Needles & Grooves AotM /// Vol. 11 - May 2020 /// Kendra Morris - Mockingbird

[Skalap]

Hello Kendra,

Thank you for your time. I see that your first album Banshee had a release in France under Naïve label. When and how did you had this opportunity and why didn't it happen with your others albums? How was your experience when promoting your album here?

 

[Teeeee]

Hi Kendra - Thank you for being here!! I'm really enjoying Mockingbird and I'm probably not going to be able to make it here during the AMA so hoping submitting early is ok.

Can you give some insight into the songs chosen for Mockingbird - if any of the songs had special meaning to you throughout your life that influenced your decision to cover it? A story you would care to share about any of them?

 

[Skalap]

Other question. If you could make a second covers album, which songs would you pick (you have free budget, I'll cover artists rights).

 

[AndySlash]

ok, we are under two hours away from the AMA, which will be happening in this thread for ease of reading/replying and general visibility purposes. questions have started to come in, so head on over and ask yours!

 

[bfly]

loved reading the notes and prior questions with @AndySlash, and have enjoyed exploring your music through streaming. looking forward to getting my hands on the wax next week! thanks for hanging out and sharing with us.

- you have worked with many incredible and diverse artists- is there a current artist dream collab that you've never worked with before?
- if you weren't making music, what would you most likely be doing?
- what's your favorite NY slice?

 

[cul8er]

According to my USPS tracking, I should have your record today!
Hopefully I will be listening to it as you are answering questions, so here are a few from me.

What personality trait has gotten you in the most trouble?

Do you have a pet? and if so, if you could ask your pet three questions, what would they be?

Would you judge an album by its cover?

 

[KendraMorris]

Hey!

 

[KendraMorris]

This may produce an obvious answer, given some of the prolific artists you cover on Mockingbird, but who do you consider to be your musical inspirations, past and present? Any particular song/era/album that shaped you and your outlook?

Anyone that is able to pull off a soulful cover of a Metallica song is A-OK in my book.

hey! oh man.. I have a long list of ever changing inspirations.. Beach Boys, Les Baxter, Pink Floyd, a lot of 60's girl groups, I love Laura Nyro, Dionne Warwick, anything Burt Bacharach and I'm in heaven

 

[KendraMorris]

1 joke question and 2 serious ones

1. I asked Nicole Atkins this, describe yourself in a SpongeBob quote.
2. How do you feel about the club and being picked as a ROTM even if it's not as official as vinyl me please
3. How much interest have you had in vinyl across your life, what was your favourite record to ever get

1.hahha.. hmm I can't come up with any specific quotes off the top of my head but I think sometimes I get a little spacey and I could be a Patrick but when I'm really focused on a project I get a little Plankton and nothing can stop me.. but Plankton when he'
s not trying to be a jerk to sponge bob
2.I feel super honored to have been picked! As soon as Ryan asked me I got really excited! I love vinyl, have a lot of friends that collect.. I have on and off but I need a new record player.. booo.. I think collecting vinyl is one of the best things.. it's not only a stimulation for your ears but its a total physical and visual thing as well.. digital will never be able to touch what vinyl does
3.Ahh part 2 I kinda answer the.. but I've had a lot of vinyl interest.. I on and off have been a collector of many things.. old toys, kewpie dolls, trolls and definitely vinyl.. I love the entire process of going on a hunt for an album or a specific cover that brought me to an artist.. I feel like if you put out your music on a record you are taken more serious as well.. you gotta be serious to do it!!

 

[KendraMorris]

For the contributions you made on Czarface Meets Metalface, did you get to meet/share studio time with the enigmatic MF DOOM? How about Inspectah Deck (or Open Mike Eagle)?

Any future hip-hop collaborations on the horizon?

I unfortunately didn't get to share any studio time or meet MF DOOM , Deck or Open Mike Eagle .. I did all my vocals remotely at my producer Jeremy Pages (also part of Czarkeys ) studio in Bushwick .. he and 7L would have different vibes they wanted me to create vocally or with the song I did with Open Mike Eagle .. Phantoms.. that was a vocal sample from one of my older songs called Spooky Boy.. I would've met Deck when they were gonna play NYC this last January but the show was cancelled..

 

[Joe Mac]

Hey! Welcome to our little corner of the net? I have a few of questions for you!

1. Have you got any new material to be released soon?
2. Have you any plans to tour in Europe once we get back to normal? Would love to catch you playing in Dublin!
3. What‘s your poison?

 

[KendraMorris]

For the contributions you made on Czarface Meets Metalface, did you get to meet/share studio time with the enigmatic MF DOOM? How about Inspectah Deck (or Open Mike Eagle)?

Any future hip-hop collaborations on the horizon?

and yes! Always working on something or other.. I never really know exactly who/what I'll be collaborating on though until right before.. and Im always afraid to speak to soon and jinx myself! haha

 

[KendraMorris]

Have you been doing much writing during lockdown?

some but not enough!!! I got the crazy idea to do an hour of instagram live 7 nights a week with karaoke tracks and jokes and some originals and even a cpl ventriloquist dummies so that has kept me busy finding new songs everyday to do.. plus I had some vocals to track form others that have been due and had to get my own self recording area up to speed.. now I'm starting to cut back on the karaoke nights though so more time to write!!

