Every day, the world seems to spiral further and further out of control. KURT DEIMER is attempting to create order from the chaos.
“There’s too many people trying to tell everyone how to be today,” says Deimer, drawing on a cigarette and pausing before continuing his thought… “I’m just a simple guy. I support the people that make my life better, and I try to make their lives better in return. If we all just worried about that and not everything else that we can’t control, the world would be such a better place.”
Enter “Hero,” Deimer’s latest single and the follow-up to his debut EP Work Hard, Rock Hard, which was released in November 2021 and featuring the acclaimed collaboration “Burn Together,” with former QUEENSRŸCHE frontman GEOFF TATE. On the EP, he sung about the ills of the twenty-first century and proposed answers rather than excuses. He promised reform rather than disaster. And he provided optimism rather than arrogance. In his new single, he shines a light on ordinary individuals who make a difference in their communities.
Currently, Deimer and Phil X are on tour with TESLA, including stops in Dallas (September 9), Houston (September 10), Midland (September 12), Lubbock (September 13), and San Antonio (September 14).
INFRARED MAG: First and foremost, thank you very much for joining us. We’re here with Kurt Diemer and his guitarist Phil X. You guys doing okay today?
KURT DEIMER: Good.
PHIL X: doing killer man.
INFRARED MAG: We’re really looking forward to seeing you guys this Friday at the House of Blues in Dallas. There, uh, opening up a Tesla man. Tell us about the show.
PHIL X: Uh, the show is awesome. Thank you. Good night. No. You know what? Um, I’m excited. I love this place. We were back here. We were there in the fall. And, uh, I love the House of Blues and Dallas. Man, That’s one of the best ones, And it’s an Dallas is always an awesome crowd, too. So we’re really excited.
KURT DEIMER: Yeah , Its been just about a year, so it’s a good time to be coming back, and we cant wait.
INFRARED MAG: You guys both have incredibly, interesting back stories about how you’ve gotten to where you’re at. I want to get it a little bit about that. First of all, how did you get hooked up and How did you all get started in the music industry? I know you’ve got some background in the movie industry as well, and I want to talk about that as well.
PHIL X: Well, for for us getting together, it was, uh, the magic and wizardry of, uh, Chris Lord allergy, uh, world famous Grammy Award winning mixer, slash producer. And, uh, you know, 2020 was a crazy year for everybody, including us. Uh, I was playing with two bands, and everything got cancelled tour wise. But in June, people started making music again because they were losing their minds. And Chris was one of those guys, and he got working with Kurt. And it was a song that Chris wanted to produce, which was a cover of have a cigar by Pink Floyd. And he called me and said, Dude, you need to put your magic on here because, uh, I want to work with this Kurt guy, and I just, uh I brought my A game and lay down some guitars, and, uh, then we got a great drummer, Brian Tissue on it and moving forward. Chris, got to sing it and when I heard Kurts voice, I was like, Wow. I haven’t heard a voice like this before, so, you know, you’re always looking for something new to do. And for me, it was something that was unique, something that I’d never done before, So I was really excited to be a part of it. And then, uh, And then Kurt heard Cigar.
KURT DEIMER: Yeah, I heard it solo, and it just was crazy. And I felt like I was gonna try to beat the solo a couple of weeks later. I didn’t think because he had to rush it. It’s like, Oh, no, I can’t beat this thing. And then we we met on the set of the video shoot. Perhaps a cigar, which is out on YouTube.
INFRARED MAG: okay, that says a lot. From you Phil saying that, with with the history of who all you’ve worked with saying that you’ve never heard of voice like that, Uh, it says a whole lot. Like I said about, who you’ve worked with in the past, Is this different? How does this compare to other things you’ve done in the past?
PHIL X: Well, the thing is, you know, I’ve done so much. And, um, it’s just you know what? When you listen to music these days, it’s It’s hard to find something that you can latch on to, like there’s more music that I don’t like. Then I do like or I really like it, But it sounds like everything else, and I just like I said, I just wanted to do something unique. And, uh, you know, I’ve worked with singers from, uh, Kelly Clarkson to Chris Cornell robs on me so you know, it’s all covered, but, it just needed to be something that I could really tap into musically as well. And what took it to another level was percenting the lyrics to me, writing music to his lyrics. And then, you know, you feel like you have a little more invested and you’re tapping into your passion more than just your brain. And it’s just, uh, the stuff that we started coming up with was pretty amazing. And we were both like, Wow, we’re really hitting the mark on something amazing here. And, uh, let’s keep doing it.
KURT DEIMER:Yeah, because it was very important to Chris. He goes, you’re gonna be you, and we’re gonna get the most out of What? You what? You do what your talent is. And, Phil, you’re just gonna be Phil and not play what everybody tells you to play, you’re just gonna unleash the beast. So that’sOh, it’s I mean, the three of us together is it’s pretty remarkable. Three different, brains thought processes.
