A Visit With Kisses – New Songs, Tour Dates and More

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From KCRW DJ Marion Hodges:

Stream Kisses’ “People Can do the Most Amazing Things”

Kisses album art_I’ve been bopping around to the nine songs that comprise Kisses’ debut Heart of the Nightlife pretty much non-stop since well before I first wrote about them here eight months ago.  I was anxious to know when I’d have new songs from the local band to add to the rotation, so I decided to take matters into my own hands, and set up an interview.

The initial idea was to meet Kisses mastermind Jesse Kivel in Santa Monica at Bagel Nosh, a place we used to frequent when we shared the same office job.  However, given that we are both now pretty securely planted on the East Side, Viet Noodle Bar in Atwater Village for lunch it was.

Over sandwiches and spring rolls, Jesse and Kisses’ other half Zinzi Edmundson filled me in on the future of the project.

Good news first — there are new songs.

The bad news is that we won’t get to hear recorded versions of them until 2012.

Jesse’s other band, Princeton has recently completed their second album, and are busy figuring out what to do about it’s release.  Every song for every project has a time, a place, and a plan.  They are tucked neatly away in Mr. Kivel’s somewhat filing cabinet-esque brain.

The Kisses songs are there, ready to be played live and ready to be recorded once proper focus had been given to all of the goings on that Princeton would be involved with this year.

There are also songs for an as yet unnamed third project, which may very well also turn into new Kisses songs.  There is also the idea of finding the right producer to revisit Kisses‘ debut with.  Jesse’s face really lit up at the thought of finding just the right creative force to reveal new facets of the songs that he’s been living with and performing for the past two years.

It was easy to see that all of the calculation given to make sure each project shines as brightly as possible, all of their label quandries (find a label? self-release? start a label?), and all of the careful budgeting about picking good gigs is place simply to ensure that Jesse and Zinzi get to make music that they are really excited about.

With a mini West Coast Tour on the horizon, and yet another new remix of Heart of the Nightlife track “Midnight Lover” coursing through the internet, it seems that they will absolutely get to do that for as long as they want.

Kisses ‘Midnight Lover’ (Clancy Remix) by Clancymusic

— Marion Hodges

Kisses West Coast Tour Dates

03/04 Portland, OR – Peter’s Room

03/05 Vancouver, BC – Biltmore

03/06 Seattle, WA – Vera Project

03/08 San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop

03/09 San Diego, CA – Soda Bar