Reggie Ginn’s third album puts her passion in perspective
Back in high school, Reggie Ginn decided she wanted to learn how to play the piano. But unlike most students she tossed the Basics of Piano book behind her and ditched the formal instructor that would watch her every move. All she needed was a little help from Tori Amos.
“Since I knew her songs so well, I would just sit down and learn every note. It’s like she was my teacher. I learned from an actual artist,” Ginn said. “I already knew the songs and then [I would] make them my own way. I saw how I would position my hands. It just made sense.” Since she knew all of Amos’ songs by heart, learning the keys just came naturally to Ginn. After she became comfortable behind the piano, her next goal in high school was to complete her senior year project. She decided to put her skills to the test and organize a concert for her friends and family, where she sang her original songs in front of an audience for the first time. And she managed to put it together “pretty darn well.”
“My dad said, ‘When you told me you wanted to do that for your project, I honestly didn’t think you could do it. But you really surprised me,’” Ginn said with a smile. “So that’s when I knew, alright I think I should do this.”
Since then Ginn has claimed herself as an indie alternative rocker, released two albums, performed on Good Day Sacramento, won a Modesto Area Music Award for best unplugged artist, and was nominated for a 2011 Sammie award for best singer/songwriter. Now at the age of 27, she is ready to kick off her third album, Passion in Perspective, with powerful vocals, moving lyrics and soft piano keys. Unlike her first two albums, she will be rocking live with a full band including guitarist Brandon Dickinson, bassist Ian Maclachlan, drummer Mikey Koons and cellist Alison Sharkey.
“I’m excited for everyone to hear this. I hope people come out to the shows and get to see what my band can do. It’s going to be a beautiful thing,” Ginn said.
This solo, “do it yourself artist,” decided to start a campaign on Kickstarter, a website that funds creative projects through donations, to gain money for printing and studio costs for the new CD and succeeded in raising over $1,000. “I’m ever grateful that all these people are so generous enough to give anything. It’s really awesome,” she said.
When I caught up with the grateful musician on an early but sunny Saturday, her outgoing personality made it seem like we had already knew one another and were just catching up on each other’s lives. As we sat on a table outside of the Sacramento Comedy Spot, we chatted about her new music, learning piano and the importance of human connections.
What’s the title of your new album, Passion in Perspective, mean?
It’s one of those names that can be read in its own way. When I decided to call it that I asked different people, “What does that mean to you?” and a lot of people had different answers. I thought, that’s perfect because that’s exactly what I want to get out of this album, to get different responses and for people to take songs in different ways. When somebody listens to this album I want them to take themselves out of the shoes they are in and see the songs and the world in a different way, that’s the perspective point. For instance, one of the songs, called “Bathsheba,” is written from the point of view from King David. Two of the songs are written through animals’ eyes. So it’s just the art of having a song evolve either through the way you are listening to it, when you’re listening to it, or who you are. So I hope that everybody takes something different from each song.
On your website it says that you want the audience to “not feel alone” through your music. How do you try to do that?
My last album was Sing for the Voiceless, that’s what I like to say, because it’s kind of the vagueness of the song and how everyone can relate to it in their own way. Even though I wrote it from my own point of view and own experience. When you relate with anyone it causes some comfort because you know you are not alone in whatever you are going through. Multiple times I have had people come up to me and say, “Your music means so much to me. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to say but have never been able to say it before.” I find it a very big gift to be able to put into words what other people are feeling and it helps them release.
Was it difficult not to have a formal teacher when you were learning piano?
No, it was easier, I think. I tried several times with several different teachers when I was younger. I just didn’t have the attention span. It’s something your parents say, “Oh, go do this.” You don’t really want to, so I didn’t. When I was a junior in high school, I knew I wanted to be a singer. I was writing poetry, and I wanted to express myself in some way. I couldn’t depend on someone playing guitar or accompanying me. So I said, “I’ve got to do this by myself.” Piano just really spoke to me, and like the title of the CD, it was the “passion” that drove it. That’s why I got it. It really just came to me naturally. It’s really amazing because I know a lot of people struggle [to learn piano]. It’s not an easy instrument. But for some reason I think it comes naturally to me.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Tori Amos is really one of the artists that spoke to me most… She really taught me how to express my feelings and how to learn play. I love [an] artist that can be different in a way that’s raw. For instance, PJ Harvey is one of my favorites, because she doesn’t censor herself or worry about how she’s sounding. She doesn’t have to be perfectly on key or just beautiful all the time. She just wants it to be raw, empowering and in your face.
