Rainbow Kitten Surprise, a five-piece band currently based in Boone, was formed in early 2013 when Sam Melo and Darrick "Bozzy" Keller decided to begin writing and composing . Sept. 17, 7:30 p . That was pretty rough going down there as a kid, going from first world comfort to the third world. Like if somebody loses a friend and somehow our music is cathartic to them, go for it, man. But not every day feels like that, so how do you keep positive things flowing out your mouth without expressing, "Wow, yes, sometimes this is hard," or how do you play shows back to back-to-back every night and how do you still get into it? Although Rainbow Kitten Surprise is not a Christian band, their music may appeal to Christian audiences due to its positive messages and uplifting lyrics. Popular Sam Melo songs. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Their first EP, Mary, was recorded in a dorm room at the university. No weapons or illegal substances. Rainbow Kitten Surprise is a band that defies all definition. The Ritz, 1503 E. 7th Ave., Ybor City. Buy Rainbow Kitten Surprise tickets from the official Ticketmaster.com site. He also states that his faith has been an important influence on the music he makes. The North Carolina band have been on the fast track to success in recent years, their first two albums gaining enough support that they began playing If you're looking for the living embodiment of multi-dimensionality, turn to Sam Melo, lead singer from the band Rainbow Kitten Surprise. In addition to championing equality via their music, the band has frequently partnered with Equality NC, the oldest statewide organization in the country dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, donating portions of ticket and merch sales to the nonprofit. "It was all just very surreal," Haney said. Get our top picks for the best events in San Antonio every Thursday morning. In fact, Melo publicly came out through one of the tracks off of the project, "Hide." independent local journalism in Dallas. By TOM KRISHER and MARK THIESSEN That was the understanding that I had. As a boy, can you do that? They had started playing shows around the Boone area and wrote and recorded the earliest Rainbow Kitten Surprise songs as a duo. So we were moving back in the Summer of 2006 and I was about 14, we stayed down there for about a week because we still didn't have a home yet. By the time I get so disillusioned with trying to figure out the ultimate answer to everything, which I think is what every producer is looking for. Rumors have swirled for years about Melos sexuality, with some claiming that he is gay. Apple store abruptly closes at Northlake Mall, in latest blow to struggling NC site, Something new is heading to the former Lulus restaurant space in Plaza Midwood, How to Watch Donald Trumps CPAC 2023 Speech-Time, Schedule and Livestream, In Chicago, adapting electric buses to winters challenges, Chris Rock to finally have his say in new stand-up special, Reports: 3 children dead, 2 wounded in attack at Texas home, Paid express lanes grow more popular in once-reluctant South. They definitely do, more than even with "Hide," which was kind of personal, but "Painkillers" is one of those on the record that definitely people's stories played into it. Watch on. t.co/kejuO2yLIn", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rainbow_Kitten_Surprise&oldid=1141755995, Indie rock musical groups from North Carolina, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "It's Called: Freefall" (January 28, 2019), This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 16:57. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. That was the understanding that I had. Fergie: An Icon For The LGBTQ+ Community And One Tree Hill Fans, The Never-Ending Debate: Exploring Franklin Jonas Sexuality And Its Impact, Is The Navy Ready To Be Gay Friendly An In-Depth Look At The Navys LGBT Policies, Mariah From Sister Wives: Breaking Down Stereotypes About Polygamy And Sexuality, Is Fred Gay? It was limbo for me. What's more, it was the first time all five band members were involved in the creative process from the ground up. So you didn't feel constrained, it worked out for you then? Rainbow Kitten Surprise has also been involved in various Pride events, such as playing at the Los Angeles Pride Parade in 2016. The Riv // Chicago, IL // February 8, 2019. With an ever-growing following, Ela Rainbow Kitten Surprise is sure to keep producing captivating music for years to come. Yvonne Gougelet . 264K followers. The band got their name during a hospital visit with a friend, who suggested Rainbow Kitten Surprise while under the effects of anesthesia. I feel like you've said everything that needed to be said about "Hide" the video's origin. Im happy to share with you that I am trans. I'm grateful to be able to express who I truly am and share in this moment with you. The song's . and The Alternative/Indie-Pop band takes influence from great artists like Modest Mouse, Lana Del Rey, and Kings of Leon. By If you have three days to make it, you'll make it in three days. The band name was created by a friend who was on a morphine drip at the time, recently out of surgery. Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox. I'm Ela, lead singer of Rainbow Kitten Surprise. Rainbow Kitten Surprise consists of Sam Melo, Darrick 'Bozzy' Keller, Ethan Goodpaster, Jess Haney and Charlie Holt. They always say, "The devil's in the details." 04. Everyone uses it down here in Florida. When you consider some of its subject matter songs like "Cocaine Jesus" come to mind the name really is a bit of a "Surprise.". Mike Stunson covers real-time news for McClatchy. Their sound has been influenced by artists such as Modest Mouse, Kings of Leon, Frank Ocean and Schoolboy Q. Life is a grind. Now boasting over 1 billion global streams across platforms, the band first began building their devoted fanbase with independent albums "Seven + Mary" (2013) and "RKS" (2015). Rainbow Kitten Surprise Fashion Casual Navel,Funny Women_s Personality Sticker. This year has seen the deaths of stars and icons, but we honor their memory by highlighting them. Rainbow Kitten Surprise - Photo by Chris Taylor. It is said to mix indie rock and roll, hip-hop, electronic music, and pop influences in its music. SDGLN provides in-depth coverage on issues of importance to the LGBT community and our allies. There wasn't a seat remaining as the lights dimmed in the Tennessee Theatre. On this weekend, the quintet from North Carolina will perform at Boston Calling. My pronouns are she/her. After gracing the bills of Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Osheaga, to name a few, RKS moved 80,000 tickets of their own on their sold-out Friend, Love Freefall Tour earmarked by a packed night at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and three consecutive gigs in Athens, GA-as chronicled on their first official live album, "Live from Athens Georgia" released in 2021. (Courtesy Matthew Salacuse) By Tom Lanham . RKS was formed in early 2013 when the first two members, Sam Melo and Darrick "Bozzy" Keller, decided to begin writing and composing music together. I've come to understand it differently. Happy birthday to Sam Melo! Dude, thanks for making music that makes me want to ask questions like that. Now two NC men face prison. Safe travels to you. They are known for their captivating live performances, which often involve elaborate costumes and choreographed dance moves. Hailing from the Blue Ridge Mountain college town of Boone, North Carolina, Rainbow Kitten Surprise play a fervent mix of bright indie pop and earnest, harmony-driven folk-rock. And then we built . You don't tend to hole up by yourself and write lyrics when you're happy. I think where it comes from is the place that I'm at when I'm writing. They dont see themselves as their spokesmen for the song. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. In June 2019, they performed at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater, which they sold out in seven days. My pronouns are she/her. The building shook as the crowded room stomped along to Holt's pulsing bass, sending their love through every floorboard of the venue. And it would be a different record if it got made in nine months, but sometimes you need the two-week record. Ela Melo is the lead vocalist for alt-rock band Rainbow Kitten Surprise; she wrote their biggest hit, "It's Called: Freefall.". The two wrote and composed music together as they attended Appalachian State University.The band name was created by a friend who was on a morphine drip at the time, recently out of surgery. By the time we left, we were pretty broke and it was sort of defeatist, at least from my eyes. Their mix of tight instrumental chops and jam band finesse helped earn them a strong grassroots following and, after a couple of indie releases, they signed with Elektra to issue their second full-length, How To: Friend, Love, Freefall, in 2018. Like can you say him in a song? More info: theritzybor.com. Over the past couple of years, Ive been doing some major soul searching in the pursuit of my authentic self. RKS independently released its first album, Seven, which was later re-released together with the band's first EP as a joint album called Seven + Mary. . Well, if you keep selling out each show, then Atlantic is going to have to give you more than two-and-a-half weeks in the studio to get it done, right? His spot was kind of a transitory period for us. Lyric Video. One trigger for the success came when the band submitted their song "Devil Like Me" to the VH-1 reality show Make a Band Famous and saw it voted into the top 24. Genre-defying, live sensations Rainbow Kitten Surprise announce South African Tour Dates for March 2023 including a show at the beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens on Friday 10 March 2023. Even at this early stage, there were signs that Rainbow Kitten Surprise might grow into something more than a just-for-fun college-years band. Right on. Am I going to fit in? The band is scheduled to play a sold-out show at New Braunfels' Whitewater Amphitheater on Saturday, July 9. My pronouns are she/her. In particular, the song Killing for Love has been interpreted as an allegory about finding solace in faith and discovering inner peace. ", RKS' performance of "Hide" at the Troubadour felt particularly profound. There's so much of it down here but I keep forgetting it's actually from New York. Its like 2 AM and the bars all close at ten in hell, thats a rule I made'Anyway, you say youre too busy saving everybody else to