1. Hi! Please introduce yourself to those who might not know you.
Hi! My name is Kat Leon from the band Holy Wars.

2. Looking back, when did you first know that being a musician was your dream? Was there a person, artist, or experience that helped solidify it? 
My older sister was the person who inspired me to want to be on stage performing. She was a dancer and did community plays so I followed her footsteps.  I was always drawn to and taught myself how to sing but it was Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and Fiona Apple that really made me want to put pen to paper and create my own original music. It wasn’t an easy path so to say the least but I had determination and every experience that would make me want to quit, only made me want to push harder.

3. You released your sophomore album, Shadow Work/Light Work, back in April. Now that you’ve had some time to sit with it, how does it feel seeing fans connect with the record?
It truly is the greatest feeling knowing that the words and music that are so personal to you and your life experiences resonate on a deep level with others who share those same feelings. We always write initially for ourselves and self expression but once you let those songs out into the world, it has taken on its own life and found those who relate. This gets validated every night in every city when we start to see more and more people singing along.  It is the most comforting feeling of connection.

4. What does the album title mean to you personally, and how did that concept shape the writing process?
‍I knew quite early on that I wanted to create this dual facing album of Shadow and Light. Not just as a transformation for myself lyrically and sonically but also to allow others to go to the depths of those uncomfortable shadowy feelings to find the release in the light. Once I knew that was the concept, I then allowed myself to write from some buried places and bring them into the conversation hoping it would eventually metamorph into a lighter feeling and sound.  Without forcing it, I actually did find myself healing a lot of unspoken feelings and I’ll always be grateful that this album inspired me to do that.

5. Were there any artists, albums, or specific sounds that influenced the direction of the album?
Nick and I always have a shared pool of different influences but this one in particular I would say leaned into some directions of Bad Omens, Tyler the Creator (in moments), Pierce the Veil, Failure, Radiohead (in moments).  Honestly I feel like there is never a real “this is what the album will sound like” approach to how we write, it just comes out of our combined influences that when I step back and listen to a song we wrote, then  I can hear some of these influences underneath.

6. Is there a song on the album that feels personal to you?And how has performing these songs live changed your relationship with them?
The most personal song would be Everything You. I wrote that after my sister passed away, (joining my parents) and I couldn’t think of anything else that was more important to me to talk about. The loneliness of feeling left behind, the survivors guilt and all the questioning of this whole life and afterlife being a lie. It is very layered with so much emotion and as much as it is cathartic to sing,  we have performed that one only once live. I know we will again but will keep it for very special occasions.

7. You recently wrapped up tour dates with Black Veil Brides and are heading back on the road with Kingdom of Giants this November and December. What did you take away from your last tour, and what are you most looking forward to on this next run?
We had the best time on the Black Veil Brides tour. That was actually our first tour on a bill where we were the only female “fronted”  band, so at first I wasn’t sure how we’d be received by their audience. But we quickly saw how much the fans loved having that representation. Night after night at our merch table, people came up to share how excited they were to see a more diverse, inclusive lineup.  I think that's so important because while all-women lineups are amazing and have been some of our favorite tours, the more we normalise mixed lineups featuring different genders, races, and LGBTQ+ artists, the sooner we move past reductive labels like 'female-fronted.' It stops being a separate category of 'male band vs. female-led band' and just becomes what it should be: great bands playing great music together.‍

8. You’re about to play Warped Tour Orlando, and it’s such a rite of passage for heavy and alternative bands. What does it mean to be part of it, and what are you most looking forward to?
‍This year performing at Warped Tour DC, Long Beach and now Orlando is a dream we have always wanted to be part of and now that it's back, we have the honor to be part of that “I first saw them at Warped Tour ___ story”.   Every festival crowd has been incredible so I am very much looking forward to Orlando and meeting all the fans we have yet to have the chance to meet. Gonna be wild. :)

9. ‍How do you feel like you’ve grown as an artist since you first started the band?
Wow honestly night and day. I feel like we grew up in this band. We have learned so much since starting out and perhaps took a bunch of left and right turns to get here that I would probably not do today but all of this seasoned us and I suppose that was the natural path to take. Now I feel that cliche saying  “if I knew then what I know now…” but perhaps I wouldn’t know much if I did everything perfectly.  Success is very much about the failures that led you there.
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10. As a band with a female lead, have you faced any unique challenges or experiences navigating the music industry? How do you feel those experiences have shaped your career and the way you approach music?
I believe so and perhaps many behind closed doors that I didn’t have the privilege to know or hear. I do feel that though there are several all male bands on a label or festival lineup, you only have a few spots available for those token artists.  So I think the lane is a bit more narrow currently.  It has gotten so much wider since Paramore, Kittie, Evanescence and so many others have fought to widen those paths before but I do think there is still a way to go.  I also feel age and sexuality is still present on how a female artist is viewed vs a male.  These experiences only make me want to push harder and claim our lane regardless of what others think.‍
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11. As you look toward the next chapter of Holy Wars, what do you want to explore creatively that you haven't yet?
So much! I feel like I have so many ideas and not as much time or have to take into consideration an album’s “current sound” etc… but I will always bend genres and challenge myself to find a cohesive connection that makes you feel “This is Holy Wars”.
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14. What’s next?
Stadiums :)‍‍‍