Kill Radio


When you play for a band called Kill Radio, people expect to hear your opinion … loud and often. From making sure that his company, Deadline LA, is cruelty-free to taking the time to talk to his fans about veganism at his shows, Jasten King doesn’t hide his thoughts or feelings. Enjoy learning—or should we say “unlearning”—from Jasten, as he talks about making decisions based on … Alicia Silverstone!

How do you think the messages that children are taught about animals and food carry into their adult lives?
The way most of us are brought up is—you’re told how you should act and who you should be, either from your parents, teachers, or via television and media. You can either go through the motions to play along or you can step outside of it all and restart your thinking from scratch. It certainly applies to the way we care about animals and how we’re taught to eat. From the food charts and frog dissection in high school to the KFC commercials and “miracle” diets we see on television today, some people simply don’t know of any other options. You grow up thinking that’s all OK ’cause the people you’re supposed to believe say that it’s normal or that it’s how it is supposed to be. All it really takes for change is looking at the bigger picture … a picture of your own.

Was there any one thing that made you go vegetarian? Why did you go vegan?
I stopped eating meat when I was in probably sixth grade. I always hated the taste of meat and never really understood the idea of eating flesh. So I stopped quite easily with no real influence or guidance from anyone. No one in my family was vegetarian, and to this day, no one other than my mother has changed. I believe it just started as a New Year’s resolution—something to give a try—and it stuck. I decided to try to go vegan about three years ago, after reading an interview with Alicia Silverstone, explaining how much better she felt and how much more energy she had once she stopped eating dairy. So I gave it a try, and luckily, living in a city like Los Angeles, finding alternative foods wasn’t that difficult, so the change was rather easy. The difference I felt was so great that I’ve been very comfortable with maintaining a vegan diet.

Where are some of your favorite alternatives to leather?
We’re not some kind of leather-clad metal band, so there’s really not any items I’d wear that’d include leather, other than maybe belts or shoes. Military belts are always good, and this company, MacBeth, just came out with a vegan shoe—kind of interesting, all alternative leather and materials. Vans always has a wide variety of nonleather items.

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to go vegetarian or vegan and doesn’t know where to start?
Well, the PETA site, of course, is a great place to get information. Learning how most meats and dairy products are made is enough motivation to start. Then it’s probably easiest to start by replacing the meat in your meals with alternatives by companies like Boca or Morning Star. That way, you’re not changing too much right away, and it won’t feel like you’re missing out. Once you get used to that, you’ll probably enjoy the fun and sometimes funny variety of meatless options and preparing your own meals. I have people over all the time who I’ll cook for, and I love seeing how what they expect to taste like something along the lines of cardboard is really much better and more flavorful than they expect.

If you had a chance to talk to the CEO of KFC, what would you say to him to convince him to treat chickens more humanely?
I have read the articles about what’s going on but can’t stand to watch any of the footage. Stuff like that is so disturbing to me. I think the CEO and everyone treating the animals like that knows what they’re doing is wrong. If they say they don’t, then they’re lying. The second we offer to put the footage in one of their commercials or restaurants to see how it helps their business, they’d obviously refuse. If I had a chance to talk to someone in charge, I’d try to explain that, though I don’t agree with the foods produced and sold there in the first place, that sort of treatment is absolutely unneeded. With most people like that, though, it usually comes down to money, and maybe if he or she was shown that those animals could easily be treated humanely with no cost difference to them by easily laying down some rules, maybe then they’d change what’s going on. There’s no reason for that abuse to happen at all.

What would you say to someone who is disturbed by what they’ve learned about KFC and wants to make a difference?
I think sometimes a quiet example is sometimes as good as a loud protest. In this case, maybe both are needed. It’s the simplicity of mentioning what’s going on there to your friends and family and showing everyone that they, too, can avoid the place until things change. On the next level, distributing information at your local KFC location is an equally powerful way to invoke change. The KentuckyFriedCruelty.com site has a lot of ways to help anyone get information on how to make a difference. PETA’s helped a lot of fast-food chains make changes in the past, and this one can be the next.

What’s the one question that you wish I’d asked (and what’s the answer)?
Do vegans make better lovers? … and the answer is “yes.”

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