MORGAN LANDER On KITTIE's 'Second Chapter': 'It Feels Like Everything That We've Done So Far Has Been A Win'

During a recent appearance on the "Artist Friendly With Joel Madden" podcast, KITTIE frontwoman Morgan Lander discussed the overwhelmingly positive fan and media response to the band's comeback. She said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Right now we're in this weird second chapter where it feels like everything that we've done so far has just been like a win. And it's the wins that we never thought that we would have been able to achieve in any other period in our career. And it's just so weird to see that happening and unfolding in real time. And being able to enjoy it and experience it as the people that we are now, with the experience and the maturity and all of those things, sort of just heading headfirst into the unknown. Things are just lining up."

Asked if she and her KITTIE bandmates are excited to once again be part of the modern metal scene, Morgan said: "Yeah. Of course. I think that we wouldn't be back at it if it wasn't exciting, if it wasn't a challenge, if it wasn't something that we didn't think was important. And ultimately, if it's exciting and fun, that's where we wanna be. That's where we're at in our career. If it's not, we don't want a part of it. I think that's a beautiful thing… And I feel like all of that experience lends to what's happening right now. We certainly have a lot of experience. We feel like veterans."

Morgan also talked about the band's decision to put KITTIE on hiatus in 2013 after almost two decades in the industry, six studio albums and several lineup changes. She said: "The last few years that we were touring, things kind of kept getting more and more diminished. We had switched labels a few years prior and we put out what I think are two of some of our best albums, but we were touring in a van, the guarantees were getting smaller and smaller, the crowds were getting smaller and smaller, and that can also weigh heavily on your psyche, having to grind it out like that night after night, and feeling like you have to do it rather than you want to do it.

"We are all great friends. We were still at that time," she clarified. "There was no interpersonal drama or anything. It was just a case of just being tired and feeling the weight of almost defeat, just from putting in so much and sort of receiving so little. And for us, it wasn't really like a conscious thing. It just like kind of just drifted, just kind of fell through our fingers. We didn't sit down one day and were, like, 'Let's break up the band.' There was no announcement or anything. It was just kind of, like, we all just started to do our own things and find our own way and it sort of just naturally kind of drifted."

Morgan previously spoke about KITTIE's decision to put the band on hiatus last month in an interview with Primordial Radio. She said: "The industry was sort of in a weird flux position when we were doing those last tours and whatnot. And it was sort of like the transition period between like people buying CDs and people streaming music. And there certainly are a lot of elements that went into it, but I think a lot of it was just personal."

She continued: "The industry is hard, and [we were] slugging it out on the road, not really feeling as supported as I think we probably could have been by our former label. I thought at the time we were putting out some of the best music that we had written up to that point with very little return, and it got tiring. It can be a really, really tough business, and expensive as well. If you're just out there in a van not making tons of money, it's like one show after another. And it is physically and can be emotionally exhausting."

Asked if KITTIE's 2022 comeback, initially only as a live act, was rooted in the band's desire to return to having fun, Morgan said: "Yeah. I think ultimately if it's not fun, then there's no point in doing it. And that's not to say that it wasn't ever fun before and we stopped because it stopped being fun. But there were elements of touring back before we took our hiatus that were not very fun. And I think being able to step away from the situation and sort of re-evaluate, and then given this opportunity, we were able to enjoy some of the fruits of our previous labors in a way that we'd never been able to experience before. And that aspect is fun. These are big festivals. We were just shocked at how many people were excited to see the band. And for me, those things are back-to-basics, fun stuff, getting together, reconnecting, playing all of these songs that we've played together hundreds of times before. And sometimes just getting into a room together as musicians and friends and jamming and just laughing and having a blast, that's at the very core of what a band should be — people that are enjoying themselves together and making and creating together. Being creative together, I think, is one of the most fun and rewarding things that you can do in life. And being able to do it with a great group of girls, yeah, that's it. We love to play live. And, so that definitely was the main thing there."

KITTIE's first album in over 13 years, "Fire", was made available on June 21 via Sumerian Records.

Last November, it was revealed that KITTIE was working on a new studio LP with producer Nick Raskulinecz at Nashville's Sienna Studios.

Raskulinecz, who moved to Nashville from Los Angeles around 16 years ago, had previously worked with such acts as RUSH, ALICE IN CHAINS, KORN, RISE AGAINST, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, SKID ROW and the DEFTONES.

In April, KITTIE announced an exclusive run of North American headline dates. The long-awaited shows saw the band perform in five cities across the U.S. and Canada this July and August, giving fans a very special and rare chance to see the band play a full headline set that will include their recently released singles "We Are Shadows" and "Eyes Wide Open" as well as classic hits and some deep cuts not played live since the band's early days.

KITTIE played its first concert in five years in September 2022 at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.

Joining Morgan and drummer Mercedes Lander in KITTIE's current lineup are guitarist Tara McLeod and bassist Ivana "Ivy" Vujic.

Prior to Blue Ridge, KITTIE had not performed since its reunion show at London Music Hall in the band's native London, Ontario in 2017, celebrating the group's documentary "Kittie: Origins/Evolutions".

Vujic joined KITTIE in 2008 and appeared on the band's fifth studio CD, 2009's "In The Black". She also wrote and recorded bass for KITTIE's sixth album, 2011's "I've Failed You".

After KITTIE completed the touring cycle for "I've Failed You" album, the band entered a long period of inactivity during which Morgan focused on a marketing job for a chain of fitness clubs while Mercedes worked in real estate and more recently at a software company. The group also began work on a career-spanning documentary, "Origins/Evolutions", which finally saw the light of day in 2018 via Lightyear Entertainment in North America.

"I've Failed You" sold 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 178 on The Billboard 200 chart.