We got to speak to Mark Zavon who is currently the guitarist in Kill Devil Hill that I just recently found out about through a press release! Mark Zavon discussed with us a little bit about himself as well as Kill Devil Hill with some advice for upcoming artists about touring and how the music industry shifted into mostly promoting music on social media!

Interviewer:  Tell me about yourself as a musician and give us a little more insight about the band itself

Mark Zavon: I grew up listening to players like Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen, during a time when hard rock guitar was really prominent. There were a lot of killer players in the 80s and 90s that heavily influenced the way that I play and write music. Everyone in the band has hard rock roots, which makes our vibe feel really natural. There’s no struggle when everybody is on the same page. A lot of fans were initially attracted to the band by the names involved with the original lineup, which included Rex Brown from Pantera and Vinny Appice from Black Sabbath and Dio, but then realized that Dewey and I had something really unique to offer, and have stuck with us through thick and thin. Dewey is my partner in crime, and God willing we’ll be doing this for a long time to come. 

Interviewer: How did the band decide on the name “Kill Devil Hill?”

Mark Zavon: I was taking aviation classes years ago, and the instructor started talking about the Wright brothers and where they flew the first airplane. It was a place called Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina. I sort of just filed it away thinking it sounded cool, and then when the time came to come up with a name I threw it in the hat. Once everyone decided they dug it and we were going to go with it, we dug into the history and found out that the name actually came from pirates, who called their rum kill devil because it was strong enough to kill the devil, smuggling rum up from Jamaica and burying it in the sand dunes there in North Carolina. Turns out it was a perfect name for a bunch of traveling rock and roll pirates! 

Interviewer: You guys are going on tour starting April 4th; what advice would you give upcoming musicians that want to tour? 

Mark Zavon: Yes, we are hitting the road the first week of April, and will be doing 10 shows across the US in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and California. Touring can be really tough, especially nowadays since expenses have gone through the roof. Being able to promote the tour properly is very important, and preparation ahead of time can save you time and money. If you’re just starting out you have to be your own tour manager, make all the phone calls and emails to make sure that the logistics are in place. There are so many skills far beyond musicianship that are critically important to a band’s success, and in an era where labels and tour support have become all but nonexistent, you’ve got to be good at crossing your own T’s and dotting your own I’s.

Interviewer: It’s 2025 and we easily became a society that solely focuses on social media to promote music; how as musicians that’s been creating music for a long time; how do you guys feel about this?

Mark Zavon: When I was starting out you promoted your band by printing up flyers and stapling them up everywhere all over the city. Nowadays all of that is done with Social Media. It’s a double edged sword for sure, the audience is much bigger but it’s also a sea of anonymity, and connecting with the proper people can be really difficult. It’s a challenge to keep up with some of the techniques that are required for online promotion, but it is a necessary evil for sure. I try to just keep an open mind and keep learning because the technology is going to keep evolving, and keeping up gets tougher the farther behind you get. 

Interviewer: Being in the music industry for so long; what is inspiring you guys to keep creating music? And what are fans expecting in 2025 from the band?

Mark Zavon: Inspiration is a weird thing, sometimes I go a long time without writing anything, and then suddenly I have a bunch of ideas I’m rushing to record before I forget them. It’s hard to say where that comes from, but as long as it keeps coming I won’t complain. 

As far as what the fans are expecting, I suppose you would have to ask them, but if  I had to guess I would say that our audience knows exactly what to expect from us. We still deliver the same thing we always have, crushing hard rock with a dynamic, high-energy live performance, and that will always be the case. 

Keep Up With Kill Devil Hill Online: Facebook / Instagram / Website