This month I am bringing you something special in time for Halloween. Many of you remember at the turn of the millennium when Rackets & Drapes started to surface and gained popularity with their Gothic metal infused brand of shock-rock. After a number of stellar releases the band unfortunately stopped recording music. I have had the pleasure of interviewing Kandy Kane this month, and hopefully we can not only learn some things about the band, but also learn about Kandy’s latest projects and what the future may hold. So essentially you will find out, “What is Rackets & Drapes doing now?”
Also don't miss this month's podcast, it will include songs from various Rackets & Drapes albums as well as an audio interview which was recorded back in 1999 on their now rare "The Sick and the Beautiful" EP
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MBR: Its great to have this opportunity to interview you, I’ve been looking forward to this interview. How is everything going for you in Denver?
KK: Things are great and very, very busy. Life is great and it’s my favorite time of year here. Fall is just absolutely gorgeous in Colorado.
MBR: Now there are a lot of things I want to ask you about in this interview. I’ll be asking questions about the band, as well as about what you are doing now, but lets start at the beginning. I have read elsewhere that the band was originally called Human Soup, is this true? Also how different was the music compared to the sound we are used to in Rackets & Drapes?
KK: You are well informed. We were originally Human Soup (which is a description of people in a mosh pit) but there were already about 50 bands called that, so we switch in January 1995. It was the same style, not as dark, but had the same principals. With the name change we added more synths and that’s what really gave us our sound for the future.
MBR: I have heard multiple explanations for the meaning behind the name “Rackets & Drapes” but have never seen an official statement. One of the more popular ones I have seen is that it means you make a “Racket” about topics that were usually “Draped” (or covered up, etc). I have also heard that a “Racket” is a group of people and that in short it means “A group of people covered by Jesus”.
KK: That’s one thing about R&D. Everything from our name to our songs had different meanings to different people. I always thought that was pretty cool. For me, it was making noise about things that are brushed under the covers. Subject matter we just don’t want to address or talk about.
MBR: Looking back it seems you guys had a pretty awesome ministry going on with Rackets & Drapes. Did you have a good response at concerts? And did you incorporate any form of theatrics such as those used by Saviour Machine?
KK: We got to experience the worst and the best. From protests to people changing their lives. It’s really an interesting road we were on. Our theatrics were much different than Saviour Machine’s. Some similarities, but presented different. I guess we both just want to put on a great show and have everyone walk away with a feeling that it was worth the money.
MBR: It’s no secret that your music was met with controversy so I don’t want to spend a great deal of time talking about that, because I’m sure that’s old news to you. I never really understood the problem with face paint anyway. Clowns look a lot scarier than any black-metaler out there in my opinion. Did all the Marilyn Manson comparisons drive you crazy? How did you handle it when someone tried to accuse you of copying? Sometimes I think I was the only one who never could tell the similarity in the music.
KK: Honestly, I knew it was coming once Manson hit the scene. Mind you, we were doing the shock image at the time MM and the Spooky Kids were around. In a way it’s a love/hate thing. There always seem to be a “christian” version of something out there. I don’t care for that one bit. It’s like saying christian music to secular is like morphine to heroin. I think most people changed their opinion once they saw us live or really listen to us. I received a lot of email of people who changed their minds once they gave us a legitimate listen. My scream is much different than his, and our riffs were more about moshing than heavy. You have to remember, we had been around for 3 years before we were even discovered by the christian market. And when we did hit, it was right in the middle of the ska/punk wave. Goths didn’t like us, too heavy. Punks didn’t like us, too metal. Metal heads didn’t like us, too much keyboard. We were really stuck in no man’s land when it came to fitting in a scene. Try being us and playing between ska bands at a festival. Not pretty.
MBR: Recently I was lucky enough to find a copy of your “The Sick and the Beautiful” EP along with a Therapy Patient ID Card. After reading the card I have to say that was a great way to connect with the fans. How did you come up with the idea to include the ID cards?
KK: It was a newer card that more people could get. People who pre-ordered Candyland got the first card. There was only 300 of those made and it was before we went with MCM. Our old manager had the idea and we all thought it was a pretty good one.
