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| Photo by Seiji Inouye |
After seven plus years of constant touring with her band, Kopecky (formerly Kopecky Family Band), Kelsey Kopecky is ready for a run at a solo career.
While Kopecky (the band) will remain on hiatus, the split will bring us a new EP by Kelsey, The Babysitter Work Tapes. Today, we are excited to bring you its first single, “Love Me,” before the EP’s release this spring.
But first, the story of how we got here, when Kelsey Kopecky was finally off the road with her band.
“It all started when I moved into a new house and was waiting on my piano to be delivered by the movers a few days later,” Kelsey Kopecky tells Speakers in Code. “I wanted to write, so I found my ex-boyfriend’s electric guitar and a tiny practice amp, and started playing the few chords I knew. After a few weeks, I had the skeletons of about six songs. I recorded demos of the songs on my iPhone and sent them to my favorite producer, Danny Kalb (Beck, Ben Harper, Rilo Kiley). To my surprise, he loved the songs and agreed to produce my record. He loved the grungy sound of my garage and wanted to capture that in the lo-fi recordings. I love the way it sounds. No auto tune or digital corrections. I played drums, guitar, some bass, and had a field day! What a special time.”
Kelsey continues.
“If I were to elaborate about what it feels like to go solo and release my first single, the only thing I can say is it feels like I can be totally myself for the first time. I am using what I love about western music (not the musical styling, but the storytelling) to give live body details about funny situations in my life.
“I feel like I am connecting with some of my favorite voices of the past…Liz Phair, PJ Harvey, Joni Mitchell, etc. and can share deep thoughts about life with easy-to-tell stories. Like the idea of not wanting to own a bunch of homes only to work all day and never spend any time there. What’s the point of a life like that!?
“The song “Love Me” is about my new musical future. What it feels like to make music I care about again. To not be stressed to write the next radio single and appease labels and promoters. But to realize I’m having more fun in my garage with my drummer, Matt Scibilia and bass player, Aaron Simon, playing these songs that capture my mantra on life! When I remove the pressure of “I hope everyone will love my art” and focus on how fulfilled I feel while playing, I stop grasping and feel fully present! The songs embody the attitude of living your life with the perspective that every day can be Saturday. My favorite lyrics from “love me” are:
I think you and I could start a band / we could travel the world we could find some fans / let’s go and finally really say something / we’ll never talk singles or the bottom line / we’ll never make the music that the money buys / my soul needs a new kind of sound / what we started got lost in the background / have they bought it that thing we used to sing about”
Purchase “Love Me” on iTunes.