What do you think of the Sacramento music scene?
I really love it here, actually. I went to Los Angeles for a year, to try out things. I wasn’t ready for it, but I did it anyway. It was so cutthroat. I came running back to Sacramento and realized I really needed to establish myself and needed my own town first before going off to somewhere big. Everybody is just so tight-knit here. Once you are in, you’re in. It’s great and there are some super talented musicians that I’m honored to be in the same town as.
What do you do before a show to get yourself pumped?
What I usually do is I talk to the people. I like for people to feel comfortable when they are going to see me perform. People who don’t even necessarily know who I am or they’re there for someone else, I like to bring them in, so they have a reason to stay. Like, “Oh, this girl was nice to me, she’s also a performer? Alright I’ll stay for her set, even though I was going to leave.” Because it’s really important to draw in your audience, whether it’s when you’re on stage or off stage. It’s important to have a connection and let them know they are appreciated because that’s why I’m doing my music, is to have people hear it.
The release of Passion in Perspective will be celebrated at Luigi’s Fungarden in Sacramento on Nov. 12, 2011. The show will start at 8 p.m. and will also feature The Kelps and Fierce Creatures in support. The all-ages show will cost just $5 to attend. For more info to Reggieginn.com.
The Kelps show a flair for the theatrical on stage and on their latest album, Head Like a Mouse
If you have ever watched or listened to The Kelps and thought they were unlike any other band you have seen or heard before, then the band has succeeded in being exactly the kind of act lead vocalist/guitarist Cory Barringer wants it to be.
Just over two weeks ago, the Lincoln, Calif.-based band released their debut album, Head Like a Mouse, on Soundcloud, a site that allows sound-sharing. The band received so much positive feedback on the album after streaming it online for just a few days, they made it available for free download over a three-day period in early September, during which hungry listeners snatched up almost 400 free copies.
The album, which has since returned to stream-only status, was recorded within a six- to seven-month frame at Shattered Records in Citrus Heights by producer Jack O’Donnell. The Kelps are hoping for an official album release around Oct. 30, 2011.
Meanwhile the band has been nominated for a Sammie award for the second year in a row, this time as best rock band.
The Kelps is Barringer, Cameron Betts and Tony Reyes, all a mere 19 to 21 years old. Online they have classified themselves as alternative, indie rock, southern Goth and blues punk. This was really just for the sake of providing information, Barringer explained, as the band doesn’t care much for labeling their sound.
“We should sound like The Kelps,” Barringer said.
Labeling can put a band at a disadvantage, particularly being lumped into the blues genre, he said, because comparisons are quickly drawn to traditional blues bands.
“I have been pulled aside by countless old men who have informed me that we are not a blues band.”
Some of their musical influences are more evident than others: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Bright Eyes, David Byrne, Dr. Dog and Roger Waters.
If there is a genre the band is striving to fit into, it is something completely new and different from anything that has already been put out there by other musicians.
“Even if [listeners are] freaked out, I want to have an effect, whatever that effect might be,” Barringer said.
By freaked out, Barringer is referring to the sometimes taken-aback looks he sees on the faces of an audience during one of their live shows, a reaction he associates with seeing something new or different. “And to me, that’s the whole point of creating anything is just bringing something new into the world,” he said. “Even if they hate it, it’s new.”
What immediately stands out about this band is its distinctly eerie lyrics and fiery vocals. Within the nine sonically crisp tracks of Head Like a Mouse, some entwined with poetry, Barringer and Betts cogently howl tales of getting locked up and tainting the innocent over gnashing guitar riffs. It is cryptic rock ‘n’ roll bearing dark elements comparable to the Murder City Devils or The Misfits. Not enough bands rock this hard.
