Kailie Simpson is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in NYC just dropped her latest single and it’s sick! A skilled drumline, a beautiful guitar line with striking harmonious chords, an interesting bass line, and above all a very beautiful voice with a wide vocal range. “Time Waits for No Man” was released earlier this month and already has over 6.5K streams on Spotify. It’s a very bold and strong song with a harmonious, upbeat sound. It was produced by the renowned Ben Rice of Degraw Sound who worked with artists like Norah Jones, The Jezabels, and Daughter.
Thank you Rock Era Magazine for checking out my music & sitting down to chat with me. Let’s dive right in!
- Your voice is remarkable, you have a wide range and amazing vocal control, were you professionally trained?
- I spent a few of my teenage years working on vocal training. The boring stuff, how to NOT lose my voice pretty much! Breathing techniques, scales, etc etc. (I studied with Linda Benanti, Voice Studios)
- Who are you most influenced by?
- My influences come from all over. It can be from the latest documentary I’ve watched, the last book I picked up or musicians that I have had on repeat over the years. My forever inspiration is Janis Joplin, always. But as far as my recent influences… I’ve been really into Kristin Hersh from Throwing Muses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Pretty Reckless and Wolfmother.
REVIEW – Time Waits For No Man by Kailie Simpson
- The bassline and drum line for “Time Waits for No Man” are quite remarkable, who were they played by?
- Jon Toscano on bass and Bryan Framhein on drums
- Do you have a band? If yes, who are they?
- I like to compare the journey of finding my band to The Yellow Brick Road. Throughout my musical journey I found them along the way, one by one, and I am forever grateful for them. My bass player, Jon Toscano, is truly a master of his craft. Unbelievable talent. He has expanded my musical taste and appreciation and he’s elevated my music to another level. My drummer, Bryan Framhein is another major elevation to my music. I wont lie, at first I hated the drums. I was used to just me & my piano. Thats how this whole thing started 6 years ago. Just me and my heartbreak ballads… so when the band and I finally got to work I had a hard time hearing my songs become BIG !! Time passed and I grew a pair… realizing rock is the only way! And here we are now, writing music with killer drum beats. On the recordings you hear Shahar Mintz on the guitar- unfortunately geographical distance has pulled us apart – but he added so many layers to my latest singles. Shahar also was the VERY first bandmate of mine, and I learned a lot from this mystical man! Luckily the road led me to Jackson Bell, and he has gone above any expectation I had. Not only does he play well, he has PASSION! It was also such a relief to realize he makes weird faces too while playing, and it wasn’t just me! We’ve only done a few live shows together so far but it feels like I have known him for years! ** And I want to shoutout my lovely keys player, Shannen Bamford – we don’t have keys tracked on the singles but when we gig live she is there backing me up & really filling out the songs! Also adding some more lady energy on stage!!
- It’s undoubtedly a wonderful opportunity to work with Ben Rice, how did you meet?
- My manager of ten years, Larry Alessandrini introduced me to Ben Rice. We met up and hung out in the studio one day, just picking each others brains and chatting about whatever came up. We really hit it off and I knew he understood the vision & I believed he was the one to bring my songs to the next level. Ben helped me navigate through revision, which I never really had to do before. I always just took my songs, worked them with the band and recorded. I never cut them down, or changed lyrics around – so working with Ben brought me many firsts. I remember being in the vocal booth and he asked “ hey I need you to write a third verse” and I was taken back a bit, since I never just wrote right on the spot like that (I tend to be very precious with my lyrics)… but challenge accepted. He gave me a moment and BOOM third verse was written- we played around with it and it all flowed perfectly. I am really proud of how the record turned out.
- Do you have any upcoming albums or single releases planned?
- I don’t have any music planned for immediate release but I will say we have some things in the works which I am excited about. The next single will be a bit “stripped down”. And then the larger project being an album!
- Do you have any plans for a tour across the states or internationally?
- As far as live shows go, the band and I play NYC venues every month (occasionally New Jersey), and we are looking forward to expanding on the map and can’t wait to meet new people and perform for more ears & souls !!
