Q + A with Kink Ador on Style Defined Blog NYC

A little Q + A with Kink Ador

Katya - You guys are based in Nashville.

Sharon - The move to Nashville happened because I knew I wanted to make music and Nashville is a place I could afford to do it. And there’s a lot of rock bands doing really well being based out of Nashville.
Brad - And everyone who goes there is…they’re dreaming so hard and so there’s this dome of hope over the city because we’re all working so hard to make something happen so it’s just an awesomely inspiring city.
Sharon - And if you go by city mottos – they call it music city!

Katya - Who are some of your inspirations – musically or otherwise?

Sharon - Well you mentioned one before we began the interview which is Prince. Not so much stylistically but as an amazing performer who puts on a killer show every single night no matter what and that’s something we love to do and are inspired by. And The Red Hot Chili Peppers…The Yeah, Yeah Yeahs…
Brad - I think the spoken word: writers, poets and those who just want to do there thing and give it back.
Katya - What about writing the songs? How does that work?

Sharon – I come up with the structure, the lyrics, the melody and then I bring it to the guys. I have to have it as a complete thought or idea that I can defend and then let them hack away at it and then we polish it and it becomes a song. It really is collaborative but I start by steering it in a certain direction.
Brad - and then we steer her in another direction!

Katya - Are your songs based on your own life?

Sharon - We base them on a lot of things
Andrew - Class struggles of the Russian Oligarchy!
Sharon - Our song Animal is inspired by Toni Morrison’s book Beloved. The idea of freedom and finding your own path.

Katya - So you’re currently touring. How do you like it?

Andrew - We love it. We’ve all had day jobs and this is the best one so far.
Brad - When you go to a show and you feel that and are gone from your reality…and you leave and feel better…that positive energy that comes from being a part of that –that performance- that is what it’s about.
Katya - Do you feel like people in different areas have distinct energies or are the audiences kind of the same everywhere?

Andrew - I think everywhere we’ve played people have slightly different expectations. We’re sometimes playing with what seems like very random acts so you don’t know what the audience is expecting. But we’ve found that the more we play the more we realize that whether or not people have an idea about us by the end of the set we’ve won them over. Like we were in Chicago a few weeks ago and there was this man…this giant tree of a man that could break you in half and we thought whoa this is gonna be a tough crowd but by halfway in the set he was dancing his ass off. And that’s just an example…it’s not anything we know how to do, it’s just there’s this connection between the 3 of us that people are drawn to –they see how much fun we have and they can’t help but smile.

Katya - It’s infectious!

Andrew - Yeah, like swine flu! (laughter)
Brad - It’s fun! Somebody said to me you know I don’t know what it is about it – I don’t know what I’m gonna hear but I know I’m gonna have fun.

Katya - So you have an album out called Animal. How would you describe it?

Sharon - The EP "I Am Animal" is a collection of songs that really define the Kink Ador sound. Especially the song ' Animal.' The grit of the guitar sounds, the primal rawness of the bass and drums, and the journey that is happening in the lyrics create a unique tension that defines the sound of the band. We tried to go for fresh sounding rock and roll on the record, and i think we have achieved that.

Katya - And where can people get it?

Sharon - Get it off of iTunes or directly from us on the Kink Ador website.

Katya - Okay, that's it. Thanks guys!

Andrew, Brad and Sharon rocking out!

Kink Ador on Style Defined blog NYC

http://styledefined.blogspot.com/search/label/Listen

Listen: Kink Ador

Andrew Sovine, Sharon Koltick and Brad Naylor

I had the chance to catch this Nashville based band at a private show at The Delancey tonight. They're great performers with a fun and infectious energy. You can check out their recent video here. But, even better you can see them LIVE this Thursday night - as in TONIGHT- at Webster Hall at 9pm along with Ten Feet Deep, Glenton Davis and Cass Dillon. ...and read my Q+A with them in the Musings section.

Kink Ador on JBTV Chicago

Jerry Bryant over at JBTV has posted all the Kink Ador performances and interviews, we are joining some pretty great company by being on JBTV!

Kink Ador on TV: JBTV Chicago
with Host Jerry Bryant - taking on Brad, Sharon & Andrew

6 Interviews at JBTV Chicago:
- Kink Ador Trailer
- DIY Do-It-Yourself
- Making the ANIMAL Video (with commentary from the band)
- Gear Talk - Andrew, Sharon & Brad
- Band History...
- Sharon: Growing Up Near Chicago
http://www.jbtvonline.com/interviews/recent/Kink-Ador/trailer

- "Behind The Scenes" video collage w Baby You're No Fun
http://www.jbtvonline.com/interviews/recent/Kink-Ador/trailer

10 songs - In-Studio Performances at JBTV Chicago

Kink Ador joins a long list of interviews at JBTV:
- No Doubt with Gwen Stefani
- Barenaked Ladies
- 30 Seconds To Mars
- Wilco
- Dave Matthews Band
- Alanis Morissette
- Fall Out Boy
- Jeff Buckley
- Duncan Sheik
- Paper Route
- Metric
- Jonny Lang
- Adam Ant
- Jewel
- Sarah McLachlan
- CAKE
- Chris Isaak
- Los Lobos
- Flaming Lips
- Silverchair
- Goldfinger
- Toad the Wet Sprocket
...and dozens and dozens more...