Watching The Kelps live, you’ll notice the crazed facial expressions, the finger twitching, hands grabbing for the sky. A dramatic performance. This is not a coincidence. Prior to starting The Kelps officially in the summer of 2009, the three were in theater together at school back in Sheridan, Calif., where they first discovered that they clicked creatively.
After watching so many live shows, Barringer concluded that although there is a lot of talent out there musically, live performances are lacking energy these days.
“I quickly realized that if I was going to do anything up there, it would have to be something that people would want to talk about. Something more. Give them their money’s worth, don’t just stand there and play,” Barringer explained.
While they are unmistakably dark in both their songwriting and performance, in person these guys are anything but anguished or depressing, which Submerge quickly realized during an interview outside the Naked Coffee Lounge with Barringer and Reyes. The following is an excerpt of the conversation.
My observation is that your lyrics tend to be pretty dark. Is this reflective of your guys’ personalities at all?
Tony Reyes: Nope! I wouldn’t say so.
Cory Barringer: I’d say that it’s reflective of a part of us all if that doesn’t sound too hokey. What it is is just everyone has a bit of that dark side and we’re fools to deny it. I consider myself an overall fairly happy person. But there is that dark side and for me it’s the music that can kind of exorcise the demons, especially in the performance, the live performance. That’s how I can get it all out of my head for a while at least, and then it crawls back. Yeah, I’d say that one of the reasons that the lyrics tend to sway to the dark side–wow, that sounds like Star Wars, doesn’t it–is just I find that the most emotive ways of writing are often the sad, twisted things. Those come easier to me. It’s not like I force either side of it, I have written happy songs before. They weren’t very good but I’ve written them. To me it’s the idea of no matter what I do, I try to be sincere so whatever comes out comes out.
And I imagine that this kind of allows you guys to put your theatric experience into use.
CB: It definitely does, yeah.
TR: As far as performance goes, I’ve always felt like I’ve never had a choice. Because like Cory was saying earlier I did spend a lot of time in theater. And I don’t want to say I really know anything about drums, but there was a point where I was uncomfortable playing on a drum kit and [then] there was a moment in time I became comfortable. And after that point I felt like I didn’t have a choice about how I acted back there. And I didn’t realize I was putting on a show until someone said, “Dude, your face is crazy when you’re back there screaming.”
How or why did you recruit Reggie Ginn [for “Blood Poem” on Head Like a Mouse]?
CB: It was partly just because we knew we needed a woman’s voice. We also liked her a great deal. We had done a bunch of stuff with her. It all just kind of worked out perfect, because she’s also recording her album at Shattered Records with Jack so she was already kind of in and out of there. And I kind of liked the idea of having the poem set behind a piano piece and none of us can really play the piano quite so well. I really wrote it on the guitar but with the piano in mind. And I also just really liked her voice.
We had no idea if she could do it because if you’ve heard it there are different portions. There is the beginning where she is doing the poem but then it gets darker and darker and she’s just screaming and we had no idea if she could scream, because she has a great voice, a great, powerful voice, but it’s a different beast altogether when you’re giving an emotive performance of screaming and being dragged away. She nailed it.
And it was just so cool to watch someone so out of their element.
During your June show earlier this year at the Naked Lounge you had introduced “Grimoire” as a bit of an anthem “for everyone different like us.” I don’t know if you remember saying that…
CB: Yeah, I did say that.
So, I wanted to ask you…
TR: Cory, did you just get quoted?
CB: Yeah, I did. I didn’t think anyone was listening. It’s not technically about that but that’s the neat thing about our songs because we all kind of have different interpretations of our own stuff. And even though there’s a different story that goes along with that song that nobody will ever get because the lyrics are just that cryptic, we wrote them that way, it was intentional, so no one knows what they’re about. But I kind of took it as what could be an anthem for being different. Again, I’ll go back to when we started as a band, I wanted to be a band for other people like me. And by that I mean the band nerds, the theater geeks, the kind of social outcasts that kind of feel they don’t really belong with a lot of people.
You can stream the album at Soundcloud. For more info on The Kelps check out their Tumblr page (Thekelps.tumblr.com).