save yourselfAnd you dont want no help, oh wellThats the story to tell". Sam Melo, bassist Darrick Bozzy Keller, drummer Jess Haney, and guitarist/keyboardist Ethan Goodpaster are the members of this band. No professional camera, video, or audio recording equipment. I don't understand the culture. For Rainbow Kitten Surprise's lead singer and songwriter Sam Melo - a man who has lived all over the place; including in the Dominican Republic for seven years because he was raised by a . It just sounds great. Is what I'm wearing OK? Especially in a place of uncertainty. "It was like, we did RKS. Ultimately, Rainbow Kitten Surprises music is open to interpretation, and it is up to the listener to decide whether or not they find spiritual meaning in their songs. "It was life changing," says Sam Melo, RKS's firecracker of a lead singer whose emotive and powerful croon, fire-spitting raps, and unpredictable dervish dance moves make . // Manage Preferences, The Dares latest single Good Time, is the definition of were here for a good time, not a long time. The track. . Whats the balancing act like between the person we hear on the record and thinks about insecurities and this other person who is committed to making RKS something you can do for the rest of your life? [8] In spring and summer 2018, the group toured the US and Canada to promote the album. The band had arrived in Nashville with only a couple of songs partially written and all two and a half weeks to write and record the rest of the songs for what became the 2018 album How to: Friend, Love, Freefall. There's nothing better than being front row for a Rainbow Kitten Surprise show. Over the past couple of years, Ive been doing some major soul searching in the pursuit of my authentic self. Right on. The rest of Rainbow Kitten Surprises bandmates also revealed what they identify as. I don't know if that's the way this next record is going to come together but given our history, I feel like maybe that right now it's still that gestation period I'm curious to know what's going to come out on the other side of the rabbit hole. This was their first of the year because of the cancellation of many events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That's the thing, Jay and I talked about this, somebody said the first day, so if you have nine months to make a record it's going to take you nine months to make a record. From $1.46. You just played a show or you're just traveling or bullshitting, or whatever and it always comes up and somebody reads it and it's like holy shit guys look at this message that somebody just sent us. It's Called: Freefall . Rainbow Kitten Surprise on Audiotree . B. y the time I reached that period, especially with this last record, I just started furiously writing down pages of lyrics, the guys came back and was like, "Sam, you don't have to rewrite a whole other album, look at what we already have. It's incredible that this is what life is. So once that reality sets in then it becomes a little bit more productive. In their video for Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Thrash shows a drag queen coming out to her parents. As a son of missionary parents, Melo spent seven years of his childhood in the Dominican Republic before moving back to the United States, ultimately attending Appalachian State University in N.C. . Rainbow Kitten SurpriseWork Out. 10201 fans Top tracks. I'm extremely confused as I almost never get any closer to learn more about the band and just now I've learned how she was named and that now her name is Ela. Rainbow Kitten Surprise, "RKS" for short, is known for its harmonies, instrumentation, and lyrics. Rainbow Kitten Surprise has booked two nights at Colorado's iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 2022. On April 6, 2022, Rainbow Kitten Surprise released the single "Work Out," their first new single released in nearly 18 months. So once I was a teenager, everything else was a faint glimmer, I didn't really understand The States, so coming back was a rough transition for sure. Rainbow Kitten Surprise has expertly used the spotlight to promote the welfare of LGBTQ+ people. But if you have two weeks, you'll make it in two weeks. The Boy Scouts Of America Under Pressure To Allow Gay Men To Serve, Is Jack Skellington Gay? Biography. Things have happened fast since then for the band, which got its unique name when someone's hospitalized, heavily medicated friend inexplicably kept repeating the phrase Rainbow Kitten Surprise. While the bands music has earned them widespread acclaim, one member in particular has stirred up a bit of controversy: the lead singer, Sam Melo. These are things that I've come to piece together afterward. But I still can't wait to hear what they've got coming next. Actor Elliot Page slams Texas officials for calling trans health care child abuse, Teacher suspended for not using a students he/him pronouns now sues Kansas district, Support my work with a digital subscription, Global race to boost electric vehicle range in cold weather, Murdaugh verdict sends a Lowcountry message: No one is above the law | Opinion, Mail carrier cant believe his eyes after seeing NC lottery win. What happens is, I learn different things that I'm interested in, like for the last record I got really interested in jazz drumming