Kinky

Before forming Kinky, the funky electro-rock band that will rock your socks off, its five members knew each other for years from playing in different bands around their hometown of Monterrey, Mexico. The band members' diverse range of musical interests -- which include electronic, Latin and jazz, norteño and cumbia, rock and pop and trip-hop -- has enabled them to merge the worlds of rock and dance with such apparent ease.

Kinky's first steps to stardom began when the band -- which is comprised of singer/guitarist/DJ Gilberto Cerezo, keyboardist/programmer Ulises Lozano, bassist Cesar Pliego, guitarist CarlosCháirez, and drummer Omar Gongora -- won a battle of the bands contest among unsigned acts at the first Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York in 2000. Since winning the contest, Kinky hasn't looked back, hitting the road and generating an international buzz ever since, licensing their debut album to BMG for Mexico and South America and signing with Sonic360, a London-based indie label distributed by Nettwerk America, a larger North American indie distributor, for the U.S. and Canadian markets.

Although the group chooses to ignore language conventions -- most of the songs from their album and live set are sung in Spanish -- Kinky is primarily a dance band. Despite the fact thatKINKY, the bands self-titled debut album, has a firm foot in the world of electronic dance music, seeing Kinky live is quite an experience.

Later this month, the band's profile is likely to rise as they'll hit the road as part of the Unlimited Sunshine tour, sharing the stage with bands such as Cake, Flaming Lips, De La Soul and Modest Mouse. As they prepared to embark on that tour,StarPolish editorial assistant Kelly Aplin spoke with Kinky about the freedom of indie labels, and KINKY the album versus the band's live sound.

STARPOLISH:How long have you been on tour, and where have you been?

KINKY:We have been on the road almost a year, including festivals in England and France, dates in Mexico and the U.S. nonstop.

STARPOLISH:How have crowds been reacting?

KINKY: That has been a surprise for us, watching the people get crazy and really into the show, no matter what language were speaking. It's a really loving relationship -- so good!

STARPOLISH:After seeing your live show, I felt the album was a bit weak in comparison. Is this a problem? How do you deal with this, especially while touring to many new places and playing for crowds who are seeing you for the first time?

KINKY: It's not a problem at all. We took a different approach for the record. We have learned a lot, so on the second album maybe we'll try to sound more like [the way we do] live. People always notice that after seeing us play.

STARPOLISH:Can you explain your record-label deals? How did you get signed?

KINKY: We started working with Sonic360 in an independent label approach. They liked the band very much and we were their first project, so it was kind of a new enterprise for everybody. We have already licensed the record in Mexico and South America to BMG and in the U.S. and Canada to Nettwerk America. We're still going in [the licensing] direction with Europe and other countries.

STARPOLISH:Why did you choose to release on indie labels outside of Mexico?

KINKY: We felt it was a good opportunity for exposing what we have to offer in places outside Mexico. Plus, the liberty of the indie label was very tempting.

STARPOLISH:You've said that you recommend that bands go the indie label route? Why?

KINKY:It's like you have to grow your project little by little. At first, we felt we wanted more control over our project, but that's our case. It doesn't have to be that way for everybody. It depends on [your relationship] with the record label.

STARPOLISH:But, do you think that the fact that you're on BMG in Mexico sort of contradicts that recommendation? Do you think youd have the option to go the indie route if you weren't on BMG in Mexico?

KINKY: They're distributors of the album. We think it's important to have the support of someone enthusiastic and with the possibilities of good promotion to license to a major label. It's the way to go if you want a good exposure.

STARPOLISH:Do you think it's in a band's best interest to establish itself via touring before being thrust into the mainstream? Is this what you guys are doing?

KINKY: We really feel that people need to see us live at some point. The energy we have on stage is really something to see and it has been growing in the tour process. It's definitely necessary to be touring, because if you get to do big, mainstream shows at some point, the band will have enough experience and confidence to do it right and put out the best.

STARPOLISH:You guys all come from different musical backgrounds. Do your different musical tastes and styles have a negative or positive effect on your music?

KINKY: That's right. Everybody has a unique world in their mind, but at some point we share a big part of our music together; become like a multiple brain of five pieces. We can tell that's very positive. Our musical tastes go from bossa nova, electronic, minimal, punk, Latin, norteño, and jazz& Of course, we try to do a reasonable mix of it all.

STARPOLISH:Do you think it behooves a band to have members who are very diverse?

KINKY: In our case, it's a way to expand our horizons. We are very eclectic individuals.

STARPOLISH:You guys range in age from around 22 to 31, right? What type of effect does that have on the dynamics of your band?

KINKY: Yeah, that gives us an expanded dynamic range! Its very stimulating because our attitudes are so diverse. That makes for a very rich mixture when we are together! We have such different experiences in our lives and we use them totally.

NOW ENTER THE KINKY CONTEST!

Now that you know the band, enter the contest!