Maroon Cafe Spotlight with Kunek and Meiko

Each week we will bring an Artist or in this case Artists and have a sit down with them so you can know more about there Music & Lifestyle. Now being that this is the First post, we thought we would treat you to a 2 for 1 special (Thank Us Later) so without further or do allow us to introduce.......................

Recently we had the honor of sitting down with Meiko

The West Coast native who has a interesting story to her rise to stardom, now it would be wrong to take all the credit for this session another hipster (A----) collaborated with me and came up with some great questions and this is what came to be.............

H.Q. For starters and for your many fans out there, confirm the correct way of saying your name?

Meiko: Meeeeeeee-ko

H.Q. I read a funny story about you getting your start, singing White Christmas at an all Black Southern Baptist Church, what was that experience like?

Meiko: It was awesome... I was 8 years old, and my teacher asked me to come
to her church to sing a Christmas song. I was the only white kid there, and for some reason, I decided to sing, "White Christmas." I actually just visited that teacher this Christmas and she showed me the video. I was pretty cute... I was so nervous, I hiccuped on the last line.

H.Q. Your originally from Roberta Georgia, what was the transition like moving to Los Angeles?

Meiko: It was a BIG change, but growing up in such a small town (pop. 808), I spent a lot of time wanting to be somewhere else. When my sister asked me to come to L.A. with her, I didn't think twice.

H.Q. How did your music get on to the hit show Grey's Anatomy? are you a fan of the show?

Meiko: I only recently became a fan. I don't get any reception on my TV, so I had to start NetFlixing older episodes to catch up. I'm guessing it was word of mouth that connected me to the right people, and I am greatly appreciative my life has gotten a bit sweeter since then.

H.Q. Well just let me say that 2008 is going to be a big year for you, what plans do you have?

Meiko: I'll be on the Hotel Cafe Tour in March and April. Other than that I plan on working on new material.

H.Q. When Meiko is not performing, what are you doing when you have free time?

Meiko: Most of my time is spent eating sushi "I LOVE SUSHI"! I have this place in downtown Los Angeles that I go to I'm starting to be there way too much -- the sushi chefs now say, "See you tomorrow!" when I leave.

H.Q. Now on the great track "How Lucky We Are" you said one day we'll get out of this sh--ty apartment is it safe to say that your living comfortably now?

Meiko: HA! Nope, still in the same apartment. I cant shake it! I'm starting to do some repairs on it though. I just painted my room which made a big difference.

H.Q. Fans want to know where did the song "Hawaii" come from?

Meiko: Hawaii is a song i wrote at a very sad point in my life- I don't talk about this a lot, but it's about missing my mom. She left my sister and I with our dad when we were really young. I was thinking that even if I saw her again, she probably wouldn't recognize me....

A: Speaking of Hawaii, if you could have your own island and have whatever you want on it, what would it consist of?

Meiko: A water park, my favorite sushi place (Hama Sushi in Los Angeles!) a skating rink, a spa, a trampoline, cute little baby monkeys oh, and a lot of nice people.

A: You mention food quite a bit in your blogs, what's your favorite?

Meiko: Ummmm.... I think that's obvious :)

A: You have mentioned Captain Morgan and eggnog, one of my favorites!! If you had to make a Meikotini, what would be the ingredients?

Meiko: 2 oz Peach Shnapps, 2 oz Absolute Peach, 2 oz Peach juice Shaken, put in a chilled Martini glass, garnished with a lime (I used to to be a bartender)

A: Recently, you posed in a calendar for the I Heart Foundation which gives all of its proceeds to battered women and there children and a one year scholarship for a young girl to attend the Silver lake Conservatory of Music. How did you become involved with such a great cause?

Meiko: I heard about it through my buddy Arica Rose. She was putting it together with some friends, and asked me if I wanted to be a part of it. I was like, "Hell Yeah! Sexy pictures and a good cause equals good match!"

H.Q. If you could have your dream tour, who would accompany you? Dead or alive?

Meiko: Ohhh- you had me at dead :) Elliot Smith all the way.

With a graceful and soothing sound Meiko will be one to watch for in 2008 and as always tell em' Maroon Cafe told ya!!!

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StillWater Oklahoma is mainly known as "Soonerville" but if you look a little closer inside the Corn Fields you will find Kunek a band whose sound is spiritual and without the help of Calgon, can take you to places you could only dream of. Get to know what all the hype is about...........

H.Q. Give me a little background on how Kunek became to be?

Kunek: Kunek started out as an instrumental ensemble, writing down tempo piano based music that focused on cello for droning melodies with a mix of ambient texturing and off hook percussion. The band began to develop a musical identity that was based around a conceptual story written by Jesse, Colby and Jenny about a boy named Kunek. The name Kunek stuck with the band, and as more members became involved with the music we began focusing more on integrating songwriting into the band's instrumental ideas.

H.Q. "Section 2" off the album is very spiritual and takes you on a ride of bliss! how did that creation take place when making the song?

Kunek: Section 2 was primarily written as a creative recording process. It was a song that we just continued to experiment with together and trying out different ideas until we had put together the song.

H.Q. When John Mayer posted your music on his site what was the reaction like? how did John get a hold of your music?

Kunek: At first it was quite surreal. But after seeing John perform at a concert in O.K.C and meeting him afterwards it allowed us to see that he isn't much different from any of us, he has a pure passion for music and understands it better than most. His fame is purely a back story to his musical contributions.

H.Q. Can we expect a new album in 2008?

Kunek: That's what we are shooting for, yes.

H.Q. Flight of the fynns is truly one of the best albums this decade, how long was the process with the album?

Kunek: From writing to recording, it lasted about a year. It was a great learning experience for all of us.

H.Q. Music wise what is Kunek composed of?

Kunek: We are trying to integrate more a compositional style that may integrate instruments outside of the norm. In general, we are all trying to learn to play as many instruments as possible to add to the diversity of the music, so it's difficult to really pin that down. I'd say we are composed of six multi-instrumentalists who are trying to express their vision through classical, folk, modern and experimental instrumentation.

H.Q. Who's the most creative in the group?

Kunek: Everyone has a special flavor that they add to the group, and it wouldn't be the right balance of energy without any one person's contribution, but Jesse Tabish is without a doubt the core songwriter who is building the foundation that we are all arranging around.

We hate to repeat ourselves, but Flight of the Fynns is truly one of the best albums over the past decade. Kunek is not your average band and with a little more exposure you'll see why we had the keys to the hype machine early!!!

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