Famous Strangers were founded in 2023 by guitarist Jeff Kittlitz and drummer Brian ‘Beej’ Beejerson in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada). The two knew each other from the band project This Is War, which had already disbanded in 2013. Since then, they have not been idle, but have been working together on new song material. Over the years, bassist Braden Sustrik joined the line-up. The trio initially worked on instrumental tracks until singer Amanda Kiernan turned up at a rehearsal and jammed with them. I’ve known Amanda since 2015, when she opened for Battle Beast with her band at the time, The Order of Chaos. I was impressed by her powerful and versatile voice right from the start. After a brief stop at Into Eternity, she now wants to enrich the sound of Famous Strangers too. The press release describes the sound as ‘emotional, authentic and unpredictable’. So, I decided to ask the band about it.
MHF: Hello. I’m Rainer and I write for Metalheads Forever Magazine. Thank you for giving me the chance to do this interview with you. You’re a new band. Please introduce yourselves briefly to the fans.
Amanda: We are Famous Strangers, from Sherwood Park, or Edmonton, Alberta. We started in 2023, and we’re all veterans of the music scene. We’re heavy rock with a hint of metal and blues and punk, and we’re all about spreading love and having fun and making the music that however we feel that day, if that makes sense.
MHF: Famous Strangers have a long history. Why did it take so long for the band to be formed?
Amanda: I feel like none of us were ready for each other until this very moment. We were all in different phases of our lives, all going about our separate ways. I feel like it was divine timing of the universe, because I don’t think any of us would have been able to put in the time, effort, or money that’s going on now. In the past, I was even in two bands myself, so it was hard enough juggling two, let alone one. We’re very thankful we found each other in this exact moment. It just feels like fate.
MHF: How did Jeff Kittlitz and Brian Beejerson meet their musical comrades Braden Sustrik and, later, Amanda Kiernan?
Amanda: The three boys have known each other pretty much their whole lives, intertwining through bands. Jeff’s brother, Junior, was in a band with Braden called Compromise, and I know Beej and Braden were also in a band together, so they’ve known each other for decades, they grew up together.
For me, I knew Jeff as an acquaintance in the metal scene, because I would always go to different genres of metal shows, and so would Jeff. I’d see him around, sometimes at a punk show or something like that. It’s kind of neat how for twenty years we’ve probably all crossed each other’s paths many times at parties or metal shows, and we all came together one by one, and now the four of us are here. Little did we know we’d been in each other’s presence many times without even knowing. It’s kind of neat to think you’d be standing by these strangers, and then one day they’d be your family. Pretty happy that we all found each other.
MHF: Originally, Jeff and Brian wrote the songs together. Are all the band members now involved in the songwriting?
Amanda: Yes, we’re all involved. We’re still involved with the old songs too, because they grow and change. It’s been really cool to watch the boys’ reaction to things transforming, since they’ve been playing these songs for so long, and they’ve gone through so many different phases musically, tried out different singers and whatnot. It’s really cool to see how all the songs transform and grow, and then get to their final form, it’s a pretty magical thing.
So yes, we’re all involved in the songwriting. We all have complete creative freedom, so it’s really cool to see where everybody goes. There are no rules, and we don’t like to put ourselves in a box. We love to explore and learn and adventure through all the different sounds and genres, and that’s where the magic seems to be happening.
MHF: Please describe your sound. How does it differ from your previous bands and projects?
Amanda: I’ve been hearing a lot of different reviews about our sound, and I’m really enjoying how some people say atmospheric and moody, but also eighties rock. People have said we remind them of Halestorm, or I’ve heard Skid Row and Dio, which is an honor.
It does differ a lot from our old projects. You’ll one hundred percent hear a lot of the old projects sneak into this band, because that’s where we came from, that’s our foundation, but this is a whole new beast. It’s really cool to find our sound. There are still many hints of the old stuff, even in As Your Leader, I noticed after a while that it kind of reminds me of Order of Chaos, and I’m sure the boys could say the same for a couple of the songs. But it’s different in that we genre bend, we’re very genre bending. There’s music I’ve never even written in my entire life before, like this blues song, and I love that. I’ve always wanted to write something slow and melodic. It’s been really cool to find our sound, and so much fun to adventure through and take all the things we’ve learned from our old bands and bring it into the new.
MHF: Which bands and musicians are your musical role models?
Amanda: That changes all the time, but the boys usually talk about Judas Priest, Deftones, Faith No More, The Smalls, Pink Floyd, Tool, Acid Bath, and Slipknot. The list honestly goes on and on and on forever, every day.
MHF: The band and their debut album are called ‘Famous Strangers’. Who are the famous strangers you sing about?
Amanda: I feel like Jeff talks about this best, since he’s the one who came up with the name. It’s about how the four of us are famous in our own way in the metal scene, we’re well known in all the bands we’ve been in, we’re veterans of the music scene, but together we’re all strangers coming together. That was a neat concept he put together, and it’s definitely not your typical metal or rock band name.
When he first suggested it, I actually didn’t like it at first, but it’s grown on me, and it’s starting to make its mark. I think it’s the perfect name now, because it’s a unique name, kind of out of place, which is exactly who we are. We’re outside the box, we take risks with our sound, we reach for the stars, we’re ambitious, we go anywhere with our sound and try anything. We might have some songs that sound like that eighties rock and roll people keep mentioning, but then there’s this sound we have that’s also very strange, but intriguing, I would hope.
