Kiss Kiss Fantastic come from Florida and California, they are a musical project made possible by the internet and spend most of their time sending music to one another. Tuckshop Community Radio managed to track one half down (Jeremy in Florida) and persuade him to discuss life, music and his local hood...
So Kiss Kiss Fantastic can you give us a summary of who you actually are?
We are Rachel Levy and Jeremy Mullins, both living in opposite ends of the American geographical spectra. Rachel lives in southern California, while I live, most annoyingly, in northwest Florida. We're two musicians who met harmoniously through a site called www.hitrecord.org; it's a wonderful site run by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt and his late brother Dan, and it's a place where anybody with any sort of artistic desire, be it photography, music, or video can post and mix up all the uploaded art. I came on around January of this year, and Rachel heard one of my songs (that would later become a single off our EP, "Red/Blue Shift") called "Violet". She loved it, and remixed it, basically, and what you hear on that album is what she came up with. I was so blown away by what she did, and sheepishly asked if we could form a band; to my surprise, she was more than excited, and from there, it took off.
We would like to know a little about the place you live in, if Tuckshop Community Radio were going to pull up into your "hood" in our Ice Cream van/tour bus where would you take us and how would we spend your day?
Well, living in northwest Florida, it's rare to see a ice cream truck, so I'd probably want to ride around the city of Pensacola (where I reside) and give out ice cream to all the kids. They don't get to enjoy that, even when it's insanely hot and humid. Other than that, I don't really think there's anything that's going to blow you guys away, Rachel included. It's got beautiful sunsets, but everybody gets those once in a while. We have painted bridges, haunted houses, and a battleship port. Other than that, there's really not much to this place. The only two things I can say I would have to show you guys directly depends on when you were here: 1. Every Wednesday near the time of an air show, the Blue Angels fighter planes practice in the skies above us. It makes for great fun, and they generally fly directly overhead. It's loud, but if you're not in the middle of doing something important, it's also quite entertaining. 2. I am not sure what kind of storms you guys get, but here, they can be so very violent. Not violent enough to produce a tornado or anything, but the convection storms we get are so chock full of hail, wind, and lightning, it can almost seem like the end of the world. Maybe it's me, but as soon as I see those dark, ominous clouds rumbling over the horizon, I get so excited. So, if I saw those in our Ice Cream van/tour bus, I'd sit us up on the highest hill and wait for the magic.
So we are always on the look out for local music, are there any artists closely that we should check out?
This question is so much better suited for Rachel. Where she lives, I'm sure there's tons of amazing music. And my answer could have more to do with my cynicism towards local music in general, but for a short time about 5 years ago, I dabbled in playing locally. Here, it's all about the sports bars and the clubs. The music I generally play doesn't go well there, especially since they're expecting Alan Jackson cover songs (or worse, Creed covers….). Music is pretty basic around here, hence why I had to find somebody outside my hometown to play to. I'm not saying there probably aren't good venues around here, but they're generally coffee shops or they're hipster garbage dumps, and I can't stand people who think being "scene" is something to wear on their hats proudly.
When you were at high school what category did you fall into? were you a geek, jock, stoner, cheerleader, etc etc
Hmmm, what was I?….Well, if my love of violent weather didn't give it away, I would say I was closer to the geek clique, I suppose. I didn't really fit in with those guys either, though. I always felt closer to that group, but then again, they always had their geekiness turned up to 11, and I wasn't about that. I tried to play sports, and was pretty decent at basketball, but that bored me, too. Also, I was a skinny little kid, so I had that going against me. I did hang out with a lot of stoners from time-to-time, but again, I didn't feel a part of that group. I just sort of floated around. I'm sure I could have fit into any crowd, mainly because I didn't talk very much, and when I did, it was usually unnecessarily sarcastic.
If we were to say to you "Cornish Pasty" would you know what this was?
I should ask my sibling; she'd know. She lives in a military base near London. But I shall not cheat! It sounds familiar…I seem to remember something to do with steak? I have no idea. No.
My mate Matthew Rodda, visited florida when he was 9 with his family, when he came back he had a photo of a snake round his neck, the autographs of Chip n Dale and an amazing sun visor in bright green with orlando emblazoned across it - living in Florida, can you relate to any of this?
Hells yeah, I can relate to that. The snake part, not so much. But I totally have photographs and autographs of Chip n Dale AND the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And Beetlejuice. That's central Florida, and that's the idea most people have when I ask them what they think of Florida (that, and that it's a giant retirement home - which isn't necessarily false - we have what we call "snowbirds": people who come down from up north during the winter to relax here). However, the more realistic version of Florida is a lot of backwoods people making a lot of backwoods decisions. Teachers get paid shit here, and educational funding is quickly becoming a joke. We're a big red state, and the "McCain/Palin" stickers all over the place are just…ugh, I just shudder to think of the ignorance. That's a good word. It's a bunch of ignorant backwoods people. If you've seen "Deliverance", then you've seen to what extent to which these people exist (to be fair, I lived in Louisiana for a while, as well, and it's the same there). And then, of course, there's Orlando and DisneyWorld.
How would you best describe your sound?
That's a great question. I used to think I didn't have my own sound - that I could be a chameleon. However, after playing for so long and writing as much as I have, I've come to realize that that isn't the case at all, and that I'm an idiot. My sound would be closer to a general melancholy noise, I suppose. I never really think about it that much anymore. I've come to realize that I shouldn't think so much when it comes
If you had to recommend us one book to read what would it be?
The 9/11 Commission Report. Want to get a sense of what America and its policies is really like? This is the book that will tell you. (If that doesn't interest you, then "Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton. I love that book - so much math and science joy to be had. Also, DINOSAURS.)
Did you go to your prom night? what did you wear and who did you go with?
Yes, actually, I did. I went with no one…just myself. I mean, I went with friends, but I was too shy to ask anybody, and I sure as hell wasn't going to get anybody to ask me. It wasn't bad, though. We had it at…well, know that I say it, it sounds so redneck, but we had ours at the zoo. I loved it. We had bamboo all over th eplace and there was even a train ride to see all the animals.
If there was a hurricane fast approaching and you had to lock yourself in a basement with only 3 albums what would you take and why?
Well, nobody really has basements around here, mainly due to the fact that we are right at sea-level (and in some cases, below). However, I love these types of questions. What 3 albums would I take? That's a tough one, obviously - let's see…
1. Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come : This album is the first of these three that changed my way of thinking about music forever. Every note on this album is absolutely perfect.
2. 12Rods - Split Personalities : Back when MTV2 played videos nonstop, I got a view of the video for their song "Split Personality", and I absolutely fell in love with this band. They were short-lived, sadly, but their albums have constantly influenced me. An absolute must-listen to? "I Wish You Were A Girl". Just amazing.
3. William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops : Okay, this one is a cheat. It's actually 4 different albums, but it's one full ambient collective. This music is the soundtrack of most my days, and I tend to fall asleep listening to it as well.
Please finish this sentence, Tuckshop Community Radio is…..
committed to excellence in music as an artform. I think.
To check out Kiss Kiss Fantastic please visit them on their myspace page.
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