You can look at this interview in two ways: as a means of supplementation to the artist profile we ran yesterday or just another attempt to lure you into the clutches of an extremely talented newcomer. However you fancy it, the interview is below and should illuminate some of the finer points of the Kelli Schaefer mindset for you. Enjoy.
Colin McLaughlin for melophobe: When did you know you wanted to pursue music?
Kelli Schaefer: Probably high school. Didn’t really know in what capacity at that point, but I used to sing in choirs in high school and I picked up the guitar when I was 15.
melophobe: Was it something that just kind of happened organically or was there always something that just kind of pushed you forward into that?
KS: Pretty organically.
melophobe: How did you get involved with Amigo/Amiga, or did that start with you in the beginning?
KS: Guess there is a slight back-story.
Before I moved to Portland, I kind of idolized (in high school) a lot of Portland musicians who were slightly older than me. So then when I moved to Portland, I really had no idea that I would just, kind of, fall into that circle. But I did, and so I was opening shows for them and that was about three years ago. And I met Drew (Grow) through the Bridge, which is a crazy, punk-rock church, which is kind of cool. And me and Drew ended up doing music together there.
And then he had just started doing his solo thing. He played in a lot of Christian bands, played in Careen and all these bands and then he broke away from that. And I kind of met him at that point and we start collaborating a little bit. I moved to Portland, and I started hanging out with him, and started hanging out with Jeremiah, who’s Drew’s drummer, and Drew actually recorded my EP. Which was two and a half years ago, and then ever since then we’ve been doing stuff together.
And it was Jeremiah’s and Drew’s idea to start the label (Amigo/Amiga). And then I moved in here [the interview took place at her house], so I’m living with them. So it’s me, Drew, and Jeremiah. Jeremiah owns the record label, he plays drums for me and Drew and we’re the only artists on the label. So we’re just like a little…
melophobe: Collective?
KS: Family here. Yeah.
melophobe: And you don’t have a set band? It’s just whoever’s there?
KS: Jeremiah is definitely my drummer. People come in and out for shows, but mostly it’s just me and Jeremiah.
melophobe: Would you ever have a band?
KS: Yeah.
melophobe: What kind of instruments do you think you’d have in it?
KS: It’s not so much instruments as much as strong personalities. I don’t really care what they play, as long as they can play something . . . with a little soul and, you know, a little character. And they don’t necessarily have to be great at it. I have a couple of people in mind.
melophobe: Is it important that anybody you include follow your lead and what you want to do, or is it whatever ideas come to the table and you run with it?
KS: I’m ok with following an idea where it goes, but it definitely wouldn’t be a democracy. It would be . . . yeah I would want to direct them a little bit. But at the same time, I would want them to be able to carry their own and if they come up with a good idea, I’m totally open to it, but I want to write the songs.
melophobe: I was reading that you guys were doing singles every six to eight weeks and I was wondering, and I don’t know if these songs are already written, but is it hard to produce songs or two good songs, every six to eight weeks?
KS: There are some challenges and they’re not already written. We’re writing, recording and releasing every six to eight weeks. I think it’s positive because it keeps me motivated to want to keep writing, because I have to. The other thing is it’s only two songs, so the songs have to be worthy of standing alone and being . . . good enough for that. I think that there’s more positives. There aren’t really any negatives, it’s challenging, but I think it’s more positive.
melophobe: Do you try to make the songs complement each other or is it just something where you write songs and if they complement each other then that’s good, and if not, that’s ok too?
KS: I don’t. I guess I don’t concern myself with that. I just try to make the song do it’s thing, you know? And if it’s good, then we keep it, and if it’s not, then we don’t keep it. If they do complement each other then that’s great; like the last single and the b-side to that single. Total contrast.
melophobe: Is that the “Sister K” one?
KS: Yeah. But it worked.
melophobe: It did. What would you say your songwriting process is like?
KS: I write constantly, so I’ll kind of be in a certain world for a month or so and I’ll start 5 or 6 songs in that world. So I guess, in that way, the songs will complement each other, but those three or four songs might become one song in some way. I might pull lyrics from this one, melody from this one and chord progression from this one. It’ll all just kind of be in the same world and have the same vibe.
melophobe: Do you feel like once you’ve completed a song, you’re very attached to it or do you feel like it’s kind of like, “That’s a time and place in my life and that’s ok” and you’re always moving on to the next thing?
