Kyle Pfeiffer (born June 9, 1990), better known by his stage name Blacklite District, is an American

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

artist. Raised in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, Pfeiffer moved to

Spearfish, South Dakota Spearfish (Lakota: ''Hočhápȟe'') is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota. The population was 12,193 at the time of the 2020 census. History Before the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans (primarily bands ...

at a young age. Before taking the name as his own, Blacklite District was previously a band comprised by Pfeiffer and Roman James. Blacklite District has four songs which have reached Top 40 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Mainstream Rock Airplay Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in ...

chart.

Early life

Kyle Pfeiffer was born on June 9, 1990, and grew up in

before moving to

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

at a young age. As both of his parents struggled with drug addiction, Pfeiffer was raised by his grandparents. On May 3, 1999, his mother passed away from a

heroin overdose An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to Hypoventilation, respiratory depression, a lethal ...

at the age of 27. Shortly after, Pfeiffer began listening to artists like

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

, as an escape from the trauma of losing a parent at such a young age. He claims Ozzy Osbourne as his biggest musical influence and for getting him started on the path to a career in music. At the age of 10, Pfeiffer's grandfather bought him a drum-set from a

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

catalog after he started listening to

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

. He learned to play drums by himself by watching VHS tapes of live concerts. Eventually, he rediscovered and became obsessed with

's band,

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

, and that is when he started taking singing seriously, and writing his own songs. In high school, Pfeiffer played music with his friends and started a band in 2004. He graduated from Spearfish High School in 2009.

Career

Blacklite District (2011–2022)

In early 2011, Pfeiffer met producer Stephen Short, who signed him and Roman James, another artist in the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...

, to a production deal. The two formed the band Blacklite District, with James as vocalist and Pfeiffer as guitarist, and released their debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

''This Is Where It Ends'' (2011). In 2012, they relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and then to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

after signing with

Silent Majority Group Silent Majority Group is a record label founded in 2006 by former Creed (band), Creed, Alter Bridge, and Sevendust artist manager Jeff Hanson (music executive), Jeff Hanson that concentrates on finding and developing up-and-coming alternative, ro ...

. They promoted the ''With Me Now EP'' (2013) on tour with the bands

Saving Abel Saving Abel is an American rock band from Corinth, Mississippi, founded in 2004 by Jared Weeks and Jason Null. The band is named after the biblical story of Cain and Abel, in which a man named Cain kills his brother Abel. Band member Jason Null ...

and Art of Dying and released their debut album ''Worldwide Controversy'' the following year. Their first charting single "With Me Now" came from the album, peaking #34 on the ''

chart in 2013. Pfeiffer considers the singles "With Me Now" and “Take Me To The Grave” as a "turning point" for the band. After two years, Blacklite District released their second album ''To Whom It May Concern'' (2016). Pfeiffer shifted to vocals and the album leaned more towards hip hop and pop. The single "Cold as Ice" from Pfeiffer's album ''Instant Gratification'' (2017) became viral and reached #35 on Mainstream Rock Airplay in January 2018. The song also had a ''

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being ...

'' music video created by the

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influent ...

Rainimator, which was released in August 2017 and has over 50 million views. The success of "Cold as Ice" led Pfeiffer to adapt Blacklite District as his own stage name, as James was now both a collaborator and a solo artist under the stage name R8eDR.

Solo career, ''You're Welcome'' and ''1990'' (2018–present)

In 2018, Pfeiffer became a solo act. As a solo artist, Pfeiffer released "Hard Pill to Swallow", which was premiered by ''Billboard'' in October 2018. The song went on to get over 10 million combined streams. In January 2019, "1 of a Kind" was released as the second single from the band's ''Through the Ages''. In 2020, Pfeiffer released the LPs ''Instant // Concern'' and ''You're Welcome''. The single "Falling" from ''You're Welcome'' was then highest-charting single to date. "Gotta Get Outta Here" was released on October 1 as the lead single from Pfeiffer's "1990" album, which was released on December 31, 2021. The song spent 16 weeks in the top-40 of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and garnered over 10 million combined streams and video views as of November 2022. In mid 2022, Pfeiffer announced that original drummer Graham Spillman would be returning to record drums on the five bonus tracks on 1990 - XL, which led to Spillman being named as the permanent drummer for Blacklite District moving forward. In November of the same year, Pfeiffer and Spillman entered the studio with long-time producer Brett Hestla, and new guitarist Justin Sundlin, to record new "XL" songs for the upcoming 'Blacklite District - XL' album in 2023. 1990 - XL was released on November 11, 2022.

Artistry

Pfeiffer's genres include "

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

, hip-hop,

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

, and

electro-pop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

". Inspired by artists he listened to as a child, such as

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

and

, Pfeiffer started out as a hard rock artist but has, in recent years, incorporated a variety of genres in his music. In a 2018 interview, Pfeiffer named artists like

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

and

Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots (stylized in Letter case, all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris ...

as influences. His album ''1990'' (2021) marked a return to hard rock.

Personal life

Pfeiffer began dating Amber Rice in September 2015, and the two were married two years later in December 2017. They raise Pfeiffer's son, Maddox, from a previous relationship. He proposed to Amber during a New Year's Eve concert in his hometown of Spearfish, SD. Pfeiffer has lived in multiple cities during his time breaking into the music industry. He moved to

area in 2012, and still visits there frequently to record and shoot music videos. He also lived in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, FL for about six months while working with producer

Brett Hestla Brett Adam Hestla (born February 4, 1973) is an American musician. Career In the late 1990s, Hestla's band Virgos Merlot was signed to Atlantic Records. After their first release, '' Signs of a Vacant Soul'', he became the touring bassist for ...

on some early recordings. At one time, he was managed by

Jeff Hanson Jeff Hanson (March 3, 1978 – June 5, 2009) was a singer-songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist,pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormones. There are two main types: acute pancreatitis, and chronic pancr ...

from years of alcohol abuse on the road, which led to a full-blown addiction at home. As of January 2020, Pfeiffer has been clean from alcohol for over a year and lives a sober lifestyle. In January 2020, Pfeiffer and his wife Amber officially formed AK19 Entertainment as an LLC.

Chart History

''Billboard'' US charting: * "With Me Now" (2014) - No. 34

Mainstream Rock Songs Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

* "Cold As Ice" (2018) - No. 35 Mainstream Rock Songs * "Falling" (2020) - No. 33 Mainstream Rock Songs * "Gotta Get Outta Here" (2022) – No. 31 Mainstream Rock Songs

Discography

Studio Albums * Blacklite District 020- AK19 Entertainment, LLC * You're Welcome 020- AK19 Entertainment, LLC * You're Welcome (Deluxe Edition) 021* 1990 021- AK19 Entertainment, LLC * 1990 - XL 1.11.22- AK19 Ent, LLLC * Blacklite District - XL BA 2023- AK19 Ent, LLC * You're Welcome - XL BA 2023- AK19 Ent, LLC

References

External links

Official website
* * {{Authority control American hard rock musicians Singers from South Dakota Rappers from South Dakota 1990 births Living people