MHF: How satisfied are you with the album? What were the reactions from fans and the press?
Amanda: For us, the album isn’t out yet, but the reaction we’ve been having from press has been unbelievable. We’re overwhelmed with excitement, and really thrilled that everybody who’s heard it is responding in such a positive way. When people tell you that, it reassures you that what you’re doing is on the right path. Especially when it’s people you love, our loved ones, that’s the most important, because they’ve watched us from the ground up, from the very beginning. When people you love and know are responding positively, it reminds you and hypes you up, makes you think, okay, this is real, maybe our dreams are coming true. So we’re very satisfied with the album, we’re very excited about it.
And don’t get me wrong, as an artist there will always be little parts, or big parts, of what we make that we’re not one hundred percent satisfied with. I feel like that’s always going to be a thing. It’s good to spend time on your art, but if you spend too much time on it, you’re just going to go around and around in a circle and drive yourself nuts. So it’s good to have deadlines and put stuff out, because I don’t know if any artist is ever one hundred percent satisfied. If they are, that’s amazing. I guess I am one hundred percent satisfied with some of the songs, but there are a couple things I would have wanted to do better, for sure. Always growing and learning.
MHF: You released the album independently. Many other Rock and Metal bands have been doing this for many years. Are you thinking about signing a record deal, or do you want to remain independent?
Amanda: We’ve had that in our minds, for sure. We do want to remain independent, but we’re also building a solid, amazing team of great human beings who have our best interest at heart, who respect us and help guide us in the right direction. So we’re not sure, it depends on what comes around and what opportunities show up. We’re also cautious, because we want to make sure we’re doing this correctly and doing it right. Sometimes the music industry can be a scary place if you don’t do your due diligence and your research.
We just want to make sure we’re headed in the right direction, taking the right steps, and working with honest, kind, respectful people who will actually help us, instead of ending up in one of those horror stories you hear about with bands and labels. So who knows where the road will take us. It’s definitely challenging to do it independently, but we’re doing it with the great team we do have. If a deal is what’s in the cards for us, we’ll go there, but for now we’ll keep doing it like this.
MHF: How important is it to you the contact to your fans, especially during live performances?
Amanda: I feel like the connection with our friends in that crowd, and I don’t like to call them fans, they’re friends, they’re family, is the only reason why we exist and our dreams are coming true. The biggest high I’ve ever felt is being on stage connecting with each person in the crowd, that’s what keeps us going, that’s the drive, that’s where the momentum comes from. All the hours you drive, the hours and money and time you put in, it’s all for that thirty minutes or so on stage, to feel that feeling.
The connection isn’t just on stage either, it’s messages online, people reaching out telling us how they feel and what their experience is with our music, it fills your heart. You could be having a bad day and someone reaches out and says your song really helped them, and at that point, our work is done. All we want to do is spread love around the world and make people feel better with our music, and if that happens for even one person, that’s the whole reason why we do this.
So, the most important thing is the people supporting us. Without you, we are absolutely nothing, and we love you so much, and we appreciate you and respect you. I hope our music goes deep down into your soul and sparks something inside you that you’ve never felt before, hypes you up and makes you realize how special and worthy you are, because you are amazing, all of you, each of you. When you all come together at a concert, that energy is real, you can feel the love. For me, that’s what I feel like life is. There is love. Love is the answer.
MHF: What can fans expect from Famous Strangers in the future? Is the band already working on new material? And are there any plans for live performances outside your home country?
Amanda: We’re already working on new material. We’re learning that you have to be way ahead of the game, so hopefully we’ll just continue to write, we’ve got like five more albums to give you.
And do we ever want to get out of the country? That’s all we’ve been working towards. We’ve been building our foundation here in Canada, and we love it, this is our home, but we’re also so excited to get out on the road and bring our music to the masses, hopefully some opportunities come our way. We have a couple things we’re waiting on, but nothing confirmed yet, so I can’t really say anything. But if it happens, it’s going to be really exciting, so keep an eye on our website, famousstrangersband.com, because that’s where all the information happens. But so far, no shows outside the country yet.
MHF: Thank you once again for this interview. Is there anything else you’d like to say to the fans to round things off?
Amanda: Just once again, we love you so much, and thank you for all that you do for us, you make our dreams come true. I hope you have the best day ever. Rock and roll.
Famous Strangers are:
Jeff Kittlitz – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Brian “Beej” Beejerson – Drums, Backing Vocals
Braden Sustrik – Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
Amanda Kiernan – Lead Vocals
Discography:
Deepstar – Single 2024
George – Single 2024
I’ll See You In The Stars – Single 2025
L.S.C. – Single 2025
Ghosts Of Men – Single 2026
As Your Leader – Single 2026
Famous Strangers – Album 2026
Social Media:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/FamousStrangersBand/
Homepage – https://famousstrangersband.com/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/famousstrangersband
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@Famousstrangersband
Amazon Music – https://music.amazon.com/artists/B0DG4RBC8F/famous-strangers
Apple Music – https://music.apple.com/us/artist/famous-strangers/1766585539
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/449YCx1WixtaO3hfRwnAzZ
