Interview by Peach Galea
Kobra and the Lotus is a Canadian heavy metal band formed in 2009 by lead vocalist and songwriter Kobra Paige and we have been lucky enough to catch the Priestess herself for an interview here at Femme Metal Webzine during their recent UK tour and ask about their upcoming EP “Words of the Prophet” . On top of this I’d would like to thank Kobra for taking the time out of your busy schedule for this interview. I have been a fan of Kobra and the Lotus for a few years and would like to congratulate her on the art and professionalism shown within each album to date.
Let’s start with a few questions about your latest video for “Black Velvet”. What lead you to make the decision to do a cover of Alannah Myles classic song “Black Velvet”?
Well, Alannah Myles has been a very big mentor. In my life actually, I played a Beatles tribute with her when I was 19 and she was very encouraging. I love her stuff, I love what she did in her heyday especially and I loved “Black Velvet”, I was a huge fan of it. When we mixed the first album she called me in the studio just to say “Hey, carry the torch well for the next generation”. I really appreciated it, I think she is underrated and I really wanted to bring her around again to the world.
Also I noticed the Boston terrier in the video, what was it like working with him on the set?He was brilliant on set. I think it’s the start of a whole new career for that little guy. No, he handled it like a champ he is so cute.
Let’s talk about the two latest additions to Kobra and the Lotus. What caught the bands attention about both Bill Hudson and Adam Brown?Well, Adam actually I have known for a very long time. He plays in another Canadian band and we have played with each other probably for about 6 years now. We have been working very hard and we just thought hey bones the guy we had last year, decided he wanted to spend time with his kids. He was older than us significantly and he wanted to be a family man for a while so he went home and he hasn’t left for the road since and so I thought hey you know what let’s ask Adam because we know he is awesome, we love his personality, we were friends to begin with so, and he is Canadian so it’s just very easy for us and we asked him and were lucky he said yes, hell yeah let’s go.
Bill, Bill is my good friend. I met him during Metal All Stars and I just knew that if we were going to take another guest guitarist, he was the man because he is fun to watch on stage, very engaging and he is such a pro. He learned those songs without even asking us one question which was a first for us, so that’s how they came into the picture.
Oh man! I really love performing “War Horse” because it makes me amped out of my mind, it’s just so thrash-y and constantly driving. But I also love singing “Lost in the Shadows” because I feel like it’s the most vulnerable time and we are showing us and I’m like just giving my heart on my sleeve basically and then I am I am is super fun, it just gets people riled up and excited.
My personal favourite track would have to be “Willow”, I love the pure emotion held within the lyrics. What was your inspiration for “Willow”?Oh I loved making “Willow”. One of our guitarists a few years ago had some riffs and I said this sounds like the story of a Samurai so basically I wanted to just write like a child’s tale about the journey of the Samurai and then bring forward the values of a true warrior and a true Samurai. Those values are they are committed to serving the people and protecting who they are supposed to be protecting, it’s a selfless act. They don’t view death as a bad thing they are completely giving themselves and I thought it was beautiful so that’s what happened. The story of the Samurai.
Just a couple more questions left. When you’re on tour what precautions do you take to protect your voice?Well, I don’t talk very much and I get as much sleep as possible, drink warm water not cold and Vocalzone. It’s actually the best lozenge I have found in the world I’m not going to lie we have been ordering them to Canada for years because there is nothing that compares. They are pretty strong tasting but they really release you as much as they can. I suck on them the whole time I sing.
What do you like to do in your down time?Well, for instance after this tour is done I’m going to go hiking around Romania for two weeks so I really like climbing and hiking, mountain biking. Really I guess just being outside and I am a really physical person so I have to be constantly doing something with myself so kickboxing, whatever I just need to move.
That’s all the questions I have for you today, thank you once again for sharing your time with me.It was lovely to see you again.
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Photo Credit
Kobra’s photo by Niki Kefalas
Band Photo by Tim Tronkoe
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