KS: Moving on, for sure. The song that I’m writing at the moment is always the most exciting thing that I’m working on. But yeah, there’s definitely an attachment to each song. It’s kind of like getting a tattoo, I guess. It’s part of you forever and you might not think it’s great, but you got it for a reason and you love it for the rest of your life. I guess there are a couple songs that people love that I just have no interest in playing anymore.
melophobe: In your mind, in your musical career, what would success look like to you?
KS: I guess being able to focus all my energy on playing music. And not have other things that are incredibly demanding. Like a stupid day-job or something like that.
melophobe: Do you have a vision for your career? Like places you really want to go or milestones you really want to hit?
KS: Other than taking over the world, I guess short term: I’d like to, within a year, be able to quit my job and hit the road.
melophobe: This is a stupid question but it’s really interesting to me. What inspires you?
KS: Ok, so maybe looking at my songs from an outsider’s perspective . . . relationships, I guess. Over half of the songs I’ve recorded are about some friendship that I’ve had. So people definitely inspire me.
I’m inspired by a deep, hopeless, emotional rollercoaster. I mean, I struggle with depression. That’s very serious and very real to me, so I write about that a lot. But mostly, just relationships. I’ve never written, definitely recorded, but never written a love song, like a romantic love song. Ever. Which could be debatable for some people, since some of my songs sound like that, but they are mostly just about my friends, because I love my friends.
melophobe: How did you discover your voice? And I was wondering, is it natural or did a lot of work go into it?
KS: That’s a good question. There’s a couple layers to that question. The first one is yes, it’s natural. I didn’t have to put a lot of work into the basics of singing, I mean, I was in choirs and stuff, but it always came incredibly natural to me. So that was natural, but discovering my voice like where it is now, like the power that I feel like I put behind it and just kind of feeling like I can just sing out, was from the Bridge. This community, this crazy community of people that I came into when I moved to Portland. Todd and Angie Fadel [Todd is pastor at the Bridge and in a group called The Beauty], I lived with them for awhile; they are the closest thing to family to me, and they just have an unbelievable, Todd and Angie both, and that community, have an unbelievable ability to just get people to just speak out and be themselves and not be afraid to scream, whatever, dance, or go crazy and just do the thing that they want to do.
I did this thing called Ink Brethren when I moved here and it was this crazy, like on the spot, collaborative. And we’d all meet up at Todd’s house and we’d all come up with certain titles to songs and then each person would lead a song with that title and you’d hit record on the little, cheesy boombox and then everybody had instruments or whatever and you’d just have to write a song on the spot. And I was pretty shy at that point. I mean I sang, and I wrote and I had songs that I had written, but before that point, I was pretty hindered. To collaborate, for one, really terrified me. To be in a room with other people who wanted to do something in a room together musically. I had never played in a band, I had never written a song with anybody, I had never played guitar while someone played drums; I was terrified of that. Just because I had talked to people who played in bands now, who I have respect for, and they’d be like, “Oh yeah, I was in my first band at 15.” 15 is like the magic age. Everyone that plays music started a band when they were 15 or something. I don’t know why, it just is. I had just played guitar, in my bedroom, by myself until I was almost twenty years old.
Up until that point, I hadn’t discovered what my voice could do and the music at this place (the Bridge) was just incredible. Everybody was screaming at the top of their lungs, beating on a drum, dancing, like going fucking crazy. Just absolutely balls-to-the-wall, whatever they want to do. And at this point, it was at the old Meow Meow [old Portland venue]. So it was dark, and punk rock and had this apocalyptic kind of feel to it. And it blew me away, it was like a totally different world, like nothing I had experienced before. So I think through the Bridge and through Todd and Angie, I think I was able to find my voice and it’s totally them that helped me do that. And kind of break out of the “I’m a girl. And I play acoustic guitar. And I sit down when I play. I sing very softly and cute,” and I never wanted to be that. But that was the only thing that I could do. And that was just the mold that I was supposed to fit.
melophobe: And they told you to come out of your box?
KS: Yeah and they helped me. That’s what I wanted to do and they helped me do what I wanted to do and now I just feel like I could do anything. Which is what I’m trying to do.
melophobe: A lot of the things I read about you and I’m sure I’m going to be guilty of this, they talk about the same elements in your music again and again; like it’s always your voice, which makes sense since it’s one of the most powerful elements of your music. Do you get tired of people saying “This is what she is?”
