Misery Lane started as an idea and has grown to so much more. We are a multi-genre metal band that use dark and melodic rhythms with aggressive and expansive drum beats to cross the boundaries of labels and open the door to a new musical experience.
Founded in October of 2020, Misery Lane is a rising star in the Michigan metal community and surrounding states. Catching the eye of multiple promoters after they launched, Misery Lane secured shows in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan. We pride ourselves on our ability to deliver powerful and explosive live performances.
The sophomore album is nothing like the fans have heard before. We went outside the box of expectations and brought some new and exciting sounds and arrangements to grab the listener and lock them in. There is something for everyone.
Our debut album Frozen Summer released February 1, 2021, is nothing like any of the other metal/rock albums out there. There are songs that strike your mind and insist that you feel the emotion of the music. Songs like “Heroes”, “Behind the Curtain” and “True Colors” dare the listener to look passed the blistering guitar riffs into the deeper meaning of the songs while “You Are Not Alone” and “The Other Man” preach about exactly what the songs suggest using slow and meaningful rhythms to entice you in and open you up.
All answers provided by Ken C Keller Jr. (Vocalist/Lead Guitarist/Main Songwriter)
1. Introduce us to the band! What are your names and what do you do in the band?
Where do you call home?
We are Misery Lane. The band members are as follows: Myself (Ken) Lead Vocals and Lead Guitar. Joshua Bougourd on Rhythm guitar. KD Murray on drums and Mike Munoz slapping da bass! We hale from Ann Arbor, Michigan in the US.
2. How long have you been together as a band and how did you find each other?
The band started in October of 2020. I founded the band and KD joined shortly after. For the first album we had a different lineup, but things changed, and we had to retool and start over. For the second album it was just KD and I and we added Josh. The three of us had played together in a different band so we already knew the chemistry was there. Mike was the final piece of the puzzle for the second album, and we have been doing strong as a four piece since about March of 2023.
3. Do you have a special songwriting recipe you follow?
Not really. Usually when I write I do the music first. To me music is the voice of emotion and I try to translate those feelings to whatever instrument I am playing now. I feel that if the music is written correctly and the feeling is there then the lyrics usually write themselves and people can easily identify with the message in the music. To date there have only been three songs that I have written the words before the music and those are “The Other Man” on the first album I wrote about my dealings with my ex-wife. “One Red Balloon” off of the second album which is basically a love song (sort of lol) from the point of Pennywise the clown and “Native Son” which will be on the third album.
4. How would members of your family describe your music to someone that hasn't heard it?
They would say that we are a non-genre specific metal band that offers more than what you would expect from the average band. We skirt the razor’s edge of where hard rock meets metal and refuse to limit ourselves or be boxed into a specific genre sound.
5. What do you have on your(Spotify) playlists you would be embarrassed for others to see?
LOL probably a lot. I have playlists for every mood so I’m sure there is something to embarrass everyone. I don’t like to limit myself musically, so I don’t limit to what I listen to except gospel. I can’t do gospel. I’m sure my metal friends would hate some of my mellower songs or the country stuff and vice versa. I have a whole playlist of RnB and rap hits that would probably embarrass both Hehe.
6. Do you have any pre-show rituals?
I can’t speak for the other guys, but I most certainly do. There are two songs I listen to before every show and those are “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. Reminding me that you never know who might be in the audience and this might be my one chance to impress them. The other is “Erbody but Me” by Tech Nine, Bizzy, and Krizz Kaliko. To remind me that nobody is better than anyone and I’m just as good as everyone we are performing with or for.
7. Who have you met that has left you starstruck?
Robin Williams. When I was in the Marines, I was in LAX waiting for my flight home for a brief leave when Mr. Williams came up and sat down next to me is sudo-disguise because he had to catch a regular flight because his private jet had broken down. He had a security detail nearby just in case people recognized him. At first, I didn’t even but when I asked, he confirmed but explained the situation and asked me not to say anything. We spoke like old friends for about ten minutes before someone went “OMG its Robin Williams!!!!” and he got up with his detail and went to a different part of the airport. He truly was a beautiful soul.
8. What do you consider your greatest achievement as far as a band?
Is staying together for three years an option? LOL Realistically I think our biggest achievement is when someone comes up before or after a show or sends a message saying how one of our songs touched them or helped them through something. To me that’s what success really is…touching someone through music.
9. What key elements do you believe makes up a successful song?
I think a truly successful song must connect with the listener either lyrically or musically. A song someone can identify with gets much more attention then one that you must explain to a person. I, personally, love a song that invokes thought and emotion.
10. When writing, how do you know when it is finally done?
The way I explain it to the guys and hopefully it makes sense to the reader, I say that a song is done when it is no longer running around in my head keeping me up at night with suggestions to change this or do this differently. A song to me is a living breathing thing and when I give it life its with me until it can stand on its own and sometimes that’s just a few days and sometimes its much longer. I cannot work on two songs at once or I would go crazy lol.
11. What song of yours are you most proud of?
I think the response we have gotten about “One Red Balloon” made me very proud. The song started as a poem I wrote for my wife and it metamorphosized into an entire album. My wife is a horror nerd and huge Stephen King fan, so I wrote her a poem as if I were Pennywise the clown but instead of giving flowers, I gave her “One Red Balloon”. That emotion translated to a rhythm on the guitar which sparked the desire to convert the poem to a song. The rest of the album was born from that initial creation.
12. Is it possible to be on the road and not eat junk food? How do you keep it leveled out?
LOL, I haven’t figured out a way to not eat junk or lots of bar food. Too often you wind up eating whatever the venue serves, if it serves food, and if not then you’re looking for something close which usually is not health food.
13. Are you able to write while on the road or do you need a calm familiar space like home?
I write everyday so it doesn’t matter. My fuel and inspiration is the life we lead so inspiration is all around me. The key is translating those emotions and situations into music that everyone can easily identify with and understand.
14. Whats the most embarrassing thing to happen on stage or on tour?
For me I think its kneeling down to do a cool on my knees solo but right before I start playing as I’m going down, I knelt on my pedal effects and instead of a cool lead sound I clicked off all the effects and a wicked metal solo is now a clean mellow acoustic solo. LOL. And you have to play through and pretend like you meant it but everyone knows Hehe.
15. What can BleachBANGS do to help you in any way?
Hmmm. I think the most important thing you are already doing and that’s allowing a lesser know band the chance to talk about itself and let people know what they are all about. The other thing would be to encourage your readers to go to the Facebook page at Facebook.com/miserylanemusic and like and follow the page. Too often a chance to play a bigger show or festival hinges on social media presence and Facebook followers is usually the first go to for consideration.
16. How can everyone keep up with everything you have going on? Where can they get
albums/merch?
First and foremost, check us out on our website at miserylane.com. We have merch available there that will ship to any address around the world. Please like, follow and share us on Facebook at Facebook.com/miserylanemusic and lastly please check us out wherever you stream music as we have two full albums available, and our second album just went over 30,000 streams on Spotify. We appreciate all the love and support because without you we can’t do this!!!!
