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Kitty and the Can Openers are a band for those who appreciates the sounds of folk/pop with a lot of acoustic; female vocals, guitar plucking, brilliant bass and rolling drums. The sounds of Fleetwood Mac and Nick Drake, Ani DiFranco and Elliot Smith quickly come to mind.
The band officially released their first, self-titled, EP on Thursday 13th November in McHughs Bar, Belfast and is available through the band’s website, as a cd or free download.
They were interviewed in the latest issue of AU magazine. The full interview is available below.
There is a graceful, understated charm to the indie-folk of Kitty and the Can Openers. The endearing melodies of their eponymous debut EP are sun-dimples but hint at rain clouds on the horizon. It’s sweetness tempered by the realisation that all good things really do come to an end. Here, the group details their journey to date.
First off, I have to ask, where does the band name come from?
Ciara: The pairing was chosen literally at random from a children’s story book and we adapted it to make it sound like a Fifties style rock ‘n’ roll band - Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Johnny Kidd & The Pirates etc. We wanted something retro but wit ha kind of youthful sparkle to it. We like it. It’s pretty, playful and unpretentious.There is a lot of local colour in your music - ‘Roll On Yesterday’, the opening track on the EP, finds you name-checking Carnalea and Helen’s Bay. Is it important to you to retain that sense of place in your music?
Ronan: Yeah, we wanted to for Bangor what ‘Born To Run’ did for New Jersey! I think using specific places is a great way of coaxing the listener’s imagination. ‘Georgia On My Mind’ and ‘Scarborough Fair’ are just two examples. It’s important to relate a feeling to somewhere real - you make the listener feel at home as you draw them into your world.The pull of nostalgia is apparent in many of the songs - the backwards glance, the sharing of memories and moments. Is that one of the main lyrical inspirations?
Ronan: Definitely. Our songs are about hanging out, getting drunk, falling in love - things that don’t qualify as extraordinary at the time. You need that bit of distance to appreciate what an experience does for you. Songwriting is a great way of quantifying what has happened to you in your life, however you choose to disguise it. What we love about the best pop music is that you can get drawn in with a hook without realising you’re stealing a part of that person’s inner existence for three minutes. It’s like telepathy.In a song like ‘Cold Wind’, the guitar playing is somewhat reminiscent of Nike Drake. Would he be an influence to any degree?
Ciara: Of course! The acoustic guitar is a big part of our sound. We also use a variety of Drake-esque tunings, and Ronan has adapted that predilection for making up his own - the lazy man’s way of getting the pretty sounds flowing!For every act, the debut release is a milestone moment. What do you hope to achieve with your forthcoming EP?
Ciara: We have made the record downloadable from our website, so the aim of the launch is to get stuff out there, hope people enjoy it, and essentially pave the way for the next one. We’re planning it already - we’ve got more material than we know what to do with.Would you say that this release represents your proudest achievement to date?
Ronan: We’re like parents watching our kids shuffle off to college! Yes, it’s nice to finally get some exposure for the music we’re grafted out over these past few years. Recently, and by sheer chance, we heard ‘Roll On Yesterday’ on Steve Lamacq’s show on BBC Radio 2. That was a pretty proud moment.
Kitty and the Can Openers have three gigs coming up in the next week, in preparation for their EP relaunch gig in November.
Tuesday 28th October
Auntie Annies, Belfast
Supporting Wallis Bird
9pm. £6
Wednesday 29th October cancelled
The Pavilion Bar, Belfast
Underground Fundraiser
Friday 31st October
Common Grounds, Belfast
8pm. Free.
Kitty and the Can Openers on BalconyTV
You can download their full E.P. on the band’s website.
Not long left to vote for the band on SlicethePie
What is SlicethePie?
Slicethepie is a web based artist financing engine that raises money for artists to professionally record an album. It enables users to invest in, profit from, and trade in artists’ success by turning every music fan into a talent scout and investor.
On Slicethepie:
Artists can raise money directly from their fans to professionally record albums
Fans can become emotionally and financially involved at all levels of the music industry - scouting, breaking, investing in and influencing real artists
Investors can gamble on, trade in and profit from the success of these artists
Artists who secure finance pay Slicethepie a small royalty on album sales but keep all their copyright and publishing rights.
Essentially, Artsits join an Arena and once the arena is full (up to 1,000 artists) the Scout Room opens. The 20 highest rated artists from the Scout Room go forward to the Showcase.
In the Showcase fans vote for and finance artists by buying Backstage Passes. Fans buy Contracts that entitle them to a return based on the number of singles and albums sold by the Artist over a 2 year period.
The Artist receives the money (non-recoupable) and goes off to record the album, keeping in close contact with Backstage Pass holders in a private area of the site. The Contracts become fully tradable on the Slicethepie Exchange, fluctuating in value depending on the anticipated number of album and single sales.
The album is released and Slicethepie receives £2 royalty on every album sale. The Artist keeps all their copyright and publishing rights and remains free to sign a record deal at any time.
Kitty and the Can Openers are one of only 16 bands in the current Showcase. If they get plenty of votes they will win £15,000 to put into recording an album. I would like to ask you to vote for Kitty and the Can Openers, the only Irish band in the current Showcase, and help them win this! It would mean a lot for this band. Don’t forget there are some free MP3s to help you make up your mind on their website!
All you have to do is sign up to the site (you have more than one email address you say? Why not add a few more votes!) and vote for the band on this page!
Thanks!
Kitty and the Cna Openers launched their website yesterday, so head over to www.KittyandtheCanOpeners.com for free mp3 downloads, photos, live dates, and various updates through the blog, with the occasional spot of home recording in the mix.
The band’s first E.P. can also be purchased through the online store.
