Sometimes one closed door opens up another and the journey one travels through life is full of surprises. For award winning Rock band Flyleaf, that change came when longtime vocalist Lacey Strum stepped down in 2012 following the release of their third studio album, New Horizons. Leaving them without a vocalist for the first time in a decade sounds like a daunting thought, to fathom for any established band. Flyleaf did not waiver and immediately recruited a bright new vocalist in Kristen May to lead them into the future. Now nearly two years since, the band and May have bonded into a cohesive force. Earning experience together on the road and in the studio, Flyleaf are ready to retain their core fans while opening the eyes of new followers with their latest album Between the Stars. Recently, we sat down with May to talk about the development of her relationship with the band, writing and recording the new album, performing live, building connections with fans, and much more.
CrypticRock.com – Last we spoke it was a few months after you joined Flyleaf. You have now been lead vocalist of the band going on two years, a part of a few touring cycles, and partaken in recording of a new record with the band. How have things developed over that time that you have been with the band?
Kristen May – It has been great; an exciting, challenging and thrilling experience for me. It is also a very natural progression and I think when I started I was basically going on tour to support the stuff they had already written. I had never done that before so that was definitely a challenge to go out there and trying to be myself and support this band that created this album and to fit that mold of a singer. It was great for me to be back out on tour and bond with these guys, learn what they do on the road, and how we play together live and rehearsing. I think writing this new album has really been the best experience as far as allowing us to see each other creatively and see who we are as writers and find who we are as a band moving forward.
- Octone
- Octone
CrypticRock.com – Yes absolutely. As you said, over time you attain a level of comfort and with comfort comes growth. You have obviously grown together. Do you feel as if you and the rest of Flyleaf are a more of a cohesive unit than ever together right now?
Kristen May – I really do. I think it was important for us to make an album that we love and I think we achieved that. I think that really helped our comfort level so we know that moving forward and that we have the songs that we love. Practicing them in our rehearsal space, it was awesome, exciting, and it feels like we are really ready to showcase something we are proud of. I think that through all these experiences that we have on the road, in the studio, in rehearsal, even just hanging out and having dinner, it has definitely bonded us.
CrypticRock.com – Yes, one would imagine so and that is something that comes with time. That definitely is something that happens with time. As you said, the band is set to release your fourth overall record, Between the Stars, and the first full length with you. What was the writing and recording process like for this record.
Kristen May – We did about five different writing sessions. It just kind of involved us getting to know each other better. The first time we started writing together. I had certain things on my phone, I am always writing and keeping little voice memos of melodies, guitar, and piano parts. I was not going to come forward and say this is a song and this is a song. I really wanted see how everybody worked and see what happens. It has kind of evolved from there. Some of the songs on this album were pretty much full finished songs when they were brought in. Like Sameer had “City Kids,” I brought in “Head Underwater,” and Pat brought in “Blue Roses.” Those were pretty much finished by each of us then we all molded into what Flyleaf is so it was not just acoustic guitar and vocals. Then all the other songs were a great collaboration. “Magnetic” started with a bass riff that Pat had, then Sameer had this sort of Third Eye Blind poppy kind of chorus idea, and then I had the word magnetic and we kind of just riffed of that. The same with “Home,” it was actually the first song that we had written together. It was just like everyone’s ideas and experiences together. Jarred always has these killer riffs, he had the “Traitor” riff and the “Thread” chorus riff. Thankfully we had the time to really be as creative as we wanted to be and we never felt rushed into doing anything. I think the album reflects that because it takes you on a journey and it does not rush you. It really allows you to experience the music.
- Loud & Proud Records
Crypticrock.com – The record definitely seems to explore a variety of new sounds not heard before with Flyleaf. There definitely seems to be a lot of heavy riffs on the album, but there also seems to be a lot of interesting Pop elements mixed in as well. Was it the band’s objective to expand their sound and balance those two elements out?
Kristen May – I think we did not really have a concrete idea of where we wanted to go with this album. Like I said, we had time and a comfort level with one another. We did not really have a label at the time; we left Octone so all we had was time to figure out what we wanted to do. From the beginning, I remember Sameer was the first one who said, “Let’s not think too far into this to where exactly we want this to go. Let’s just open it up, write songs, and see where they go.” We wrote about twenty-five songs for this album, then each one took us on a different journey and we just followed it. I think that this band, from what I have seen, is that all five of us have different influences; I think it was very natural for us to end up here. I certainly love Pop music and a good melody so I will say that I was probably the one trying to get to something that people can sing along to, but I also stayed open to everyone else’s ideas as well. It just kind of evolved from there.
CrypticRock.com – Honestly, that is when the best music is made because you do not want to have ideas saying this is exactly what we are going to do. You want to let things just happen naturally and everything will fall into place that way. Obviously you joined the band in late 2012 and you took over for Lacey. It is evident you have your own vocal style with your own textures and inflections, respectively. As far as this record goes, being the first record that you sang a full record with the band, did this record flow very naturally for you as a vocalist and that these song were written with your vocals in mind?
Kristen May – Yes, I wrote a lot of these songs so it was easy (laughs). I think what really helped with our comfort level was our producer Don Gilmore, anytime I was pushed too hard here or try to emulate something I heard in the past, he would say, “Don’t think about it, just sing.” He really kept me in check to just keep true to myself and I think that was a big help on this album. These were songs that we all wrote together and were wrote in mind for my voice. So it felt pretty natural for me.
