Review Fix Exclusive: Kuwalla’s Kyle Sain Talks ‘Just Fine’ And More

Review Fix chats with Kuwalla’s Kyle Sain, who discusses the band’s origin and new single, “Just Fine.”

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Kyle Sain: All four of us have been playing music for nearly our whole lives. Between the four of us, we play all sorts of instruments and have been in all sorts of musical groups. We’re lucky to have been surrounded by music while we grew up, and lucky again to find each other to play music with.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Sain: Someone usually has a guitar part or idea to play around with, and then it festers and develops into a song. Lyrics and melody come after so everything matches the music first.

But you can’t force creativity, it comes at random moments. It helps to be part of a dynamic group of musicians to help channel and build up the ideas we all have. 

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Sain: Life experiences inspire the spark, after that we just get lost in the process of finding out what works in a song.

Review Fix: What does music mean to you?

Sain: Music is the way in which we can share feelings and ideas in a way that can be uniquely meaningful to each person who listens to it. It inspires and connects people, and it has the power to reflect entire generations.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Sain: Remember when the music you couldn’t define with a genre would just be called “alternative?” Kuwalla would fit in that, but when it comes down to it we play rock & roll. Whether it’s alternative, surf rock, pop rock, post-industrial acid jazz, or anything else is up to you.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work? 

Sain: We try to make our shows high energy, fun, and as entertaining as possible. We usually end up dancing to our own songs at some point.  In the studio we put on our Sunday best, but our live shows can be crazy. 

Review Fix: What inspired your latest single?

Sain: Just Fine was written as a little trick to your ears. It’s filled with happy melodies and vocals that might lift your mood, but the lyrics are about a really dark time in life. If you listen closely, “Just Fine” isn’t about saying everything is going to be alright, it’s the only thing you can tell yourself when things are at their worst. No one feels compelled to say everything is just fine when everything is actually just fine.

Review Fix: What are your goals for the rest of 2020?

Sain: We just want to be able to connect with as many people as possible while we’re making music. That’s our goal for 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, …

Review Fix: What’s next?

Sain: The music video for “Just Fine” will be out June 24th, and be on the lookout for more music.

We got some cool T-shirts at kuwalla.band too.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add? 

Sain: We’ve worked our asses off and built our band from the ground up. We’ve been playing the local and big name venues in Los Angeles for a long time, and we’re ready to show the world what we do.