KRISTEENYOUNG

There are no small parts, only small minds. But KRISTEENYOUNG has never suffered from a deficit of imagination. For the new EP V The Volcanic, songwriter and performer Kristeen Young drew upon the cinema, writing originals inspired by supporting characters—some of them quite unexpected—in seven different films: Violet Bick in Frank Capra's 1946 favorite It's A Wonderful Life("V The Volcanic"); the Angry Apple Tree of 1939's The Wizard of Oz ("I'll Get You Back"); Lucy Westenra in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 take on Bram Stoker's Dracula ("Why Can't It Be Me?"); Old Lodge Skins in 1970's Little Big Man ("Now I'm Invisible"); the android Pris from 1982's Blade Runner ("The Devil Made Me"); Sarah Jane Johnson in Douglas Sirk's 1959 melodrama Imitation of Life ("Imitation of Life"); and Cleopatra in the 1963 Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton adaptation of Cleopatra ("Fantastic Failure")....the exception to the supporting character rule. At the outset, Young intended the follow-up to 2009's thunderous Music for Strippers, Hookers, and the Odd On-Looker to be a funk record. Only at the time, she was in a bit of a funk herself. "I was going through a particularly dank depression," she reveals. Mired in the midst of this protracted "blue period," she sought solace through immersion in her favorite movies—and from that escapism sprang new inspiration. "I didn't want to be me, so I decided to use what was killing my time and become other people." Not real people, but her very real-seeming companions at the time: movie characters. Now she had a legit excuse to spend even more time disappearing into the world onscreen. And "disappear" is the right word, as that theme crops up throughout V The Volcanic—not just in the sense of getting lost in the alternate realm of movies, but also apropos of how the expanding virtual universe crowds out the "real" world. Young admits she isn't entirely certain what drew her to each of these specific characters, although she pinpoints some clues. "Some of them, like Violet Bick in It's A Wonderful Life, I can always imagine having another life. And because she's a minor character, I want to know more of what's going on in her head." On the EP's explosive and kaleidoscopic title track, KRISTEENYOUNG delves into Violet's psyche, demanding "how much can be swallowed 'til she explodes?" Violet displays a confidence in who she is that George and his namby-pamby wife Mary lack, yet is painted as somehow lacking because she doesn't aspire to the same ideals. "I always feel sorry for Violet. She was a woman ahead of her time." Underscoring that notion, "V The Volcanic" calls out a litany of revolutionary women: including Josephine Baker, Camille Paglia, Yoko Ono, Harriet Tubman, Benazir Bhutto, & Courtney Love.....women whose unique behavior or words (in their time) upset people. One of the record's most arresting turns comes courtesy of a very unlikely character: the Angry Apple Tree from The Wizard of Oz. Her voice effortlessly flipping into its highest register as murderous piano pounds beneath her, Young runs the listener through a bitch-slap spelling bee inspired by the sheer gall of young Dorothy Gale. "I relate too much to the Apple Tree," the composer admits. "The idea of doing all this work and creating something, and someone just happens to pop by and pluck it from you. That was my complete experience of the past couple years: being food for thieves." Musically, V The Volcanic marks a departure from earlier KRISTEENYOUNG releases. Having set out to restore the piano to its rightful place alongside the guitar as one of the most fearsome instruments in the rock music pantheon, and feeling that she'd finally met that goal with 2009's Music for Strippers…, Young was now interested in going back to her roots, drawing on the electro-funk grooves she loved in her Midwest childhood: Prince, Rick James, Teena Marie, Cameo. Yet as the new material took shape, she began to lose interest in mining just one musical vein. "I started branching out into other styles a bit, opera, dark wave, and other sounds that felt cozy to me." V The Volcanic may not sound precisely the same as its predecessors in the discography, but it always sounds like KRISTEENYOUNG. With Young's thrilling four-octave vocal range and dramatic performance style, it couldn't be anyone else. V The Volcanic was recorded with legendary producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex, Morrissey), who also contributed bass and guitar. The arrangements, however, are solely Young's handiwork. Former Fall Out Boy front man, Patrick Stump, also plays guitar, as does NYC noise maker, Lou Rossi. Since much of the material was written in St. Louis, or inspired by notions of what constitutes "home," Young worked with several players from the Gateway City, including longtime percussionist "Baby" Jef White, bassist Chris Sauer, and guitarist Richard Fortus. The Village Voice hailed KRISTEENYOUNG's last record, Music for Strippers, Hookers, and the Odd On-Looker (2009), as "the kind of 'commercial' pop we need more of." Originally from St. Louis—where Young started out in life as a half-Apache, half-German foster child, then was adopted by strict Christian parents—KRISTEENYOUNG is currently based in New York City. In addition to making music, Young also designs her own eye-popping stage wear. To promote V The Volcanic, the band shot its first video (for "Fantastic Failure") amongst the landmarks of hometown, St. Louis. The video was directed by (Los Angeles based) Seaton Lin. Following the album's release in May 2011, KRISTEENYOUNG will embark on series of month-long residencies in four major metropolises—Los Angeles, New York, London, and Chicago—plus side dates in nearby markets. KEYBOARD MAGAZINE (OCTOBER 2011) KRISTEEN YOUNG Powerhouse Piano for Thinking People V The Volcanic Kristeen Young is that rare talent whose very existence proves how inadequate the tools of music journalism are for describing a true original. I’m talking in particular about the tired tactic of comparing artists to other artists and