Artists to Watch: Kitty, Daisy & Lewis

The trio Kitty, Daisy and Lewis were decked out in their finest, all dolled up and ready to perform at Sunday’s All Points West show as they made their rounds backstage to partake in numerous interviews heads turned, “who are those guys?” inquired a young journalist who writes for Billboard.com. I handed over my ipod told her, “here see for yourself,”and pressed play. She smiled after about 30 seconds of listening to “Buggin Blues” the second track on their US debut album. “They look just like they sound, like old school rock n roll” she said.

That day would have marked their NY/NJ debut but sadly their performance was rained out. Prior to our sit down, as we cautiously avoided mud puddles and made our way towards solid ground I asked the ladies how they could possibly walk around in their pretty shoes in such horrid conditions, Daisy shrugged and said, “well they’re all fucked up anyway” and informed me that the heels made her feel as if she was “floating” above all the muck.

The London natives have been keeping busy touring stateside with Coldplay, “we’ve done about a month already,” explained Daisy the eldest member of the group comprised of siblings who along Kitty, the youngest member, sings for the group comprised of multi-instrumentalists. Daisy not only provides vocals but also plays the drums, piano, accordion and xylophone.

“It’s a bit weird,”added Kitty, drummer harmonica, ukulele, banjo, trombone and guitar player, in regards to opening up for Coldplay, “we’ve been playing at like open stadiums and since we’re the first band on a lot of the front seats are empty but there are thousands of people in the back but because they are so far away we can’t really see them or feel their vibe. It’s a bit weird but some of [the shows] have been good. We’re use to playing tiny clubs where we’re with the audience and where we can look at their faces.”

One could argue that their sound pays homage to 1950s R&B and Rock n Roll but for Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Lewis being the middle child and sole male member who also sings occasionally and plays guitar, piano, banjo, lapsteel and drums, it’s a bit deeper than that they are reviving a musical genre and recording format that may seem foreign to kids their own age. Their songs have a vintage quality to them (they sound like they were recorded in that era) largely because they record on analogue and do not use computers or any other form of digital recording devices, their home studio consists of 1940’s and 50’s recording equipment such as 8 track tape machines and vintage BBC and RCA microphones.

One of their earliest influences comes from home, “Our dad use to sing to us with his guitar,” explained Daisy proving that music is in their blood. “[Our parents] didn’t really influence us in terms of music or introducing us to rock n roll we’ve kind of introduced our parents to r & b and jazz albums,” but she says that being exposed to music early on did further their interest in music as a whole.

As far as what the future holds for these young talents we’ll just have to wait and see but for now you can catch them on the road with Coldplay (at least for the next week or so) after that they’ll be performing on Jimmy Fallon’s late night show. Their self-titled debut album hits US stores August 25^th. For more on Kitty, Daisy & Lewis check out their myspace at myspace.com/kittydaisyandlewis