INFRARED MAG: Um, for you Kurt, how do you feel what is your best outlet artistically is? I see that you you’ve done all kinds of, movies and and horror movies, and, you write the lyrics here and sing. Where do you feel like you’re outlet where your best, able to get the the creativity out?
KURT DEIMER:Um, well, it’s two different, really different mediums. But like in the movie movie, for instance, when I perform in a movie, I can go in front of the camera. I have the script, and the camera is like my comfort zone. I love it when they say action, and I’ve got the script in my head, but I also have the liberty to because of the way I act. And I can come up with stuff off off the cuff pretty easily, like Hollow, my movie coming out. I did a lot of ad living to the script, which made the movie very special, and a lot of people in Hollywood have told me that from that have seen it, whereas the the music Yes, I can write, but when we perform right and we can write this killer tunes, but it’s very important to fill in I when we perform it for folks that they get to hear it as close to what they’re listening to before they come to our show and a lot more work goes into that and you have to be more, um, tactical and just be on your game where in a movie I can improv more and, uh, you know, really just kind of feel the moment. So it’s two different mediums to me, but I love them both. And if I didn’t have either one of them, I don’t know where I’d be right now, because it’s good there, Uh, not only to be in a movie, but to also be a front man and be writing music that people enjoy.
INFRARED MAG: Tell us a little bit about your ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’ EP. That sounds like that’s what you guys do.
KURT DEIMER: Yeah, we were working yesterday while everybody was vacationing on Labor Day.
PHIL X: You know what we really feel like? Like I said when I started sending me lyrics really connected, like we’re around the same age. So, um, when he said the first song first set of lyrics he sent me was back back to the school and then, uh, I knew exactly what that was like, man. Way before YouTube, way before computers. You know, if you had an issue with someone, you settled it in the school yard and then, now of a sudden, you know, there’s trolls and, you know, keyboard warriors that they just hide behind their computers and they talk tough, and, uh, it’s just it’s a sad situation, but I totally connected to the lyric. And, um, I just knew what was what was going to happen on the guitar. When I read that lyric. I just knew it was going to be aggressive and and and the course was going to be in your face, and then we just kept going and he sent me a lot of lyrics. But, I wanted to be honest. So I wait until I read something that I really connect to. And, uh and then the guitar speaks. And then before you know what? We got a tune and we send it to Chris Lord Allergy. Who’s he’s like, unbelievable at what he does with the just putting his wizardry of of soundscape on it. And not only that, he makes, like arrangement calls because, you know, you only did the, uh, the pre course once, so I copy and paste that it made it twice. And I’m like, Well, you’re the one with the Grammy So you win and and then we move on.
KURT DEIMER: Yeah, that that that album that was a lot of lyrics that I I have gone through a few managers and through a lot of you know, shit as i was, uh, you know, the last couple of years, and I decided to get back into music side of things as well. And you know, it’s not an easy business, and nothing’s ever come easy to me. or anyone in life. But I kept fighting through it. And, like I said earlier, it’s kind of my therapy. I get things out of my brain, and hopefully it’ll help other people not to make the same mistakes because I kind of like being the guy that, um, goes through all the shit. And then I try to help others avoid it. You know, I don’t know why that’s what I do so, what we’re trying to convey and a lot of those tunes like Naive, you know, it was bad management situation. Don’t be naive. And, you know, I’m trying to teach others not to get taken advantage of in life what you say And I wrote during the pandemic sitting on a porch just back to Cincinnati, you know, masks everywhere, had to just go home for a week and then get back out to my studio in LA And I’m just looking in the sky like what the hell is going on in this world? You know, just trying to bring, and people to use common sense because our world is very dangerous place right now. And we’re the dangerous, uh, spot in time and, somebody needs to bring some positivity to to this world. It’s so negative.
INFRARED MAG: Absolutely, absolutely. That leads to my next question for you guys. So the the writing through the pandemic was a little different than what anybody has been used to. Uh, looks like you guys made the most of that to to come together and put this, uh, out. Um, what what does the future hold for you guys together as far as writing. Well, that changed now that we’re hopefully through the pandemic on the back end of this and And what What What’s the future holds for you guys?
PHIL X: Well, you know what it’s all about. Experience is right. And we didn’t stop like we wrote that record and we just kept writing and we keep writing. And, you know, this is this record that the full length record that comes out next, it’s just it’s gonna be hard to choose what not to put on it as hard as what to put on it. So lyrically, just, you know, you know, the stuff that comes up with is just something happens or something just pops in. It was brand. And before you know what, you got a song. And then he sent it to me and I picture of what I hear the music doing out of the gate and sometimes it’s you can picture it.
