Austin rock duo Lift The Curse fuse hard rock tones, filthy breakdowns and veracious melodies. Anchored by the long time friends' inherent chemistry, the band marries influence from across metal, rock and pop.

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Ryan Hegefeld - Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Drums

Jon Yadon Jr. - Guitar, Bass, Auxiliary Vocals 

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Lift The Curse? How long has the band been around?

We were 2/3 of the hard rock trio, TrineATX from 2015-2022. We also have a country side project called Black Star Sunset. Lift The Curse officially started in April 2022. 

Jon: Outside of Lift The Curse, I currently play guitar in metalcore/electronicore band The Browning and play bass with Austin based rock/grunge trio, Empty Trail. I also do occasional studio lead guitar work for James Durbin, North of Never, and others. 

Ryan: I was the founder, frontman, songwriter, & composer of Texas hard rock band No Such Thing. 

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

Lift The Curse is the name of one of our TrineATX songs. We always thought it’d make for a great band name, so we seized the opportunity when we started this band. 

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

We write the music together and Ryan writes all of the lyrics. One of us usually comes up with an initial riff, chorus, hook, lead, etc and then we roadmap the song structure via FaceTime most of the time. We live about 90 minutes from each other, so we’ve been working remotely for years (way before the pandemic). For our actual song recordings, we just share Apple Logic project files back and forth via Google Drive until each song is finished. It works very well for us. 

The main themes or topics revolve around relatable life lessons, words of encouragement, and outlets for all of the emotions (anger, clarity, inspiration, sorrow, etc). 

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

Jon: All of the Swedish rock & metal bands! Arch Enemy, Amaranthe, Soilwork, Scar Symmetry, H.E.A.T., In Flames, etc. I’ve always been drawn to that Swedish sense of melody, especially in melodic death metal. Metallica and anything with Zakk Wylde in it also runs deep in my musical veins. 

Ryan: I’ve always been a huge Clay Walker(country), Fuel and Breaking Benjamin fan and over the past few years bands like Blessthefall and Broadside have heavily influenced me. 

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

Jon: Metallica and Ozzy w/ Zakk Wylde were my gateways into everything as I ws first learning guitar, but my dad took my friends and I to Ozzfest 2004 and 2005 in Mountain View, California… and that really ignited my initial desire to start a band. Seeing some of my new favorite bands live for the first time all in a huge festival environment was a game changer for me. We saw Arch Enemy w/ Gus G filling in on lead guitar, God Forbid, Shadows Fall, Lamb of God, Iron Maiden, Black Label Society, Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Soilwork, and so many more. 

Ryan: My dad took me and my best friend to see Fuel back in 2001 in Austin TX. The impact from that show was astounding. Other notable performances I’ve witnessed were Garth Brooks and Clay Walker. These shows definitely planted a hunger in me to follow. 

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …

Jon: I play guitar… a lot lol. I usually like to go through my normal warmups on my main guitar & backup guitar & tune like crazy. We both use Evertune bridges on our live guitars now, so we rarely have to worry about tuning like we used to. Shoutout to Ola, Joel, & Louise at Solar Guitars! :-)

Ryan: Vocal rest is my usual practice the day of a performance but also I love to daydream like I used to in school. Daydream of the lights and the crowd and the possibility to help someone with our songs. 

*We both usually do some pushups right before the show lol… ;-) 

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

Because of our infancy, I think the great feeling of such a fresh, strong start for the both of us is the current highlight. Full confidence in every aspect of our dream is super fulfilling and quite honestly a bunch of fun. 

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

Jon: Metallica is my easy answer, but touring with bands like Trivium, Bullet For My Valentine, Motionless In White, Arch Enemy, Killswitch Engage, Bad Wolves, etc. would be incredible. There are so many of these musicians that I’ve been following for legit 15 years now, so I’d love to pick their brains about music they created that made a huge impact on my life. 

Ryan: Great question. I would love to hear tour stories from so many artists but if I had to choose a few to partner up with, Breaking Benjamin, Aerosmith, Fuel and Ozzy would be my choices. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Our vision for releasing music for people to hear is to provide support or a friend or an escape from whatever hardships they might be going through. 

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