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Still remembered around here for that infamous helmet tossing and bird-flipping incident as a New Orleans Saint, offensive tackle Kyle Turley, now of the Kansas City Chiefs, has launched an independent hard rock label, GridIron Records. Turley has partnered with his friend and former Snot/Soulfly guitarist, Mikey Doling. With long hair, tattooed guns and a perpetual scruff, Turley isn’t exactly the last NFL player you’d expect to get into the heavy business of hard rock. He just might be the loudest.

What was more challenging: your comeback from injuries or starting a label?

My comeback to football was a challenge like no other in the physical sense, and the label has been one on the mental side. Football comes easy for me, but the label is something I’ve had to dive into from scratch.

What do you look for in a band?

Looking at a band is much like evaluating talent on the football field. The things you look for the most are the intangibles. Does the band look like a band and look like it comes natural or do they look like they’re trying to be a band? The “it” factor is pure talent. When I was getting ready to go into the NFL, the scouts moved me up on the draft board because they knew they could put me on the stage immediately, and I would perform.

What are you listening to right now?

Invitro and The Hairbrain Scheme are two of the most talented bands I have ever seen, and GridIron plans on taking them to the top, fast. I have also been scouting bands that send us their stuff on myspace.com/gridironrecords. There is a band out of San Diego called Unset that is phenomenal, and a band out of L.A. that is the new version of Pantera called Instinct of Aggression. They will rip your head off!

What music do you use to get pumped up before a game?

I listen to the same stuff that I’ve listened to since high school: Slayer. I don’t know what it is about them, but their music is the most empowering music I have ever heard, and I believe that it will last forever. No feeling has ever compared to listening to South of Heaven right before walking out of an NFL locker room, going to battle, into a stadium filled with 70,000-plus people.

Any music your fans would be surprised to hear that you listen to?

I would have to say ‘80s bands like The Cure, English Beat, Drama Rama, The Smiths and some others were huge influences on me. I think that it’s good to have a balance or you’ll never grow as a person.