Flower-Powered Artist - September 2006

Kay Hanley

The 90s ushered an end to the 80s era of hair bands with the rise of alternative and grunge in the music scene. One of the most notable bands in this era is the Boston based female-fronted band called Letters To Cleo. LTC released a total of 4 albums throughout their existence: Sister (1991 Cassette only release sold during their gigs - re-released in 1998 as CD with bonus tracks), Aurora Gory Alice (1993), Wholesale Meats And Fish (1995), and Go! (1997). They picked up a wider audience through appearing in the soundtrack of Melrose Place (with the song "Here And Now") and in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You (with the cover of Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me"). Sadly, Letters To Cleo announced their disbandment in 2000. Surprisingly, their music still carries on till this day and age of nu-metal/rapcore bands.

Lucky for us, LTC's front-gal, Kay Hanley continues to deliver the same level of flower-powered kick-ass music LTC was known for. Like LTC, Kay continues to command respect with a wide following in the Boston area. Kay sort of started her solo career around the time LTC was about to be disbanded, performing with her husband and LTC former member Michael Eisenstein. Around 2001, Kay landed a gig to be featured as the singing voice of Josie in the full-feature film, Josie And The Pussycats. Despite the somewhat lack of proper credit in the soundtrack/film, fire sparked anew in the hearts of Cleo fans.

In 2002, Kay finally released her first full length solo effort, Cherry Marmalade. The songs in this album was mostly written in between the two most prominent time in Kay's life, Cleo's break up and becoming a mother. 2004 saw the release of The Babydoll EP, which was recorded almost entirely in their home studio within 2 weeks time.

Hearts and Flowers, an EP showcasing 6 stellar tracks written by Kay in collaboration with business partner and main musical collaborator (aside from Michael) Michelle Lewis, saw the light of day in 2005. Kay and Michelle along with a revolving roster of notable “third members” (including Leah Andreone, Tracy Bonham, Lisa Loeb and Nina Gordon) were collectively named, The Dilettantes.

With a promise of a new full length CD by early 2007, Kay Hanley sure is here to stay! KGRL is proud to present this month's birthday girl the honor of being our Flower-Powered Artist of the Month. Be sure to check out our exclusive audio/transcribed interview, CD Reviews of both Cherry Marmalade and The Babydoll EP, a couple of exclusive photos, and a very special video capture of her performance in Hotel Cafe (07.23.06) presented in widescreen stream.

KGRL Kay Hanley Interview

KGRL had a chance to go on a one on one interview with KGRL's Queen Of Alternative Rock, Kay Hanley. The interview was held in Hotel Cafe - 07.23.06.

Listen to Kay Hanley's responses in High Quality MP3 Stream using the player below:




Transcription excerpt from the interview:

KGRL: We've been fans since you started out with Letters To Cleo to Cherry Marmalade, and then the Babydoll EP - till now. We have to say that your songs are the type of songs that never goes outdated. When you listen to the songs in the 90's, you get the uneasy feeling like it feels like it really belongs to that era. How do you feel listening to your old materials?

Kay Hanley: Well, it's funny that you ask that because I never did listen to my own music. I always hated the sound of my voice, so I never listen to the Cleo records. We would make the records and I never listen to them. And it's only in the last couple of years that I've been able to listen to my stuff critically and really be able to "participate" because I can listen to it and not hate it.

And now when I listen to the Cleo records, I'm just saying "Jesus, why didn't I appreciate this when I was doing it" because I really really do enjoy it. And I'm impressed with the music that we made and I just didn't have time. I just thought we sucked, and I thought I sucked. But you know, I think the reason that it doesn't sound "dated" is because there was nothing trendy about it that kind of like represented an era, just really kind of classic arrangements, nothing fancy, just really straightforward pop arrangements. We modeled ourselves after the Beatles and Big Star, so I can see that.


-> READ the full transcript along with high/low quality mp3 of the Interview by Clicking Here! <-

Cherry Marmalade CD Review

Cherry Marmalade is the first solo album by Kay Hanley. It's been a long wait for fans of Cleo, from when the band broke up to the year 2002 - when the album was finally released. It is probably too late to review an album several years old, but who cares? It's still a lot better late than never, right?

So let's get on with the review starting with the opener - Fall. Fall has to be one of the most infectiously catchy tune Kay has written. The chorus goes through what can be said as a wonderful transition from Kay's normal singing voice to a flawless pristine falsetto. Straightforward pop alterna-rock arrangement gives it the right amount of kick and yet, the song can be recommended to any non-alternative/rock easy-listening fans. The fact that Kay herself puts this song in almost all of her show setlist, is a testament into how great this song really is.

