Kill Matilda is a Canadian female-fronted, four-piece rock/punk/metal musical group formed in 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The group was recognized for its unique, loud and energetic live stage performances and an ability to engage with fans during live shows. The band has established themselves through their use of horror punk imagery and zombie-related themes Kill Matilda is fronted by Dusty Exner. Exner's singing and screaming were noted in reviews and her personality was described as "enchanting", akin to a "punky snarl", and "like Joan Jett on steroids". Exner, originally of Burns Lake and Prince George, is also noted for extreme stage behaviour, a love of beer, and a frequent use of profanity during live shows.
Band History
Early Years (2006-2008)
Exner moved from her hometown of Prince George to Vancouver in 2005 and formed an all-girl project featuring Marlene Lau on guitar, Kyla Rockingham on drums, and Marla McQueen on bass. The lineup went through several changes until Exner's boyfriend at the time, Mykel Exner, became the full-time bass player.
Self-Titled EP & Early Touring
The band replaced drummer Nate Pole with Marcus Luk and officially released their first self-titled EP and music video for the single "She's A Killer" in 2009. The band embarked on their first western Canadian tour in mid-2009. In 2010 the band toured cross-Canada and relocated to Montreal, Quebec. "She's A Killer" was entered into light rotation on the MuchLoud channel.
"Songs of Survival" & "Zombie Apocalypse USA" Tour
Between 2011 & 2014 Kill Matilda released the 'Zombie Apocalypse' album and later re-released 5 songs from the same album plus a bonus acoustic version of the track 'Geisha With A Switchblade' in 2014 and released the tracks as the '#PUNK#ZOMBIE#ROCKNROLL' album. After taking time off in 2011 so that bass player Mykel Exner could recover from surgery for a rare carotid-body tumor known as a paraganglioma, the band recorded a 6-song EP with producer Garth Richardson and toured across Canada, resettling in Toronto, Ontario. In late 2014 the band undertook their first US tour and largest tour to date, consisting of six continuous months of touring the US, Canada and Mexico. In order to finance the tour the band ran a successful indiegogo campaign. The band remained in the US until early 2015 and released 'Songs of Survival' in August 2015 on Little Heart Records. After only seven months off the road, with the exception of the short 'Tabarnak & Back' tour) the band began their 'Punk Survival' North American tour in support of the 'Songs of Survival' album. 'Songs of Survival' was well received in the undergroundpunk media, with reviews calling the album 'aggressive pop punk', 'powerful and focussed' and "leav you wanting more". In December 2015 the band parted ways with drummer Luk and the tour was cancelled, though Exner & Exner played some January 2016 dates with fill-in drummer Mitchell Schols. Since January 2016 the band has been on.
Personal life
Exner is married to Kill Matilda's bass player, Mykel Exner, who is also noted for his "exaggerated " and personality on-stage. Exner is also a published writer who has had opinion pieces and poems featured in print and online blogs such as and Discorder Magazine. Prior to their 2014 cross-Canada 'Zombie Apocalypse' tour, Exner suffered an ectopic pregnancy. The band still managed to fulfill a show obligation at in Vancouver BC one week after her emergency surgery and did not cancel their tour. After Dusty Exner and Mykel Exner struggled to conceive it was announced that Exner was pregnant in July 2016, coinciding with the band's hiatus. In late 2015 the band donated a portion of the proceeds of online album sales to help a Syrian refugee come to Canada.
