KILBOURN, the Most Dangerous Speed Metal Band from Chicago Illinois, was formed in May of 1990 by high school friends; George Hilan (Vocals/Guitar), Lee Wildman Herrera (Drums) and Travis Pain (Bass).
Less than 3 months of practicing together, writing original material, and rehearsing a few covers
KILBOURN had their 1st show at one of Chicago's top northwest suburban rock clubs. From that show alone, KILBOURN had other rock clubs in Chicago wanting them for their venue. KILBOURN had shows lined up every month till the end of that year at most all Chicago's popular rock/metal bars & clubs.
January of 1991 and throughout that entire year, KILBOURN took more of a Do It Yourself approach to build a stronger and even more ever growing fan base by having their own warehouse shows / keg parties on Chicago's South Side while still playing at all the ChicagoLand rock clubs. Kilbourn's famous warehouse / loft shows have been burned into the brains of the hundreds who attended. No one else in the Chicago scene did it like they did.
The Beginning of 1992, Kilbourn wanted to enhance their sound more so they recruited Lee's twin brother and partner in crime Lance Herrera (Rhythm Guitar). From there on, They self financed the Underlying Pressure Demo, had one last famous loft show, then toured the Midwest United States playing different cities and towns every chance they got.
In 1993, Kilbourn was constantly playing out while working on some new material. Fan base was more than ever and caught the interest of quite a few record labels.
With the Seattle Grunge Scene in full force, 1994 was the year Kilbourn had to call it quits and take a long hibernation with George moving out west to the desert, Lee and Lance staying in the Windy City, and Travis moving to the hills of Ohio.
The music never stopped with the members of Kilbourn
. With George out west forming the hard rock band LUCKY.45 in the mid 90's which led him to VH1's reality show Ambushed ! in 1998, Travis was jamming in a blues band with his brother in Ohio, Lee with a few metal projects in Chicago before forming hardcore metal band Driven Anger in 2004, and Lance jamming on some classic rock songs with friends.
Fans wanted the bad boys of Chicago to reform during those years but nothing ever came about. Kilbourn's rebirth came in the spring of 2007 with Sam McCaslin of Retrospect Records running across a copy of the Underlying Pressure demo. Himself and Ron Keel gave it a listen and decided to get in contact with them. From there George Hilan & Lee Herrera decided to sign on. Kilbourn was signed onto Retrospect's, Retro-Thrash imprint in the Summer of 2007 and re-mastered and released Underlying Pressure world-wide on CD. The buzz started to grow in the metal scene once again that the Kilbourn CD was out and fans wanted a comeback of the band.
With a few phone conversations with each other, George & Lee reformed Kilbourn in the early fall of 2007. The only original member that wasn't aboard was Travis due to being M.I.A. Kilbourn decided to go with the services of longtime friend and fan of the band (not to mention Lee's band mate & guitarist for Driven Anger), Dr. Loe filling the bass slot. With a long history in the metal scene and his passion for music, this was the right fit and decision for the band. Now fans wanted a show to see if Chicago's Most Dangerous Metal Band still had it in them. Kilbourn had their Comeback / CD Release concert in December of 2007 to a crowded venue in their hometown of Chicago in which received great reviews. Kilbourn was back and nothing was getting in their way.
In January of 2008, Kilbourn did a mini west coast tour to packed venues! During the Summer of '08, Kilbourn did a full tour entitled "Halfway To Hell" of The United States.
The band to this date is currently working on newer material for a new CD due out in early 2009.
Source : myspace.com/kilbournrocks
