vicarinatutugal
can't reMember
Kristeen has updated her blog on myspace, I found the interview interesting and funny in parts. She has nice things to say about Morrissey have a read.
I have cut out quite a bit cause of the space allowance but here is the link to the full thing.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?f...n=B80986F6-A690-4448-99CCC0EA8BEDE9B865714059
I think its worth a read
MWB: Other female singer/songwriters in your age group who exist in the "alternative" hemisphere have garnered at least a fair share of media coverage over the last year, and it seems you are being overlooked in favor of those far less talented and original. I'm referring specifically to people like Chan Marshall of Cat Power and Regina Spektor. What do you think of these artists and why do you think the public is more receptive to them?
KY: I am flummoxed by Regina Spektor...it's way too middle-of-the-road for me...and precious. I like a bit of Cat Power, but it's nothing that changes my world. I like music that sounds like the apocalypse. I like music that moves me...any way, pick a way. A lot of people don't know of my music because the gatekeepers haven't let me in. Labels don't know what category I fit in so they won't sign me. I can't get a booking agent, apparently, until I get a label. But thank the gods for Morrissey who gets joy out of not following the rules. He is an anarchist...he follows his heart...which is only recommended for the truly brave.
MWB: You are obviously a huge Morrissey apostle. What was it like encountering him face to face for the first time and how exactly did that come about?
KY: He kicked me out of the studio. He recognized me as the girl in the video he had seen. I wear pinafores and banana curls in real life...no, I mean on stage...no, I mean real life.
MWB: During the time you have been on tour with Morrissey, what have you gained the most? Are there any experiences, good or bad, that stand out to you more than others, and how do you feel you have progressed, as a performer, since undertaking the support slot for the Ringleaders tour?
KY: There is no better way to spend an evening, in my opinion, than listening, watching, wallowing in...Morrissey. Luckily, I have been able to do this, at very close range, fifty-one times. Right now, I have forty-seven more times scheduled, but I would prefer it to be every night until the end of time. And...on another level...he is great fun. I miss him when he isn't around. The only way I feel I've changed as a performer from the tour is that now I have concrete skin. I'm even more determined to do things my way. I know I've "remembered" this from being around Morrissey. He reminded me -but not literally- of a lot of things I used to be. Things had been so tough, prior to this tour, for so long that I cut off a lot of my feelings. Just to keep moving...I've cut off a bit. Become encased. He...not in any direct way...just from being on the tour and around his energy...helped me love music again and, just in general, softened me. In retrospect...maybe just the validation of getting the tours with him, and all the loving things he's said about my music...gave me the encouragement to let my guard down a bit. It's hard to love when you don't get any love.
MWB: Morrissey has never missed an opportunity to praise your every breath. But what is it about his music that most draws you in?
KY: Oooooohhhhhh...he misses plenty of opportunities, let me tell ya. In fact, I think I'm going to have a talk with him...
MWB: Other than Morrissey, who or what was important to you as a teenager, artistically or culturally? What musicians do you respect or feel influenced by, or even just enjoy listening to even if you don't feel a particular artistic kinship with them?
KY: Judy Garland. Prince. Teena Marie. Annie Haslam. Anita Baker. Dr. Seuss. Dead Kennedys. Public Image Limited. The second chapter of Acts. Little Richard. Connie Francis. Marni Nixon. The Cramps. Missing Persons. The Jungle Book. Ella Fitzgerald. Bauhaus. The Swans. Sid and Marty Krofft. Butthole Surfers. Jerry Lee Lewis. Jack Kerouac. Allen Ginsberg. Bela Bartok. Public Enemy. I Love Lucy...Pink Floyd...The Who...Brian Jonestown Massacre...I like early PJ Harvey. I like a lot of Placebo. I like Louis the XIV. I Like the album Fever To Tell by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I like that song "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado. I like almost every Ludacris single. I like Coheed and Cambria. I love Sunny Day Real Estate.
MWB: Is there anything you've wanted to do on an album that you haven't yet, and what are your grand plans after the Morrissey tour concludes?
KY: Perfecting the shade of my spray-on tan.
MWB: You were, from what I've read, a waitress at some point before or during the inception of your musical career . Looking back, what are your perceptions of that time in your life and what was your day-to-day state of mind before becoming an established recording artist?
