The American rock duo Lift The Curse released their fourth album, ‘Don’t Bury The Dream’, at the end of May. And that despite the fact that the band was only formed in April 2022. Two albums were released in 2023 alone, in January and June. What’s more, the two musicians, Ryan Hegefeld and Jon Yadon Jr., live in different US states (California and Texas). According to the brief press release, the sound is based on ‘explosive alternative Rock refrains, powerful riffs, melodic harmonies and anthemic guitar solos – all delivered with raw energy and emotional weight’.
Hello. My name is Rainer, and I write for Keep on Rocking and Metalheads Forever Magazine. I am looking forward to doing this interview with you. How are you?
The band/project has only been around for three years. Please introduce yourselves briefly.
Hello Rainer! It’s so great to meet you—thank you so much for taking the time.
We are Lift The Curse, a rock/metal duo from Austin, Texas, made up of Jon Yadon and Ryan Hegefeld. We launched the project in April 2022 and have been writing, recording, and releasing all of our music independently ever since.
For live shows, we’re joined by our incredibly talented friend, Kyle Vanderhoof, who handles drums. While we love managing most aspects of the band ourselves, we often collaborate with the amazing Clayton King for our music videos – his creativity and vision elevate everything we do.
A question about the band name ‘Lift The Curse’. What curse do you want to lift with your music?
That’s an excellent question—and surprisingly, one we don’t get asked very often! Haha.
Our goal is to inspire anyone who listens to our music to be the best version of themselves every single day. We hope to reach as many ears and hearts as possible, creating music that connects on a personal level.
Ultimately, we want listeners to feel what we feel—but also to interpret and experience the songs in their own unique way. That emotional connection is everything to us.
The press release already provided a brief description of your sound (see above). How would you describe your music yourselves?
We like to describe ourselves as Rock/Metal band – but honestly, it depends on the ear of the listener. If you’re a metalhead, we probably come across as more of a rock band. But if you lean more toward rock or alternative rock, we might sound heavier or more metal to you. 😊
We truly love and embrace it all, and we’re grateful for whatever genre fans feel we fall into.
Ryan’s biggest influences include Breaking Benjamin, Fuel, and My Chemical Romance, while mine range from Metallica and Ozzy to Arch Enemy, Def Leppard, Van Halen, and everything in between.
You live in two different US states. How did you get to know each other?
The press release refers to ‘decades of collaboration.’ For which band or project was this?
We met through our good friend and former bandmate, Deuce Wanier! I (Jon) moved to Austin, Texas from Northern California in 2012 and met Deuce through a Craigslist ad I posted looking for like-minded musicians. Deuce already knew Ryan from the Texas rock scene, and soon after, the three of us started playing together in various projects. From the start, Ryan and I had instant musical chemistry.
As for the press release mentioning “decades of collaboration”—that’s referring to our long history together. Ryan and I just passed the ten-year mark of making music and being best friends. Over the years, we’ve played in several bands with Deuce—starting with Ayleanne, then a cover band called Nasworthy, followed by an original rock project called TrineATX, which we were part of for about eight years.
Interestingly, Lift The Curse was actually the title of one of our TrineATX songs, and we loved it so much we decided to use it as the name for our current project.
We also launched a side country project years ago called Black Star Sunset, and while we’ve talked about writing and releasing more songs under that name, Lift The Curse keeps us plenty busy for now.
You have released four albums since you started. Where do you get the inspiration for each song?
Ryan and I genuinely love every part of our musical process, but writing new songs is hands-down our favorite. We’re constantly coming up with new riffs, melodies, lyrics, rhythms, and leads—it’s a nonstop flow of ideas that keeps us inspired and pushing each other creatively.
Even though we just released our new album, we’re already hard at work on new material for upcoming singles, the next album, and even a really fun Pat Benatar cover that we can’t wait to share!
Do you have any musical role models or musicians who inspire you?
Jon: Absolutely! Zakk Wylde, James Hetfield, and Kirk Hammett have been my biggest inspirations ever since I first picked up a guitar in middle school. If I had to choose just one, Zakk Wylde would be my favorite guitarist and overall musician. I love everything he does—his playing, his tone, his songwriting—and he seems like a genuinely great person.
