I recently had the opportunity to preview the new album by Stretch for Huff Post. The album is called Technicolor, and it drops tomorrow, July 7. The album blew me away. It blends influences of pop, punk, metal, hip hop and even some electronica into a hard rocking, unique sound.
The band is tight and plays with beau coup energy and enthusiasm. When they agreed to an interview, I was jumping up and down pumping my fist because these guys have it going on. So you know who is who, Stretch is made up of: Kyal Randolph, on vocals; Kevin Palmer, on guitar; D.J. Garrett, on bass; and Hunter Elmore sits in the pocket.
What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
Kevin: One time in high school, a friend and I would take his old beat up car and run into shopping carts at 40 miles an hour in a parking lot. Eventually we toned it down to full trash cans that were put out on the curb the night of trash pickup. Hunter: Getting caught smoking pot in a baseball dugout my sophomore year of high school.
What’s your favorite song to belt out in the car or the shower?
Kyal: Anything off of MCR’s The Black Parade. I sing along to it horribly though. Kevin: Whitney Houston. Sometimes old school Linkin Park on my happier days. Hunter: All the old school pop punk, pop rock music like Blink or Fall Out Boy. Stuff like that. Dj: Anything that's got a sick breakdown, ha ha. But in all seriousness, anything by Killswitch Engage.
What kind of drums and cymbals does Hunter Elmore play?
Hunter: I play a black 4-piece Yamaha drum set with Sabian dark crash cymbals.
What kind of guitar does Kevin Palmer play? And why?
Kevin: Schecter Hellraiser C1-FR. Beautiful guitar that caught my eye one trip to Sweetwaterin, Indiana, when my wonderful girlfriend surprised me for our anniversary and bought me the guitar. Sustaniac, floyd rose, sounded unreal. Still think I have yet to unlock it's sound 100% and that's a great feeling when you have a guitar like that.
What singers/musicians influenced you the most?
Kyal: Everything from Eminem, Hollywood Undead, and Limpbizkit, to Good Charlotte, My Chemical Romance, and The Used. Kevin: Muse, Linkin Park, One OK Rock, Foo Fighters, Twentyone Pilots. Hunter: I wouldn't say my drumming is directly influenced by anyone in particular. I try to take different styles and fills and elements of all sorts of different music and keep those in the back of my mind when I write. Dj : Killswitch Engage, Bullet for My Valentine, Breaking Benjamin, Miss May I, etc.
How do your influences affect and shape your music?
Kyal: We all have some pretty different influences, I think. That’s why our music is so eclectic. I’m (Kyal) influenced by artists like Eminem and Hollywood Undead, yet Kevin is influenced by artists like Muse and Foo Fighters. They’re totally different but we manage to mesh those influences into cohesive tracks that come out sounding pretty signature. Kevin: I think that you listen to bands that you look up to or deeply admire, and you don't aim to copy their sound or melodies; you aim to replicate how their music makes you feel and reflect that onto the people who listen to your music and hope it gives them the same feeling.
How would you describe your style of music?
Kyal: A melting pot of music. Kevin: I think it's pretty safe to say that we cover a lot of the corners in Alternative Rock. I've heard "a heavy Twentyone Pilots" from people more than a few times, and I could see that, but I think this album goes in too many different directions to say "this is our box (style)." Hunter: A mish mash of all sorts of styles. I think at our core we could be described as alternative rock. Dj: Like Kyal said, we all are extremely proud of this and I'm extremely excited to finally be able to share what we worked on for the past two years with everyone!
Where do you find inspiration for your songs?
Kyal: Most of our songs are specific. I try to draw from heartbreak, friendships, and even just things that I experience on a daily basis. For example, “Hate My Job” is actually a pretty specific song. Hunter and I used to work for a company that treated their employees like garbage and got away with a lot of illegal things. The song has a lot of inside jokes that former and current employees can catch on to. Everybody who we worked with and works there today has heard it. I don’t think we’re allowed to step foot in that place ever again, to be honest. Kevin: I used to write a lot of the lyrics for old bands and projects I was a part of in the past, but Kyal is just such a lyrical genius and has so many clever one liners, that it's actually helped me to tie riffs and melodies to those feelings I 'write' about instead. So an opening riff for a song will remind me of what I was feeling when I wrote it, and it ends up matching what Kyal's written about, so without even trying, what I write and what Kyal writes end up being on the same subject without even trying. It's pretty special.
