Heavy Frequency: For those who are not familiar with Flee the Seen, could you introduce yourself and your position in the band?

Kim Anderson: I am Kim Anderson, and I play bass and sing in Flee the Seen. Beside me is Aaron Crawford and he plays drums. Manuel Sanchez plays guitar in our band, and RL Brooks also plays guitar in our band.

HF: How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard you before?

Anderson: We like all different kinds of music, which definitely comes out in the music that we write.

HF: Under what genres does Flee the Seen fall?

Anderson: When people ask us what genres most reflect us we usually land somewhere between rock and roll and hardcore.

HF: When and where did Flee the Seen form? How did you come together?

Anderson: None of us actually knew each other before pursuing the band together. RL and me met in marching band when we both attended Missouri Western University. I moved away from St. Joe to St. Louis to finish up college, but after graduation decided to move back to Kansas City to continue to play in a band with RL. We met up with Manuel about a year later, who we had casually known when he played in another local band with his brother. We all played together for a few months with a fill drummer and ended up at Groundwork Coffee House in Leavenworth, Kansas. Aaron’s brother, Andrew, owns the venue and Aaron runs sound there. The sound system was acting up that night and so Aaron was called in to fix it. Aaron then approached the rest of us to see if he could join the crew, and he was a perfect fit. It’s kind of wild how we all came to know each other, but we are just really grateful that we all ran into each other. Our lives would all be completely different if we hadn’t.

HF: How old were you when you started playing? What got you into your particular instrument?

Anderson: I started playing bass when I was 17 in high school jazz band. RL was trained in trumpet and didn’t start pursuing guitar until he was 21. Aaron started playing drums when he was 15.

Aaron Crawford: My father, Roy, has a passion for music as well and greatly influenced me. Manuel started playing acoustic guitar around 16 or 17.

HF: What was your first equipment?

Anderson: My first bass was a Charvel that I got from my friend Ben for $50. It was wrapped in duct tape. My first amp was mysterious unknown brand, but it was very, very loud, with no tone. Manuel’s first guitar was purchased from a garage sale for a few dollars. RL’s first guitar was a Fender Strat.

Crawford: My first kit was a CB percussion kit that my cousin bought in exchange for years of lawn mowing.

HF: What bands do you feel influenced your sound? Who do were your early musical influences?

Anderson: We all like such different music from each other. Manuel started off listening to bands like Counting Crows and Jimmy Eat World. He now is really into a lot of Saddle Creek bands such as Bright Eyes, Cursive, and Criteria. I like the Get Up Kids, the Anniversary, Ultimate Fakebook, and Reggie and the Full Effect. RL started off listening to band like U2 and Waterdeep. RL and I started listening to Thursday and Thrice at about the same time, which turned us onto lots of different styles of music. We now are really inspired from everything from Refused and As Cities Burn, to Death Cab for Cutie and are always looking for and excited to hear new music.

Crawford: I was first influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Slayer, White Zombie, and Nine Inch Nails, and Stone Temple Pilots.

HF: Your band recently swept the Pitch Awards and the Heavy Frequency Awards. How do you feel about your recent accomplishments? How does it feel to get an award chosen on a fan-vote basis?

Anderson: We are still really taken aback by these awards accomplishments. We really weren’t expecting to win at either ceremony and we really were just honored to be nominated and a part of the process. It is even more humbling that these awards were voted on by fans. We so grateful to be part of such a supportive music scene and truly appreciate each person that voted for us, as well as for all the other bands which continue to inspire us.

HF: Kim, you are one of few women fronting a band of this style. How does it feel to be a woman in a predominantly male music community? Does your gender affect the band or band business in anyway? How is it working with three guys?

Anderson: Since I am a woman, it’s really hard from me to imagine what it would be like to anyone but me. I’m just who I am and I love being in this band and having the opportunity to play music. To be honest, though, I used to really feel uncomfortable because I didn’t want people to think that I was trying to exploit the fact that I’m a woman to gain attention for my band. The outcome was that I ended up being pretty introverted and continuously felt that I had to prove myself as a musician. In effect, I was sacrificing my identity as a woman because I thought I wouldn’t be taken seriously. Eventually I became comfortable with the fact that I’m going to do what I’m going to do and I can’t affect the way that people perceive that, either positively or negatively. I still have good and bad experiences from being a woman pursing music, but both can be viewed to help make you stronger. Whether you’re a guy or a girl in a band, you just have to be comfortable being yourself. I absolutely love working with the guys in the band. They are truly like my brothers and I wouldn’t want to pursue music with anyone but them.

HF: Guys, how is it working with a woman?

Crawford: I really just view Kim as a fellow musician and like a family member, so it doesn’t really affect they way I write music or treat her. I treat her the same as Manuel and RL. We have to be bros, though, because we the freakin’ rhythm section. We make all the killer beats while RL and Manuel do the “meedley-meedley.” We like that. It’s good stuff.