KS: Yeah. I’ll tell you a couple of things I do get tired of. I get tired of being categorized as a folk singer. That is what people say over and over again and it could be because when I started out, I did play acoustic guitar, and I did sit in a chair and sing my folk songs. And that’s fine, but I haven’t done that for well over a year now and I’ve played a lot of shows, and the music is drastically different. There’s recordings of what we’re doing that have nothing to do with folk music. So, I get really tired of hearing that.
I don’t really get tired of hearing that my voice is the constant thing because it’s true.
melophobe: What’s your next step after you take Portland by storm?
KS: [Laughs] I think right now we are trying to do something this summer with shorter tours, just get the NW dialed in. Get a following in Seattle, get a following down south a little and do that a couple of times probably. And then, once we have enough singles, we are going to compile that onto a full length and do a national tour.
melophobe: Do you foresee your national tour as an opener for a big act, to get a lot of exposure with a lot of bigger audiences or do you think you’ll go yourself and try to make your own way?
KS: I think it’d be smarter to be an opener for a big act, but its kind of . . . we’ll see if it happens.
melophobe: With your music, what drives you more: connecting with other people and trying to share emotions or realizing your own vision and just letting other people do with it what they will?
KS: That’s hard, that’s something that I’m working through right now. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Because community is incredibly important to me, but I think community, on some levels, has been overrated and kind of worn out. Because I think the more you get to know yourself and the more you get to know other people, the more you realize that everybody is completely individual. And you almost start to feel more alone because even though you have a group of friends that you love, this community, this family, that you love, you would think that the more you get to know them, the more you’re going to be a stronger community. But right now, I’m kind of feeling like the more I get to know people, the more I realize that I’m completely alone. And yes, community is something I totally strive for, but right now I feel like I’m taking a break and trying to realize my own vision. Because I think that taking a step back and looking into yourself and finding exactly what you want to do and if that’s even something that’s possible . . . getting to that point is just going to make community a lot easier.
melophobe: It seems like it would make it more fulfilling because if you’re not trying to be like, “Well what I really want to do is make sure everybody knows what I’m talking about” then that’s a different vibe than, “I just want to get this idea out of my head, make it the best it can be, and then later, if someone likes it, we can have a discussion about it and it can be a secondary thing.”
KS: Yeah totally. I know people who want to have shows, and they want to have people sing along to their songs, and they want everyone to just be together and they hand out instruments for everyone to play and it can feel incredibly forced, because I’ve been to those shows, and I don’t really feel anything. Because people go to shows because they want to feel something, they want to feel like they are a part of it, but I could argue that you almost feel more a part of it when you just stand back and listen and inside you go, “Oh, I relate to that.” I mean I go to see Drew play—and obviously I know Drew, I hear him write the songs, I know the back-story, the behind-the-scenes with Drew Grow & The Pastors Wives—and when I go to see them play it’s never like a huge sing-a-long, like “everybody grab instrument” kind of thing. But you can feel it. I mean the air is so thick when he’s singing and pouring his heart out, so I think . . . yeah, it’s just like a fuck-storm of a conversation, we could talk about that forever.
melophobe: What has been the hardest part about being a new artist?
KS: The obvious hardest part, for me, and I think most new artists can relate to this, you are working two full-time jobs. I mean, you are working the stupid, heartless, just life-sucking job that’s barely paying the bills and then you’re working on this thing that you care about that you’re not getting paid for. At all. And it’s exciting and you’re looking forward to something and you know something is going to happen, but you’re waiting a really long time and I’m just tired.
melophobe: I’d keep waiting [KS laughs], I think something is going to happen.
What role does the Bridge Community play in your music? Because I remember when I went, I was standing by Ian McNeil [melophobe photographer] and everybody was singing your songs. And usually I feel like I’m pretty tapped into things or I learn about stuff before other people and I’m like, “I missed the boat! I have missed the boat!” and I was telling that to Ian and he was like, “No, that’s her church, they LOVE it.” So I was wondering, do they come out to all of your shows and are they always so . . . inspired?
KS: Yeah, they are super supportive. I think the first time I played and the people that showed up weren’t 99.9% the Bridge, was the show at The Woods. It was the first single release and that was kind of crazy and I was like, “Oh wow. A lot of people from the Bridge didn’t show up but it’s almost sold out.” So, it was kind of a crazy thing. But yeah, they’ve always been like a huge percentage of people who come to the shows. And they know all the words, and they sing along, and yeah, it’s awesome. It’s just like a really pure energy.
melophobe: It was intense. Yeah, I brought my friend, who . . . what does he listen to? He likes NY Gangsta rap, and all these other things, and just like, harder music and I remember bringing him and thinking, “This might be a hard sell, but he should come anyway.” And I remember when you first started singing, everybody shut up and I looked over at him and he was just like this . . . [mesmerized face]. He just had this look on his face like he was transfixed and to me, I was thinking, well, if she knew this kid, that would be the biggest compliment because this is not his scene. And by the end he was like, “that was really good.”
