Daily Inspiration: Meet Will D.D. Kvicala

Today we’d like to introduce you to Will D.D. Kvicala.

Hi Will D.D., thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
We are THE EXPLODING POPES and we’re a queercore punk band named after the late Pope Pius XII, who was embalmed so incorrectly that after he died, the necrotic gasses built up in the hot Vatican City sun until he exploded. My dad’s Catholic high school was named after him, so I named the band after him.

We all met a few years ago through following and playing music together in Atlanta, starting in a band called spiderhouse, which we all still actively play for. Sophie Moreira began that project and writes the music herself, and she recruited us to be her backing band for live shows so we all became friends through that. I actually met Sophie at the Freezer, which was a short-lived venue in my good friend Fairfax’s basement that we would have both bands eventually play at, and I kept seeing her around at shows. It wasn’t until Fairfax reached out to Sophie and told her I played guitar that I joined spiderhouse and started playing live around town again. I only played rhythm live and told Sophie I’d only join if she didn’t make me play lead; now I’m the lead guitar player. THE EXPLODING POPES started only a few months later with all the same members, but instead I was writing most of the music. Sophie and I both grew up Catholic and find ourselves talking about how it affected us a lot, whether it be to each other or in our music. We were all raised religious and live in a predominantly Christian area, and while I’d say Atlanta is incredibly diverse religiously, that nonsecular environment has certainly influenced us, especially as openly queer and trans people.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think it’s always going to be difficult, especially for people trying to make music now, but that’s what makes it so special when it works out for you even a little bit. Plus, in the end you’re having fun with your friends and you’re doing the things you love. We don’t make a lot of money and the money we make we usually give away, but we do it even if it puts us in debt. It’s an addiction, in a way. It’s stressful and I think it’s some of the most fun I’ve ever had. We aren’t well-liked and probably never will be, but we don’t care because we like it and we have a good time every time. We do it for us, and maybe for the kids we could inspire to do the same thing we do. Maybe they’ll hate us so bad that they’ll do their best just to make music that is nothing like us, and that still counts as an influence.

We’ve also had a few moments where we’ve gotten pushback because of many of our shows having the funds go directly towards supporting Palestinian families in Gaza, or another which was explicitly created to showcase local trans artists and expand our access to healthcare. We’ve come to expect that or other lazy attacks because of our politics as well as our obvious queerness and gender non-conformity, but since we receive that regardless of whether or not we go on a stage and shout about it, we’d rather just keep shouting about it.

We have always wanted to see even more people like ourselves doing what we do and caring about what we care about in the scene, but we also simply always wanted to make music together and have fun. We try to do both, and use our platform to talk about the things we care about and try to raise funds for those in need, whether it be in our community or across oceans. It’s also very important to us because we have also been able to very clearly see how even in a diverse city like Atlanta, the bands who get the most attention and support do tend to be made up of all white, straight men who often claim to care about the “right” social issues without ever really putting their careers in danger while privately taking advantage of the vulnerable in their own community. Meanwhile, the bands that have a majority of members who are black, queer, and/or feminized are constantly ignored and overlooked while playing just as well or better and not harming anyone, even within D.I.Y. spaces. This cycle repeats so often it becomes a joke, but it is incredibly upsetting to have such a distrust of your community and those close to you because of the plethora of harm that has come to you and people you know, by people you know.

We want to play our music with our friends and have fun, but we can’t ignore our environment and how it affects us, the people we love and the people we hate, as well as the people we don’t and will never know. Our music is political because it can’t not be, but we aren’t subtle either. We don’t think subtle works if the world isn’t subtle. We’re not going to be quiet or muted in any way, so why be discreet?

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The easiest answer is we do music, but I’ve been told that doesn’t cover everything. The Exploding Popes is a vehicle in which we can be very creative in a lot of ways, and we mostly like to put on a good show. We’re proud of performing and giving people a chance to have a good time with us, sometimes a cathartic, healing experience. It’s just as much performance art as it is music. I think what we’re most proud of is what we can create, both creatively within our music and performances and also socially and in building a community. We’re proud that we can give people like us a chance to be proud.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love how much there is to find in Atlanta, because there is a space for everyone and when there isn’t, people create their own. We love the D.I.Y (or as we like to call it D.I.O, do-it-ourselves) ethos and scene, and our most entertaining and enjoyable shows are often the ones we put on ourselves in someone’s backyard or basement, often our own. It almost feels like a small city sometimes. Everyone complains about the traffic and cars in this city, but it’s so much worse than words can describe. Venues can technically be in Atlanta but be almost an hour drive away depending on the traffic, and many of them are far from not only each other but also from where the band and crowd all live.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theexplodingpopes/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@theexplodingpopes?si=yKKISQKJisrRGuA7
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/theexplodingpopes
• Other: https://theexplodingpopes.bandcamp.com