by Alexandra Mrozowska
— Senior Columnist —
It’s always a tricky situation when it comes to debut albums. Many acts we now consider to be staples of their respective genres didn’t make much of a buzz with their very first offering. Think Bon Jovi, who enjoyed the enormous commercial success only after releasing their third album Slippery When Wet, or KISS breaking through with Alive! after three rather unsuccessful studio records. Sometimes it seems a trial-and-error method in attempt to establish a certain musical formula is initially more of an error.
But there are also debutants who take the audience by storm, and a young Welsh singer Chez Kane is one of them. Her first solo album is yet to be released (due to see the light of day on March the 12th on Frontiers Music SRL) but the response to her first two singles released in advance to the record was, in her own words, “mind-blowing.” Chez Kane was written and produced by Danny Rexon, the founder and lead singer of Crazy Lixx and one of the Millenial artists responsible for resurrecting ‘80s Melodic Hard Rock scene back in the mid-2000s. A recipe for success? Looks like it! We caught up with Chez to talk the circumstances of making the album, her fascination with the ‘80s Melodic Rock and more…
Hardrock Haven: So let’s start from what I think is a big positive – having released two solo singles so far, are you happy with the feedback you received?
Chez Kane: I’m absolutely overwhelmed by it. I wasn’t expecting the response I’ve had for the two singles, ‘cause I didn’t know what to expect. Obviously, bringing back the ‘80s feel today I didn’t know how people would receive the songs and the sound and it’s been absolutely mind-blowing.
Hardrock Haven: Your debut release is out on March the 12th and usually first albums are seen as an attempt to define oneself as an artist. So is it exactly how you imagined yourself the first addition to your solo catalog?
Chez Kane: I love loads of different genres of Rock and it always goes back to the ‘80s for me, because the first love of Rock music was Def Leppard for me. I’ve always loved these awesome infectious ‘80s songs and ‘80s music. So when Danny [Rexon] approached me to do the album, I instantly fell in love with the project. I knew it was for me and I was in the studio the next day, working my butt off… Definitely, I’m really happy with how everything’s come out and it’s exactly how I envisioned it.
Hardrock Haven: And how did you hook up with Danny?
Chez Kane: Danny discovered me through doing covers on YouTube (laughs). He wanted to do this project and he was looking for a female singer to front it. He came across my cover of “Edge Of A Broken Heart” by Vixen and went on to contact me. Obviously, I loved the idea and I just snapped up the project.
Hardrock Haven: What was the collaboration with Danny like and – considering his experience in songwriting, recording and producing – do you think it was also a learning experience for you?
Chez Kane: Yes, absolutely. It’s been an amazing experience and Danny’s a very, very good songwriter – everything that he sent my way, I’ve been absolutely in love with. I love his songwriting and I didn’t wanna change any of it. The songs were just absolutely perfect when they got to me and I love them. The experience has been really amazing and we’ve worked together really, really well.
Hardrock Haven: So there weren’t any cases of actually rejecting a song he sent? And have you always found it easy to adapt emotionally to Danny’s songs, especially the lyrics, so that you could give a convincing performance?
Chez Kane: (laughs) There hasn’t been any songs he sent over that we didn’t work on. Everything he sent just worked. And you know, sometimes when you hear music, you just instantly fall in love with it and you just know that you’ve got that connection. It’s because I’ve always had that connection to that style of music anyway, it was just me falling in love with this music straight away.
Hardrock Haven: Danny described his vision for your album in terms of bringing back the “quintessential female rocker” to the forefront of Melodic Rock. Is it also how you see yourself as a solo artist, also further in your career?
Chez Kane: Definitely. I feel quite similar to Danny in the respect that he feels that it’s missing in today’s market and the music scene. ‘Cause obviously [the scene] is quite male-dominated. At the moment, there are loads of fantastic male-fronted bands doing this style of music, but we feel that there’s the female rocker missing and I feel like it’s definitely something that I want to continue with. And hopefully, if this album goes down well, then I’ll do more albums in the same vein.
Hardrock Haven: It will, absolutely! Speaking of “quintessential female rockers,” as Danny has put it, what are your biggest role models when it comes to singing and performing?
Chez Kane: As I’ve said, when I first fell in love with style of music, I actually fell in love with male-fronted bands more than female-fronted bands at the beginning. So I started off with having a massive liking for Def Leppard, Whitesnake and that kind of music. And then I remember my sister playing Pat Benatar one day, and I started falling in love with the female-fronted side. So, Pat Benatar is a big part [of that]. I also love Vixen, so I went from Pat Benatar to Vixen. And now, since we’re working with Danny, he’s introduced me to a few more female-fronted acts I’ve never heard of, like Lee Aaron who’s absolutely phenomenal. So I take inspiration from each, both male- and female-fronted bands, and it just goes from there really.