So, there you go.
melophobe: Are you going to do more songs like “Sister K,” like more aggressive songs?
KS: Yeah actually, the one we are recording right now is dirty rock. I can pull it up.
melophobe: One of the things I love about your songs is that you get a lot of people to sing with you at the end. Is that just playing around in here [her basement studio] or is that something where you are like, “I’m going to want that at the end?”
KS: On like?
melophobe: On “Carry Us Over.”
KS: Oh, just the gang vocals at the end? Oh, we planned it out. It was already in my mind. “Carry Us Over” is like, such an old song. I wrote that, I think, before I even moved to Portland. Yeah like the whole gospelly gang vocal thing is something that people think about when they think about, especially Drew’s music and mine. We have a friend, Patrick, who owns a studio in Vancouver, and he was recording these kids’ band, and the kids were like, “We need a gang, we need group vocals at the end, kind of like a gospelly thing” and like, me, and Jeremiah and Drew were the first people that Patrick called. So I think it’s kind of like a staple. I kind of want to maybe start avoiding it because it seems like it’s becoming sort of a . . .
melophobe: . . . trend.
KS: Yeah. It’s becoming something that’s kind of expected.
melophobe: Of you?
KS: Me, Drew, and some other people in our community.
melophobe: Do you think, speaking of “Carry Us Over,” that the Biblical references will limit your audience as you move forward?
KS: That’s a good question. I don’t see it that way because I’m not a Christian anymore. I don’t even believe that, but for some reason it doesn’t affect me being able to sing that song. I don’t know, we just kind of like . . . Drew’s not really, we all kind of have this spiritual element in our lives because we grew up Christians and up until a couple of years ago, I was still gung-ho Christian, you know? It’s always going to be a part of our music. “Carry Us Over” is like, blatantly Christian. I think some lyrics in some of my other songs, are just kind of, spiritual or whatever, which is easy for people. I guess I just don’t really give a shit. To be honest. If somebody doesn’t want to listen to it because I say “Jesus” then fuck ‘em. [Laughs]
melophobe: I’m going to ask you the Almost Famous question. What do you love about music?
KS: What is Almost Famous?
melophobe: Please go rent that movie.
KS: Oh is it that . . . ?
melophobe: Please, for the love of God…
KS: Is that . . . Penny Lane? Ok, unbelievable. My friend, Paul, just met Penny Lane at a bar.
melophobe: The real Penny Lane?
KS: The real Penny Lane. She’s 60 or something like that.
melophobe: What was she doing here?
KS: Just hanging out. She owns an island.
Ian McNeil: Well naturally.
melophobe: Yeah, obviously.
KS: She doesn’t own one. She lives on an island.
melophobe: There’s a big difference.
KS: It’s really close. The San Juan Islands?
melophobe: Yeah.
KS: So, he invited her to the Doug Fir show, which was me and Drew’s latest release but she didn’t come. But isn’t that wild? Little side note.
I haven’t seen the movie though.
melophobe: You should go see it, it’s really good. But anyway, at the end, it’s not going to give anything away, he’s interviewing somebody and he says, “What do you love about music?” But I think it’s a really good question.
KS: Yeah, it is a good question. What do I love about it? The first specific thing I can come up with is, generally, I think I’m a pretty shy person, in social situations and whatever, I’m pretty shy, but when it comes to art, I can express myself in a pretty incredible way that I think that other people can’t. And I think that’s what draws me towards it, because it brings me out of my shell. When I’m on stage, like absolutely nothing could get me down. I feel like I’m on top of the world. And that might be kind of big-headed or something . . . I think every artist has to be a little bit arrogant or else they wouldn’t have a reason. You have to feel like what you have to say is worth listening to. I guess I’m just giving myself an excuse to be arrogant just then, but when I’m on stage and playing music, I’m completely unhindered. Is that a word?
melophobe: I understand what you’re saying. For someone who’s never heard you, can you sum up your sound?
KS: Could you? I mean . . .
melophobe: No, I think I’d start getting down to elements, which is a cut and paste method of doing it.
