Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: KELLY – I grew up in a small town in Northeast Pennsylvania. I’m one of 6 right smack in the middle.
Odd fact about me; I barely talked until I was about 7…was just terribly shy back then. However, that was also my first musical moment. I vaguely remember it but my parents told me we were at church one Sunday morning and in the middle of service I just got up and walked to the front of the church, took the microphone, and just started singing- in front of everyone, out of nowhere, like a total weirdo. Some of them had never even heard me talk. So that was the moment my parents were like – oh, okay she’s going to do this. This is who she is.
SAINT – I grew up in Sweden, in a small town in the countryside. We lived in a big house outside of that small town so I was very isolated growing up. I didn’t have many kids to play with so I learned to entertain myself. I learned to play the piano at age 5, picked up the guitar a few years later and learned a few chords and that’s when I started writing songs. Soon thereafter I joined a band and here we are.
Q: Did you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?
A: SAINT – At first my mom gave me piano lessons. In Sweden there was a program at the time to support kids playing instruments so when I started school I got a piano teacher through the school. A couple of years later I started taking voice lessons because I had figured out that I wanted to be a lead singer but I also knew I needed to work on my voice. But a lot of the instruments I play – guitar, bass, drums, the producing – all that stuff I taught myself.
KELLY – If you want to consider hours upon hours spent every day after school in my bedroom with my hairbrush microphone belting out the songs of Whitney Houston, Debbie Gibson, and Mariah Carey, then sure.
On a serious note, my parents (especially my dad) were so supportive of each of our talents growing up. So they had me involved with everything right from the start of my interest…vocal coaches, modeling, acting, and even dance (which was a fail…I am not a dancer).
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘Kelly + Saint’?
A: SAINT – KISS and 80s metal. I loved the theatrics but also the three chord pop songs with the big choruses and the big stadium sound. The first couple of bands I was in were all typical rock bands but when I started getting into programming music I mixed my love of stadium pop/rock with electronic music and that is still my trademark sound today.
You can hear those influences in Kelly + Saint as well but with a different twist since Kelly brings her unique set of flavors to the party.
KELLY – Oh, gosh. Well, first, I was obsessed always with the stories/lyrics that artists would sing. Always. Anytime I would get a new record or cassette tape (yea, that’s right) I would immediately tear it open and spend hours just reading and re-reading the lyrics. It fascinated me. Then I would spend days on end with one record….just absorbing it all. I LOVED IT! Early on I really loved Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Debbie Gibson…They were my earliest, as far as influence. I wasn’t allowed to listen to or watch a lot of MTV or secular-style music artists when I was younger – I had to go to my best friend’s house to do that. Church hymns and music in that realm were also a big influence on me. But the way the pop scene was in those days had me so hooked!
SAINT – As for our name; my nickname is Saint and Kelly is Kelly so there you have it.
Q: You have just released your new single ‘Lover And A Rebel’. Is there a story behind it?
KELLY – Well, of course, darling. If I’m writing it, there’s always a story underneath. From the top, we had this idea about what this track should FEEL like. What’s the story, the vibe?
I was so used to one style of writing with my own solo projects and albums, that when I began this project and this initial track, Lover + A Rebel, I was SO READY to recreate myself and to stretch myself further outside of my comfort zone. It’s been so fun to play another charactyer, and really, to show another side of me. My solo work is VERY different from this collab, and I LOVE THAT! I’ve evolved now from penning my stories from the point of view of the girl who seemed complicated and just couldn’t hold onto love – to this very female-empowered-boss who takes charge, gets what she wants, and owns it all.
SAINT – What she said…
🙂
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: SAINT – We have written a bunch of songs and are recording as we speak. The sound is what you hear on “Lover And A Rebel”; that retor pop sound mixed with hip-hop and today’s electronic music with strong pop melodies and stories about strong, independent women.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: KELLY –I feel like this album is really smart, thought provoking and fun at the same time – with hella catchy hooks…
SAINT – “We sound like two chicks that look like Brigitte Bardot and act like Mick Jagger”.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: KELLU – Always. Whenever I finish working on a track and listen back, I’m like a giant 7 year old with how excited I get…I’ll get in the studio, blast it on high and geek out by myself. To be able to create something from within myself, that is unique every single time, is when I feel God move through me. It feeds my soul every time.
SAINT – The feeling when we have written something or Kelly lays down that killer vocal hook, you can’t beat that feeling. When you know you just produced something wicked. It’s a high I don’t ever want to let go of. What we are excited and eager to do is to take these songs to the people, to play them live. I can’t wait to do that.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: SAINT – Sometimes it starts with a track I’ve been working on, I’ll send it over to Kelly with s few comments or maybe a lyric line or two, a concept. Then she writes on it, sends it back. And then we get together and finish it.
KELLY –Well, when I’m working a track, I need to be completely alone – for hours – undisturbed to really get into my zone. Writing is very sacred to me and it’s maybe the only time I am completely vulberable and raw.
So it’s usually me, in my studio or home, on my piano or guitar and I just sit and play around until I find a groove…then the feeling will build, the words will come, and a story will begin.
With a collab, and specifically with Salme on this project, I’ve had to crawl out of that mindset because it’s a marriage in a way. I have a partner and I have to share that process. That sort of thing usually scares the hell out of me, which is probably why I don’t work much with the rounds in Nashville. I get it! But, again, I’m very private and protective of my process…it’s very intimate for me- even more so than being in a romantic relationship. There needs to be a trust there and that takes time for me. I have that kind of trust with Salme and she’s probably the only person I’ve felt able to do this with – at least right now. How sorry are you for my romantic partners? I know….lol
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: KELLY – Oh, gosh. I’ve lived a bit at this point. I had a semi-challenging childhood, broken engagements, betrayal from people I’ve never expected…In my career I’ve had my integrity and worth positioned countless times, and just the usual bag that comes along when you are paving your own road along your way. However, I will say that the most difficult thing I’ve experienced was at 20 years old, holding my father’s hand when he trasitioned from this world. It’s a moment that I can slip back to in an instant and at the time I was so angry – for years – with God for placing me in that position, by myself, in a hospital room, unprepared, and unequipped to really handle what was happening. However, NOW I look back on that moment and I’m so grateful for it. How blessed was I to be chosen to be there and to share that experience with him. Time and reflection absolutely help in the healing process.
SAINT – Making music in Sweden was hard for me. I was told over and over again that I was no good. “Don’t quit your day job”, I heard that a lot. At times I almost believed them. When I came to the US suddenly people got me, it was like night and day; I went from doors closing in my face to meetings with record labels and managers etc. and hearing “Do you know how good you are”?
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: KELLY – This is going to be a blanket answer really – encompassing it all…because it’s truly how I feel. The fact that I get to create art, and something that is so unique to me, that comes from within me…that feels successful to me. That makes me proud. These songs and stories are gifts that I’m giving to the world and that feels special to me.
SAINT – It’s hard to pick just one but writing “C’mon Y’All” (off of my first solo album) in my tiny apartment in New York City, recording it in my bedroom studio and then seeing it grow into this indie hit; people discovering it from tv commercials it was running in or the dance remixes that charted on Billboard or hearing it on their favorite college radio station, that was amazing. “C”mon Y’All” being such a success gave me a job, a career in music and for that I am eternally grateful and proud.
And right now, I am sitting here today and I am so proud of the songs Kelly and I have written and recorded and I can’t wait for the world to hear them. I am convinced this ride is going to be the best one yet! Connect with us at www.kelltyandsaint.com