and the beats, the meters they're in, the different time signatures and playing around with that and usually I go down those avenues for a while until the band snaps me back into reality and it's like, "Oh shit we've got this show to put on, we've got a job to do." 116 posts. Just a few weeks ago at the end of . In his childlike post-op haze, their friend proposed the band name themselves "Rainbow Kitten Surprise." Laughs were had, and so it was, and so it remains. Once in a lifetime. Over the past couple of years, I've been doing some major soul searching in the pursuit of my authentic self. No food. She has appeared Read his 2016 intro letterand disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Rainbow Kitten Surprise, also known as RKS (Return to Rainbow Kitten), is a musical phenomenon that many people consider to be a musical phenomenon. And it was just kind of a transitory period. You adapt pretty quick as a kid and kind of roll into it. No glass or glass hubblies. On March 23, 2022, the band announced a new single, "Work Out" off their upcoming album. When we went down in '99, it was like this is home now and at least until me and my three brothers were old enough to move back stateside on our own, that's where we'd be living. COLD LOVE hitting different today!!! thanks to their energetic performances, and frontman Sam Melo's impressive dance moves. He became Editor-In-Chief in August 2019. Buy Rainbow Kitten Surprise's album titled How to: Friend, Love, Freefall. So happy for her! The group then worked out a deal with Split Rail Records, a student-run label at Appalachian State's Hayes School of Music, and in 2015, released the album RKS. However, there is one feature that is present throughout each of the group's songs - a captivating story. Reading Between The Lines In The New Scooby-Doo Movie. Ela Melo, the lead singer for the popular alternative/indie rock band Rainbow Kitten Surprise, revealed she has found her "authentic self" in coming out as transgender. My assumption is that you wrote How Tosuper fast in South Carolina. [7] The single "Fever Pitch" from the album climbed to number 34th on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart in spring 2018. In January 2020, the long-running PBS show Austin City Limits aired Rainbow Kitten Surprise in a half-hour set recorded the previous fall. Prior to its release, Rainbow Kitten Surprise also issued the 2019 stand-alone single "Our Song.". I'm always under the assumption that the band life is never is as glamorous as you think it is. Has being able to record How To in the circumstances that you did made you want to go bigger on a new record? Happy Pride Month. It features 13 tracks, including the single "Hide", the music video of which depicts four drag queens coming out to their families. It's all good. I was just talking about this with my bassist last night, you encounter different sets of problems the further you go. Live from Athens Georgia. The band opened with one of the marquee tracks off of their most recent release, "It's Called: Freefall," a haunting folk-rock-tinged song that addresses internal conflict. In this album, Rainbow Kitten Surprise continues to evolve and change their music style while maintaining the core elements of what always makes their music great. At first, it's "How do you pay bills? Inspired by a close friend's morphine-ridden ramblings from a hospital bed, RKS was. My dad's cousinlives down there. In between those two locales were several stops, including one week-long stay in Tampa Bay, and if you believe the lyrics to Goodnight Chicago from RKS 2015 self-titled LP, then our hometown is where Melo metaphorically killed a man out of spite (When he died, I took his place, is how the lyric goes). Rainbow Kitten Surprise's May 20th Instagram post touts what was by all measures the group's most successful tour to date: "38 shows. Orange Road, Emmarentia, Johannesburg 2195. The tour opens in South Carolina where you essentially wrote the album, but then the next stop is here in Tampa Bay and I wanted to ask you about (your song) "Goodnight Chicago", the lyric says, Twenty years to see New York reflected on subway trains. The sound of Rainbow Kitten Surprise, or RKS, as their fans call them, is hard to define. We did that on a studio-run label thing, and all of that was cool. It was weird. Choose music service. The expansion resulted in the bigger, more energetic sound heard on their debut album, Seven, which was later repackaged with their EP in a release called Seven + Mary. You heard words like Atlantic and all this stuff, but it's just so hard to make it as a band, even at your level. Formed in 2013 by college students Sam Melo and Darrick Keller, Rainbow Kitten Surprise developed a sound that was every bit as colorful as the group's name, eventually becoming one of America's m.. . Fans of the band appreciate their unique sound and the way they bring a sense of joy and fun to their music. The rest of the Rainbow Kitten Surprise bandmates also introduced themselves and revealed what they identify as in their social media post Wednesday. They're as big a surprise as their name and, when they took the stage at First Avenue, the surprises kept on coming. They had started playing shows around the Boone area and . When my family was moving to and