HF: How is your family/friend support for the band, and your recent label and recording success?

Anderson: Our families are overwhelmingly supportive of everything that we are doing. Our label has been like an extension of this. They call bands on their label part of the “Facedown Family” and we have really experienced that since signing.

HF: I read recently that you are going to be going on tour. Have you toured before? If so, where? Where are cities your favorite places to play? From where have you received the best response?

Anderson: We’ve really been focusing regionally in the last year, so we have yet to branch much more than this. There are just so many great places to play between KC, Lawrence, St. Louis, St. Joe, Leavenworth, and Topeka. We do plan on spending the majority of 2006 touring and already have two tours booked. The first one is with Desole on Abacus Recordings. We will be starting with them in Texas directly following South by Southwest showcase and heading out to California for Facedown Fest, which we are ecstatic to be a part of this year. We then will head back through the Midwest and in mid-April we will be hooking up our second tour with Chasing Victory, Fight Paris, and the Odd Project. We will be heading back through this area several times, though, and we are most excited to have our CD release show right in KC at the El Torreon on March 14!

HF: How do you feel about this tour with the backing from the label?

Anderson: We are beyond fortunate to have the backing of Facedown on our first tour.

HF: How did you come upon your association with Facedown Records? What did it take to get signed to the label? Did you have any other offers before signing with Facedown Records?

Anderson: Terry Taylor of Nodes of Ranvier is absolutely one of our favorite people on the planet. We met him because he allowed us to play opening slots on some of his Hunt Industries shows. He has always been so encouraging and helped us to keep believing in our music and ourselves.

HF: Why did you choose Facedown?

Anderson: We recorded our record, Doubt Becomes the New Addiction, at Aaron’s studio and after we got the first mix back, Terry suggested that we send it in to Facedown. Through Terry, Facedown was introduced to our music and they have also been incredibly supportive and believe in us. We are truly grateful to Facedown Records and all their wonderful staff for allowing us to be part of their family. We chose Facedown because they are so genuine and we really felt that we could entrust their musical integrity and build our future together with them.

HF: Who else is on the label with you?

Anderson: Other bands on our label include Nodes of Ranvier, No Innocent Victim, War of Ages, Inked in Blood, Bloodlined Calligraphy, Seventh Star, xLookingForwardx, A Love for Enemies, Bloody Sunday, xdeathstarx (Strikefirst Records), Aman Cara and Jesus Wept.

HF: Your debut album, Doubt Becomes the New Addiction, comes out on March 14, 2006. Where did you record the CD?

Anderson: We recorded our record at Aaron’s studio.

HF: Who produced it?

Anderson: It was mixed by Jason McEntire at Sonic Temple in St. Louis. It was an interesting process recording and producing our own full-length. Aaron had to pull double duty a lot of the time, playing as well as engineering. It’s also hard to be able to step away from the songs to really hear them, since we write them, then were recording and producing them as well. Aaron has worked with other bands such as Salt the Earth, Given with Honor, Eyes of the Betrayer, Taken in Vain, DAVAN, Evermourn and Hanglider Empire.

HF: Who did the artwork for the album?

Anderson: Dave Quiggle designed our artwork with us. It’s a departure from Dave’s normal style, and he did an incredible job with it. We couldn’t be happier with the final look of everything that he designed for us. He’s also designed several shirts that will be available at Hot Topic as well as on the Facedown Records Website under merch. We are always amazed by his work and are fortunate to be able to work with him.

HF: Do you feel that your MySpace page has helped spread the word about your music?

Anderson: MySpace is definitely a great resource for all bands. It makes your music so accessible to people. I know that I’ve been introduced to a lot of bands through MySpace that I never would have run across otherwise. On that same note, I have met people at our shows that specifically referenced MySpace as their avenue to discovering us.

HF: How did the recording go?

Anderson: We were fortunate to be able to access Aaron’s studio for our recording process and to have Aaron’s expertise as well. We did realize this could have been a double-edged sword early on though, because we wanted the record to be done efficiently. We started off by setting out strict recording schedule and sticking with it. We chose to have Jason McEntire mix our record, though, because he understands our music and can interpret it in a way that is unbiased because he is not part of the writing and recording process. Aaron did an amazing job capturing the sounds and Jason brought it all together.

HF: How many songs are on the new CD that fans have already heard? Are there any new ones or bonus tracks that fans can look forward to?

Anderson: There are 11 total tracks on Doubt Becomes the New Addiction. Three tracks are currently available on MySpace: “Wire Tap Out,” “I’ll Be Back on Sunday,” and “Do You Think Dallas is Still in the Slammer?” The rest is all unreleased until March 14 and we can’t wait for people to hear it.

HF: What is your favorite song on the album? Why?

