Kenzie Moore is a local Chicago singer/songwriter. New to the music scene, this twenty-two year old has already put out her first EP ‘Stories’ with traces of influence by Adele, Alecia Keys, and Ed Sheeran. We got to sit down with Kenzie and talk music, school, work, and party.
BTS: You have quite a lot of Pop influence in your music, who are your biggest inspirations?
Kenzie: Definitely Adele, she’s like my number one! I LOVE Sia I think she’s super talented and I don’t think she really gets enough credit because people don’t really know how much she does behind the scenes and I really respect her as a musician. I also am a big fan of Ed Sheeran. I also really love Lady Gaga and like Sia, she started out as a producer, writer. She like me, started out classically trained which I think not a lot of people know.
BTS: Do you have any special rituals you do to prepare yourself for a performance?
Kenzie: I typically tend to talk to people that I’m close to, whether it’s text or if they’re there because it kind of takes my mind off whats about to happen. I drink a lot of tea. Some people tell me if you eat a bag of chips which people will think is really weird but the salt from the chips clears out your throat.
BTS: Do you do any quirky voice exercising before singing?
Kenzie: Oh yeah, like full on quirky like super weird. Whenever people make fun of it on movies, like I’ve done that. And the thing is, is because I’ve been trained classically a lot of those voice exercises like the sirens which get REALLY loud you know? Yeah the voice exercises are like a must! It keeps your voice healthy.
BTS: What was the writing process for your EP ‘Stories’?
Kenzie: Well, I’ve gotta think about that. So Kaleidoscope was the first song I ever recorded, my best friend sent me a poem actually and she just wrote me “hey wanna use these for lyrics?” and I was like “yeah, sure!” That was the first song I ever wrote and I sat down with those lyrics and was like “okay lets just see what happens” and with that I realized WOW this actually came out to be something somewhat decent. I recorded it in a basic studio and put it up on Youtube and thats how I got found! But the rest of the songs, like You and Her and Eyes Never Lie, those were personal experiences that I had so those were not hard to write those because I was super angry when it came to Eyes Never Lie. And You and Her, I feel like everyone has been in a situation where it’s like unrequited love and it’s kind of like oh you’re in a relationship i won’t you know obviously bother you, but like I do really care about you. Stories is my favorite song in the EP. It was also my favorite to write. I wrote it with my cousin and an hour later we performed it to my Grandma, which is who it’s about in the first verse, and she started crying and then I started crying and it just became very emotional and I was like THIS is what I really love about music, emotionally touching people.
BTS: How do you manage everything at once? (school, work, music)
Kenzie: Umm, I don’t really sleep! I definitely have had my fair share of Britney Spears-esque breakdowns. First I’m in school, so I think that helps you know where I want to feel motivated to work towards that, but then also music is my passion, it’s my first love, its what I really want to do with life so I never feel like I’m working when it comes to that.
BTS: Do you believe in genres? If so, what would you classify your music as?
Kenzie: I think Pop is not a genre, I mean it really means popular music, so whatever is popular at that time. But with that, I do consider some of my songs indie-pop I mean they do have that upbeat type feel to them. But mostly singer/songwriter because thats what I am, you know? I want to go back to the way music use to emotionally touch people, and getting there is maybe downplaying the pop genre a bit and bringing more Rock or Blues or I guess singer/songwriter backup.
BTS: If you were locked in a vinyl shop, what three records would you sit and listen to on repeat?
Kenzie: Anything Elvis Presley, he is my hands down favorite singer. I grew up with him! Etta James and probably Ella Fitzgerald or The Beatles. I guess it kind of depends on my mood! Like am I sad in this shop? Then definitely Ella Fitzgerald, but if I’m just chilling there just dancing then The Beatles.
BTS: What’s one musician you’d want to be at your next birthday party?
Kenzie: Probably Lady Gaga because she’s a big influence in me but also it just feels like she’d be really fun.
BTS: If you could chose a lineup for a tour you were headlining, who’d you chose?
Kenzie: I would have Ed Sheehan on it, Adele would come on to sing a few songs, she wouldn’t really be a headliner you know? Lady Gaga, Sia would come out, I also really love Eminem maybe because I’m from Detroit. Annnnd I think Paul Mccartney as well.
BTS: What would you like to say to your fans?
Kenzie: Its amazing to have someone other than my cemetery of shampoo bottles in my shower listening to me. And I promise to you that I’ll work my butt off to continue with my music and I love that you have faith in me. It’s really cool to think that there are people out there that are listening to me.
BTS: What should we be looking forward to seeing from Kenzie Moore in 2016?
Kenzie: I recorded three more songs in New York and I’m working on a full length, I’ve got most of the songs already written. Maybe doing more live performances as well!
You can find Kenzie on Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram
Buy and/or listen to her EP ‘Stories’ on Spotify or iTunes!
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