Interview with Kari Kimmel

You’ve released your own album “A Life in the Day” and you’ve also written songs for everyone from the Backstreet Boys to American Idol’s Kimberly Locke. How do you balance those two career paths?

Well, the great thing about being both a writer and a singer is that I have the freedom to write whatever I’m feeling at the time. I love so many different kinds of music from R&B to Country to super pop, so whatever I’m feeling that day is what I write. Some of those songs work for me as an artist and some of them work much better for someone else.

Your songs have been used on dozens of television shows. Do you make a point of trying to watch them all?



Actually, it’s funny, because I pretty much never watch t.v.. I keep myself so busy with singing and writing and meetings, I never have time. Every once in awhile I’ll download a show I had a song in from iTunes. My grandmother has actually watched almost every show I’ve written for and gives me the rundown . She has even sat through The Hills and Laguna Beach and shows she would never normally watch. Then she calls me and tells me when my song was used, how long of a clip they used, what was going in that scene, etc. She’s awesome!!

You not only sang the theme song for Ella Enchanted, you also co-hosted the red carpet interviews for the premiere. What was that experience like?

That was so much fun!! It was my first time to ever host a show and it was really exciting to meet the cast and interview them and just have that whole experience. Jesse (McCartney) was such a sweetheart and every one I worked with at Miramax and Disney were great! My favorite part was probably getting a ton of amazing clothes – for free!! 



Do you see yourself pursuing additional journalistic efforts in the future?

Probably not. I wouldn’t be opposed to it, but I don’t have much of a passion for it either. My love is in music and anything surrounding that, whether that is singing, writing, producing…

What’s the difference between your work as a solo artist and your band Frill?

My music as a solo artist is more of a singer/ songwriter vibe – very influenced by musicians such as Carole King and Elton John. Frill has much more of a fun band feel influenced by bands such as The B-52′s and Blondie. I think there is definitely a time and place for both types of music. My artist music is much more introspective and I sing about real true feelings and experiences that people can relate to. The music we do in Frill is just about having fun, dancing, and not worrying about anything serious. Sometimes I don’t want to think and just want to be happy and listen to feel-good music that makes me smile and do silly dances and I think that’s what sets Frill’s music apart.

So far Frill has only released the song LOW and the accompanying video. Is there more coming on that front?

We are in the studio right now working on a few new songs. We wanted to release the video just to the friends and fans who have been following my solo career and wondering what I’ve been doing in the studio. Plus, I trust my fans. If they love it, then it’s good. I don’t really care if an A&R exec at a major label loves it. I care about what my fans dig, so it was kind of a test, and we’re really happy with the response!

What is it about Roxette’s “It Must Have Been Love” that led you to do a cover version?

A great song is a great song- even when it has cheesy 80′s production!! It was way cool back then! I have always loved that song and wanted to hear what it would sound like with a more sentimental feel that would really give life to the lyrics and not just the beautiful melody. I hope my version accomplished that. The original was freaking awesome, this is just a different take.

What are you working on next?

I’m working on more solo music as well as Frill. I have a song on the new soundtrack “songs inspired by the movie Wall*E” which will be released on iTunes the first week of July and then as a full hard copy cd sometime in November. I have a song airing on The “L” Word coming up as well as a few upcoming t.v. placements in the works… There are a few really fun things that I wish I could share, but I might get a bit kick in the booty if I do, so you might just have to check back in a month or two!