KENDRA MORRIS

Kendra Morris recalls singers who straddled soul and rock during the early '70s, such as Ruth Copeland and Chaka Khan, while her contemporaries included the likes of Mayer Hawthorne, Alice Russell, Alice Smith, and Leela James. Morris' musical taste was developed through her parents' record collection -- one heavy on late-'60s and early-70s soul and funk. During childhood, a companion was her karaoke machine, which she also used for the sake of recording. While enrolled in college in Tampa, Florida, she became so involved in performing with bands that she flunked out. She took up the guitar, as well as songwriting, and eventually involved herself with a band, Pinktricity, which moved to New York in 2003 and split shortly thereafter. Morris took to recording songs on her own, and she self-released a pair of EPs: This Won't Hurt a Bit (2007) and Milk and Cookies Never Lie (2008). A self-titled EP (2010) was recorded with producer and multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Page (of That Handsome Devil). After touring with legendary guitarist Dennis Coffey and releasing a series of singles -- including "Concrete Waves," which was remixed by DJ Premier -- Morris released the album Banshee (2012) on Wax Poetics.