MBR: On “The Sick and the Beautiful” the EP closes with “Storytime with Rackets and Drapes”. This is an interesting interview as it doesn’t really reveal much about the band, but seems to be just a bit of random fun (nothing wrong with that). Did you record this specifically for the EP?
KK: Yes, and we had no idea what was going to be asked. It was all on the spot and we kept recording no matter what happened. Listen closely and you can hear us trying not to loose it the whole time. It was really a lot of fun. I might do it again.
MBR: What are the other band members doing now? And are any of them in other bands?
KK: I haven’t the slightest idea. LOL. As far as I know, only Larvae has continued music but that’s all I have heard.
MBR: Now I’m sure everyone is wondering about this new song on your myspace page “DOA Only the Lonely”. Has this new project temporarily been put on hold or will there possibly be more music in the future?
KK: That is something I just decided to throw together a while ago thinking this might be the sound we were going to go with. But that was over a year ago and that sound is definitely not what I want now. Everyone knows that R&D albums change, and this time around it will be different again. I am in the works with possible musicians to do something soon. I’m not rushing anything, but it is in the works.
MBR: I notice there are some songs on your myspace page that don’t seem to have been released. These songs include “Murder Me” and an alternate version of “Rotten Apples”. Were these unreleased tracks or were they included on a foreign release or something?
KK: There were 3 songs that were pulled. Murder Me, Suicide Machine, and Kill Your Self. At the time, the Columbine incident was still on minds of many, so it was thought a good idea to not push the issue. With us being labeled “goth” and with titles like that, it was going to cause too much of an uproar, so we decided to hold them from albums and just do them live.
MBR: Now from looking at your myspace page it looks like you are working on some 3D animation. When did you become interested in 3D animation?
KK: Many years ago actually. I really love comics but can’t draw a stick person. So I got this program to do comics and it’s evolved into animating.
MBR: It appears you are working on two mini-series at the moment. “Candyland” and “Aladdin”. Do either of these have any Christian meaning or symbolism, or are you just trying to get your name out there in the animation industry?
KK: No allegorical meanings there, although Candyland does have twists in it. The Alladin thing is just something I am toying with, but then again it’s all about time. Doing full animated films take time and that’s something I don’t really have a lot of. If anything, in the near future I will either do 3D animated comics or mini-sodes on you tube. It would be nice to be noticed and get a chance to work with a large company but I’m not counting on it right now. Only time will tell on that.
MBR: Tell us a bit about the Candyland and Aladdin mini-series’ you are working on.
KK: Candyland is about the return of me. Years ago the message board on our website was called the Asylum. Crazy things went on there and really make a great story. I don’t want to say too much and give it away. You will just have to stay tuned for it. I have a comic done right now, but am trying to make it an animated mini-series. So much more can be done movie style versus comics. Again, it’s about time. Alladin is a remake of the Disney story, only with my vision to it. Lago and Abu are people and Abu is mute. I plan on redoing 3 Disney stories. Alladin, Peter Pan, and Sleeping Beauty. Hopefully it might get my name out there, if not, I will just put it out myself for now.
MBR: Do you have plans on trying to develop video games, or are you sticking with movie-style animation?
KK: I’m not much of a gamer, although I really like the Assassin’s Creed style game. If I had a chance to get into it I think I could do it well. My animation is much like a video game style, but that’s all you can do without spending millions on programs and computers. What I use is perfect and can put out quality things in HD, but that’s as big as I can do right now.
MBR: Do you have a tentative release date for any of your projects?
KK: Starting in 2010, it will be one after another. I will be spending the rest of this year getting it done, promotion, and working on the album. I will have all the info on the myspace page. I’m still casting characters for Alladin and doing voice acting tryouts. Anyone interested can send me a message on Myspace and I will get back to you.
MBR: Well Thank you for doing this interview, its been a pleasure. Is there anything else you would like to say to anyone who reads this?
KK: I’m am very blessed to have had the support over the years from the greatest fans a band could have. The Therapy Patients are what fueled it, so I think it’s time for something new for them. Shock on and thank you for your time and interest too.
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Subject: Oct 09 Band of the Month - Rackets & Drapes 
Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:57 pm
