Killola

In the digital wild west that has become the music industry, indie bands are trying all kinds of things to make money.

One Los Angeles alternative rock band, Killola, has come up with the concept of the "living album," which it is selling while on tour for its latest album, "Let's Get Associated."

Here's how it works. The album comes in the form of a dog tag that looks like the ones soldiers wear around their necks. This one comes with a slide-out USB stick that has all the usual bits: music, photos and videos. So far, not that unusual from the USB wristbands that artists have been selling for years at their merch table.

What sets Killola's tags apart is that fans can use it to get access to the bands' future concerts and music releases. Each time fans plug in the USB drive, it checks to see if there are new songs or messages from the band. If there's a concert, fans plug in the USB tag into their computer during the event to tap into a live stream.

Killola The band's bassist, Johnny Dunn, worked with Aderra Inc. in Los Angeles to create the product. Aderra, which records live concerts on to USB drives and sells them to fans after the event, did a trial run of the product in June and have since streamed two live shows, said Edward Donnelly, Aderra's chief executive.

Dunn said his band has sold about 400 of the tags so far at $40 a pop. He said his band will continue to feed the USB with fresh content while they're on tour for their current album for the next four months. Sadly, Killola's concert Saturday night at the Roxy in L.A. won't be live-streamed due to restrictions on recording set by the venue, but Dunn said fan-recorded videos may become available sometime after the show.

Why give away so much? Dunn says the world is different now than when he was a teenager listening to the Beastie Boys and Guns 'N Roses.

"I remember having their posters in my bedroom, but that was it," Dunn said. "With the Internet, we feel we have a personal relationship with our fans. You can’t just put a CD out every year now. You have step out of that poster on the wall and become a real person. With technology, it’s remarkably simple to do that."

-- Alex Pham / LA TIMES - Los Angeles Times

How manys ways does Killola kick butt? Let's count. First, they "freeleased" their entire 2nd album "I Am the Messer" online for (you guessed it) totally free. Second, they're one of the bands that's revitalized the LA rock scene. Third, lead singer Lisa Reiffel is smokin'. She reminds us of a young Belinda Carlisle with a dash of Nina Hagen. We could go on and on, the point is that you should make it a high priority to catch their punky, power-pop rock sound at the Roxy.

http://www.killola.com/i/images/latimes1.png - LOS ANGELES TIMES

“For a band who operate out of their garage in Los Angeles, Killola have accomplished more than entire ZIP code’s worth of garage bands...”

(Killola chosen as 1 of 10 of "Tomorrow's Bands, Today")...
Issue #235 2008

http://www.killola.com/ap/ - ALTERNATIVE PRESS

The band I’m especially rooting for – and given the attention they've accumulated in the City of Lights, maybe the one with the best shot – is L.A. quartet Killola. On their 2006 EP Louder, Louder!, the irrepressible Lisa Rieffel (see photo) and her pals were quoting Blondie (in “Rip-Off Artist”) and teaching quirky ‘80s new wave pop hooks how to stomp glitter-rock-style in ways Avril Lavigne or Katy Perry only wish they could. Since then, they’ve maintained a steady stream of visibility with vinyl 45s, a live DVD, even a digital album you can wear around your wrist. Now, there’s I Am the Messer, which just might pack as many eccentric but indelible melodic and rhythmic twists into its 10 songs as any rock record this year.

For pick hits, I’d name “This Is How the World Ends” (Björk/goth inflections set to an insomniac Chicago,“25 or 6 to 4”/Green Day,“Brain Stew” riff appropriate for lyrics about having short breath and/or a short dress at 2 a.m.); “Is This a Love Song?” (guitars gurgling like synths while Lisa cutely tick-tocks Cyndi Lauper-style about a girl crush); “Personal Graveyard” (fast, high-strung, weirdly shaped proto-pop-metal Pretenders gymnastics); and “10,000 Pound Ego” (screeching Clash-rock with a ska undercurrent). Plus, proggish parts, witchy parts, Axl parts -- all of it delivered, somehow, as high-energy rock. Accessible to the hilt, a party and a half, but with an overall sound not much like any band you’ve heard before. How rare is that these days?

http://www.killola.com/i/more-paramore-t.html - RHAPSODY EDITORIAL

“This DIY band is going places. You'll need to brace yourself for the drool-able Lisa Rieffel, who blazes over Sparks-like tracks like she just gave Gwen Stefani a bloody nose.”


http://killola.com/i/images/laweekly.jpg - LA WEEKLY

As the RIAA continues its battle to prevent, well, pretty much everyone from Internet downloading, Los Angeles-based garage quartet Killola is finding success by doing just the opposite...

http://www.killola.com/pollstar/pollstar.jpg - POLLSTAR (feature)

"Killola trades the art-school bent of like-minded band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for musical theater, mixing new-wave hooks, punk attitude and a playful side that begs for a day-glow '80s-style video." - Charlotte Observer

http://killola.com/i/images/charlotte.jpg - CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

"Los Angeles rock quartet Killola sounds like either the most polished garage band you've ever heard or a group of session musicians letting loose in a raw, uninhibited jam session. Frontwoman Lisa Rieffel and her trusty crew of expert instrumentalists certainly have the musical chops that professional careers are made of, but they also exhibit something that has become increasingly rare in an industry where efficiency is valued more than emotion - a dangerous, free-wheeling, unrestrained, youthful energy. As Rieffel alternately snarls and coos behind the mic, the band unleashes an aural assault comprised of blood-thick power chords, methodically pummeled drums, and growling basslines. "Strung Out on Sunshine" is a taste of the band's irrepressible energy and penchant for gigantic rock riffs, a demonstration of their expertise in writing anthems to pacify girl rockers awaiting the second coming of Courtney Love."

http://killola.com/i/images/urb.jpg - URB MAGAZINE

http://is.gd/4KgTN - Full Press List