KY: Confuuuuuuuused!
MWB: Before you left St. Louis for the east coast in 2002, had you toured very extensively or seen much of the country? What was the shift in headquarters like, and how do you feel it impacted your musical output?
KY: We hadn't been able to do much touring. We have never had any money to do anything much but scrape by. The cost of living in St. Louis is so cheap that it sort of imprisons a person. You don't have the money to really go anywhere else. I worked so hard and saved every penny for quite a long while before I could afford to move to the east coast. The only way I think the move helped me was that I was able to meet certain people I just wouldn't have, had I stayed in Missouri. I wouldn't have met Tony Visconti, David Bowie...and ultimately, Morrissey...had I stayed. These people, in particular, all gave me a hand out of the gutter that was my life. Artistically... it's hard to say. Maybe I would have been even less conventional had I stayed in St. Louis...completely wild...living and creating with no boundaries like a sasquatch in the Ozarks...actually, that sounds preferable. I'm moving back.
MWB: How often, if ever, do you go back to St. Louis, and what is that experience like?
KY: I try to go back home twice a year...and I usually succeed. I find it enlightening to revisit. I always leave with a new understanding. I miss the food there. I miss actual streets. I miss the thickness of the atmosphere, something I hated when I lived there.
KY: "Devil Girl" is a fantastic song; in my opinion it's one of your best. At 31 years old, what are your thoughts on fundamentalist Christianity and how do you think you would have been affected, creatively, were it not for your experiences with religion as a young woman?
KY: It's repulsive and every bit as destructive as Muslim extremist theory. I can't comment on the second part as I can't imagine what I would be like not being force fed over-the-top Christianity for eons...I've tried to contact the Devil...but he doesn't seem to want to return my phone calls. I'm positive, absolutely sure, he's busy with MySpace...constantly updating his self-portrait techniques, and all. Answer your phone Jeff!
MWB: While your childhood is safely behind you, it seems to be an often-referenced theme in your work. Are you at still at odds with your upbringing, or have you "organized your feelings" for the people and events you experienced growing up?
KY: You can try...and the good lords know that I have...but you can never fully erase childhood. First impressions are terminal.
I have cut out quite a bit cause of the space allowance but here is the link to the full thing.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?f...n=B80986F6-A690-4448-99CCC0EA8BEDE9B865714059
I think its worth a read
MWB: Other female singer/songwriters in your age group who exist in the "alternative" hemisphere have garnered at least a fair share of media coverage over the last year, and it seems you are being overlooked in favor of those far less talented and original. I'm referring specifically to people like Chan Marshall of Cat Power and Regina Spektor. What do you think of these artists and why do you think the public is more receptive to them?
KY: I am flummoxed by Regina Spektor...it's way too middle-of-the-road for me...and precious. I like a bit of Cat Power, but it's nothing that changes my world. I like music that sounds like the apocalypse. I like music that moves me...any way, pick a way. A lot of people don't know of my music because the gatekeepers haven't let me in. Labels don't know what category I fit in so they won't sign me. I can't get a booking agent, apparently, until I get a label. But thank the gods for Morrissey who gets joy out of not following the rules. He is an anarchist...he follows his heart...which is only recommended for the truly brave.
MWB: You are obviously a huge Morrissey apostle. What was it like encountering him face to face for the first time and how exactly did that come about?
KY: He kicked me out of the studio. He recognized me as the girl in the video he had seen. I wear pinafores and banana curls in real life...no, I mean on stage...no, I mean real life.
MWB: During the time you have been on tour with Morrissey, what have you gained the most? Are there any experiences, good or bad, that stand out to you more than others, and how do you feel you have progressed, as a performer, since undertaking the support slot for the Ringleaders tour?
KY: There is no better way to spend an evening, in my opinion, than listening, watching, wallowing in...Morrissey. Luckily, I have been able to do this, at very close range, fifty-one times. Right now, I have forty-seven more times scheduled, but I would prefer it to be every night until the end of time. And...on another level...he is great fun. I miss him when he isn't around. The only way I feel I've changed as a performer from the tour is that now I have concrete skin. I'm even more determined to do things my way. I know I've "remembered" this from being around Morrissey. He reminded me -but not literally- of a lot of things I used to be. Things had been so tough, prior to this tour, for so long that I cut off a lot of my feelings. Just to keep moving...I've cut off a bit. Become encased. He...not in any direct way...just from being on the tour and around his energy...helped me love music again and, just in general, softened me. In retrospect...maybe just the validation of getting the tours with him, and all the loving things he's said about my music...gave me the encouragement to let my guard down a bit. It's hard to love when you don't get any love.
