Questions answered by Ken C Keller Jr. (Vocalist/Lead Guitarist/Main Songwriter)
So how has your latest album/EP gone so far with fans then?
The newest album, “Red Balloon”, has gone smashingly with the fans. They seem to love the slight changes to the format of the music from the first album. We tried to make more music that people could identify with on this album, and I believe that was the bit of an edge we needed to break through to people. There is something on this album for everyone from metal in your face to slow melodic ballads.
Tell us something about the release no one knows?
The title track for the album, “One Red Balloon”, is from a poem I wrote for my wife of the same name. She is a huge horror and Stephen King fan, so I wrote her a poem from the perspective of Pennywise the clown from the “IT” novel. The novel suggests that when Pennywise kills someone he can ingest their thoughts and knowledge as well as their body, so I thought what if instead of killing people he just wanted to experience love and instead of giving roses he just gave “One Red Balloon”. The poem and the song tell that story. The chorus is how he handles rejection.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Killswitch Engage. I love how they can blend their two guitars together to tell a story and still have clean and scream vocals. I think it adds depth to the music and that’s what I try to do in Misery Lane but without trying to sound like any other band. I love to collaborate with other people and to be able to do so with musicians of their caliber would be awesome!!!
How has your latest release been received?
The reception of the newest album has been overwhelming. I can only compare it to our first album and presently the 2nd album has seven times the plays of the first album in only six months since its release. That tells me that we struck a chord with the fans, and they are showing their love and we appreciate the hell out of it.
Can you tell us about the meaning behind the track?
Each song on the album has its own meaning and together they tell a story that I think people really identify with. “Liar” well everyone knows one of those. “Where Did You Go” was written after my fiancé died in 2018. “In The Darkness” talks about that dark place we all go to when we are sad or depressed. “Won’t Change My Life” tells the story about losing a friend or a supposed friend but their opinions or actions won’t change anything. “Goodnite” is someone saying goodbye to their pain and anguish. Putting it to bed if you will. Give a listen to the rest and I’m sure you will feel exactly what we are trying to project.
What tours do you have coming up, and what can you tell us about them?
We don’t have any full tours currently. Since the release of the new album, we decided to value quality over quantity of shows to play where we would get the most traction for our effort and so far, it’s paying off. We aren’t opposed to a tour but currently we are happy playing fewer shows to more people to support the album.
What venue are you most looking forward to playing the most, and why?
I would love to play The Machine Shop or Harpo’s. Both are iconic in the Michigan music scene and tons of great bands have played there and it would be nice to make our mark on these historic venues.
What else can we expect from you in 2023?
For the rest of the year all we have planned is to continue to do shows to support the new album and to continue to write music for the third album. I am constantly writing and working on music so it will just be up to the fans when we pause playing out to work on the new album. If people want to hear music from “Red Balloon” we will continue to play shows.
miserylane.com
Facebook.com/miserylanemusic
Give a listen to “Red Balloon” wherever you stream music. Thank you for all the support!!