CrypticRock.com – Excellent, that is really great to hear. You are actually on the road touring within North America through November. This will actually be your first tour with Flyleaf with new material that you worked on together with the band and get to bring it to fans live. How exciting is that for you?
Kristen May – I am so excited about it. I think the tours in the past have been amazing in their own right, but I had not been able to sing songs that I had written. So this is more personal for me than ever because I get to share my heart, my stories, and I think we all feel this album is a triumph for us. We cannot wait to hear what the fans feel, what their stories are, and how they connect with the music, so I could not be happier.
CrypticRock.com – Yes, that sounds extremely exciting. Last time we spoke you stated at that the time fans were very open in welcoming you to Flyleaf. Now that is has been a little more time and now you have a new record out, how are fans reacting now? Is the reception warmer, it is more accepting, what is the overall feeling?
Kristen May – We did this PledgeMusic thing to get the album started so we have had the fans with us on this journey since we started writing the material. I have seen this evolution of fans getting to know me more and getting to know the band with me in it more, so I think it has been this evolution of people connecting a lot more whether it is on my Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, or whatever. It seems that people are connecting and the fans really want to understand where I am coming from, they started to. I think that since they have heard the new music it was really cool to see people actually connecting to the words and hitting us up about it saying that they cannot wait to hear it live and they cannot wait to buy the album. It feels like genuine excitement that the fans had. I was super pumped about that.
CrypticRock.com – Yes, that is the most redeeming thing; the positive feedback that you get from people and the support. That is the most redeeming quality. Being that you have experienced a lot in your career from your previous band Vedera, to your solo material, to now Flyleaf, what are some of the most important things you have learned over time about working in music to this point?
Kristen May – That is a good question. I think what I have learned the most is to be as true to yourself as you can. I think it is really important to know who you are and what you want out of a situation because once you start getting success people start noticing you and they want to have an opinion about what you are doing. Whether it is from the label, fans, or managers, the list kind of goes on and on, people want to have an opinion. That is fine, it shows they are interested, and most of the time they have great intentions, but if you do not know who you are then you will start to take everyone’s opinions that you should consider as your true north. For me, it has just been a learning experience to really know who I am and what kind of music I want to make and what kind of message I want to put out there; how I want to be perceived. You cannot control everything and how people are going to perceive you, but at the end of the day you have to be able to live with what you have done. That is really important. I also think you have to know that to keep writing music. The music is what maters way before the image does. To me, that what has always been important to. As long as you can keep writing, keep connecting, really feel the human experience, and be open and vulnerable as you can be in your songwriting; that is going to speak louder than anything else.
CrypticRock.com – Yes, you are right. Staying true to yourself and just continuing to progress as an artist, that is a very important thing. Obviously you have progressed as an artist because you have been through a few projects thus far. Would you say that you are satisfied with your progression as a vocalist and a songwriter? We always want to be and do something better, that is always the case, but are you satisfied with what you have done thus far?
Kristen May – Yes, I know when I was younger, just starting to tour and be in a band, I think it was just a pure expression of what I was. I did not think about it. I did not really think about how I was singing, how long I would be playing music, or it in terms of a business aspect or anything like that. I was young, I was singing in a band, we were playing music, we were touring, and our dreams were coming true. Then, all of a sudden, there is an evolution of getting signed and starting to get noticed. All these things are evolving and there comes a time when you have to step back and think more. That is also part of becoming an adult; you start to think where your career is going and what you will be doing in ten years. I started to think, “Do I want to have babies, start a family, and get married.” All these things start to influence your songwriting and start to influence the direction of where you are going.
I think I am satisfied because I have always tried to let my music and my career naturally evolve. As I start to get older I start to be able to control more of the aspects of what is happening. You start to understand you cannot go out till 2 AM the night before you have to record vocals in the morning, you start to think about the music and writing and how it is affecting people’s lives. With this new album, I think I tried to involve everything I had done before and tried to bring solid, open-hearted songwriting. I tried to bring some Pop influences, from what I have done before, but also stay true to Flyleaf Rock. I am satisfied with what has happened and I think I will continue to evolve. I do not want to put too much pressure on myself because I am an artist. There is always room for improvement, but I think where I am where I am suppose to be.
CrypticRock.com – Of course and that is a great thing. It sounds like you have a solid balance there, which is a really positive thing to hear. We have discussed Horror films in the past so I would like to know have you seen any good new Horror movies lately. It has been a year. Have you seen anything new that you have enjoyed?
Kristen May – I have watched the television series American Horror Story on Netflix. I like to think of it from the art aspect of what they do; the different camera angles, the music, and the colors on the wall. I like how they can just create this creepy vibe without anything even happening yet. That is my favorite part about that show. I have only seen the first season, but I heard that there are witches coming up and Stevie Nicks in American Horror Story: Coven. I would say out of everything that witches are my bag so I cannot wait to get into the second season. Hocus Pocus (1993), The Witches (1990), and of course I am a huge Harry Potter series fan. I love witches and fantasy type stories. I love it from an art prospective, there is so much you can do. I imagine if you were drawing out some of these characters you could go anywhere you wanted to with it. That is what I really love about it, I love the imagination to really run free.
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