MWB: Morrissey has never missed an opportunity to praise your every breath. But what is it about his music that most draws you in?
KY: Oooooohhhhhh...he misses plenty of opportunities, let me tell ya. In fact, I think I'm going to have a talk with him...
MWB: Other than Morrissey, who or what was important to you as a teenager, artistically or culturally? What musicians do you respect or feel influenced by, or even just enjoy listening to even if you don't feel a particular artistic kinship with them?
KY: Judy Garland. Prince. Teena Marie. Annie Haslam. Anita Baker. Dr. Seuss. Dead Kennedys. Public Image Limited. The second chapter of Acts. Little Richard. Connie Francis. Marni Nixon. The Cramps. Missing Persons. The Jungle Book. Ella Fitzgerald. Bauhaus. The Swans. Sid and Marty Krofft. Butthole Surfers. Jerry Lee Lewis. Jack Kerouac. Allen Ginsberg. Bela Bartok. Public Enemy. I Love Lucy...Pink Floyd...The Who...Brian Jonestown Massacre...I like early PJ Harvey. I like a lot of Placebo. I like Louis the XIV. I Like the album Fever To Tell by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I like that song "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado. I like almost every Ludacris single. I like Coheed and Cambria. I love Sunny Day Real Estate.
MWB: Is there anything you've wanted to do on an album that you haven't yet, and what are your grand plans after the Morrissey tour concludes?
KY: Perfecting the shade of my spray-on tan.
MWB: You were, from what I've read, a waitress at some point before or during the inception of your musical career . Looking back, what are your perceptions of that time in your life and what was your day-to-day state of mind before becoming an established recording artist?
KY: Confuuuuuuuused!
MWB: Before you left St. Louis for the east coast in 2002, had you toured very extensively or seen much of the country? What was the shift in headquarters like, and how do you feel it impacted your musical output?
KY: We hadn't been able to do much touring. We have never had any money to do anything much but scrape by. The cost of living in St. Louis is so cheap that it sort of imprisons a person. You don't have the money to really go anywhere else. I worked so hard and saved every penny for quite a long while before I could afford to move to the east coast. The only way I think the move helped me was that I was able to meet certain people I just wouldn't have, had I stayed in Missouri. I wouldn't have met Tony Visconti, David Bowie...and ultimately, Morrissey...had I stayed. These people, in particular, all gave me a hand out of the gutter that was my life. Artistically... it's hard to say. Maybe I would have been even less conventional had I stayed in St. Louis...completely wild...living and creating with no boundaries like a sasquatch in the Ozarks...actually, that sounds preferable. I'm moving back.
MWB: How often, if ever, do you go back to St. Louis, and what is that experience like?
KY: I try to go back home twice a year...and I usually succeed. I find it enlightening to revisit. I always leave with a new understanding. I miss the food there. I miss actual streets. I miss the thickness of the atmosphere, something I hated when I lived there.
KY: "Devil Girl" is a fantastic song; in my opinion it's one of your best. At 31 years old, what are your thoughts on fundamentalist Christianity and how do you think you would have been affected, creatively, were it not for your experiences with religion as a young woman?
KY: It's repulsive and every bit as destructive as Muslim extremist theory. I can't comment on the second part as I can't imagine what I would be like not being force fed over-the-top Christianity for eons...I've tried to contact the Devil...but he doesn't seem to want to return my phone calls. I'm positive, absolutely sure, he's busy with MySpace...constantly updating his self-portrait techniques, and all. Answer your phone Jeff!
MWB: While your childhood is safely behind you, it seems to be an often-referenced theme in your work. Are you at still at odds with your upbringing, or have you "organized your feelings" for the people and events you experienced growing up?
KY: You can try...and the good lords know that I have...but you can never fully erase childhood. First impressions are terminal.