Kink Ador on CD Baby Music Discovery Podcast

Kink Ador is one of five featured artist's on CD Baby's Music Discovery Podcast which features top picks of the best new music on CD Baby.

Listen at the link or download on iTunes: http://musicdiscovery.cdbabypodcast.com/?p=242

Kink Ador brings their unique blend of indie rock to The Rutledge

After relocating to Nashville from Indiana in 2007, Kink Ador's Sharon Koltick made the move to pursue music and with the thought of putting a band together. "I had met drummer Brad Naylor, the other founding member of the band, through a mutual friend. We got together at 12th & Porter to watch a local band play, and just really struck a chord with each other and started making music after that," revealed Kiltick when I spoke with her recently.

If you're just not hip to Nashville's Kink Ador, you might think it's a person, rather than an rockin' foursome, and according to an interview posted by lead singer and founding member, Sharon Kiltick, that's really not so far fetched. In the video interview posted on the band's YouTube page, Sharon explains the origins of the name. It seems that she was reading Ada or Ador: A Family Chronicle by Russian novelist, Vladimir Nabokov. "It's a book about family dynamics, sex, and love and everything else and I just loved how he plays with words and language. I wanted a name that sounded cool that sounded like the name of a person. To me the band is a whole other thing beyond any one person, so I wanted a type of first name and last name," explained Sharon. She landed on the name Kink Ador, and offered further reasons when she expanded on the subject by adding, "Adore what's not normal, what's on the fringe, what's different, what's sexy and dangerous and I just thought Kink Ador fit that."

The juxtaposition of the group goes beyond the name. Even Sharon herself is a bit of a conundrum, with her blonde hair, blue eyes and and relaxed off-stage persona. Once she steps on stage to front the band, she morphs into an indie hybrid, whose sound is reminiscent of Debbie Harry circa 1986's Rockbird with a touch of early No Doubt.

Even the band's website alludes to the recurring duality. They cleverly boast both a Hollywood Version of their bio, as well as a Tabloid Version. Koltick had this to say when I mentioned the apparent duality, "I like that you picked on the duality of the name and of the band. Kink Ador is just that, you have the kinkiness of being an artist discovering the depths of life and expression, and also having a desire to just have fun, and make love out of life. We try to do both in our music."

The band's official site continues to delve into the double-edge of Kink Ador by also likening their two guitarist to two different forms of currency. "The guitar players in the band have been through a little shuffling, but now we have Andrew Sovine and Steve Cunningham as members of the band." happily reports Koltick.

Of the bands music, Koltick is quick to classify their sound as rock, but just as quickly clarifies what sets them apart from the sea of indie rockers currently populating Nashville and any other major metropolitan area, "Our songs sound different than other rock bands because of the way we write. All the songs are built from the ground up; I write everything on the bass guitar, and build the melodies around that. Then I take the song to Brad and we arrange the song. Then the last element is always the guitar." She drives her point home with, "I think this focus on building the groove first, sets our music apart. Most band will write from guitar."

When asked to site the band's influences, Sharon sites, "Funky rockers like TV On the Radio, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Brazilian Girls." Side Note: TV On the Radio is one of my favorites. Check out the NY-based art rockers' Dear Science CD, in particular, the single Dancing Choose.

As for Kink Ador, be sure to check out their show tonight at The Rutledge to get familiar with Sharon, Andrew, Steve and Brad, and to hear them perform songs from their upcoming EP, I Am Animal, dropping July 16. Among the tracks on Kink Ador's playlist, the rockin' Animal, Baby You're No Fun Anymore, which exemplifies the aforementioned juxtaposition with a lyrical lament of a flatlining relationship backed by a beat that could easily accompany a traditional latin dance track. Gone, Gone, Gone is another track featured on the Animal EP. Again, the lyrics tell the tale of yet another love gone wrong, but this time the feel is more traditional indie rock and could easily be an old Patty Smyth track.

Kink Ador will be joining Cory Lamb and Mother Father tonight at The Rutledge (410 4th Ave. South near Downtown Nashville). Music is set to begin at 7:00p.m., with Kink Ador taking the stage at 8:45 p.m. The Rutledge is an 18 and up music venue and cover for tonight's show is $5.

