Kina Grannis
Kina Grannis will release her debut album Stairwells in the UK 7th November 2011.
Born in Southern California, Kina started playing the piano and violin at primary school, taught herself to play guitar by the age of 15, and recorded and self-released three EP’s while studying a degree in Social Science and Psychology at the University of Southern California.
We spoke to Kina as she was coming to the end of her brief run of UK shows.
-You were over in the UK for some live dates at the start of the month. How did they go?
Oh, they were amazing. I've been having so much fun on tour here. It's way more fun than I could've imagined.
-Considering the album isn't out here yet, how were the crowd's reacting to the material?
You know, it's pretty amazing because here, almost more than in the States, people have been singing along to almost every song. It's kinda blown my mind - every song I start, they're just with me. They have a great energy, they're singing along - it's just been so fun!
-Without the album being released here yet, how does it feel to sell out venues like London‘s Shepherd's Bush Empire?
It's pretty weird, I guess. I guess in my world, though, it kinda makes sense. In the States, too, the first time I released Stairwell it was just on my own, no physical release or anything.
A lot of these people have been with me for years, and supporting from a distance online. In a way it makes sense, but it is kinda weird - there's been no physical release, and yet here they are, singing.
-Well, it'll be out next month. Given that it's been out elsewhere for a while, do you still get a buzz around it coming out here?
Oh yeah, it is exciting. It has been out for a while, but knowing it's exciting for the people that are getting it for the first time, kinda makes it new for me too.
-It performed really well in the US particularly. Were you pleased with the reaction?
Oh definitely, yeah. This started out with me and a producer working on our own for a year, hoping that I'd finally finish and get it out around the world. The fact that it's been received so well is very good.
-How did you find the reaction to 'The One You Say Goodnight To'?
It's been great. It's actually been one of the more fun songs to do at the venues. They've really caught onto the clapping, and been singing along. It's been really exciting.
-How would you describe the track?
I guess this track is definitely a fun, kinda quirky song. It's about the chase. You meeting someone that you're kinda infatuated with - you're not sure if they even know you exist yet, but you're pretty sure that they would like you. Well, not really, but you should, cos I like you. It's a playful song.
-How far does it go in representing the album?
This song does kinda stand out a bit, in that the production is pretty sparse. It's definitely one of the happier, quirkier tracks on the album.
There's some equally light and fun songs, but a lot of my music tends to be a little more introspective, a little more on the surface, sad sounding, but trying to come out with a silver lining. I would say, yeah, it's one of the few very happy songs on the album.
-Apparently you taught yourself how to play guitar. Was that something you found challenging, or did you have a backing in other instruments first?
I did grow up messing around on piano - nothing official, but it was there, so I always messed around on it. In Elementary and High School I did play the violin. So, I had some relative understanding of music.
It was at a point, for some reason mid-high school, it hit me how much I wanted to be singing. It was like this deep thing inside me.
The first thing I turned to was karaoke tracks that I would sing to in my room, cos I didn't know what else to do. I needed to be singing. I found that we had a guitar sitting under the piano downstairs, and it moved so quickly because I realised - this is my excuse!
If I learn to play guitar, I get to sing all the time. I locked myself in my room and just played it all day every day until it started making sense to me.
-Was it something you ever thought about before that moment in High School, or was that really the big moment?
It's strange. I think that was the moment. I mean, the singing thing I had definitely thought about. Like, "I love singing. What if I could sing for my whole life?" At that point, there was no way that made sense.
For some reason, guitar had never crossed my mind until this one moment. That's when the light came on. I wasn't even planning to start songwriting, but it was a natural thing. About a month in, I wrote my first song.
I was someone who had always kept my thoughts to myself, so for the first time - with songwriting - I had these means to vent and say all these things.
-You got a huge break with the Crash The Superbowl contest, but what were you doing up to that point?
Up to that point, I'd been writing since mid-High School and all throughout college. I'd been gigging around and doing every Open Mic Night possible. Right after I graduated college, I moved to Austin, Texas to do music full-time there for a bit. It was the first time I got to focus solely on music, which was good. I worked in a coffee shop and took every gig I could get.
-Do you think that makes you appreciate where you're at a lot more, coming through in that way?
I definitely think so. I remember early college wishing...oh gosh, what if I got signed right now? I could finish college, and play music. Thinking back, I have learnt so much about my music and about performing.
Had I not had this background, busking at the side of the street for three hours at a time - it's really given me a better appreciation for what I do and how to do it.
-How was the whole Crash The Superbowl process?
It was a pretty insane time. The voting worked out that every person could vote one time a day. My thinking was, how do I get them to do this without being realy annoying? So, I decided to make this site and put up a new video every day, so that they had something from me every day, and it'd also be a reminder to go and vote.
I guess it was through that process that I realised YouTube wasn't just a video hosting site. It was this incredibly powerful tool. It was enabling strangers to happen upon my music. Through that, I started growing this network of people around the world supporting me, and they started calling themselves Kinas, it was the Kination.
The process itself, with the voting, was definitely important to my entire career. The contest itself, they flew out the three finalists for the Superbowl and had us in this viewing room. They said "Okay, after the first quarter one of your music videos is gonna air".
