Hessler And Singer Jessikill Part Ways After Less Than A Year
Hessler And Singer Jessikill Part Ways After Less Than A Year
November 14, 2014
Big news in the Hessler camp, as the Chicago based band has parted ways with singer Jessikill after less than a year together.
Jessikill was brought in to replace former vocalist Lariyah Daniels back in February 2014. In an interview with Sleaze Roxx in late February, band founder and lead guitarist Igz Kincaid declared about Daniels‘ departure: “Lariyah informed us after — the day after New Year’s — that she was going to be moving to Atlanta. After talking to her and letting her know that wouldn’t work for the band — for any band unless they are wealthy enough to be flying back and forth all the time — and that she needed to be here, we just kind of felt that the band was not her priority anymore. We made the decision to move on without her and bring somebody else in. It has worked out with Jess.”
Unfortunately, Kincaid‘s comments likely fell on deaf ears that day as Jessikill was residing in San Antonio, Texas when she joined Hessler. The diminutive but powerhouse singer never made the permanent move from San Antonio to Chicago, Illinois and placed Hessler in pretty much the same predicament that they were going to be in had they continued with their former vocalist. In that same February interview, Jessikill advised that: “I am kind of moving to Chicago and pretty much visiting back home whenever we have time off or whatever. But my head is in the game and I will do anything it takes to keep moving forward with Hessler.”
In a Facebook post released by Hessler yesterday, Jessikill declared, “I have been thinking for a long time, and I have thought carefully. And after all of the possibilities and pros and cons, I realize I cannot, at this time, afford to travel and support myself between two bands in two different cities. And although I appreciate and treasure the band Hessler, I feel Texas calling me home.”
Earlier today, Kincaid had the following to say to Sleaze Roxx on the situation: “How long has it been brewing? To be honest, a warning light went off in my head when we I did the [Sleaze Roxx] interview with her back at the end of February with her answer to your question about moving to Chicago. It makes you second guess everything, but when you’ve filmed a video and recorded two songs, you have to go with what you’ve got. We didn’t rush bringing her into the band and recording everything — we just had some possible opportunities waiting in the wings that we were ready to capitalize on, and didn’t want to lose any momentum, or even better never lose our way. We’ve always been under the impression that she would move to Chicago for the good of the band, etc. and her reluctance do just that impacted all future plans, inclusive of a planned return to Canada for November. You can’t plan your season if you’re not sure that the quarterback will be on the team next week. Wrongful suspense… it is for suckers.”
Kincaid also added, “It is like running a race and having a rock in your shoe; you might be winning, but this rock is always bothering your ability for more progress. As our bassist Erik Michael put it, “You can’t feel a heartbeat when it is 19 hours away.” It is imperative that a band is together as much as possible to capture their collective creativity. In the past nine months with her, we toured the continental United States as well as Canada. Played prime cities like NYC, LA, Toronto, etc. Two music videos, an EP, shared the stage with some awesome bands, saw amazing sights, and lived adventures for the books. I believe we’ve played more cities in Texas than her hometown band, but people make their own decisions.”
The split between Hessler and Jessikill, also known as Jessica Espinosa, appears to be an amicable one as Hessler declared in their Facebook post that, “We’ve had fun playing and touring with Jess for the past 9 months, and wish her the best in her future endeavours,” while Jessikill declared, “I truly will miss the guys from Hessler and I sincerely hope to sing with them again some day. But for now, I know they have a big surprise in store, and I can’t wait to see it and support them 100%.”
After releasing the EP Bad Blood in 2011 and the full-length record Comes With The Territory in 2012 with Daniels at the helm, Hessler recorded one EP, Ghost Dance, with Jessikill which was released on June 10th, 2014. Sleaze Roxx declared the following about the EP: “Every song on Ghost Dance is a good one. It really is pure head-banging bliss highlighted by Jessikill‘s clear and powerful vocals,” and, “I have been playing Ghost Dance non-stop ever since receiving it in the mail and I love it a little more each time. This is definitely one of my favorite CDs of 2014 thus far.”
With respect to finding a replacement for Jessikill, Kincaid advised Sleaze Roxx that, “We have some time to figure things out and for the first time in the band’s history take our time with music and planning. As I’m sure you know, the majority of musical plans are made months in advance. We would have been making plans for May and June of next year but now are back to square one. We soldier on, and will fill the lead position. Tunnel vision.”