NASHVILLE |APRIL 11, 2011
FR: ALEXANDRA GREENBERG/CLAIRE JULIAN
MSO
KRISTEENYOUNG
ANNOUNCES
NEW EP ‘V THE VOLCANIC’
DUE OUT APRIL 26
LOS ANGELES RESIDENCY AT HOTEL CAFÉ THIS MAY,
NEW YORK RESIDENCY AT PIANOS IN JUNE AND
LONDON, U.K. RESIDENCY AT MONTO WATER RATS IN JULY
WITH ADDITIONAL SPECIAL ENGAGEMENTS THIS SPRING IN
SAN FRANCISCO, SAN DIEGO AND PHILADELPHIA
There are no small parts, only small minds. But KRISTEENYOUNG has never suffered from a deficit of imagination. For her new Tony Visconti-produced EP V THE VOLCANIC, due out April 26, this one-of-a-kind singer, songwriter and performer with a thrilling four-octave vocal range and dramatic performance style drew upon the cinema, writing originals inspired by supporting characters—some of them quite unexpected. To promote V THE VOLCANIC, the New York-based artist shot its first video (for "Fantastic Failure") amid the landmarks of her hometown, St. Louis. The video was directed by (Los Angeles based) Seaton Lin.
Fans will be able to experience KRISTEENYOUNG’s new material at her upcoming residency shows in New York City and Los Angeles, as well as at select dates this spring in San Francisco, San Diego and Philadelphia. In May, she’ll take the stage at Hollywood’s Hotel Café every Monday (May 2, 9, 16, 24) and perform an all-ages show at Porter’s Pub in San Diego May 7 in addition to an appearance at Hotel Utah Saloon in San Francisco May 18. In June, she’ll travel east for a run of residency dates at Pianos in NYC’s Lower East Side every Tuesday (June 7, 14, 21, 28) as well as appear at World Café Live in Philadelphia June 19. A residency in London at Monto Water Rats is also in the works for July 6, 20 and 27, as well as a date at The Bowery July 14. Look for mid-west dates to be announced soon for August.
V THE VOLCANIC was recorded with legendary producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex, Morrissey), who contributed bass and guitar and who also produced 2009's thunderous Music for Strippers, Hookers, and the Odd On-Looker. The arrangements, however, are solely Young's handiwork. Former Fall Out Boy front man Patrick Stump also plays guitar, as does NYC noise maker, Lou Rossi. Since much of the material was written in St. Louis, or inspired by notions of what constitutes "home," KRISTEENYOUNG worked with several players from the Gateway City, including longtime percussionist "Baby" Jef White, bassist Chris Sauer, and guitarist Richard Fortus.
At the outset, KRISTEENYOUNG intended the follow-up to Music for Strippers, Hookers, and the Odd On-Looker to be a funk record. Only at the time, she was in a bit of a funk herself. "I was going through a particularly dank depression," she reveals. Mired in the midst of this protracted "blue period," she sought solace through immersion in her favorite movies—and from that escapism sprang new inspiration. "I didn't want to be me, so I decided to use what was killing my time and become other people." Not real people, but her very real-seeming companions at the time: movie characters. Now she had a legit excuse to spend even more time disappearing into the world onscreen. And "disappear" is the right word, as that theme crops up throughout V THE VOLCANIC—not just in the sense of getting lost in the alternate realm of movies, but also apropos of how the expanding virtual universe crowds out the "real" world.
The result became seven songs based on seven different films: Violet Bick in Frank Capra's 1946 favorite It's A Wonderful Life ("V The Volcanic"); the Angry Apple Tree of 1939's The Wizard of Oz ("I'll Get You Back"); Lucy Westenra in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 take on Bram Stoker's Dracula ("Why Can't It Be Me?"); Old Lodge Skins in 1970's Little Big Man ("Now I'm Invisible"); the android Pris from 1982's Blade Runner ("The Devil Made Me"); Sarah Jane Johnson in Douglas Sirk's 1959 melodrama Imitation of Life ("Imitation of Life"); and Cleopatra in the 1963 Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton adaptation of Cleopatra ("Fantastic Failure")….the exception to the supporting character rule.
Musically, V THE VOLCANIC marks a departure from earlier KRISTEENYOUNG releases. Having set out to restore the piano to its rightful place alongside the guitar as one of the most fearsome instruments in the rock music pantheon, and feeling that she'd finally met that goal with Music for Strippers… (hailed by the Village Voice as "…the kind of 'commercial' pop we need more of"), Young was now interested in going back to her roots, drawing on the electro-funk grooves she loved in her Midwest childhood: Prince, Rick James, Teena Marie and Cameo. Yet as the new material took shape, she began to lose interest in mining just one musical vein. "I started branching out into other styles a bit: opera, dark wave, and other sounds that felt cozy to me." V THE VOLCANIC may not sound precisely the same as its predecessors in the discography, but it always sounds like KRISTEENYOUNG.
Originally from St. Louis, KRISTEENYOUNG started out in life as a half-Apache, half-German foster child, and then was adopted by strict Christian parents. In addition to making music, she also designs her own eye-popping stage wear.
KRISTEENYOUNG’s complete list of performances:
*August mid-west dates TBA.
| Date | Venue | City |
| Mon May 2 | Hotel Café | Los Angeles |
| Sat May 7 | Porter’s Pub | San Diego |
| Mon May 9 | Hotel Café | Los Angeles |
| Mon May 16 | Hotel Café | Los Angeles |
| Wed May 18 | Hotel Utah Saloon | San Francisco |
| Mon May 24 | Hotel Café | Los Angeles |
| Tues June 7 | Pianos | New York City |
| Tues June 14 | Pianos | New York City |
| Sun June 19 | World Café Live | Philadelphia |
| Tues June 21 | Pianos | New York City |
| Tues June 28 | Pianos | New York City |
| Wed July 6 | Monto Water Rats | London, U.K. |
| Thurs July 14 | The Bowery | London, U.K. |
| Wed July 20 | Monto Water Rats | London, U.K. |
| Wed July 27 | Monto Water Rats | London, U.K. |
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For more information on KRISTEENYOUNG, contact:
MSO 818-380-0400
Alexandra Greenberg x223, agreenberg@msopr.com
Claire Julian x241, clairej@msopr.com
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KRISTEENYOUNG Announces New Ep ‘V The Volcanic’ Due Out April 26 And Residency’s In LA, NYC And London