Anderson: I like “300 Voices at Liberty Hall” the best. It’s hard, though, because all the songs are like snapshots of our past and remind me of exactly where we were when we wrote them.

HF: What is your favorite song to play live? Which song(s) do you feel get the best crowd responses?

Anderson: My favorite song to play live would probably be “Do You Think Dallas Is Still in the Slammer?” It’s been up on our MySpace for a while, but it still shocks me when people sing the words. We probably get the best crowd response from “Wire Tap Out” because it has been out the longest of anything on the record. I remember burning hundreds of CDs with that song on them, and just going to every show I could to hand them out to anyone that would take them. We wanted people to hear our music, and then we started getting e-mails and MySpace messages that people were actually listening to the “Wire Tap Out” sampler. Besides playing shows, it was probably the best thing we ever did just to get our music out there.

HF: What type of message do you want to convey through your music?

Anderson: We always write about what we are currently going through, either as individuals or collectively as a band. Doubt Becomes the New Addiction has an overall message of hope, though. Listening to it is like looking back on the last two years of our lives and what we went though to be here today. Sometimes hope was the only thing that helped us to keep going.

HF: Describe an average Flee the Seen fan.

Anderson: We’re so fortunate to have a wide variety of Flee the Seen fans. It is so awesome to get to play at the Hurricane for people over 21 years old and then play the El Torreon for a whole different crowd. We feel really accepted in both atmospheres and are always excited to meet new people. Our fans are the best! We’ve met some truly great people playing in this band that we never would have known otherwise and we are really thankful for that.

HF: You will kick off the tour with Eyes of the Betrayer, River Forth, and 1’81 at the El Torreon Ballroom in Kansas City, MO on March 14 with your CD release party. Why did you choose this venue as the starting place?

Anderson: The El Torreon is a really cool place for us personally because we all came up going to so many inspiring shows there. We are still blown away by bands that we watch there, both national and local.

HF: I recently saw in HM magazine that you are playing South By Southwest festival this year. How did you get on the bill? With whom will you share the stage? When and where is the event?

Anderson: Our label set up the South by Southwest date for us. We are really excited to play! We’ve never been to South by Southwest before, and to be able to participate is even more exciting! We actually just found out the line up on our stage this week.

[Friday March 17 at Beauty Bar in Austin Texas: And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead (Interscope Records), Octopus Project, FIGO, Flee the Seen, The Rinse, Savilian, Cherry Fix]

HF: Is Flee the Seen religion-oriented? (If so, how do you incorporate your faith into your music/message? If not, how do you feel about the widespread assumption that Flee the Seen is religious-based?)

Anderson: We are all personally on different walks with our faith, so I can only speak for myself about this question. I am a Christian and I know that God gives me so much hope and inspiration and without Him I would not have been on this journey. I write all my own lyrics and am always careful about what kind of message I put out because I know how much music can affect me positively and negatively. For me, being in a band and having a voice at all is a huge privilege. If I only have one chance to tell people something, it would be that having hope and loving each other is not always the easiest thing to do, but in the end it is the only thing that matters. Assumptions really don’t bother me either because they will always be there. Some will be true and some won’t, but either way they aren’t something that I have control over or can personally influence. I can only be myself and try to be a good person. We are who we are, and we make this band our own, but we hope that our music can speak to anyone regardless of their personal beliefs. We are all just people going through the same things in the end.

HF: I also saw in the ad if customer purchases your CD at Hot Topic that they get a free t-shirt with the purchase. How did you go about gaining the support of Hot Topic?

Anderson: Our label, Facedown Records, is really incredible. They really believe in us and approached Hot Topic to have our record available in their stores. We’re excited about this as well, and grateful that Hot Topic has picked up our music! The free t-shirt is also an awesome thing that Facedown hooked up for us. It’s great because you can just mail in the postcard from the CD and they will send you your shirt. You don’t have to pay postage or anything extra for it. We just saw the design last week and it’s really awesome, too. Dave Quiggle at Facedown Records designed it and did an amazing job! He’s pretty much the coolest. He handled all of the artwork for our record, as well. Dave also designed another Flee the Seen shirt that will be available for purchase at Hot Topic, as well as on their Website at www.facedownrecords.com.

HF: Is there a reason behind the consistent dress in black for all photographs and live performances?

Anderson: I wish I could say that there was some deep meaning behind our choice of clothing like Johnny Cash had, but to be honest I just started wearing black a few years ago and it stuck. I think anyone that wears a lot of black can relate that once you wear black for a while and then you try to put on a bright color, or any color for that matter, you just feel like a walking neon sign. Also, black is slimming.

HF: What does Flee the Seen look forward to in the near future, and for the duration of 2006?

Anderson: We plan to tour for the majority of 2006 and have already started writing for our second release, which we plan to record in early 2007. We can’t wait for our record to come out next week and to hit the road and share it with people. Kansas City will always be our home, though, so we won’t ever be gone for too long.