 Lead singer Danny Leach explains the band's name and their wish to Led Zeppelin on tour...
Mista:Kite formed in late 2006 in Brighton and pride themselves on playing a mix of rock and funk with a hint of blues. A few line up changes over the past few years and 2008 sees the band at their most energetic and ready to rock. In their own words, Mista:Kite are ready to “challenge the world.”
The band consists of Ben Thomas (22) on drums, Rich Hughes (23) on guitar, Ben Howie (19) on bass, and Danny Leach (22) on lead vocals. They cite The Raconteurs, Led Zeppelin and Jeff Buckley amongst their influences, and have recently played gigs at Camden, Brixton and have a residency at the Native Tongue in Epsom. We thought it was time to find out more and managed to grab lead singer Danny Leach after the their performance at Battle of the Bands.
So firstly, how did you guys meet?
Rich and I originally met in Brighton and decided we wanted to play our own music. We first saw Ben Thomas when he was playing in a band called One Armed Louis, and basically we stole him! Then we met Ben Howie through Rich as we were looking for bass players and he got hold of his number through a friend. We had a jam and just gelled instantly!
How did you get your name?
I got the idea for the name from the Beatles album Sergeant Peppers where there is a song called Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite so I took that, changed the spelling and got Mista:Kite.
How would you describe your music?
We are upbeat party music, which we like to call Riffola! We play big tunes with rock, funk and blues to get everyone on their feet!
What audience do you appeal to? People who like to dance and enjoy high energy music. Basically we want to appeal to anyone that likes having a good time! Did you enjoy the Battle of the Bands night?
Yeah we really enjoyed the gig. It was good to see a few friendly faces and make some new friends! We topped it off by going and jamming at our local the Native Tongue in Epsom, where we were joined by Kakuzi who had also played at Grey Horse that night.
What do you think of the Grey Horse as a venue?
It’s a decent venue, we enjoy playing there. They have very nice owners and a good promoter. Also there are good looking barmaids..
You’ve played at the Fighting Cocks and the Peel as well, do you enjoy these venues? Yeah Fighting Cocks is cool, it’s a proper rock venue. It’s quite small and intimate. We will be playing there in the near future, and there’s a possibility of setting up a residency student night there as well. The Peel is a big bigger and has great sound. The stage is wicked! We’ve had some very famous Mista:Kite nights there over the years. Which bands would you want to support on tour?
We’d want to support Rage Against the Machine, Led Zeppelin... The Raconteurs too.
And who would you want to support you?
I’d definitely like Oasis to support us. Maybe The Frantic as well!
What advice do you have for people who want to start up their own bands?
Work hard... and play hard!
How can people keep up to date with what you’re doing?
We have a MySpace account which is updated regularly with our latest gigs. We’re also on Facebook so that’s another way to find out what we’re up to. Lastly, what are your future plans? We want to keep playing gigs and hopefully some festivals. Watch this space! Are you in a band and want to be featured on RiverOnline? Email us at
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