KS: When people ask me that question, and people ask me that question a lot, I just say I play electric guitar and sing. I have a drummer. I just don’t go into it anymore, because I just can’t. I don’t really know, my songs are so eclectic and I think it’ll get more and more eclectic.
melophobe: The reason I ask is because, well I think a lot of those other interviewers ask that question because I think they’re trying to find an easy angle, and the reason I’m asking is because I think it’s interesting to see how you view what you do. Like how you think about . . . kind of like your mission statement almost.
KS: Well it’s hard because I don’t hear my music how other people hear it. I hear it how I want it to sound in my head. I hear the songs that I’m writing in 10 years. I think as I get older and I learn this process better, I get closer to closing the gap between what I want to write and what I’m writing. I think that it’s getting smaller. Like this last song that you heard is the closest I think I’ve ever gotten to writing what I want to portray and what I’m actually portraying. So it’s getting smaller, which is good.
I don’t know. I want to write some really fucked up music. I want to . . .
melophobe: Like Tom Waits kind of stuff, fucked up?
KS: Yeah, in any way I guess. Bjork, crazy weird sounds, and then it just cuts out and it does something crazy that you’ve never heard before and you’re like, “What? What’s going on?” I want to do crazy shit. I’m not there yet, and I don’t know how I’m going to get there. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing and I’ll get there eventually.
melophobe: I think it would be really interesting too, depending on how you did it. Like if you had all these crazy sounds, but your voice, which is very pure and easily accessible, just mixed. I think that would create this interesting dynamic.
KS: Yeah, totally. I mean, I’m not interested in copying anything that’s been done before. I mean obviously there’s going to be elements of . . . I mean anybody’s music has elements of something that’s been done before. It’s just the way it works, but my main goal is not to do something that has never been done before. That’s not the reason I write music. I mean I could write a country song tomorrow and love it, I’m just interested in breaking the mold a little bit.
melophobe: My last one is a fluff question, but I totally want to know it. What are your desert island CDs?
KS: Speaking of Tom Waits, probably the new Tom Waits live.
melophobe: Is that AMAZING or what!? That first song, “Lucinda!” Oh my god. [To Ian]: Have you heard that record?
Ian: No.
KS: It’s unbelievable.
melophobe: It’s really good. It’s all like, growling Tom Waits, I’ve had 18 whiskeys and 18 cigarettes. It’s great.
KS: Yeah.
melophobe: Anyway.
KS: This is going to sound cheesy, but probably some Radiohead. Maybe In Rainbows. And that’s just like . . .
melophobe: Beautiful?
KS: . . . c’mon. Maybe Joanna Newsom, Ys. Which I think is such an incredible album. Um, those are the first three that I came up with.
melophobe: Guess I’m done. Thanks.
[Kelli wants to end the interview with high fives all around. Kelli got her wish.]
Two songs go in, one comes out. Pick a side.
Looking forward to the show. Would love to win some tix for my pals.
by MC Breath on Wed May 16, 2012 at 07.40 pm from the entry: It's all good, see Fishbone for free at Fête
I’m dying to see him no better place than FETE!!
by Telly on Tue May 15, 2012 at 02.57 pm from the entry: we'll see you (and Talib Kweli) at Fête!
Sound does matter. Viva Le Fete!
by Auquanetta on Tue May 15, 2012 at 01.13 pm from the entry: we'll see you (and Talib Kweli) at Fête!
YES! i MUST go to this show! i was just strollin down the street the other day and saw the poster! SO stoked they’ll be in town.
by Jaz on Mon May 14, 2012 at 05.30 pm from the entry: It's all good, see Fishbone for free at Fête
Fete Forever!!
by Tabitha on Mon May 14, 2012 at 05.08 pm from the entry: we'll see you (and Talib Kweli) at Fête!
Congratulations and thank you to Fete for bringing talent to Providence! We needed this venue and vibe. Bless.
oh and I’d love to win tickets; its my boyfriends bday:D
by Ellen on Mon May 14, 2012 at 07.23 am from the entry: we'll see you (and Talib Kweli) at Fête!
My son Jawara want to go to this show so bad, so I’m seeing if I can win! Bless me with a ticket please!!!!!!!!!!!
by Irese Shea on Mon May 14, 2012 at 06.52 am from the entry: we'll see you (and Talib Kweli) at Fête!
you’re positively glowing in this interview, Colin
haha is that a compliment?
yes! The interview is great, and the photo shows off the glow
Oh I see. I was wondering if you were talking about the picture. Really glad you liked it. Have you checked her out yet?