This Dreadful Life starts out sounding like a hazy dream wherein you'd feel like it might be bound for a nightmare, although it ends up being cloud nine. It tends to be more of a slow burn track that gets better the more you listen to it. Satellite is another of the catchiest tunes in the album. It starts out acoustic and turns into a rocking, but not heavy, track. Sheltering Sky contains with the same amount of kickass pop-rock catchiness that is sure to hook you right-up the first listen.

Happy To Be Here has a hint of country music, albeit elegantly contrasted with Kay Hanley's alternarock-type vocals. The following tracks: Chady Saves The Day, Princely Ghetto, Faded Dress, and Galapagos are the slow points in the whole album. Two of these tracks stands out though, Princely Ghetto and Galapagos.

Which brings us to the 3 outstanding solid-rock tunes in the whole album, namely: Made In The Shade, Mean Streak, and Trans-Neptunian Object #1. If there's any song in the album ever closer to being Letters To Cleo, it's these three tunes that made us feel right at home. These three tracks balances out the slower points in the album, as they provide the intensity and hard rocking edge one would expect from Kay Hanley. The oddly titled, Trans-Neptunian Object #1, closes the album effectively with a grand-sounding guitar-wrenching outro.

In the end, we can say that Cherry Marmalade is a bit of a departure from the sound of LTC and an establishment of the solo-career of Kay Hanley. It's mostly experimental, touching on various bits of different genres such as slow ballad, pure alternative pop-rock, and even a bit of country. It is undeniable though, as evidenced by the outstanding tracks in this album, that this rightly cements Kay Hanley into being the Queen of Alternative Pop-Rock music unbound by an ever-changing musical era.

Cherry Marmalade - Buy It Now (Click Here)!

Tracklist:

Fall
This Dreadful Life
Satellite
Chady Saves The Day
Sheltering Sky
Princely Ghetto
Made In The Shade
Faded Dress
Happy To Be Here
Galapagos
Mean Streak
Trans-Neptunian Object #1

The Babydoll EP Review

Two years after the release of Cherry Marmalade, we come to the next step in Kay's solo-career: the release of The Babydoll EP. In Clouds starts the EP with an immediate hook that only leaves one wondering how Kay comes up with these catchy tunes - guess you won't figure it out... 'til you're covered in clouds.

Lullaby Lucky follows it up with a fantastic rocker of a tune that has Kay exclaiming "I'm not your mom... I'm a fucking a-bomb." Stay Stay is a slow ballad that subtly hints at the softer and melancholic side of Kay, as she wistfully sings such lovely poetry. Te Amo offers a welcome change of pace and delivers yet another hard rocking tune with cranking guitars courtesy of Kay's hubby, Michael Eisenstein.

Sadly the last two tracks didn't really do much to add to what has been a really good EP so far. Brown Betty is a lively rocker minus the hooks. Finally, the song that carries the EP title and kind of ineffectively closes the album (in stark contrast to Cherry Marmalade's Trans-Neptunian Object #1), Baby Doll sounds like a drag and more like Kay's experimentation on adding effects to her voice.

In closing, The Babydoll EP provides Kay's fans a handful of wonderful tracks to tide over until the release of the next full-length, which incidentally is still a long wait for the fans. The new album is already around 90% complete and is expected to be out next year. If what we've heard so far is an indication of what's in store, then we're in for a real treat come early 2007.

Bonus Review: Cellars By Starlight (released as a Kay Hanley/Scamper Split CD Single) is such a wonderful and very catchy song that will surely make you wanna shake to the groove. The song starts with a motivational clapping, which is a perfect tool for audience participation during live shows. This song is Kay's tribute to a friend who writes a column, that shares the same title as the song, for Boston's The Phoenix.

Babydoll EP - Buy It Now (Click Here)!

Tracklist:

In Clouds
Lullaby Lucky
Stay Stay
Te Amo
Brown Betty
Baby Doll

KGRL Exclusive Photos

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KGRL Exclusive Videos - Hotel Cafe Performance 07.23.06

KGRL proudly presents - Kay Hanley Hotel Cafe Performance - 07.23.06. The streams can be viewed using our embedded flash player. We do hope you enjoy these wonderful videos!

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Video Cellars By Starlight

Think Bad Thoughts Galapagos

Fall It Hurts

Awake

Te Amo