Hardrock Haven: You’ve been quoted as saying that you were born in the ‘90s to bring back the ‘80s. In our generation it’s not really that common and was considered not too ‘cool’ once…
Chez Kane: Exactly. I know and I feel I need to go back (laughs). It just really always went back to the ‘80s for me, as I’ve said, and the ‘80s introduced me to Rock and I love that feel. And even though I love lots of different genres of Rock, I feel that especially at this moment in time, when the world is in such a bad place, I think the great, happy, infectious Rock classics are missing – you know, the kind of songs that you hear on all the classic movies. I feel like it needs to come back today, ‘cause it’s missing. It’s that kind of music that I’ve been listening to so as to pick my spirits up through COVID and everything, and I just feel like everyone needs to listen to this music again (laughs).
Hardrock Haven: The world would become a better – or at least, a happier – place because of that! So, what’s your ultimate ‘80s album or a top three perhaps?
Chez Kane: My ultimate ‘80s album… Oh, you’ve put me on the spot now, because there’s so many! Okay, I’d go with Robin Beck’s Trouble Or Nothin’, Steelheart’s debut [self-titled] album and Def Leppard’s Hysteria – just off the top of my head (laughs)
Hardrock Haven: All great albums, so that’s a way to go! And as we’ve obviously already mentioned Danny being a frontman of Crazy Lixx, what do you think about the Melodic Hard Rock bands of our generation? Which are your favorites?
Chez Kane: I absolutely love them, so when I go out to gigs, I like to go and see this kind of bands ‘cause there’s so much fun there! I’ve seen H.E.A.T. and Reckless Love many times – when it comes to Crazy Lixx, I’m actually yet to see them, ‘cause they haven’t been here very often and I haven’t had a chance to see them yet! It’s just that feel, you know, just a good feel and I love going to see these bands and I think they’re doing a great thing. Keeping that music alive today is just something special.
Hardrock Haven: Speaking of that, do you think these bands of our generation could be able to bring the young listeners back to Rock music?
Chez Kane: I really hope so. You know, I feel like the series like Cobra Kai try to bring that kind of music back as well, and Stranger Things is trying to put the ‘80s feel in there. But I really feel – I don’t know why, but I kind of feel like it’s coming back slowly but surely. And I really hope that I can help bring it back today.
Hardrock Haven: And as you’ve mentioned being in love with different genres of Rock, would you say you’re also influenced with more contemporary music?
Chez Kane: I’m a huge fan of Alter Bridge. I like lots of different genres of Rock and Alter Bridge is a big part of my life really. I’ve got their album artwork of Blackbird [2007] actually tattooed on my back (laughs). So I love loads of different styles.
Hardrock Haven: Obviously all this ‘80s vibe is incorporated not only into your music, but also the image. So not having lived through the 80s, what do you find so fascinating about the decade in terms of fashion and all the visuals?
Chez Kane: The image back then was absolutely badass – I think it was sexy, I think it was rocking and I absolutely love dressing that way. I don’t know, but there’s just something really, really cool about that image. I love the big hair, the tight clothing… so this whole concept is really suited to me and how I feel and how I like to dress.
Hardrock Haven: Sometime in the mid-2000s or late ‘90s I think ‘80s Hard Rock started to be infamously called Hair Metal. When it comes to the term, opinions vary – some embrace it when others hate it. As your music can be also classified as Hair Metal, what’s your opinion on that?
Chez Kane: I feel like people can categorize the music however they want. It doesn’t bother me really if they think it’s Hair Metal or Melodic Rock or AOR. It’s completely up to them. As long as – hopefully – they’re enjoying it, then they can say whatever they want.
Hardrock Haven: Sure. The ‘80s Hard Rock scene was largely male-dominated and as you’ve mentioned, it’s the same today. Do you think we’ll see more female rockers and maybe all-girl bands coming to the forefront in the next years? Do you think circumstances changed enough for that?
Chez Kane: I really hope so. I hope I’ll be able to start that kind of comeback where female rockers out there can hear and see that I’m doing it and hopefully that inspires them to do it as well. Because the more of us, the more we can get back out there and in people’s faces again.
Hardrock Haven: Very true. You’ve also already mentioned the role of YouTube cover videos in your career. Do you think it’s a good tool to launch a career?
Chez Kane: Definitely. Well, at the beginning, I didn’t know what to expect with YouTube. I just wanted to sing some songs and I thought I’ll put them on YouTube and it’s then gone on for Danny to find me from that, so definitely I think it’s been a good platform for me.
Hardrock Haven: We all know there’s all kinds of complainers on YouTube, so was the feedback you received on your videos only positive? How did you cope with that?
