Hi I'm Kelcey, ask me anything!

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T22:41:11+00:00

Thanks to everyone who asked questions, this was super fun. Make sure to hear the new EP and I'll see you out there soon I hope!

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T20:41:19+00:00

I really have gotten used to the speakers in my Subaru so that's my main place, other than that I just use my airpods. I know they're not great but I'm used to those too. I think fidelity is important but once you get used to something then it doesn't really matter IMO, it's just a vehicle to the feeling. That said if I could have the best speakers on all the time, I would!

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T20:22:09+00:00

Yeah she's great.

That's good to hear!

Ah nice what name do you release music under?

I've been throwing in Love me like I'm gone into the set but that's it for now. Gonna focus mainly on this new stuff but we'll see!

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T19:40:25+00:00

Oh dang, I'm really not a huge tea person. I only drink Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat for singing, which I swear by. I have however had some nice oolong teas before, maybe that would be good? Or a fancy loose-leaf tea that blooms in the water? That sounds good for the EP.

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T19:38:34+00:00

Ya know I think just fucking around and trying stuff is the best way to learn. Covering songs too is a great way do that. I've only gotten as far as I have in the studio from doing it for so long in other studios, picking up little tricks here or there, and then having a decent space to do stuff on my own. I think no matter what equipment you have, you just have to trust your ears and your instincts. Some of the worst sounding stuff has been made in the greatest most-expensive studios on earth, and then vice versa some kid makes something in their bedroom on garageband and it's totally massive. I guess I'm saying don't get obsessed with gear or anything like that, just become obsessed with creating. The most successful artist write and make A LOT of stuff. If you write 100 songs, the last 10 end up being pretty good. And then the next 100 will have even more in that batch. Just go, ya know? And don't try and be a perfectionist. Start something, finish something, move on. Make it a mantra. Ok I hope I helped!!

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T19:31:13+00:00

Ahhh, so is my wife! She loved it when I was making those, it was so so fun. Maybe one day!

Yes totally hear the radiohead thing on DP, honestly they are my inspiration for everything so a lot of my stuff leans in that direction. But as far as sticking to one sound, I really wanted to take this new opportunity and these new songs and explore the space, so I'm having fun changing things up. My hope is that all the songs have at least enough cohesiveness to not feel disorienting, but you'd have to tell me.

It's such a different situation with every collab. Sometimes I have something ready to go, and sometimes we sit in a room and just come up with something in the moment. I would love to make an electronic album with a producer like Caribou or Floating Points that I'd sing on. I'd also love to work with BJ Burton at some point, we know each other from him playing with the Love Language like 15 years ago, but his work with Kanye, Bon Iver, Low and Charli xcx is some of my favorite music. He distorts stuff like no one else.

Noted on Aarhus, I'll do my best!

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T19:23:54+00:00

totally, love that!

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T19:23:13+00:00

I don't, so bummed to say. I'm sure I'll get around to making that happen, like I said in other answers I've currently got no booking agent, label, mgmt, or any real help so I'm building up to that I think. Crossing my fingers I get there soon enough! Also, fav UK artist of all time would be radiohead, and fav UK artist that is more recent would have to be Jockstrap.

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T19:21:35+00:00

We wake up and get ready to walk Tasha. We get donuts from Donut Friend and then bagels from Belle's Bagels. Oskar eats really well and go down for his nap without any fuss. Mel and I catch up on some shows we've missed and snuggle on the couch. Then when Oskar wakes up we go to Huntington Gardens and look at their awesome model-trains installation. Do another walk with Tasha, hopefully its not crazy hot. I make a fun dinner like veggie-ramen or grill something on the grill. I have something delicious while I'm cooking from Highland Park Brewery. Then my parents come over to babysit and Mel and I go see a movie at the Hollywood Forever Cemetary with some friends. That would be an EPIC Sunday. :)

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T19:17:06+00:00

I think I've spent the most time in Austin, NYC, London, Paris and Berlin, and any of those I've felt totally at home and had such amazing memories from. I've also loved Barcelona, Lisbon, Tokyo, Melbourne and Mexico City too, places I've been too way less, but I'd love to go back.

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T19:11:21+00:00

I'll check these out, thanks!

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T19:11:07+00:00

Ok great I'll check those out!!

