For too many musicians, we
discover their drive is fueled
by the prospect of fame,
wealth, and megalomaniacal
dispositions of grandeur. Not
so for Dann Saxton, lead
singer of the LA based rock
band Kill the Complex, “I
wanna touch as many people
as I can. That’s the goal.” If
you’re a fan of Locals Only with Kat Corbett, you’ve no doubt exposed your ears to their single “Shine,” which has subsequently flooded our request lines since it hit the airwaves. Kill the Complex are on the cusp of becoming one of the rare and exceptional unsigned acts to breakthrough, and perch themselves onto the mainstream platform. Eagerly awaiting to perform at this year’s Sunset Strip Music Festival. I was fortunate enough to talk with the four-piece rock troupe, and get the scoop on one of LA’s newest up-and-comers.
Like the majority of Los Angeles residents, the members of Kill the Complex are transplants, actually they’re really a geographical mutt. Saxton is from Minnesota, drummer Ted Barakat was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and bassist Mike Elling hails from New Jersey.
Guitarist Gabe Heredia was born in Burbank, but lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina as a teenager.
Saxton and Barakat joined forces and formed the punk rock band Butane, with Heredia coming into the mix two years later, where Butane eventually evolved into Kill the Complex. Mike Elling, the most recent addition, has been described by drummer Ted Barakat as, “the perfect complement to the band. Only since Mike joining have I really felt like we were complete.”
I asked Dann the meaning behind the name Kill the Complex, and if it entailed any psychological sentiments, “Mostly everything for me is mental, and just really trying to kill the complex of your heart and fighting for control. That being the huge disconnect between human beings really. You know, everyone just takes things too seriously I think. I think we can all just get along.”