then doing a clever backpedal about the actual “sounds like” factor. As in, “If Kate Bush and David Bowie had a baby and hired Trent Reznor as a sitter, you still wouldn’t have Kristeen Young.” Better to note that her operatic voice can jump multiple octaves with absolute precision and haunting tremolo, that her piano playing can swing from thunderous and dissonant to delicate and lyrical on a dime, and that she dishes out an alarming density of melodies that will get stuck in your head. In fact, qualities like these attracted the attention of the Thin White Duke himself, with whom Young sang the duet “Saviour.” In 2007, she recorded vocals on two Morrissey tracks. Produced by Bowie alumnus Tony Visconti, her latest album V The Volcanic draws as much on funk and electro as it does on art-rock, with each song written from the point of view of a different film character that inspires Young. That these range from Violet Bick in It’s a Wonderful Life to the replicant Pris from Blade Runner further speaks to Young’s songwriting breadth. Look—just go get the record. And see a live show if you can. No matter how much you think you’ve heard it all before, Kristeen Young will make you believe in discovering new music again. You use dissonance as a musical statement more effectively than anyone I’ve heard. Yet your pedal-down glissandi, “off” notes, and other moves are precise and never overpower the arrangement. How did you perfect this technique? Practice. Trial and Error. Years of humiliation and pain. I’ve always been drawn to dissonance, but to get the percentages of it right is a lifelong pursuit. I love atonality, but too much of it doesn’t even sound like dissonance anymore, and leaves you with nothing to hang your hat on emotionally. Melody has to fulfill that role. What degree of classical training is in your background, and how does it affect your arrangements? I’ve taken a lesson or two. Listening to music from centuries ago is inspiring because of the complexity. I’m not sure human beings will ever be capable of this again, as we have too many distractions now— we no longer have that kind of focus. Other than listening and being inspired, I don’t think people should become mired in only performing music from a hundred or more years ago. I think it’s a starting place and can give you a firm foundation of what’s possible. Then you should go your own way. That’s progress. Live, you use the Roland XP-80 for piano sounds when a lot of newer keyboards are available. Why? I’ve bought newer keyboards and I always end up returning them to the store because I don’t like the piano sound for my style. Of course the sound can be altered—but—it never sounds as good as the full and biting attack of the XP-80’s “Bright Piano” patch. It’s a pretty strong place to start and is the most assaultive rock piano sound I’ve found. What keyboards were used on V The Volcanic, and can you describe two or three of your favorite “keyboard moments” in songs—in terms of a chord progression, riff, sonic aspect, or anything you’re particularly proud of because it’s cool or unique? I only used the XP-80. If you’d asked me about “keyboard moments” on my last album, Music For Strippers, Hookers, & the Odd On-Looker, I could’ve easily answered. A lot of that album features the playing style we’re discussing here: the bashing accents, dissonance, glissandi, wall of assaulting pianos. But this album, musically, is all about combinations of styles and sounds. I’ll leave it up to others to decide whether it’s cool or unique. I’d never know. What keyboard-playing performer do you find it most flattering to be compared to? If I was compared to Mike Garson I wouldn't wretch. Mike Garson is the only other pianist I can think of who uses angularity and dissonance in a rock context, and he does it to perfection. He doesn’t bash like I do, but he doesn’t have to because he’s a virtuoso. I’m more of an emotional player and that part of me is more influenced by Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, even Chico Marx. There’s a piano solo in my song “You Must Love Me,” and when I play it I’m almost always thinking of Chico’s piano performance in the film A Day at the Races. How about the most annoying comparison? It doesn’t just annoy me, it angers me when I’m compared to other pianists with whom I have nothing in common other than playing the piano and having a vagina. Yet our actual playing styles are worlds apart. What’s your favorite thing you learned from working with Tony Visconti? I’ve always added a touch of distortion to my live piano sound, just to thicken it, but many times this would sound shrill in certain venues. Tony suggested I get a small stage mixer to have more control of the ratio of clean to distorted piano and the EQ. He even made a wooden bracket for the mixer with a metal thread underneath that connects to any mic stand. Adding the mixer did wonders for my live sound. Now, when you stand in the audience, the effect is all encompassing, like a piano cannon—I mean the weapon. What usually comes first when you’re composing: lyrics, melody, chord progression, or rhythm? They all take turns—which is surprisingly polite of them. In the bio on your website, you say that during the past couple of years you often felt like “food for thieves.” I was speaking mainly of my visual presentation. The world in general seems to care more about visuals than the aural experience at this time. But I don’t even understand the concept of stealing other people’s styles and material. It’s like admitting you can’t come up with your own idea. Wouldn’t you feel like a loser . . . in those solitary, ceiling-staring moments at 3 a.m.? What gear is essential to your home studio? I don’t have a home studio, thank the gods. And if I did, I wouldn’t subject your readers to one more person so pleased with himself or herself for sitting alone in a room and masturbating with their electronic toys. I think it’s sad that a lot of musical environments have become so isolationist. To me, that’s not what’s exciting about music or life. I’m much more stimulated when there’s someone else involved.