We had no idea who it was going to be. It was one of the most nervewracking things I've ever done. It was incredibly emotional and very surreal, but one of the coolest feelings I've had.
-Do you think YouTube is starting to replace MySpace now as a platform for unsigned artists?
Oh definitely. It's really powerful. People can't really happen upon artists on MySpace now - it's become more about the mainstream. YouTube is one of the only places these days where people can find new artists, and then follow and support that person.
One thing that makes it more personal than MySpace is that it's not just the music you're getting, but a conversation. Not only can they find music, but they get to know the person and follow the journey too.
-Is having that transparency important?
Oh, so important. I think especially nowadays, where everything is Twitter, Facebook, it's all about what's happening right now. This has enabled these people to be completely on the journey with me.
From the beginning, it's not been just about me. They voted me into the contest, they voted me so that I won. They supported the album so that it made Billboard. It's very much been a big team effort, in my mind.
-You had a major label deal that you left after a while. What made you do that?
Well, we started having some meetings with them, and their plan was...let's take the next couple of months to develop you, having you write with different songwriters...things like that.
In my mind, I had been developing since I started writing. I had this body of work that meant a lot to me, and I was ready to record it. It just didn't feel right to me that, at this point, having people all over the world that supported me for who I was, to then write someone else's album.
Luckily, I could get out of the deal, and that's when I started making Stairwell.
-Do you think it was important to retain the level of control you have now?
Yeah, I definitely think so. It might've been a different story if I'd have had zero following and zero other chances, but at that point I felt like...however big or small what I have is, I know that these people support me for who I am.
Music isn't going to be fulfilling for me unless I make the music that's important to me too. I needed to keep that in perspective.
-Looking past the last London show, can we expect a full UK run at some point?
Yeah! I'm actually coming back in February for a full UK and Europe tour - I'm really, really excited to be back.
-What shout-out would you give to the people who've supported you over the last few years?
I'm thanking them all the time, but there's no amount I can thank them enough. They're the whole reason I'm getting to do what I love every single day and share my music.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge
Kina Grannis will release her debut album Stairwells in the UK 7th November 2011.
Born in Southern California, Kina started playing the piano and violin at primary school, taught herself to play guitar by the age of 15, and recorded and self-released three EP’s while studying a degree in Social Science and Psychology at the University of Southern California.
We spoke to Kina as she was coming to the end of her brief run of UK shows.
-You were over in the UK for some live dates at the start of the month. How did they go?
Oh, they were amazing. I've been having so much fun on tour here. It's way more fun than I could've imagined.
-Considering the album isn't out here yet, how were the crowd's reacting to the material?
You know, it's pretty amazing because here, almost more than in the States, people have been singing along to almost every song. It's kinda blown my mind - every song I start, they're just with me. They have a great energy, they're singing along - it's just been so fun!
-Without the album being released here yet, how does it feel to sell out venues like London‘s Shepherd's Bush Empire?
It's pretty weird, I guess. I guess in my world, though, it kinda makes sense. In the States, too, the first time I released Stairwell it was just on my own, no physical release or anything.
A lot of these people have been with me for years, and supporting from a distance online. In a way it makes sense, but it is kinda weird - there's been no physical release, and yet here they are, singing.
-Well, it'll be out next month. Given that it's been out elsewhere for a while, do you still get a buzz around it coming out here?
Oh yeah, it is exciting. It has been out for a while, but knowing it's exciting for the people that are getting it for the first time, kinda makes it new for me too.
-It performed really well in the US particularly. Were you pleased with the reaction?
Oh definitely, yeah. This started out with me and a producer working on our own for a year, hoping that I'd finally finish and get it out around the world. The fact that it's been received so well is very good.
-How did you find the reaction to 'The One You Say Goodnight To'?
It's been great. It's actually been one of the more fun songs to do at the venues. They've really caught onto the clapping, and been singing along. It's been really exciting.
-How would you describe the track?
I guess this track is definitely a fun, kinda quirky song. It's about the chase. You meeting someone that you're kinda infatuated with - you're not sure if they even know you exist yet, but you're pretty sure that they would like you. Well, not really, but you should, cos I like you. It's a playful song.
-How far does it go in representing the album?
This song does kinda stand out a bit, in that the production is pretty sparse. It's definitely one of the happier, quirkier tracks on the album.
There's some equally light and fun songs, but a lot of my music tends to be a little more introspective, a little more on the surface, sad sounding, but trying to come out with a silver lining. I would say, yeah, it's one of the few very happy songs on the album.
-Apparently you taught yourself how to play guitar. Was that something you found challenging, or did you have a backing in other instruments first?
I did grow up messing around on piano - nothing official, but it was there, so I always messed around on it. In Elementary and High School I did play the violin. So, I had some relative understanding of music.
It was at a point, for some reason mid-high school, it hit me how much I wanted to be singing. It was like this deep thing inside me.
The first thing I turned to was karaoke tracks that I would sing to in my room, cos I didn't know what else to do. I needed to be singing. I found that we had a guitar sitting under the piano downstairs, and it moved so quickly because I realised - this is my excuse!
If I learn to play guitar, I get to sing all the time. I locked myself in my room and just played it all day every day until it started making sense to me.