Chez Kane: No, got me haters (laughs). But I’m okay with that. Maybe when I started off, it maybe got to me a little bit [more] – a bit back, like a few years ago… But the older I’m getting, the more I’m finding it funny now (laughs). I just laugh off the comments and I just think that they wanna be heard and [I] go, “Yeah, that’s fine. You’ve got your opinion. That’s absolutely fine. You can say whatever you want.” You have to laugh it off, otherwise they’ll just eat away at you. And I think it’s just the way for them to be heard.
Hardrock Haven: And what kind of advice other than that would you give to aspiring singers and musicians who perhaps posted their first YouTube video today?
Chez Kane: I would advise them to keep going, because the first YouTube cover I did was a Metallica cover and I didn’t do another cover for about a year in a half – I didn’t do any other videos for a whole year and a half. And I feel like I could’ve done more, but it was just a confidence thing, so I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I put out my first video and then I thought, “Ahh, nobody wants to see more videos” (laughs). I’ve lost confidence. But then I got it back and I thought I’ll do another one, and then I just kept going… And sometimes you just gotta keep going. So my advice would be, “Don’t listen to your thoughts when you doubt in yourself and just keep going.”
Hardrock Haven: You’ve mentioned confidence, and self-confidence and body positivity both are what frontmen and frontwomen surely need that a lot. What’s your secret to feel comfortable on stage, during photo sessions, video shoots etc.?
Chez Kane: Recently I’ve had a bit of an issue when I lost a lot of weight and I was at the gym all the time. I wasn’t very confident – I completely lost my confidence for a while… And my way of dealing with that was hitting the gym a lot!… I was literally living in the gym. If you’ve seen past photos of me, you’ve noticed that I’ve lost a hell of a lot of weight. I dropped it quite quickly. So I’ve always had a bit of a body issue. But I feel like the way that I deal with it now is just trying to eat as healthy as I can and trying to stay on top of my body while I’m not overdoing it. And it makes me feel more better and more confident when it comes to photo shoots and video shoots.
Hardrock Haven: Recently I interviewed another interesting young female singer Cassidy Paris, coming from Melbourne, Australia, who said making music empowers her as a woman. Would you agree?
Chez Kane: Oh yeah, it definitely does. It’s a great way to feel confident and to let out a lot of emotions. That’s one of the reasons why I love being on stage – ‘cause it lets out all the emotions and you can just feel the vibe of your audience and it’s just the best feeling in the world.
Hardrock Haven: In the wake of your solo career, what’s the status of the band Kane’d you’ve been fronting alongside your two sisters?
Chez Kane: Kane’d still going ahead – at the moment it’s a little bit quiet because we’re a seven-piece band and we’re not able to get together very often because of COVID. But yeah, we’re still very much of a band and we’re hoping to do another album at some point later down the line, when we can.
Hardrock Haven: You and your sisters aren’t surely the first siblings to play together in the band, but is it always smooth sailing?
Chez Kane: Yeah, we get on really well (laughs). We get asked this a lot ‘cause people are like, “You’re sisters, you must argue.” But to be honest, we don’t. We get on really well. We may have a discussion about, “You’re not wearing that” or “You’re wearing that and I’m not wearing that” or “You’re wearing my clothes” (laughs). But it works really well.
Hardrock Haven: In the future, do you see yourself juggling both fronting Kane’d and your solo career in the future, or perhaps focusing on one or another?
Chez Kane: I’m just taking each day as it comes. I didn’t know how the solo stuff would be received and at the moment it’s being received very well, so I’m just gonna take each day as it comes. I want to get out on tour with Chez Kane solo project and see where it takes me and then, if I get some time in, then we’ll go and do some Kane’d stuff. I’m literally just taking each day as it comes, ‘cause every day is different and I really wasn’t expecting this response. It’s crazy! I’m hoping that I can juggle both, but we’ll see how it goes.
Hardrock Haven: You’ve mentioned a solo tour – are there any specific future plans when it comes to that and promotion of the album?
Chez Kane: I’d love to get out on tour, but I haven’t been able to set up anything. Still, there was an announcement yesterday in the UK that they’re hoping to lift all the restrictions from lockdown in June. So I’m hoping that gigs will start to resume over here and then I can get out on tour to promote the album. This is what I wanna do now, so it’s quite frustrating (laughs)
Hardrock Haven: Fingers crossed for that to happen! Is there anything you’d like to add in the end?
Chez Kane: I would just like to say “thank you” to everybody who is supporting this kind of music today. I really feel like it’s missing and everybody who’s pre-ordered the album or is sharing my videos has been amazing. So let’s bring this music back today! Let’s do it!
Photo credits: Harry Scott Eliott
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