Alabaster's new CD is titled Unraveled, and it's now out in stores.

Windy City Times: Alabaster has worked mostly with mainstream media up until this point and it has been quite successful. Was there an impetus to reach out to the gay media now, as opposed to when you were beginning your career?

Kate Alabaster: We reached out to all kinds of media at the start of our career but were still trying to get our footing in a new scene and really find our voice, so we didn't get much of a response from any sort of media. That was up until the last year or so, when media sources began finding us by accident and at shows.

[ As my involvement in the gay community grows ] it's becoming more and more important to me to make an effort to reach out to the media of my community as well. There is an essence of pride all around us [ the band ] right now that makes us want to share [ the music ] even more and reach as many people as possible.

WCT: Was there a defining moment where you knew you had to relocate from Chicago to Seattle to start promoting the band?

KA: I think we all had our eyes set west internally as individuals for a while. When we first talked about it as a whole band, everyone got super-pumped to get out of the suburbs of Chicago and see what was waiting for us on the other side. We were always eating chicken wings at Hooters and haven't been back to the restaurant since!

WCT: Do you get back to Chicago much nowadays? If so, where are some of your favorite spots to hang out?

KA: We love to get back to Chicago as often as possible, but—hot damn!—it is so expensive to tour these days. When we get back there, the Pick Me Up Café is a must stop. The food and coffee there is delicious. We also love rocking the stage at The Abbey Pub. Our dream is to play the Metro someday when we get to tour out that way again.

WCT: Many would compare your music and sound to Paramore and Flyleaf. How do you feel being referred to in the company of these female-fronted bands?

KA: It really is an honor to be compared to bands that I have personally idolized in some way or another over the last few years. Female-fronted bands that aren't a gimmick are hard to come by these days, and it's awesome not to be compared to any bands like that or to be in one!

WCT: What is behind your songwriting technique? How do you split up the task of preparing a kick-ass song?

KA: Well, we have a very interesting songwriting technique. Personally, I am a writer, poet and lyricist and am always writing in a fevered fashion. I have books and books of lyrics. Usually, Joe [ Bosslet ] comes up with some rad guitar chords, which I will start composing lead guitar riffs alongside.

WCT: Alabaster has a new CD called Unraveled. What went into making this CD and how does it differ from your last effort?

KA: Well, we had a kick-ass team supporting us from the start on this record. We brought in Joel Casey Jones ( ex-member of Blessed by a Broken Heart ) as our producer and confidant. He also produced bands in the local scene like Monsters Scare You, To Paint the Sky, Anchor the Tide, and Keeping Secrets, to name a few.

Then we had the CD mastered by Kris Crummett over at Interlace Audio in Portland, Ore. Kris has worked heavily in the past with bands like Alesana, A Lot Like Birds, Tides of Man, Dance Gavin Dance and tons of other Rise Records bands.

When we went to record our music video to go along with the single, we approached Garrett Gibbons, who has worked with local hip hop artist Theoretic. Garrett did a stellar job as well. We didn't sell ourselves short by going with a less-qualified producer and we chose the best option for the mastering. We're so happy with Unraveled we could just go streaking right through Capitol Hill throwing CDs out from a Santa sack. But we may wait 'til next year to try that marketing campaign.