I was lucky enough to meet him the day before Ozzfest in San Francisco back in 2004 or 2005. He was incredibly kind, gave my friends and me guitar picks, and even took a photo with us. It’s a memory I’ll never forget.
And then there’s Metallica—what can I say? They’re Metallica. My all-time favorite band, and they’re still going strong. My girlfriend and I are actually seeing them next week at the 49ers stadium in California, with Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills on the bill. We’re beyond excited!
Ryan: Fuel has always been one of my favorite bands—their music had a massive impact on me and was the spark that ignited my passion for songwriting. I’ve always connected with their emotion and energy.
Country music has also been a major influence in my life, with Clay Walker standing out as one of my all-time favorite artists. He helped shape my appreciation for storytelling in music.
Metallica played a big role for me as well, acting as a bridge between my love for country and my growing interest in rock and metal. Bands like My Chemical Romance and Breaking Benjamin were also hugely influential. I’ve always admired everything Gerard Way and Benjamin Burnley have done creatively—they both bring such unique voices and intensity to their music.
How does the songwriting work across such a large geographical distance?
Just to clarify, we both live in Texas, but we’re about 90 minutes apart, so we don’t get to meet in person as often as we’d like. Fortunately, we got really good at writing and recording remotely during our time in our previous band, and we’ve been working that way for several years now.
We both use Apple Logic for recording, and we collaborate by sharing project files back and forth via Google Drive until each song is fully developed. It’s a workflow that works really well for us.
Of course, we make it a point to meet up in person for live shows and music video shoots.
Do you also perform your music live, or is Lift The Curse purely a studio project?
We do! We just completed our first Texas tour a couple of weeks ago, with stops in Houston, San Antonio, and Austin—and it went incredibly well. We had the chance to open for The Word Alive, The Funeral Portrait, and Melrose Avenue, and it was an awesome experience. We connected with a lot of new fans and had a blast playing those shows.
Coming up next, we’re opening for the legendary ’80s rock band Firehouse on June 28th—we’re really looking forward to that one!
For our live shows, our good friend Kyle Vanderhoof absolutely crushes it on drums. He brings so much energy to the stage and is a huge part of our live sound.
Your fourth studio album, ‘Don’t Bury The Dream’, was released in May. How satisfied are you with the result?
We’re incredibly proud of this album—it truly reflects where we are in our lives and musical journey. We always strive to write and release our best work, and we genuinely believe this album represents that. We love every single song on it and put a lot of thought into curating the final tracklist. It’s exactly the album we wanted to make.
What were the reactions of fans and the press?
The response from both fans and press has been amazing so far! We’re incredibly grateful to be able to do what we love and create music as Lift The Curse. One of the most rewarding parts is seeing new people discover our music every single day.
Our main goal is simple: to reach as many people as possible with our songs and continue growing that connection through our music.
How does ‘Don’t Bury The Dream’ differ from the three previous albums?
“Don’t Bury The Dream” stands apart from our previous album in a few key ways. This time around, we released most of the songs—except for “Dusk and Dawn”—ahead of the official album launch. Our goal is always to create music videos for every track, and this album gave us a great opportunity to do that. Nearly every song received a proper single release and video, with the exception of “Direct Hit.”
We’re currently filming the video for “Fly or Die” later this month, which will complete the visual rollout. We feel really confident about how we put this album together and how intentional we were in selecting a well-balanced mix of songs.
Thank you once again for this interview. Would you like to say anything to the fans before we finish?
Thank you so much for this interview—we truly appreciate it! And a heartfelt thank you to everyone listening to Lift The Curse. Your support means the world to us.
We hope to play live for you someday soon! Keep an eye out for our upcoming Pat Benatar cover and the “Fly or Die” music video.
Lift The Curse are:
Ryan Hegefeld – Vocals, Guitar, Drums
Jon Yadon Jr. – Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals
Discography:
Rise With The Flames – Album January 2023
Suffer And Survive – Album June 2023
Overtake – Album April 2024
Don’t Bury The Dream – Album May 2025
Social Media:
Homepage – https://www.liftthecurse.net/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/liftthecursemusic/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LiftTheCurse
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@liftthecursemusic/featured
