Danielle: What's going on with the line-up? I heard there's a bit of change going on.

Mark: Kim Watt left the band shortly before completing a recording a few months ago. Everyone else is the same...Brian Goodman is the guitarist, Chuck Irons plays bass, and Robb Schantz beats the skins. I joined the band sometime in April. So far, I've strictly been the lead singer, but I may be playing guitar on a few of the songs soon...we're still experimenting with some of that.

Chuck: Yeah, we're a little like Spinal Tap in the lineup change department, 'cept we don't have armadillos in our trousers.

Danielle: How would you describe SIK as a whole?

Mark: Every band that I can think of is either considerably heavier or much poppier than SIK. Our songs are melodic with lots of contrasts...loud vs. soft, sweet and jangly vs. distorted and angsty, and so on. Some of them seem like ballads at first, but every song rocks too much at some point to really be a ballad. Others grab the rock right away and soften up in the middle.

Chuck: At our heaviest we're not a heavy band, and at our poppiest (is that a word?) we would never get put in the pop bin. Musically we're a band plays stuff we don't think sounds bad, and personally we're a band made up of four very different people.

Danielle: Is there a single songwriter in the band?

Mark: Space Is Kind songs are mostly written by Brian Goodman. That guy found his sound and style early on and everything he's ever written is all a part of the same mission. Words, melodies, and details come very naturally because the songs are so musical. The rest of us give him feedback and contribute our own parts and lyrics, but Bri's the main songwriting force in the band.

Chuck: I think that Brian comes up with a lot of the starting points for songs, and as the guitarist he has the parts that are the most recognizeable in the finished product, but I think that we ALL bring our ideas to the table and work with them - there are several songs that I can name where I've been playing a riff and Robb will come in with the drum line, and it goes from there.

Danielle: Will a debut release be available soon?

Mark: Soon, Danielle-San. We're hoping to have a recording available in small quantities by the end of the summer and shop it around to a few labels.

Chuck: Hopefully... we seem to have tons of recordings that have just the music on them, and a very early CD we recorded in our basement that I think only a few peope have heard, but I'd love to have something out.

Danielle: How is your current sound different from the Kim Watt era? Or is there much change? Do things you experience in your life have a deep impact on what you write?

Mark: Well, there's no way I can make my voice sound as sweet as Kim's. I'd say our sound is bolder and maybe even a little more aggressive now than when she sang for the band, but maybe not as bold or aggressive as the early Recliner days (before she was in the band). Since I joined SIK, we've written some new tunes, and they're definitely a little edgier than the sound the band had a year ago. I suppose our experiences impact our sound...many of the lyrics are at least personal, if not autobiographical to some extent.

Chuck: During Kims' time at the mic we were going through a big change in the way that we thought about the music we played and our relationships to each other as players. We had to really reinvent ourselves after our first singer left - he also played guitar. Now I think we're a lot more willing to to put ourselves "out there" in a song - to show what we've got and what we can do. Also, playing with these guys for the time that we have has made us about a million times tighter than we ever were with our first singer OR Kim.

Danielle: How have you grown, musically and emotionally, since the band first started?

Mark: When the band was called Recliner, the songs were generally faster and happier, but still had good dynamics and strong melodies. We still play some songs from the Recliner days, actually. Almost all of the mellower songs were written since the band became Space is Kind.

Chuck: When we started, we were all in college and lived a lot like college kids. Graduating from college did a lot to change our attitudes, at least for me. And as for music - the first time I ever played bass was my first practice with Brian and Robb and Ric, our first singer. I have NO IDEA how I convinced them that I could play the music that they were playing, or how they thought I could find a bass to play in their band, but they did, and here I am. My whole philosophy towards playing and music in general has changed 180 degrees since I joined the band, and it is still changing.

Danielle: What things have you learned and could advise to newer local bands?

Mark: If it's not fun, it's not worth it. The healthiest bands like to hang out together. Ignore trends and play your music your way.

Chuck: Exactly. EXACTLY!

Danielle: What local bands inspire you to play? What local bands are you guys currently listening to?

Mark: As a Warrensburg band, Frogpond was a huge influence and inspiration for them. Grither, TV50, Grovel, Giants Chair, and Molly McGuire were early inspirations for us, too...I personally moved to KC after hearing those bands on the internet and a couple of compilations. Currently, we listen to Reflector, Shiner, the Hillary Step, Proudentall, Electronimo, Haloshifter, Onward Crispin Glover, and Aerialuxe, just to name a few.

Chuck: We've got a really tight family of bands here in Warrensburg. Even though they might not sound like us we'll still hang out and party with them, and if we're in a pinch, we can always get ahold of them to help out. Bands like Monkey Boy and Phidget really have been there for us a lot in the past. Through common people the guys in Grovel and now Haloshifter and the Hillary Step have gotten to be friends. You know, pretty much anybody who's cool enough to sit down and talk with me has become an influence - Shiner, Proudentall, Reflector, (and not quite as local) HUM, Burning Airlines, Swervedriver, Ben Folds Five, Ween (though I don't think talking to Dean Ween while he was staggering around drunk counts as "sitting down") As far as general influences go, I think it's great that our music sounds nothing like the bands we like individually. Nobody's going to confuse us with The Cure, Jane's Addiction, Traindodge, or Sir Mix-A-Lot... at least I HOPE they don't.