Koffin Kats

Koffin Kats released their latest album, My Way And The Highway last month via Sailor’s Grave Records. The project serves as a follow-up to the Detroit-based band’s 2009 effort Forever For Hire and finds them once again unleashing an undeniable mix of punk rock ‘n roll and psychobilly.

We here at eBurban got a chance to talk with the band’s lead vocalist Vic Victor about My Way And The Highway. Revealing the inspiration behind the album’s title, Victor said, “There’s a song Waylon Jennings sang called ‘Lonesome ‘Orny & Mean’ and one of the lines in the song is ‘been traveling these highways… been doing things my way.’ I thought a play on that was quite fitting for this album.”

The project comes on the heels of two straight years of touring and the trek definitely had an influence on the finished product. “Well anyone who knows our previous recordings should understand by now we strive to never write the same album twice,” he explained. “This one is probably our most solid and driving record yet. It was inspired by our travels and written with the intensity of a live show in mind.”

If forced to pick a favorite song off of My Way And The Highway, the singer would choose “Locket of Sin”. “It has a grim story and a good swing to it. It’s one I hope to play live eventually. It’s a beast to sing but I like those challenging songs,” he said.

The band was forced to make a line-up change after original guitarist Tommy Koffin decided to leave for personal reasons and though Vic was sad to see him go, the vocalist says the band now has a tighter sound.

“Tommy is one of my best friends. It was a bummer to see him go but this road life isn’t easy if you’re trying to start a normal life which was his case,” said Vic. “He didn’t want any of this to stop. He just couldn’t do it anymore and it was his idea to give Ian a try on the guitar. I would say we have a tighter sound since his departure, not because it isn’t Tommy playing but it was at that same time that Eric and I were really starting to take this whole band thing seriously seeing as it was now paying the bills and last thing we wanted to do was go back to a time clock. We dove hard into the material we were playing when Ian came in, and wanted to perfect it as much as we could.”

So what can fans look forward to Vic dabbling in after his bass playing days are over? “Maybe outlaw country when I’m old and can’t throw a bass around anymore,” he answered.

The band will announce their touring plans for the remainder of 2012 soon. If you haven’t seen them perform yet, add it to your Bucket List immediately.

“It’s hard to pick one out,” said Vic when asked about the most unforgettable tour experience of 2011. “but we did have the honor of touring with two legendary psychobilly bands on a night liner tour bus throughout Europe last Feb. The Meteors and The Long Tall Texans. It was one of those experiences where you realize you must be doing something right to be welcomed on a tour like that!”