Looks To Kill

Electro-rock duo Looks To Kill suckles electro-sweetness and then surprises you with a pure rock sucker punch. Seeming to come out of nowhere, Katie and Sam delivered a TKO debut show at Fortune Sound Club this past March, not only packing the house but bowling over a hard-to-impress Vancouver crowd that's used to Vancouver's top musical talent. This duo of contrasts might be young and green, but their catchy, 80's inspired tracks are already heading towards the top.

Like stars on a collision course, Sam Masih (guitar) and Katie Fagan (vocals) must have been destined to meet. Raised in Orillia, Ontario Katie grew up singing and dancing competitively only to find in her late teens a passion for snowboarding that couldn't be ignored. Every single minute she could spare was on the mountain which led to working as a instructor, leaving home at 18 and working her way across Canada.

Sam was an intellectual-type, studious and top of the class but also spent every spare minute snowboarding and skateboarding, picking up sponsors along the way. After finishing his undergraduate degree at UBC in genetics and cellular biology, he took some time off playing guitar part-time in a couple of local bands. His passion for music grew and in the fall of 2011 formed with Katie while contemplating his decision to study for his MCATs and pursue medicine.

The two starting writing together and worked with several session musicians, but after a lot of trial and error, the band started writing with Chris Henderson and Alex Ross and the songs started to take off.
"It became really freaking awesome," said Katie. "Once we had one song it started to mushroom and soon we had a half dozen songs. That's when I felt we really had an original sound and weren't sitting in our tiny rehearsal space every week chasing elephants. Everything came so naturally once we got rolling."

The band's sound is easily electro-rock but with influences from eighties bands such as Depeche Mode, Billy Idol, Corey Hart, Möev but combined in a new millennium way. Anthemic and hooky, Katie's vocals contrast sweet innocence and then dose you with a hint of wicked, Joan Jett-style. Sam is happy to lay back on the stage, picking out his catchy guitar melodies.
Katie's inherent magnetism along with Sam's indie-cool wit combine in a creative presence that is impossible not to see in big lights and after the success of their debut show the duo hit the studio working with local rock producer, Jordan Carrier (2008 Fox Seeds Winner).

"We were both getting asked by everyone we knew for the tracks so we wanted to record at least a few of the tracks to start building momentum and growing our fan base," said Sam. "It's been overwhelming, actually. I've been in other bands, but I've never seen such an immediate response to the music."

The duo recently released some of their new tracks on "We Want Your Love (the Debut EP)". Sam and Katie will continue to record over the summer with the intention of releasing more singles later this year and continue to fan the fire that their friends and fans are creating.

"When I am on the stage it just feels like that's exactly where I belong," says Katie, grinning.

Says Sam: "I just want to wear cool shirts and play the guitar."