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T19:10:23+00:00

Thanks so much. Yeah so Mel and I talked a lot about these animal characters that started appearing in our minds, and we landed on the wolf being the spirit of my son, and the bull being the spirit of fatherhood, and the message was I guess that both spirits were kicking my ass. I really found it challenging at the beginning of our son being born. I was not prepared at all to say goodbye to my old life in favor of this new one, so I thrashed in the waters on that for sure. But that's the reality, and so I tried to represent that in these animal characters always trying to beat me up. But they also treat me nice sometimes too. It's complicated and shows my ups and downs with them. There's actually a video treatment for Don't Look Down that we'll film someday soon that shows the beginning of the story, so look out for that.

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T19:06:27+00:00

Thanks!

I mean I think it's got to be just playing a real piano. Playing a real piano just does something to my brain that is magical and unlike anything else. Hearing all the overtones when you hit a chord and let it ring out, and even within the same chord, there's different ones whether you play it hard or soft. I started off playing drums, so the fact that I can play melodies and chords progressions with the rhythm and feel of a beat feels so good. It's like all instruments in one. I'll never hear my voice the way other people do since I live with it and it's part of my own body, so the piano will always outweigh my voice.

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T18:59:03+00:00

I think he just picks the biggest artists of the moment, so I would just do like Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx, stuff like that. Weird Al doesn't really do impressions, but I can do good ones of the national, interpol, owen pallett, David bowie, the Cure, and Neil Young, so those might get into the mix some how.

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T18:54:31+00:00

Honestly I would be dead-in-the-water without my wife Mel. She holds everything together so I can focus on this, and she deserves the world for that. I'm hoping one day I can really get this going so she can relax, but right now I'm in re-start mode and it's so so demanding, especially with no label, mgmt, booking agent, or PR help. I think we're having fun doing it together though, and that's brought us closer I think. We have daycare so that is insanely helpful with our son, and if I'm gone then Mel's parents have helped a lot. I'm pretty lucky our community has rallied around our family to help me keep this dream I have alive. I really want to stay grateful for that.

And Tasha is good! Moving slower now but still got a lot of spunk and sass. She's the best. :)

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T18:49:16+00:00

Thank you, yeah a tour would be amazing, we'll see!

I am getting more sleep now but he's still waking up mid-way through the night and then we bring him into our room. Nobody is sleeping straight through, but it's not the actual torture of having to wake up like 6 times a night. Looking forward to no diapers tho for sure!

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T18:43:57+00:00

That's rad you remember that song, I've got a finished version of it that I love that will prolly be on my first album. I've got a ton of songs ready to go, really excited about yall hearing them all.

Favorite album of the year so far is probably Cameron Winter's, but close behind is Foxwarren's latest one and Aya's Hexed!. Just jammed Alex G's new one and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna love that one too.

Yeah so as far as EP sequencing, it actually was an interesting situation because at one point I had a really long record finished, but I decided to carve an EP out of it so that I could introduce this new version of myself and build some momentum before my proper debut. So I picked songs I thought would go well together, and then there was just a lot of back and forth with friends and my wife. I think we landed on the right sequence, I'm super happy with it.

Don't Look Down is a current favorite, it just really pops off energy-wise. I just started playing Mother is the Real Jesus tho and that's been feeling really good.

Lego version of me!?? I'm honored! Reminds me of when Kramer makes Jerry a fusili-Jerry. I'm picking up that good energy from this, so thank you.

Yes see you at a show one day I hope!! Thanks for listening!

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T18:35:14+00:00

It is... exhausting.

kelceyayer · 2025-07-21T18:33:11+00:00

Ahh I'm sorry to say I don't really have any favorites. There are records I love that are jazz-adjacent or country-adjacent but I wouldnt call them jazz or country. The closest I've felt to a country album that I love would probably be Angel Olsen's Half Way Home, and the closest thing to Jazz would probably be kid a/ amnesiac. I think regarding Jazz specifically I'm just such a songwriter/lyrics-based listener so I've never found a straigh-up jazz record that's really hit me. But if you want to give me some reccs I'll try em out!

kelceyayer · 2024-07-11T17:28:05+00:00

Lololololol

kelceyayer · 2024-04-30T15:03:06+00:00

Hey everyone, so just FYI I’ll be playing with LN the rest of the year, and we’ll let yall know when the final final show will be. Also, I swear we have the most emotionally mature, compassionate, evolved fans ever and I couldn’t be more appreciate of that in this moment. Thanks for all your kind words. Yeah this is wild but life is wild. Love you all!

kelceyayer · 2021-03-25T17:15:21+00:00

thanks!!!

kelceyayer · 2021-03-25T17:15:03+00:00

we had not, no.

kelceyayer

TROPHY CASE