Local award-winning musician Beth Kille dropped by on Nov. 29 for a live interview and performance. Madison College journalism program director David Hansen and journalism student Lauren Taillon, conducted the interview as a part of the Writer’s Life Workshop series in which local professionals share their processes and bits of their story.
Kille began writing music in 2000. It was only after graduate school, for psychology, when she picked up a guitar. She learned how to play from a copy of “Guitar For Dummies.” In the interview, she says her musical background is more focused on the essence of music and rather than the technicalities of music theory.
She traveled to Nashville to seek a record deal, to embed herself in the scene of Americana rock music. But she ended up staying local, producing 18 albums with three separate bands and a solo act.
The first song she performed was “I’ve Been Accused,” written on a drive home in Texas, where she lived for a brief time. When asked about her writing inspiration, she says it “ is everywhere.” She goes on to say that while many of her songs explore emotions, some are based off of specific items such as license plates and other common images.
A point of struggle for musicians is to identify a specific category where their music should live before completion. The general point of making a song is not to fit into the confined space of what it means to be one specific genre. Kille describes her connection to Americana-rock as not quite country, indie or folk– something of her own creation: “Each genre informs each other,” she says.
Several student questions were aimed toward working around writers’ block and the moments of creative strife. Kille’s song “Lean,” written by her trio Gin, Chocolate & Bottle Rockets, is an example of finding people with similar consistencies in writing. Kille says, “co-writing is like dating,” and it is this compatibility — and sometimes hostility — that is consequential in the production of music.
After the live performance of “Lean,” some students commented “I can feel the passion” and “My younger self would have benefitted from hearing this.” Her lyrics provide an affirmation for a very human experience: “Don’t be afraid of what you’re feeling / You’ve got to lean, lean into it.”
One of Kille’s messages is the empowerment of young girls to stand up and rock. The patriarchal model expects girls to be cute and quiet, and not to have a voice of their own. Women and girls’ creativity is suppressed. Her song “Radio,” with driving rhythm guitar and vocals like Courtney Love, exposes the failings of the music industry in a pithy music video.
When working with women especially, the focus is on selling sex appeal rather than music. What then, is the product? The musician or the music? Kille lends criticism and she works towards reversing these effects with a liberating music program geared toward young girls.
Kille’s favorite place is the “Girls & Ladies Rock Camp Madison,” a program she founded in 2010. The camp-based program fosters positive self-esteem through music and “recognizes the potential of every camper to be a strong, talented, creative and empowered individual while providing a safe space where they can ALL rock.”
Kille shows how important it is for women and girls to be unapologetic with their authenticity. She demonstrates how to stand up and rock—spreading her message and inspiration through musical experiences. She is a credible figure in the community and a role model for many.
Kille is an active musician in Madison and is playing with her band Gin, Chocolate & Bottle Rockets in the upcoming months. Kille is also a member of the bands Beth Kille Band and Kerosene Kites. She is a co-founder of Flannel Fest, a celebration of Americana music that helps raise awareness of the Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund. Her book, “Embracing Your Authentic Songwriter: How & Why to Play Your Own Tune” will be released in December.
If you would like to learn more about Kille, visit her website https://beth-kille.mailchimpsites.com/.