Kink Ador brings their unique blend of indie rock to The Rutledge, by Jonathan Pinkerton
published July 14th 2009, at Nashville Examiner
Kink Ador frontwoman, Sharon Koltick

Kink Ador w/Pale Blue Dot at The Basement, Critic's Pick Nashville Scene

Kink Ador w/Pale Blue Dot at The Basement
Kinky and Blue Nashville Scene Critic's Pick

By Emily Bartlett Hines
Published on July 01, 2009 at 3:40am

How might one describe two engagingly eclectic bands who share the same bill at The Basement? East Nashvillians Pale Blue Dot have earned acclaim for gritty and impassioned music that’s been described variously as garage-folk, “Neil Young with the wit and deviance of The Kinks,” and a Southern Fleetwood Mac (mostly because bandmates Scott and Kim Collins are married). Meanwhile, Kink Ador’s website compares them to Talking Heads and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, with a frontwoman “like Sting from The Police, except likable.” (Another enlightened critic, at CDBaby, calls them “quasi-Britpop”—which makes sense, sort of.) But the welter of hyphenated genres and “Belle and Sebastian-meet-Black Flag”-style band comparisons can get confusing. So I’ll defer to a music-fan acquaintance who vouched for the bands’ appeal in simpler terms: “They’re just kinda, like, good, in a way that I don’t hate it.”
Fri., July 3, 8 p.m., 2009

Meet Kink Ador, by Angie Bianchi of the Nashville Indie Music Examiner

Meet Kink Ador
June 29, 2009 by Angie Bianchi of the Nashville Indie Music Examiner

I couldn’t find a bio for Kink Ador anywhere. Because they don’t have one! So, upon meeting the three core band members for coffee and discussion, we decided now was the time to write one. Here goes:

Lead singer and bassist Sharon Koltick had been stirring over the idea of starting a band since before she moved to Nashville. She met drummer Brad Naylor at a show one night at 12th & Porter, and they mutually decided the time to start that band was at hand. Over the course of the next year, they tried different elements, and different guitarists, trying to find the right sound for their brainchild, called Kink Ador. Last fall they came to realize that Steve Cunningham, who they had found on Craigslist, was the guitarist they’d been looking for. Along with an additional guitarist, and occasionally a sax player, the current line up of Kink Ador was set.

The name is another story in itself, of course. Koltick insisted that no one band member’s name be used in the band name. She thought the word “troubadour” accurately described the life of a musician, but it just wasn’t sexy and kinky enough. Hence, Kink Ador.

The band has been busy working on their upcoming EP, due out July 16th, called I Am Animal. They had thought about only releasing it digitally, but are proud that they decided to have actual CDs made for their shows. Koltick, Naylor, and Cunningham wrote the tracks together, each bringing their own unique talents to the process. Naylor describes that process like this:

"Sharon Koltick is the catalyst thrower, and then I catch the ideas and put them in the right places."

Koltick adds:

"And Steve has all this knowledge of music theory and melody…that brings crazy grooves."

The title track, I Am Animal, is about the journey from slavery (physical or mental) to freedom. They describe it as bringing together blues with dirty rock guitar, funky tribal percussion, and soulful horns. A tall order, which sets the bar high for the rest of the tracks on the EP. Guest musicians on the EP include Kenny Olsen (Kid Rock), Scotty Huff, Michael Esser, and Danny White.

Fans and friends can hear Kink Ador’s new songs live this week, when they play Friday night at the Basement. The lineup for the night will include fellow local acts Maureen Murphy, Ernest Chapman, Brandi Sellerz, and band Pale Blue Dots.

Kink Ador’s set itself promises lots of excitement, with guest percussionists and vocalists, and even some spoken word segments. There is also a rumor that Steve Cunningham may dress up like Freddie Mercury… but at the very least, he’s looking forward to being able to play from the audience on his wireless guitar.

Drummer Brad Naylor remembers the Basement being the second venue he ever visited in Nashville, and he feels he’s “made it” every time he can play there and fill the place. The last “Kink Ador & Friends” was a sell-out success, so show up early and get a good spot for this Friday’s fun!

What: Day Before the Big Bang with Kink Ador & Friends
When: Friday, July 3rd. Doors at 8pm.
Where: The Basement
Cover: $5

original post at: Angie Bianchi Nashville Music Examiner

Local Spotlight: Kink Ador, by Nicholas W Young

Local Spotlight: Kink Ador
by Nicholas W Young on June 25, 2009
in Downloads, Music

Kink Ador - "I Am Animal"

A year ago, I was struck by a glitzy, rock ‘n roll freight train, and now, just as I’m recovering, here it comes again. Sharon Koltick, Brad Naylor, Steve Cunningham, and Andrew Sovine – collectively known as the Nashville rock band, Kink Ador – have been tearing it up around town for some time now. Occasionally, they’ll add saxophonist Ray Warfield to the lineup, when they need some soul.

Their new EP, ”I Am Animal” – featuring legendary guitarist Kenny Olson - drops July 16th, ‘09, and is available for pre-order now. Embedded here, I’m proud to present the second track – “Baby, You’re No Fun Anymore.”

Original post at:
http://nicholaswyoung.com/2009/06/25/local-spotlight-kink-ador/

Nuvo pick for this week

NUVO
——————-
Eclectic
John Barrett’s Bass Drum of Death, Kink Ador, Santos and the Saint, T.J. Reynolds
Radio Radio, 9 p.m., $5, 21+
1119 E. Prospect St., futureshock.net

Sharon Koltick, vocalist for the now-defunct Indianapolis/Lafayette-based ska-punk band The Malconents, is back from Nashville with her latest project, the taut and slightly glam indie-rock band Kink Ador. With Indiana-based reggae band Santos and the Saint, one-man garage blues performer John Barrett and local poet/MC T.J. Reynolds (of NUVO fame). -SS