Media Credit: Photo Courtesy of Red Lipstick Letter Left to right: Jesse Huggins, Danny Kirkland, Austin McDonald, Seth Cromer, and Shane Mapoles. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Photo Courtesy of Red Lipstick Letter Austin McDonald performing at Warp Tour this past year in Jacksonville, Florida. [Click to enlarge]

            Red Lipstick Letter is Pensacola's newest pop punk band that is making a name for itself by performing its intricate guitar rhythms and head-bobbing beats once a month by supporting benefits for cancer research and blood donation.

            Danny Kirkland, 23, plays the bass guitar when not working as a manager at Hot Topic. Having been with the band since its beginning, he said that Red Lipstick Letter got its start with the breakup of another group called The Second Track. The lead vocalist of The Second Track, Austin McDonald, just wasn't ready to call the music scene quits. 

Kirkland and McDonald said that through work relationships and existing friendships, they came together to form Red Lipstick Letter.

             Then the band's drummer dropped out, and the group discovered Shane Mapoles, 20, a Pensacola Junior College student, Kirkland said.

            "When we lost our drummer, we started asking around, and he approached us after a show," he said. "We had him try out, and the rest is history."

            Last November, the group first received its recognition as a band. 

"We formed a lineup, wrote songs and went crazy promoting on myspace.com" Kirkland said.

            The band recently gained the privilege to perform at the Ernie Ball's "Battle of the Bands" in the August heat, a contest that provides upcoming bands a chance to play their music online and, if favored by fans, a chance to perform on tour.

            "We won a chance to play on the Warped Tour and went to Jacksonville, Fla., to play a show and get judged," Mapoles said. "We did not win the competition, but it helped us get our name out there."

            The band's interesting name originally was the name of one of its first songs, which now is called "Stay With Me," Kirkland said.

            It was only after weeks of consideration that the five band members decided on Red Lipstick Letter as their name.

            "A lot of names we thought of sounded like song names instead of band names," Kirkland said.  "So we thought, hey, let's use Red Lipstick Letter as a band name instead of a song name."

            Presently, the band has recorded nine songs but has yet to be accepted by any record labels.

            Among the musical talents of the band members, they also write their own music.

            "We write everything from scratch," Mapoles said.

            Girls and the band members' frustrations from past dating relationships are the primary inspiration for their music.

            "We write about what we know. We're not trying to save the world or show how tough we are. We are trying to express how we feel in a way that someone else can possibly relate," Kirkland said.

            Although being a newer band, the five men have a supportive fan base. Mapoles said his starts at home.

            "My family has been totally supportive of me through the whole process," he said. 

            As for Jesse Huggins, 19, the band's lead guitarist, the support from home wasn't immediate.

            "At first, Mom wasn't too happy," he said. 

            Huggins said putting school on hold to pursue the band was the source of his mother's irritation. However, after the band had recorded its first songs, Huggins' mother listened to the music and was moved to tears.  Since then, he said, his mother has been very supportive.

            The Red Lipstick Letter Web site on Myspace.com provides room for fans to speak their mind, and the support is overwhelming.

            "If we did not have their 100 percent support, we wouldn't be anything," Mapoles said.

            For Huggins, the fan's support was overpowering and took some getting used to.

            "Some are so outrageous," he said. "At first, I didn't know how to deal with it."

            In adjusting, he said he tries to take time to respond to their posted comments while keeping a level head.

            The band said it is hoping for a successful future in the music industry. Kirkland said he would like to see the band get signed with a record label and tour nonstop. 

            Huggins said, since the seventh grade, it has been a dream of his to have a successful band.

            "I definitely hope we can go on a few tours," he said.

            However, the band gives credit for any success to its fans.

            "I can see us doing large tours and making full-length LP's," Mapoles said. "But like I said earlier, we are here for the fans. And we are nothing without them."

            Red Lipstick Letter's next performance is set for Oct. 26 at Seville Quarter.

Article Tools