She’s just a genius, really, with melodies and lyrics. “I think Sia’s gift is sensitivity, really feeling deep, deep emotion. “She kind of tuned into what she thought I was feeling.” That empathy, Pierson says, is Furler’s true songwriting talent. “She called me up one day and said, ‘I just wrote this great song for you, it just kind of popped out,’” says Pierson. “And we went with Sia on this trip to Tulum, and Monica just mentioned to her on that trip, like, ‘It’s Kate’s dream to finally accomplish this, can you give her a little kick start?’” Furler was happy to oblige, setting Pierson up for writing sessions with her friends Dallas Austin, Nick Valensi of The Strokes, and Chris Braide, and penning songs herself, including, “Bring Your Arms,” inspired by a sea turtle rescue that the women had witnessed in Tulum. “Monica knew how much I wanted to do this record,” recalls Pierson. But it wasn’t until 2012 that Coleman set the wheels in motion, by putting a bug in the ear of their mutual friend, a woman with a pop Midas touch, Sia Furler. So I guess I started to feel like I couldn’t write outside of those family boundaries.” The solo spark was lit anew in 1999 when Pierson wrote and performed songs with NiNa, a supergroup led by Japan’s Masahide Sakuma. And then when I got in The B-52s, we began to write collectively, collaboratively-most all of our songs are written by jamming together. “Back in high school I had this folk protest band, and I used to write all the time. “I’ve wanted to do a solo record for a long time,” says Pierson, on the line from upstate New York, where she lives in the country with her partner, Monica Coleman. That changes with this week’s release of Guitars and Microphones, Pierson’s solo debut. But until now, one description has eluded Pierson’s resume: solo artist. These days, she can add hotelier to her mantle, as the owner of two resort properties, Kate’s Lazy Meadow and Kate’s Lazy Desert, that are as retro-licious as the woman herself.
The flame-haired, siren-voiced singer, keyboardist, and bassist has a kaleidoscopic music career as well, having collaborated with the likes of The Ramones, R.E.M. Kate Pierson has been the most colorful member of that band from the onset-and we’re not just talking about her penchant for loud prints. Over seven albums, unforgettable music videos like “ Love Shack” and “ Roam,” and relentless touring, their sound evolved from cartoonish New Wave to a warmer, more genial pop rock, and their look borrowed from nearly every corner of the thrift shop. The party-hearty outfit from Athens, Georgia was born from kitsch, taking their name not from a warplane-they’re unabashed peaceniks-but from a beehive hairdo that resembled the plane’s nose. In fact, it’s hard to think of a band with a more brightly hued signature style. From left: Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson, and Kate Pierson.
0 kommentar(er)
