Page 6 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 110

BV110 pg 04-09 Kris Barras Band Interview.qxp_BV110 pg06 12/06/2024 21:46 Page 3

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alo Effect’ opens with ‘Hourglass’, There are lots of situations like that. I was in- proud’. He says that ‘Savages’ is “about how
‘Hwhich Kris says is one of the more per- volved in the fight game for a long time. There politicians and people in power, the elites, view
sonal songs on the album. “I spent a lot of my are things in that, too, that you can liken to it. So us as nothing more than savages, and it’s about
twenties with the belief that life ended at 30,” the yeah, I think it’s about learning from your mis- owning that and, ‘Alright, cool. You think we’re
frontman tells Black Velvet, “Not in the sense takes and trying to come back stronger.” savages… We’re going to act like savages.’ It’s
that I’d die at that age, but, kind of like, ‘I have Kris has tried a lot of things in his life that like a bit of a revolt-type song, like a revolution-
to have a house. I have to be financially stable. haven’t worked out, as well as some that have. type song.”
I have to be married’ - and all these kind of And he believes that every day we have small He feels that those in power look down on
things. And, I really put a lot of pressure on my- challenges that may test us and set us back. “It’s anyone working class. “I’m still firmly in the work-
self, feeling like, once I hit my thirties, if I didn’t how we deal with them to move forward,” he re- ing class and grew up in that situation. My family
have all of those things in place, then I was a alises. He says the song isn’t about any one didn’t have much money when we were growing
failure, or it wouldn’t happen. And, you know, it’s event in particular. “I think it’s just more of an up. These days, I think the gap between rich and
really not been the case, whatsoever.” idea of what we go through as human beings, poor is getting much, much bigger, and whilst,
Many of us have big dreams as we leave really.” yeah, I’m not going to be, touch wood, homeless
our teens and enter our twenties. Some are re- We ask what his advice would be to anyone anytime soon, I’m probably better off than a lot
alised, others aren’t. Kris reminisces, “I really put that is falling and doesn’t know how to fly. of people in the scheme of things, still way, way
a lot of pressure on myself to earn as much “I don’t know if I’m qualified to give that kind down the order of things.”
money as possible and maybe I sacrificed a few of advice, if I’m honest,” the modest frontman re- While Kris thinks that the upper
things in order to try and earn more money. I en- marks. “I’ve had some tough times, like most class look down on the working
joyed my twenties, but maybe I could have en- people - particularly with the music industry - it’s class, in general, many people
joyed it a bit more, achieved some more in a very testing industry. it’s very, very tough, more judge others every day,
another way if I wasn’t so money-orientated. so than anything else I’ve ever done. Testing whether it be in the street
That’s kind of what ‘Hourglass’ is like for me, mentally. Every day is a bit of a battle. There are or online, by how they
feeling like I was running out of time. Feeling like lots of highs, and then, there are a lot more lows look or how they
I’ve got to get everything in place before I hit my behind the scenes. So yeah, I just keep trying to act. Kris
thirties, because that’s when you become an old push on and just look towards the end goal and thinks it’s
man,” he laughs. try and see through any of the setbacks, and just
Kris is now well into his thirties and says he be like, ‘OK, it’s just a stepping stone, it’s part of
still feels young, And, of course, he is. He is def- the learning curve,’ and just try to keep mov-
initely NOT an old man. “I feel great and am ing forward.”
achieving new things all the time. I don’t have
many, if any, regrets in life, really. I try to learn n ‘Fall To Fly’,
from all of my mistakes. But there is one re- IKris sings,
gret… There were situations where, like with my ‘in a sky
fight career, I had a few opportunities where I that’ s
could have gone all in on it, and I didn’t quite, bro -
because I was like, ‘Nah, I’m teaching, I’m earn- ken,
ing money, I’m doing this. I’m promoting shows. in a
I’m coaching other fighters and running a gym,’
doing that kind of thing, whereas, actually, if I’d
have taken the plunge and moved to Las Vegas
full-time, I could have, maybe, made more of the
fight career and been more successful on an in-
ternational scale, possibly… maybe not. But
yeah, it’s one of the more personal songs on the
album, really.”
We’re quite glad that things happened the world human na-
way they did, though, as who knows if Kris that’ s ture to judge
would have turned to music if he had taken the chokin’. We others. “We
plunge and become an MMA superstar. Music ask what sort make as-
fans may have missed out on Kris’s talents as a of world he’d like to sumptions
musician. Plus, everything happens for a rea- live in. on peo-
son, or so they say. “One where people get on a little bit better!” ple with
he laughs. “It’s tough, isn’t it? Yeah, I dunno, I our
ucked into the middle of ‘Halo Effect’ is don’t want to get too political or anything like eyes.
Ta scorcher called ‘Fall To Fly’. Black Vel- that, but I think the world could be a little bit more
vet asks Kris if he thinks a lot of the greats have fair, and I think people, generally, could be a little
fallen before they’ve flown or achieved success. bit kinder to each other.“
Kris replies that he thinks pretty much ev- Although Kris doesn’t want to get too politi-
eryone has fallen before they’ve flown. “If you cal, there is a song on ‘Halo Effect’ that does
hear any speeches from anyone successful in have political connotations. Kris wrote ‘Savages’
business, they’ll always say that they failed ten ‘for those who feel judged, looked down upon’
times and, on the 11th one, it was a success. and said ‘You are never alone. Unite and be

KRIS BARRAS BAND