From Light Rose The Angels
An Interview with Singer VK Lynne
by Teri Barr
September 2014
VK Lynne vocalist of From Light Rose The angels
Two heavy new bands with a Madison-area twist will be rolling into the city for some hardcore Halloween shows, and both will be bringing an arsenal of just-released music. White Empress is already being described by some national publications as “what’s been missing on the metal scene.” The project includes some big name members, along with a local link at the helm. Mary Zimmer is a Madison-to-LA transplant, and will headline both Maximum Ink Spook-tacular shows. Also hitting the road is another newly formed group, From Light Rose the Angels. This band also has some heavy-hitters, and connected with Zimmer’s project to open in support of their shows here. I recently talked with FLRTA’s lead singer VK Lynne about this new effort, her symphonic-metal inspiration, and why she wants to play in Madison.
Maximum Ink: You’ve been on the scene for awhile. What projects would our readers recognize?
VK Lynne: I spent a good many years, and 3 solo CD’s, in the singer/songwriter/blues world, until I discovered symphonic metal. That led me to start Vita Nova, join stOrk, and ultimately partner now with Janne Tamminen to create From Light Rose the Angels.
I started seriously singing when I was 12. I auditioned for a community theater production of Jesus Christ Superstar and it was all noisiness from there! I spent the next several years really focusing on my instrument, my voice, and learning what it could do. Once I got to college, I joined a band. I minored in creative writing, but never put the music & ‘word nerd’ part of my brain together until I was in a band. That’s when I started writing songs, and I haven’t stopped since!
MI: You are writing the music for your new band, too?
VK: Janne & I write all the material for the band; he is a Finnish expat living in LA. He is formerly of Neverdice, and currently in charge of all the programming for FLRTA as well. He has a very keen sense of organization and business direction, which is invaluable to the group. We also have another Finn, Arno Nurmisto, on bass. He recently was on the Warped Tour with his former band, Art of Shock. Like a good bassist should, Arno holds down the bottom. Sonically and emotionally! He’s a steady, soothing presence that keeps the lunatics safely in the asylum. Our head lunatic would be Andrew Faust. Lead guitar and male vocals; he also has played for Durion and Midnight Shinigami, so his influences are pretty eclectic. Andy brings an absolutely infectious energy to the live show and to the band overall. He’s a ball of fire! But not to be outdone is our drummer, Justin Lee Dixon, formerly of Dendura. He’s our resident anarchist, and if there was a FLRTA yearbook, he’d be: ‘Most Likely To Get Into a Bar Fight. During a Show. Mid-Song. And Then Keep Playing.’
MI: Do you have specific musical influences?
VK: Nightwish is a big influence for the band, overall. The symphonic beauty they create has, to me, never been equaled. However, we also have some Within Temptation and Delain in there, and definitely some industrial influence .
Vocally, Beth Hart and Melissa Etheridge have been my inspirations, and so the pairing of symphonic metal and blues can make for some interesting-sounding music.
MI: And your new music is beautiful; heavy, yet haunting.
VK: Thank you! Our producer was another Finn, Tero Potila, and he did a fabulous job getting the big, sweeping sound we wanted. Lyrically, I always tend to write from a personal place about something that’s on my mind, and so I feel like that honesty is something that listeners can hear in the vocal delivery.
MI: You are originally from Philly, so I’m curious if living in LA has a bit of influence on your music?
VK: I’ve been here since 2001, and it’s become home. It was a fresh start for me, to get away from the preconceived ideas your hometown has about you—the expectations, the parameters.
My husband is also a film editor, so this is really where he needs to be. On my end, there is something about LA that brings many types of people together, and if I weren’t here, I wouldn’t have met some of the remarkable musicians that I have, so I can’t complain about LA.
MI: There’s some photos of you and the band on facebook tearing up the inside of a van. Is this for the fall tour?
VK: We needed a van for the tour, and we found this one on Craigslist (please ask your readers to pray for it to make it to Wisconsin) and it was filthy. So we ripped out the seats and the carpet, and scrubbed it down. It was about 105 degrees that day, and we were all sweating and cursing and learning to love the van that’s going to become our home this October! It was kind of symbolic and cathartic and bonding all at the same time.
MI: Are you looking forward to playing in Madison?
VK: We are! I’ve heard great things about Madison and can’t wait to see it firsthand. This is our first foray into the Midwest as a band, so we’re excited to soak it in. People will see a lot of energy, fun and color, and hear the whole EP plus a surprise or two during our show there.
MI: Anything about you we may be surprised to learn?
VK: Well, one thing I have not even announced yet, is that I’m publishing a book in 2015. I guess it’s not a surprise now, but maybe what’s in it can still be!?
Maximum Ink’s 12th Annual Halloween Spööktakular at The Frequency:
10/31 The Skizzwhores, Made Of Blocks, From Light Rose The Angels, White Empress
11/1 Not Dead Yet, Government Zero, The Faith Hills Have Eyes, White Empress
Links:
From Light Rose the Angels website: http://www.fromlightrosetheangels.com
FLRTA Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fromlightrosetheangels
FLRTA Twitter: http://twitter.com/FLRTAMusic
FLRTA Bandcamp: http://fromlightrosetheangels.bandcamp.com/album/from-light-rose-the-angels-ep
FLRTA YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCegNpZYXD8fXiyjQriyPjPA/feed
FLRTA Instagram: http://instagram.com/fromlightrosetheangels
From Light Rose The Angels
CD: From Light Rose The Angels Record Label: Self Released
• Download From Light Rose The Angels on Amazon