When we first met KITTEN in 2010, we were well, …smitten. So much so that frontwoman Chloe Chaidez took over TVD for a week as the band went from CMJ to the UK. KITTEN had just released their first EP “Sunday School,” and Chaidez was already coming into her own Karen-O-meets-Cat-Power-meets-Annie-Lennox-meets-something-completely-new at 15 years old.
Fast forward two years and KITTEN has kicked off a Summer tour with The Pomegranates and has a new EP “Cut It Out” hitting store shelves on August 28, and a full-length album due out early 2013. Just yesterday KITTEN released a banging new track off the August EP, “Japanese Eyes.”
Chaidez, now 17, has used the past two years to hone her mature vocals, badass vibe, and KITTEN as a band. Chloe confides she’s “really fortunate” to pursue her love of music having picked up her first instrument, a bass, at 10. When it comes to making music, “It’s not something I thought of. ‘Oh this is what I like, I want to do this,’” she said.
Chaidez says she’s learned “how to get to my vision quicker and have it more realized,” adding that working with the same people for years helps the music come together, especially with a “level of comfort and understanding of the music and what you guys all want.”
That badass vibe comes naturally to Chloe, who was way ahead of most of her 15-year-old peers when KITTEN was birthed, listing early influences such as Ian Curtis and Joy Division, Cat Power, Karen O, Annie Lennox, “and a lot of ‘80s!” Also cool? Chaidez in the “Cut It Out” promo images. “I want to be gold!” Chaidez shouts down the phone.
Chaidez’s stage presence is nothing short of electrifying; she’s constantly in motion—dancing, playing an instrument, flipping her hair—often all at once. Chaidez is even known to swing from the stage, which hasn’t always bode well. Two front teeth were chipped after some rafter-swinging, but true to form, future acrobatics are undeterred.
Chloe is ready to be touring again. “Everything’s so unexpected on the road. There’s always new people and buildings.” She says she’s looking forward to exploring Philadelphia on the city’s tour stop. So who inspires her onstage groove? “I’ll just be watching an Iggy Pop documentary and I’ll find myself dancing like him, or the guy from the Talking Heads,” she adds.
We’re excited for KITTEN’s summer tour as well and we’ve asked Chloe to check in from the road—a TVD Tour Diary, if you will. Keep your eyes peeled for that, and be sure to check out KITTEN at venue near you. You can also pick up a copy of the “Cut It Out” EP at the merch table on tour before the official August 28 release date.
And because we’re The Vinyl District, we had to ask Chloe about how she likes to listen to music: “I like Spotify, and I also like vinyl. I like what vinyl represents, and listening to a whole record.”
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On Tour 2012
7/18 – Atlanta, GA at The Masquerade
7/20 – Jacksonville, FL at Jack Rabbits
7/21 – Orlando, FL at BackBooth
7/22 – St. Petersburg, FL at The Local 662
7/24 – Raleigh, NC at Kings Barcade
7/26 – Washington, DC at DC9
7/27 – New York, NY at Mercury Lounge
7/28 – Boston, MA at TT the Bear’s Place
7/29 – Philadelphia, PA at MilkBoy
8/1 – Lansing, MI at Mac’s Bar
8/2 – Chicago, IL at Beat Kitchen
8/3 – Akron, OH at Musica
8/4 – Toledo, OH at The Ottawa Tavern
September, LA Residency
9/3 – Los Angeles, CA at Bootleg Bar (11PM)
9/10 – Los Angeles, CA at Bootleg Bar (11PM)
9/17 – Los Angeles, CA at Bootleg Bar (11PM)
9/24 – Los Angeles, CA at Bootleg Bar (11PM)
