"Nope, just exactly how it looks, 'kich'."
"Ohhh yeah! Like 'kitsch'!"
"Mmmhm!"
This conversation happens quite often when talking about our music duo. And I think it's a fitting topic for our first blog post. By the way if you're reading this, thanks for stopping by! At the end, I discuss a little about our purpose for creating the blog. But first, let's talk KICH! (Or....kitsch.)
Our band name was inspired by another word: kitsch. We were on a road trip across America earlier this year and driving along Route 66. We had seen a garden full of tutem poles (in the backyard of some old couple's home), a giant fake blue whale on the side of a pond, old cadillac cars sticking out of the ground, and so many other fascinating sites; things that can only be described as kitsch. We were at a Native American gift shop in Oklahoma and outside there were statues of buffalo covered in graffiti artwork that we decided to pose on for some pictures. It was at that moment that it hit us...So freakin KICH! It just felt right.
The term "kitsch" seems to have carried different meanings over the years. According to dictionary.com, the word is currently defined as:
"Something of tawdry design, appearance, or content created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating taste."
The word has also been described as:
| "A tawdry, vulgarized, or pretentious art, literature, etc, usually with popular or sentimental appeal." Or, even better: |
"An inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or
a worthless imitation of art of recognized value."
An art theorist in the 1930s, Theodor Adorno, even back then, stated that the immense popularity of kitsch is a threat to culture. Adorno termed the phrase "culture industry", which is "where art is controlled and formulated by the needs of the market and given to a passive population which accepts it."
Other words which might be listed in a thesaurus next to kitsch could be:
- Camp
- Cliche
- Schlock
- Snark
- Hipster
It can even be used in a fashion setting to describe something that is tacky, ugly, unsettling, vulgar, etc.
At the end of the day, what I've realized is that even though the definition of the word itself may be constantly changing and evolving, two things seem to always remain true: 1) It always carries a negative connotation and 2) It is usually in reference to art (of any form- music, literature, fashion, paintings, etc).
So at this point, you're probably asking yourself, "Well, why the hell did you guys choose that name in the first place? Isn't that then, as an artist, almost like shooting yourselves in the foot?" Well, that's a very good question, young man. Do allow me to take a few moments to try and explain to you our thought process. You may want to grab a cup of coffee.
In short, to answer this question that I know you most certainly have been asking yourself, we chose this name because...it's HILARIOUS! Why the hell not take a word with such an huge artistic impact, change up the spelling, make it ours, and OWN it? It's like a huge slap in the face. In a way, we're poking fun at the term. Saying that yes, we know what it means, and we're going to rise above it. But at the same time, we don't take ourselves too seriously (as people, not artists).
In terms of poker, by doing this we're "up'ing the ante." Yes, some people would call it a risk. But, what is art if you're not taking a risk? If you're not stepping out beyond your comfort zone, are you really making a statement?
Now in terms of our style, we love to wear puffy fur vests, high heels, and glitter on our faces for christ's sake. If that's not kitsch, I don't know what is! We love to have fun, enjoy life, be rambunctious, poke fun at ourselves and culture, laugh a lot, eat good food, make amazing friends, and enjoy every moment life has to offer. At the end of the day, that's what's most important. You could say that on the outside, what we're doing may sometimes appear to be "kitsch", but in fact, we want our message and our work to be anything but.
I feel that the problem with a lot of current artists and musicians is that they seem to take themselves so damn seriously. There also seems to be a lack of depth and meaning in popular music. That's exactly what we don't want to do, as KICH. We want to use our voice as artists to convey a positive message of truth, freedom, confidence, love, and non-conformity to the world, but do it in a way that can make people laugh, have fun, and enjoy LIFE. Our goal is to inspire people through popular music that by being true to yourself and following what makes you happy, you can find your purpose and start a revolution!
So, is our goal to redefine the meaning of "kitsch"? Hmm..not necessarily. If that happens, it will be a nice offspring of our main goals. Is our goal to develop KICH on our own terms and make it our own? Absolutely.
- Skye
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| The spot where we came up with the name KICH |
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| How can you get any kitschier than that?! |
Thank you for checking out our first blog! By creating this site, we wanted to form a space for us to freely discuss our opinions and views. This is one medium for us to create the world of KICH and The Jungle Tribe and to share it with you. This is an open forum and we certainly welcome comments and discussion on any blog topic. There's no posting schedule, we'll just write when we feel inspired to. Expect to hear opinions on any or all of our interests including music, fashion, theatre, television, books, movies, pop culture, etc.
The blog is run by Killian and Skye, who are both the front men of KICH and live in Hamilton Heights, New York City.