from the Dominican growing up, we would always land in Miami and go stay with him in Tampa. This was the last stop on their summer tour. Tags: Music Features, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Sam Melo . How to: Friend, Love, Freefall. A rainbow kitten surprise concert can last anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours. I definitely lose my phone for a month and just dive in. They're songs that Sam [Melo] wrote before Rainbow Kitten Surprise was a thing. ElA you are beautiful! Mon. Previously unseen footage of Layne Staley performing with Alice In Chains has been made public. The Boone, North Carolina quintet hit the Moody Theater stage in support of its highly acclaimed third album How To: Friend, Love, Freefall, from which comes the hits "Hide" and "Fever Pitch . When it comes to Rainbow Kitten Surprise, just remember the old axiom to never judge a book by its cover. Liking Bridget Jones: Does It Mean Im Gay? Associated Press. [2] Their first EP, Mary, was recorded in a dorm room at the university. Many electric vehicle batteries lose power when its very cold. [Verse 1] Am F Hey pretty Momma don't you leave me like that C Bring it on back, bring it on back Am F Love me don't leave me, don't you leave me like that C Bring it on back, bring it on back [Chorus] Am 'Cause you're high, you're low F C You're fine but you don't say anything Am F Well you've got my heart in your hands C And your love in . At the end of the video, one of the queens reveals her persona to her father - and in true pride month spirit, he declares, "I'll always be your biggest fan. No mentally. Before Rainbow Kitten Surprise's sold-out show at the Palace Theatre in St. Paul last month, I met up with Sam Melo (lead vocals and keys) and Charlie Holt (bass). [9], In April 2019, RKS performed at several venues across North Carolina to raise funds for Equality NC, the country's oldest statewide LGBT equality organization.[10]. Or these are 2 different people? I just couldn't be more thankful to be able to do what we do.". Be yourself. And the circumstance that we left my family had lived on predominately support from missionary organizations so as time progressed, as happens quite often with people going down to do medical work the excitement and support wains because people don't know what's going on down there. Rainbow Kitten Surprise Sticker. Singer Sam Melo and guitarist Darrick "Bozzy" Keller, started the band in their Appalachian State University dorm room and self-released their first EP, "Mary," in 2013. My pronouns are she/her. Then a couple of years later we're doing it with Jay Joyce in Nashville in like this incredible studio with all of this [label] support behind us. Rainbow Kitten Surprise recently released the emotionally charged track "Work Out," marking the band's first new music in nearly two years. Founded In. She has performed in the theater for 20 years in nearly 50 plays in London, Scotland, Chile, NYC, Chicago, Miami & Tampa. Sam Melo, the lead singer, took the stage with the lyrics and bent down to pray during the ominous and richly emotional Holy War . I feel like we are the most blessed to be able to play. Naturally, cheers climaxed when Melo confessed, "He's a better kisser than you'd think, Mom.". We regret to announce, that due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight's show with Rainbow Kitten Surprise has been canceled. Thank you for your taking the time and we look forward to seeing you guys at The Orpheum, (Now playing the Ritz due to popular demand), when you guys come down to Ybor City for pretty much the tour kickoff. Rainbow Kitten Surprise is an indie rock band based out of Boone, North Carolina. Follow. Their mix of tight instrumental chops and jam band finesse helped earn them a strong grassroots following and, after a couple of indie releases, they . I'm sorry if I'm gonna sound dumb, but we're talking about Sam Melo, that came out right now as trans, right? I think it was something we had to get acclimated to a bit.". 17. Congrats on coming out, Ela, one person wrote on Instagram. Well, it just so happens that two of the members of the five-piece band are also members of the LGBTQ+ community - singer Sam Melo is gay and bassist Charlie Holt is trans. Im Ela, lead singer of Rainbow Kitten Surprise. Hi everyone! "Me and Ethan went to high school together, and we kind of played in my basement and did covers of random things. . Since the 2013 release of their first album, Seven + Mary , the vibrancy and courageousness and uniqueness of RKS' music has brought in nearly 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify . No pets (excluding service animals). . // Cookie Policy The group held its earlier rehearsals in Boone, North Carolina . Become a member to support the independent voice of Dallas This single marked their first release as a band since May 2019. Click for more. Yeah, we stay stocked, for sure. In 2010, the band was accused of plagiarism after their song Fantasy resembled another artists work. I wouldn't say it gets easier, it certainly gets more routine. One day we were all sitting in Boone and the next thing we were touring the world. Rainbow Kitten Surprise in Concert. I'm Ela, lead singer of Rainbow Kitten Surprise.
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