For a young band -- none of InLike's members have cracked 23 yet -- InLike has played some pretty impressive places: the Uptown, the Beaumont Club, and Kansas City's Warped Tour. (They also opened for Chaka Khan last summer.) Now, the band is setting the stage for the Parlotones' stop at RecordBar on Sunday night, in advance of InLike's album release on March 19. We chatted with vocalist Casi McCall about recording in Nashville, playing Warped Tour, and what exactly "in like" means after all.
Describe your band in a sentence.
We are a young but explosive female-fronted rock band.
How did InLike come together?
We have been together for almost three years and met through other bands, the school of rock, and Craigslist. We found Wes on Craigslist, and Carly and I had played together in other projects.
You were recently recording in Nashville. Who with? Are you guys signed?
We recorded our album, Somewhere in Between, with Michael Wagner. He has produced Ozzy Osborne, Motley Crüe, Alice Cooper, Skid Row, and more. It was an amazing experience to work with Michael, and we are very lucky to have him behind us as well as have our first album produced by such a famous name. We are not signed currently. We literally do everything ourselves and manage ourselves at the moment.
What's the best and worst shows you've ever played?
The best show we have ever played was the KC Warped Tour of '09. It was so hot but so worth it. The energy and the atmosphere was awesome! The worst would be when someone in the crowd sprayed pepper spray during our second song. We had to play a 45-minute set breathing that in! I literally thought someone poisoned us and we were going to die! After the set, we found out what it was.
How does InLike fit into Kansas City's music scene? Is there anyone local that you emulate?
We definitely don't try to emulate any band. The focus is to bring something new to the table. We aren't trying to pick a genre or anything; we just write music that we love and think the people will love as well. Our songs all sound different because someone's influence comes through more than others each time, and we are all very different musicians. Wes came from a classic-rock background, Carly is into funk, Alec is into everything, and Casi came from country! It makes up a nice mixture of sounds.
What's the meaning behind your band's name?
The name means to be in like with someone instead of in love. A member was in that situation when we were trying to decide on names, and the term just stuck! Then we decided to make it one word: InLike!
InLike, with the Parlotones and Xylos. Sunday, March 13, at RecordBar. Doors open at 7 p.m., $12.
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