Thats one of things that I really believe in: being a strong person. When I go onstage, none of its fake. I don't go up there and put on this big facade for people and try to be something I'm not. I am who I am. I don't do drugs, I don't drink, I love my family. I think that the relationship that people develop with their family is something that is going to last forever, not relationships with drugs, because those things will bring you down eventually.

PL: Whats one movie everyone should go see?
KR: I would say "The Exorcist," not because of the shock value of the movie, but because it will make you question everything in your life as far as how you feel about religion and how secure you are with yourself. I like things that challenge the mind and make you think "Why do I believe this?" Thats why kids should go out and educate themselves on everything, all religions. I did the same thing: I went out and I educated myself on all religions. I went to college so I could have a basic analytical conversation with anybody at anytime. Go out and study, and figure out why you believe what you believe. Believe it because you researched it, you found out the facts, and not because somebody told you that this is why you should believe it, or you're going to Hell.

PL: Did you study theology?
KR: No, I studied philosophy. I believe in God, I believe in Jesus, I have no problems admitting that. Am I a perfect person?-No, by no means am I a perfect person and I don't claim to be. I try to live my life and be a better person everyday. For example, giving the wallet back. I just want to be a good person, and in the end, I'll let God decide. I'm not afraid to talk about it, but that doesn't change that I'm an intense and aggressive person ith what I write and how I perform. Yeah, some people may perceive it as negative, but those are the people that really aren't reading the lyrics and trying to understand the message. Thet just understand the anger and thats it. Yeah, there's anger, but also that message of hope and believing in yourself, like "Path of Resistance," "Wake Up and Die," "Body and Blood." All these songs are about overcoming and believing in yourself and not just trashing yourself and drowning yourself in your own sorrows.

PL: Do you like the way people like President Bush and even Osama Bin Laden use God as a tool for their agenda?
KR: Its interesting that you asked me this. There's a song on our album called "Snake Eyes." Its about extremism, whether it be the Muslims of today who dominate the headlines, the terrorists or the Christian heirarchy of the 1600s that burned thousands at the stake and accused them of witchcraft. I think people should stick to the issues and not try to sway voters based on religion. Do we need a strong moral fabric in this country?-Yes, but do we need to go about it in a way in which we misrepresent it?-Like Osama Bin Ladin, like George W. Bush-I don't agree with it. I think its horseshit, quite frankly.

PL: Whats a little known fact about Tennesse?
KR: A little known fact about Tennesse: we don't all wear straw hats and our streets are paved. Its not what everybody thinks it is. A lot of people think that Tennesse is a bunch of people riding around on tractors and horses on unpaved streets. Our city is just like every other city. I'm not saying that there's no redneck towns, because I live in one, but thats the way I am and I wouldn't change it for the world.

PL: Name one album, besides your own, that you think all kids should have in their collection.
KR: Master of Puppets. Metallica, no doubt. One of the greatest metal albums of all time in my opinion. Thats a hard one because there are plenty other great albums out there, like The Beatles The White Album, Kiss Alive, which is a great album. The first Doors album and the last Doors album. I could go on; there's a lot of them out there. I think if you're talking about a particular genre, like my genre of metal, then I'd have to say Master of Puppets because that was the album that changed my whole-I was a little kid when I first heard that, and I was like "Wow!"

I want to set the record straight, here on www.theplaylist.net. We're getting a lot of Pantera comparisons. A lot of that is because the way that Victory's marketing the record, which is cool; they're getting us a lot of attention, and thats fine. We're not trying to be the next Pantara. We're not trying to be the next Metallica. We don't deserve to be even spoken in the same breath of those bands. They paved the road for bands like us, and we're just continuing the cycle. We're not trying to be anybody else; we're just trying to be A Perfect Murder, and I hope people enjoy that.

PL: Do you have any final comments?
KR: We've got a new album out called Strength Through Vengence, and I appreciate your time for coming out here. I hope you enjoyed the show. I just want everybody to free their mind and pick up a copy of our new album. Hopefully, they'll enjoy it. Come hang out with us, we're just like you.

Interview by: RF
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