KURT DEIMER: Sometimes it doesn’t pass the feel like I keep writing. At least I’m getting it out. I mean, someday we might go back and revisit it. We probably 30 to 40 tunes in our pipeline right now, and some of them may never see the light of day. But, you know, people told me when I came to L A They go, you gotta right, Right, right, right, right. And then one out of 10 hits, then you get up to six or seven. It’s not that hard for us because we’re so in sync. But, you know, some of the songs we’ve written may never see the light of day. But, hey, we’re blessed that we have 30 to 40 tunes already written and we don’t stop.
PHIL X: And our band is really amazing, too, and an amazing filter process because, uh, everybody’s got their favourite tunes and they’re not on the same. And then our comes in and goes, Man, I heard the song you guys recorded last week. That’s my favourite So far. So you know when that’s happening. You’re on a good You’re You’re on a good road, you know.
KURT DEIMER: To answer your the rest of your question directly filling. I will continue to right. We’re on a mission. Our goal is the headline all over the world, and we’re not stopping any time soon, so we’re still breathing. And we intend to for many, many, many more years.
INFRARED MAG: Okay, for any listeners, or readers of ours that have haven’t haven’t come across you guys yet, and they’re gonna be new to you this Friday at the House of Blues in Dallas can you guys describe y’alls sound?
PHIL X: We basically, if you come into the span and we’ve seen it happen before because we’ve been an open spot before where people didn’t come to see us. They came to see a headliner, and we we we have a message and our music is like we have heavy guitars and a message. And but I think what makes people really fall into our, our trap, so to speak is are really super hooky choruses. I think people, didn’t they? They remember songs when they when they you just Curious once and you leave singing one of our songs and, uh, that’s a very powerful statement in itself. Yeah.
KURT DEIMER: Yeah, absolutely. We made sure when Phil and I when we built the band. Phil made sure we brought on, you know, other people sing along with them and I So, Michael, it’s just phenomenal on the guitar and singing it. We want to bring it to you real, and we want to fucking, you know, for everybody. And that’s what we do. It’s rock and roll in your face pretty much.
INFRARED MAG: So how did opening gig for TESLA come about? How did you guys get that gig? Is there any story behind that?
PHIL X: I think we I saw that they were playing and I’m friends with frank hand, and and, uh, I just called them up, and I said, Hey, man, um, I’m playing with a band called Kirk Timer. And, uh, we’d love to open for you guys, and that was a couple of months ago. And then, you know, obviously I’ve been a situation before where I knew somebody in the band, but it didn’t mean shit, because the manager comes in and ruins everything, but right. But in this case, it all panned out. Frank, talk to the right people. He sent the right email’s, uh we talk to our people who sent in, you know, existing email together. The managers and then it just happened. So, uh, and it’s funny because I was, like, what? That work!
INFRARED MAG:So we were talking a minute ago about about the about still writing and and a new record and stuff like that with you guys. Uh, how far along are you all in that process? Is there? Is there a schedule to to start recording for for a new record? Is, um I know you said you had plenty of tunes that, that are laying around. Um, where are you guys adding that process Those actually recorded?
PHIL X: They’re recorded. They’re all mixed. We can listen to them any time we feel like it, we can make changes anytime we feel like it. And at the same time, we’re still writing. So like Like like I said, we we recorded a song last week before we left with the coming to Cincinnati rehearse and, uh, everybody’s like, Oh my God, that you saw him so you know it, But it’s, uh it’s kind of a a game right now. It’s almost like Russian Roulette . We don’t know what’s gonna make it on the record and what’s gonna get shot out of the pistol into, uh, the next.
KURT DEIMER: You know, Work Hard Rock hard came out last November. It’s a six, but, you know, a lot of bands will promote an album or and for 18 months we’re not even a year into it, since that came out and instead of we put our single hero out in May and then and then we put out the song I’ve written for my my dad on Father’s Day. So we got a couple of singles out in between, and, uh, you know, we want to take our time and it’s gonna be a full length album, and we want it to be right. And we’re building a lot of fans, and, uh uh, we don’t want to put something out that we’re not. I think it’s ready to go. So it’ll be out within the next six months. I can say that.
INFRARED MAG: I think that pretty much sums up what? I had, uh, Wrote down to talk to you guys about. I definitely, uh, Kurt Whenever you get time if you have time in the future, talk more about your movies that you have coming out I would love to do that with you.
KURT DEIMER: Yeah, I’d be happy to If you want to do an interview for the magazine on the Hillbilly Hollow and stuff, just let Chip know. I’m happy to do an interview with you any time you want.
INFRARED MAG: Is there any message that you guys want to give to the fans in Dallas.
KURT DEIMER: Well, I’d like to like to just tell everybody we can’t wait to see him out the House of Blues this Friday and to you know, you want to check us out before the show. Uh, we’ll be playing a lot of stuff off and Spotify and apple that we have out on work Hard rock hard and a couple of our other singles that are out and that, you know, to follow us a timer on instagram, facebook, YouTube anywhere that, uh, use social media Twitter. All that.
PHIL X: Oh, man, we just can’t wait to rock!
INFRARED MAG: I appreciate you guys very much. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us.