 

[AndySlash]

welcome, kendra, and thank you once again for taking time to come to our little corner of the internet and sharing your world with us.

i want to ask about your music video and animation work - you do a lot of stop motion and collage work. can you give us some insight on what your inspiration for getting into this creative area was, and what your process of completing an animated stop motion video is like? biggest challenges, most rewarding aspects, that type of thing?

for those unaware, here's a couple examples of her work:


(you can buy a signed 7" of this song + remix on her website

 

[KendraMorris]

Hello Kendra,

Thank you for your time. I see that your first album Banshee had a release in France under Naïve label. When and how did you had this opportunity and why didn't it happen with your others albums? How was your experience when promoting your album here?

Yes! I was signed to Wax Poetics Records here in the states originally and when the record started to collect a little steam.. they didn't really have any European outlet so Naive and this European project producer showed interest and wanted to make the album more available over seas.. it was great .. however my contract ended with Wax and Naive wound up making some major label changes and basically no one was working the albums anymore.. for other stuff of mine.. I'm not a big business person.. just love making albums and art.. and when I did Babble I didn't try to shop it even.. I just wanted to put music out into the world and hope it found some good hands.. I do realize the importance of a team to help push a record though and am hoping with whatever I put out next the perfect team will be involved

 

[AndySlash]

2. Have you any plans to tour in Europe once we get back to normal? Would love to catch you playing in Dublin!

speaking of touring, when we first started communicating, you mentioned you were going to be touring the midwest a bit in may, right around now. obviously things changed pretty quickly after that and the tour was off, unfortunately.

can you tell us a bit about what your shows are like, your band, and the things you like to do on tour to keep sane?

also, you are in new york city, which has been hit hard by the effects of covid. beyond just the cancellation of your tour, can you tell us from your perspective how covid has impacted your daily life in nyc, your music plans, and anything else that might come to mind?

 

[KendraMorris]

H

welcome, kendra, and thank you once again for taking time to come to our little corner of the internet and sharing your world with us.

i want to ask about your music video and animation work - you do a lot of stop motion and collage work. can you give us some insight on what your inspiration for getting into this creative area was, and what your process of completing an animated stop motion video is like? biggest challenges, most rewarding aspects, that type of thing?

for those unaware, here's a couple examples of her work:


(you can buy a signed 7" of this song + remix on her webiste

Hey! yes!! I used to bartend dayshifts in an east village bar and would get bored with no customers so would collage the hours away and started making posters and art for my self releases.. then over time I started to want to push myself to do more.. I realized that the more visual art I threw myself into.. the better of a musician I was.. I really believe creatively is just the flowing thing and it's just how you direct it for yourself.. it just keeps building muscles in you! .. anyways.. when I realized how expensive it was to get music videos.. esp not having a label.. I just wanted to challenge myself.. I had a lot of visions ( still do!) and just figured.. why not be my own video artist too! then I'd post my art online and other musicians I knew through music started inquiring and then one thing led to another and before I knew it.. I was getting work through a lot of different projects..

 

[KendraMorris]

Hey! Welcome to our little corner of the net? I have a few of questions for you!

1. Have you got any new material to be released soon?
2. Have you any plans to tour in Europe once we get back to normal? Would love to catch you playing in Dublin!
3. What‘s your poison?

Yes! I do have new material to be released soon! It's in the works as we speak... I've worked with Jeremy Page (the producer on Mockingbird, Banshee, Babble etc) for 10 plus years and even when we don't have anything coming out.. I'm at his studio a few times a week writing and recording.. so we've been sitting on some gems as well as have been focusing on a full album.. no details yet but I'm excited for when it's time !!!
2. I'd love to get back to Europe! Hoping to line up a Europe booking agent when things smooth out sooner than later!
3.when I'm out and about Tequila! When I'm hidebound.. Watermelon Red Bulls for my uppers and wine for my downers!! haha

 

[Enaz Fox]

Spent my morning with the album and I am floored to be quite honest. I haven't got to keep up with the thread so I went in blind and I am honestly so happy I did. These are some fantastic, soulful takes on these tracks and with my next check this will be getting added to the collection. Thanks to @AndySlash for putting this together this month. Here's my question as a live music fan...

Curious if you have a favorite venue that you've had the chance to perform in? Be it for its acoustics/locale/architecture, whatever the case. And to follow that up, any venue that you would consider a dream venue? Really hope to catch you out on the road once all of this clears up. Thanks so much for stopping by and for giving all of us some great music.

 

[KendraMorris]

Hi Kendra - Thank you for being here!! I'm really enjoying Mockingbird and I'm probably not going to be able to make it here during the AMA so hoping submitting early is ok.

Can you give some insight into the songs chosen for Mockingbird - if any of the songs had special meaning to you throughout your life that influenced your decision to cover it? A story you would care to share about any of them?

I picked a lot of the songs off Mockingbird as a fan of the song writing for them each as well as a challenge.. sometimes to flip the song than entirely different version OR sometimes to take the sample the song was known for and challenge myself to do the entire version and give it my own spin (like with the WuTang CREAM sample ) ... I just remember going to my favorite karaoke place one night even and someone was doing Wicked Game or something and I was like... oh yeah!!! this song is incredible!