Introducing Lift The Curse, an American hard rock/metal duo from the heart of Texas. Comprising best friends Ryan Hegefeld and Jon Yadon Jr., they’ve been crafting their unique sound for eight years. With Ryan on vocals, guitar, and drums, and Jon on guitar, bass, and background vocals, their music combines alt-rock choruses, head-banging riffs, and melodic harmonies.
Their latest single, “Kingsbury”, originally an acoustic gem from their album “Suffer And Survive”, has now been electrified to perfection. This track is a heartfelt tribute to Ryan’s Texas upbringing, a place he holds dear. Get ready to experience their talent and passion on every note.
We got to chat with the duo around this new release.
Can you start by introducing yourself to our readers?
Hey y’all! We’re Lift The Curse, a rock/metal duo from central Texas in the USA. Ryan Hegefeld and I (Jon Yadon Jr.) do everything you hear and see for LTC. The only exception is that we have a drummer play live with us.
– Tell us about the inspiration behind your latest single ‘Kingsbury’. What led you to write this song and create an electric version of it?
Ryan: “Kingsbury” almost missed out on our June 2023 album “Suffer And Survive”. Jon and I both wanted to do an acoustic song, but the inspiration for one wasn’t there for awhile. Jon sent me this guitar idea a few weeks before finalizing the album and then it was super organic to get this one on this album. The meaning behind the song is about the place where I grew up. A ranch in Texas that has my whole heart forever. I luckily called it home for a long time. I wrote hundreds of songs there, grew up deer hunting, made amazing memories with friends and family. Ultimately it’s my idea of heaven. My place.
Jon: We thought it’d be fun to release the acoustic version of the song first and then record an electric version of it after the album was already out, so that is what we did. We sped up the tempo a bit, reworked some guitar parts, and added a bunch of layers like we always do to create the electric version of “Kingsbury”. We are super happy with how it turned out and we hope you enjoy it too!
– As a hard rock/metal duo, how do you approach blending elements like alt-rock choruses, headbanging riffs, and melodic harmonies in your music? What’s your creative process like when crafting a song?
Jon: I love this question! The blending of elements happens very naturally and organically for us. It really is a combination of all of our influences to be honest. In one LTC song, you can sometimes hear influences from some of Ryan’s favorite bands like Breaking Benjamin and Fuel blended with elemental influences from some of my favorite bands like Arch Enemy and Amaranthe. It’s way more fun that way to a have wide variety of influences. Our creative process varies per song of course, but usually one of us comes up with an initial riff or main melody idea then we hop on a FaceTime call to work out the full song roadmap together.
– You’ve been collaborating as a duo for eight years. How has your songwriting and musical partnership evolved over time?
Jon: It has been an amazingly fun journey getting to write and record our favorite music together as best friends! Ryan and I have always lived about 90 minutes from each other and both have normal day jobs, so we have written and recorded remotely for years now. We both use the same recording software (Apple Logic) and we just pass Logic project files back and forth via Google Drive until each song is done. Our process is very refined and streamlined at this point. We love it. We love the whole song making process so we are able to move quickly with the way we do things. Leading into the next question, we really know each other’s strengths after 8 years together, but we also like to help each other grow in our weaker areas too.
What strengths do each of you bring to the creative process?
Jon: We both love writing songs and we just love writing new music in general. Musically, we both come up with ideas and song structures, but Ryan is the lyrical mastermind. Sometimes a working song title that I’ll give a song early in the process will stick and actually become the real song title, but usually Ryan comes up with the lyrics after the music is pretty far along. Typically, Ryan records guitars, drums, vocals, and occasional piano/keys/synth parts, and I record guitars, bass, backup vocals, and sometimes keys/synth parts.
– You have an upcoming performance at Grim Fest in San Marcos, Texas. How do you prepare for live shows and what can fans anticipate from this live performance?
Jon: Yes, we are very excited to play at Grim Fest! Well, we play with one of two awesome drummers based here in Austin, Texas, Kyle Vanderhoof or Kevni Abbenante. We will have a few practices with them leading up to each show. Fans will get to hear our next single “Chemical” (coming out 10/13/23) live for the first time at Grim Fest. We are very excited to play that song!
– Could you share some insights into your future plans? Are there any new singles or projects in the pipeline that you’re excited about?
Jon: We have a lot of new music coming out in the next couple months! Our next single “Chemical” comes out on Friday, October 13th (yes, Friday the 13th!) and then we have another song called “IT’S ALIVE!” coming out on Halloween 10/31/23. We are also in the middle of recording another new song that we will release in mid to late November. We are so excited for you to hear our new music! Thank you so much for this interview. We really appreciate it!