What is your songwriting process? Do the lyrics come first, followed by the music? Or vice versa?
Kyal: It really depends on the song. There are certain songs like “Sweat” where the lyrics came first, and there are other songs like “Eight Years” where that instrumental was thought up years before the lyrics were. There are even cases where I’ll come to the band with lyrics that I had written, and someone will have already written something that they think would fit the lyrics. That happened with “Technicolor.” Kevin had a really sweet instrumental for the lyrics I showed them, and it turned out being one of the best songs on the album. Kevin: What Kyal said. We had a very abstract writing process for this album. There was no structure as to what came first, we simply did whatever felt right for that song. Sometimes Kyal would come to us with lyrics and already have a melody in mind too. Hunter: Most of the songs come from practice. Kevin, DJ and myself will jam to a riff that Kevin starts and take it from there. Kyal has a major arsenal of lyrics already written. Overall, Kevin writes the music, I will compose the song, and Kyal brings lyrics to throw it all together.
How have your fans and reviewers responded to your album Technicolor? Has the response been positive?
Kyal: We haven’t really let many people listen yet and since it’s unreleased as of this interview we don’t have many opinions. We have let close friends and family and a few members of other bands listen though, and from what they’ve heard, it’s a great record that has something for every music fan.
Are you happy with the way the album came together?
Kyal: Extremely happy. We honestly could not have predicted we would be this proud of what we created, and we can’t wait for everybody to hear it. Kevin: I think I'm most happy about getting as many people who already have heard of us to hear this album. I think we've grown so much as a band in the last two years and this record is a culmination of all of that evolution and growth. Out of any record I've ever been a part of, this is easily the one I'm most proud of yet. Hunter: Better than I could've ever imagined. This record more than exceeded my expectations for our band.
Who produced the album?
Kyal: We actually went with a couple different producers; Pat Shekut of Underhill Recording did the majority of recording and mixing, and he did all of mastering. Nino Chavez of Little Butter Records produced “Auxiliary Echoes,” Tim Smith of Soundscape Recording did “Cats,” and our friend Jared Gaines produced “Sweat.” Hunter: Pat from Underhill Recording was so amazing to work with. Being our main producer, he took any and all ideas we had for all of these songs and brought them to life. I really don't think the record would be nearly as good if not for his great ideas and the great sound he gave us.
Will you be touring any time soon?
Kyal: We’re currently trying to book a few gigs in some neighboring states of Ohio for late summer. We would love to do a little mini-tour as well later this year or early next year.
Are you working on any new songs?
Kyal: Not since recording Technicolor. We’re always jamming though. It’s become a running joke because two of the songs that are on Technicolor, we came up with them after we had already said we were done with the album; now every time we jam and come up with something cool it’s “I know the album is printed but we should add this to it!” Dj: Anything we have jammed since Technicolor we have kind of put it on the back shelf so to speak and when we begin to write the next album in the future, we can draw from the jam session stuff. Which is kind of what we were doing before we officially started recording Technicolor.
Did you study music in a formal setting or pick it up on your own?
Hunter: I was in band in school from 5th grade all through high school. That really helps with music theory and basic musical knowledge. As far as drums specifically, I was completely self- taught. Just drummed to songs on a kit that my buddy owned until I really picked it up. Rock band helped too, ha ha. Kevin: I picked it up on my own. I come from a somewhat music family, but it was never pushed on me. I guess maybe I'm one of the few who wishes that it was. When I was twelve, my friend wanted to start a band. He was going to learn drums and told me I should buy a guitar. So I did. Dj: I mainly picked it up on my own with help from my Dad. I learned how to play guitar when I was fourteen or so and that was when I was influenced heavily by Avenged Sevenfold. Like I actually learned to play bass when I first joined Stretch and from our beginning as a full band to actually writing a full length album, I can definitely say that I've grown from this.
Find out more about Stretch here.
Download Technicolor here.