SS: I was wondering if you could talk about your latest album: how does it sound different that what you’ve done before, or what were you listening to?
MK: For my new record, “Young Love,” I was really in a beat-driven zone. So, we would go in and instead of getting a big band together, where you record a bunch of things, it was mostly just me and a friend sitting behind a computer. We’re banging on drums, clapping our hands and it really started a lot of rhythms. And then I started … figuring out what stories I could tell and could really stand behind. I was listening to things from Springsteen, ‘cause of his storytelling, to Drake and Kanye or something.
SS: Are those some of your major influences in general?
MK: Yeah, Springsteen would be a huge influence, his epic, endearing storytelling quality. I grew up listening to a lot of Tribe Called Quest, and De la Sol, that kind of thing. Old school skater hip-hop I guess. I listen to a lot of Bob Dylan; early U2 was a big influence at one point in my life. I’m always gleaning from a bunch of different things. Even country music, now that I live in Nashville — like Johnny Cash — is really finding a special place in my heart. And I’m a fan of music, so I listen to everything from classical to dirty south hip-hop.
SS: What prompted your move to Nashville, because you’re from Oregon, right?
MK: Yeah, I’m from Eugene, Ore. I was going to school in California and I met this producer and he said, “Hey, man” — we had recorded a few demos together — and he said, “I’m moving to Nashville. Will you help me drive?” He basically needed someone to help him drive across the country. So we packed up his truck and put a mattress on the back and basically slept our way across — that sounded bad — but we slept in the back of the truck across America. We got to Nashville, and I was only supposed to be there for the month and we started recording in his basement studio and that was it, this is what I want to do. Somehow, I’m still there.
SS: And you’re loving it?
MK: I love it. And with the Black Keys, Jack White, Kings of Leon kind of stuff that’s happening, there’s a very current rock scene that’s really developed. It’s just a really special musical place. But as a community appeal, that’s what I’m driven by, just this sense of community within your neighborhood, within the musical community, it felt like a place I could live.
SS: Are you really excited for the new Jack White solo album?
MK: Yeah. Yeah, I’m not a massive fan, I think Meg was amazing. I love White Stripes. I am a big Meg fan, I think she was the swagger. She wasn’t awesome, but she was awesome. But yeah, Jack is super talented. I love everything he does. I’ll probably pick it up at some point. I see him buying his coffee in the morning. He liked one of my guitars. Just saying.
SS: Can you talk a little bit about some of the tours you’ve done? Keane, John Mayer, Cary Brothers, Meiko — these people that are all awesome — can you talk about those a little bit?
MK: They’re all really unique and individual … John was really special ‘cause right when I was taking off, “Continuum” was a really beautiful [new] record. We opened the tour and basically would walk out and play in front of a sold-out arena every night. We played Madison Square Garden sold out: 25,000 people. They gave us a standing ovation, and we’re like “OK, maybe we’re supposed to do this.” Keane was amazing just cause they’re so talented. And then people that have opened for you, like Meiko, and Diane Birch is a friend of mine. You just form a little family with people you vibe with musically. You have this really intense shared experience and then you sometimes never see them again. Ingrid Michaelson and I did a co-headline tour and we did an iTunes session yesterday, so there are certain relationships that endure. It’s one of the more special things I get to do.
SS: What was it like touring with [Ingrid] and her band? They seem like a fun group.
MK: It was interesting because we’d alternate. She’d be first and we were both co-headlining the tour. It was about half-way through the tour and I said “I hate going on after you,” and she was like “I hate going on after you, I’ll open up the rest of the tour.” I felt like it wasn’t fair, because you couldn’t compete with them. They would play their songs and then at that point of the tour, they were ending their set with this Britney Spears full dance routine. [Laughter] It wasn’t even fair. They’d play her song and start dancing and do a full routine. And of course, the crowd would lose their minds. I’m not a Broadway show as well as a musician…. But that was amazing. They’re a great group. We had more bus dance parties than with any group I’ve ever had with really not hip-hop music. You come on my bus, I’ll play Rusko and groovy stuff. There, it was Harry Belafonte.
SS: During soundcheck you were playing some Rhianna, Adele. What other songs do you find yourself covering?
MK: I go through trends. I was way into covering older stuff: Springsteen and Tom Petty, classic covers that work. It’s not a time for me to show off all the weird bands I like. At one point we were trying to do a Bjork cover and it was just like “no one is going to know this song, guys.” I just enjoy those moments, but lately I’ve been doing a lot more pop songs, songs that are big right now that you get to put your spin on. Speaking of Jack White, one time I ran into him, and he was talking about how that used to be a part of pop culture: bands even in the ’50s and ’60s would cover the current song of their friend, and something about that’s fun for me. Doing a Rihanna song and making it believable that that’s mine, that’s interesting to me, more than going out and playing a Bob Dylan song that everyone knows. It’s like getting your big brother to fight a fight for you.
SS: Right, that makes sense. Just for fun: what is your guilty musical pleasure?
MK: My guilty musical pleasure, besides Robyn, I like Rihanna a lot. I like Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb.” It’s not about the hill, it’s about the climb. It’s not where you’re going, it’s the journey. I think that’s a good song. [Laughter]
SS: How do you delineate a “Christian artist” and an artist who is a Christian? How does that work for you?
MK: I love writing about my faith and my life goals and things I believe, but it was never meant for a certain kind of audience or to be sold in a certain kind of bookstore, or play on a certain radio station — I just want it to be part of the context of the world and the discussion that people are having about life and relationships, pain and joy and romance and all those different things. I grew up in Eugene, Ore. and I didn’t know there was Christian music. We listened to Paul Simon and Michael Jackson on our way to church. When I sat down to write songs it was me envisioning myself playing in those coffee shops in Eugene with my friends and people with varying different world views, being part of that discussion, and not backing down from who I am or what I believe but approaching it in a way that wasn’t offensive and off in the distance. At the end of the day, I’m a Christian, I love writing about my faith, but I don’t want to write music that’s supposed to fit into some category.
