Q&A Today: Kimber Dulin (49 Burning Condors)
"Noonday" is called their latest release and still sounds in our ears. A few days ago we have had the chance to talk with Kimber Dulin, Lead Singer of the Band 49 Burning Condors, about the release, her inspiration or her first ever self-written song and now we are able to say: "we proudly present Kimber Dulin", thanks for your time!
49 Burning Condors are...?
A gothic, witch rock band that celebrates swampy, mythological women – their grief, their joys, their revenge (and there is so much revenge), their sins, their insidiousness, their overwhelming love, and their dreams.
Who inspired you to make music in general?
My dad first and foremost – I’ve been listening to his bizarre, eclectic taste in music since I was a babe, and he always encouraged me to sing my heart out.
New Orleans – because she has an palpable, otherworldly energy all her own and you can’t help but want to pour your heart out onto the page when you’re there
Our lead guitarist, Chris – We had known each other for years and when he heard my first couple of sad attempts at songwriting he saw some magic there and said, “We have to do this.”
All the absolutely brilliant female songwriters of and before my time that have twisted the knife in my heart with their words – Joni Mitchell, Dusty Springfield, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Karen Elson, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Carly Simon, Tori Amos, Lily Allens, Beth Gibbons, Fiona Apple, Chelsea Wolfe, Amy Winhouse, Memphis Minnie, Ingrid Michaelson, Kacey Musgraves, Blondie, the list goes on and on…
What's the story behind your latest release "Noonday", respectively what or who was your inspiration?
Noonday’s inspiration, as most of our songs, isn’t pinned to a particular source but a kinda monstrous mash-up of ideas and themes:
Noonday, quite literally, started out as a nightmare. Sleep paralysis is great fodder for song writing - especially when a giant, sorta hazy female figure is standing over you in your half dream/half lucid state.
I started doing research on demons throughout history and stumbled upon this idea of noonday demons. Depression, historically, hasn’t been well understood. In fact, a person suffering from depression was thought to have been possessed by a demon during the daytime (hence, noonday). You can imagine how exponentially tragic this was for women in particular.
I really wanted to explore that need for release and the internal, indescribable pain these women must have faced in a time where they would sooner be stoned for their depression than held.
I’m obsessed with the terrifying tales of Harlan Ellison. I won’t tell you which lyrics were inspired by his short stories because my evil plan is you’ll be so intrigued you’ll go and read him for yourself!
What is your creative process like?
I wish I could say that my creative process is well regimented, but I still find that inspiration kinda sparks when it decides it wants to spark (and sometimes it’s at inopportune moments – like when I’m driving in heavy traffic and I whip out my phone to take a really terrible recording of a melody that flew into my brain). Chris is more practiced than I am -- he fiddles everyday.
While Chris and I are the primary songwriters for the band – most songs start with either a riff or a melody we bring to the table – it’s incredibly important to us that we’re bringing songs in their infancy to the rest of the band – before they’re too fully formed.
Everybody in the band has such varied musical backgrounds and they all bring a little something different to the sound. Their ideas and inputs can totally change the direction of the song. We all work together to expand upon the overall sound, the tone, and most importantly, the structure. The final product is really a group effort.
We have rehearsals and songwriting sessions together at least once a week. We’re planning a bootcamp songwriting trip in the Poconos soon. Who knows what crazy stuff will spin out of that weekend!
As a band, I guess, you prefer the stage instead of the studio, what can we expect from a 49BC Gig?
Haha! I think I might be the one exception to that rule in the band. I could live in studio for the rest of my days, hiding out in its corners and just making music – slowly turning into some sort of weird studio beast pet. But yes, the rest of the band would HEARTILY agree that being on stage is Where. It. Is. At. We spend a LOT of time focusing on a tight live performance. We want the set to feel like one continuous gothic boat ride through the swamp. We use a lot of ambient pedals, creepy harmonies, and atmospheric guitar slides as connective tissue between songs.
We want people to feel like they’re part of an experience, not just watching a band play. We take our time and give our audience credit that they’ll pay attention without us having to play high energy song after song after song. We really milk it.
We use horror movie visuals and sit on the edge of the stage like we’re telling stories and wear ashes on our faces. We call it Night Church. Sometimes we anoint people with our mark as the show progresses. It makes everybody feel like one of us – we’re basically starting a cult.
What would be your favorite extraordinary location for a gig or show?
I think playing inside the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans by Marie Laveau's tomb would probably send us over the edge. Imagine just a crowd of people standing amongst those graves at night leaving gifts to one of history’s most notorious witch’s graves while we played.
Now I’m getting too excited! They would never allow it. The cemetery is still run by the Catholic church and we mock Ash Wednesday during our shows. Going to guess that might cause problems.
Do you remember your first ever self-written song?
Oh god…yes I do. It was a song called “So It Goes,” and I still, to this day, remember it in its entirety. Listen, I was a huge (er – still am) musical theatre nerd. This song sounded like it came straight from some cut scene from West Side Story. I was only thirteen when I wrote it, but it’s a bit of an earworm to this day so that’s something!
Once in a blue moon I bring melodies to the band and they’re like “UH…MUSICAL MUCH?!” I get a lot of jokes cracked at me. But I recently snuck in a melody that’s very ~ Vaudeville meets swamp monster ~ They liked it and want to work on it – so I’m halfway there!
What are your most useful talents besides music?
I’m a writer to my core (can ya tell?). If I wasn’t doing music, I’d still be writing. Being able to communicate through writing – whether it’s promoting the band, creating social posts, writing song lyrics, creating press releases, writing scripts for shows, thanking fans genuinely, reaching out to fellow artists, communicating our vision with studios, pitching ourselves to bookers, answering interviews (wink) – whatever the case may be, being able to write in a compelling fashion can make all the difference.
At this moment, what would be your "All time Top 3 Songs"?
Unfair! A nearly impossible question to answer – so I’ll go purely off gut instinct:
“Sour Times” by Portishead
“Deranged for Rock & Roll” by Chelsea Wolfe
“Killing Me Softly With His Song” by Fugees
BONUS TRACK (I gotta!)
“The Windmills of Your Mind” by Dusty Springfield
What's next for you?
All sorts of goodies! Well first I should note we’ve got some spiffy new merch we’re going to be selling through our newly designed website – some amazing t-shirts designed by the ever-creeping Albino Jackrabbit and vinyls available for pre-sale (YES, FINALLY VINYLS!).
We’re going to be releasing at least one more single in April off our new EP before we roll her out. “Seventh Hymnal” will be gracing your streaming services late this spring and she’s a beast.
You can find us playing in and around Philadelphia for the next couple of months - at Laurel Hill Cemetery for the Market of the Macabre and Dobbs on South in May, but be expecting us to branch out in the second half of this year to our neighboring cities (lookin’ at you NY and Boston!).
