VOX: So, how did it all get started?

Mercedes Lander: It's pretty simple - Fallon and I met in 1996 in gymnastics class and started playing together. Then Morgan came in and started singing. We wrote most of the songs as a three-piece. It's gone on from there.

VOX: The Kittie name gives no indication to what you are all about - was that intentional?

M.L.: Yeah. We wanted more of a docile name, so people would think we were really light. It totally contradicts our music. We wanted people to be blown away and come away surprised.

VOX: What was the music scene like growing up in London (Ontario, Canada)?

ML: Well, I didn't really grow up in London…

VOX: Where did you grow up?

ML: In Toronto, really - then we moved to London. It's not that bad of a scene really. There is a sort of underground scene in London. There are only, like, two clubs in London. We pretty much rotated between those two clubs.

VOX: How do you like touring?

ML: It's great! It's really lots of fun. It's probably the funnest thing we could be doing right now.

VOX: What's the worst thing about touring?

ML: I don't know, there's not much really bad about it. That's sort of a tough question. Getting lost sucks I guess - getting lost in the middle of nowhere. Getting sick on the road is bad, too. That's pretty much it. Oh, and hotels can suck.

VOX: What do you think of Los Angeles?

ML: It's pretty cool. This last time was great. I got a new piercing, right there in Hollywood.

VOX: What did you get pierced?

ML: I got my labret done. It's cool!

VOX: Are American audiences different from Canadian audiences?

ML: Yeah, they are. In Canada, the crowds can be really a lot rougher, at the big shows. At the small shows they're really calm. If the show is, like, 800 people or less, they don't move. But at the big shows, they can be really brutal and rough.

VOX: So, are the American crowds pretty much the same no matter what?

ML: Yeah, it's pretty standard, except in LA. The first time we were there, nobody was moving. It's was weird. Now it's better.

VOX: When we saw you with Sevendust, you had the crowd going.

ML: That time was cool.

VOX: "Brackish" is a great song. What inspired it?

ML: I'm not sure to be honest. It's about emotion, I guess - being strong. Don't take shit from anybody, that sort of thing.

VOX: What is the songwriting process like for you?

ML: Well, the music comes first. We all get together and perfect the music before the words are put to it. It's a collective thing - we're all involved. The words are written by Morgan, of course, since she's got to sing them.

VOX: Forget about age and gender - what do you think sets you apart from other bands?

ML: That stuff isn't important anyway. Nothing, I guess, really sets us apart from other bands. I respect every talented musician, no matter what they do. So I don't really think of us as different than other bands or anything.

VOX: What drew you to being a musician?

ML: Pretty much…piano, which my parents made me take. I took it for eight years, never got past book number two and I didn't like it. I really liked drums, and I always thought they were cool. I mean, what's more fun that beating the crap out of inanimate objects and letting all your aggression out on them?

VOX: Where do you see rock music heading?

ML: I have no idea. Maybe more futuristic or something. I don't know - I don't have a crystal ball or anything, so I have no idea.

VOX: Well, people are saying that rap-metal is on the way out…

ML: Hopefully.

VOX: You don't like it?

ML: I don't mind it at all. It's just that there are so many bands out there now like that - it's become a trend.

VOX: Is there anybody you would like to work with?

ML: Well, we wanted to do Ozzfest, and now that we're doing that I don't know. That was our dream and fantasy, and I don't think we've looked past that yet. We're just really looking forward to that.

VOX: So, what is the next step for Kittie?

ML: Well, we just shot our next video, so that will be out soon…

VOX: Which video - which song is it for?

ML: "Charlotte." Europe is coming up next, after this…Amsterdam, the Dynamo Festival and some other festivals…then a headlining tour over there. After that, we'll go home and then do Ozzfest.

VOX: No new album plans yet?

ML: Not yet! This one was just released in January, so we've got some time before that.

VOX: For those who haven't seen you, what can we expect from a Kittie live show?

ML: Just raw aggression. No gimmicks or anything like that - none of that garbage. We try to put on the best show we can and fill it with lots of energy and rock. It's raw.