Smitty: Yes. I have a special love for Colorado.
KE: I have to say like that the Jazz Aspen Snowmass people were amazing. The foundation, they’re amazing. They took five bands from across North America and they brought us all to Aspen Snowmass, they put us up in hotels, they get the best people on our instruments to tutor us and to mentor us, and they pay for our hotel, they give us food to eat every day. As a musician, you can’t be treated any better. Anybody that feeds you is a good person. (Smitty laughing) Plus to be treated so well, it was amazing and, I mean, I just have so many good things to say about it, the experience. I loved it and my band loved it, and oh, I just had so much fun. I don’t know what else to say. Christian McBride’s hilarious. He’s like the older brother I never had.
Smitty: Oh, that’s too cool.
KE: Just a really good guy, a really good guy.
Smitty: Yeah, so what would you say was the most striking thing or the most important thing that you took from that experience?
KE: I think, again, the feeling that….it’s another step up, another pull up, people at that level look down and say “Listen, you’re coming along quite nicely. Keep going, keep doing it.” I think that’s what came out of that for me, just the extra push. I mean, they would come in to our rehearsals and they would help, nudge a song to be more beautiful.
Smitty: Oh yeah.
KE: And they gave so much encouragement to us and each and every one of us came away from it just feeling blessed. Feeling blessed that somebody would take the time to help us hone ourselves a bit more. The people, I mean, that’s the thing, especially coming from Canada and not really being in a center like, say, New York or something like that where you can brush against the greats that often. I mean, we’ve got lots of greats in Canada, even where we live. So the neat thing about Aspen is we had greats coming from all over America congregating in one place and their sole job for that week that you’re there is to help you. We were there for 10 days and these people are there to help us and even if you’re playing on a gig with somebody, you don’t really get the opportunity to sit with somebody and ask questions to that extent, you know what I mean?
Smitty: Yeah. Yes.
KE: For them to be focused on making your material better or whatever, it’s just like…I think that it’s such a good system. I hope that it stays around for a long time and that more people get a chance to take advantage of it. I know that one of the patrons was mentioning that their mandate is to make sure that even more women take part in it.
Smitty: Yes. I love that.
KE: Yeah. So that’s what they’re hoping for in the coming years. It’s a good organization.
Smitty: Yes, it sounds very good, wow. Well, going back to your record, you mentioned something to me earlier when we were talking before the interview here. You mentioned your music as Hallmark cards and I thought that was kind of unique and cool.
KE: Yeah. You know, it’s that idea of somebody feeling like they don’t really know the words to say, but you’re going out there into the Hallmark store and picking up a card and you’re like “Okay, that’s exactly what I wanted to say,” and a lot of times it’s funny, I would help people edit their papers when I was a T.A., a teacher’s assistant in University, and people would say “I want to say this and that and I would like to say this idea” and I’m like “Why don’t you just write it?” “Why don’t you just say it?” And they’d be like “Oh well, maybe it doesn’t sound so smart, maybe it sounds stupid” and I’d be like, “Just say it.” You know, a lot of times people try to be very complicated and try to….
Smitty: Dress up their words?
KE: Yeah. And one thing that I felt uncomfortable about my music because I didn’t feel very poetic and I thought maybe a lot of my songs were kind of more colloquial. I was singing or writing the way that I would speak, but I realized that there is really nothing wrong with that. I’m saying what I want to say, you know what I mean? And this is what my brain is thinking right now and this is what I’m saying, and I found that those are the songs that people don’t really have to like wrack their brains to figure out what I mean. I’m being pretty clear and in some way they feel that that song is identifying with what’s inside, what they felt inside, and so that’s why I feel that they’re like little Hallmark cards.
Smitty: Yes.
KE: People will say “That’s what I was going to say.”
Smitty: Yes, and you’re reaching them because I remember you telling me that someone, a friend of yours, was having a bad day and they sent you an e-mail or called you and said “Hey, things have been rough this week, but I put your record on and I’m feeling better.”
KE: And for me that’s amazing. I think it was even more amazing because if you’d go to his CD collection, he’s got rock CD’s and he doesn’t listen to a lot of jazz, and my music’s like more soul jazz, and for him to feel that my music had a place in his home is amazing.
Smitty: Yeah.
KE: That he would use it to soothe himself. To me, I don’t know what a better compliment would be.
Smitty: Well, have you finally come to grips with the fact that you totally connect with people with your music?
KE: Kind of, I guess so. You know, I think I am. At first I felt really guilty about this particular line of work because I’m a bit addicted to performing. Not a bit, I’m a lot addicted. It’s like it’s very much a fix to me when I perform. And I get a lot out of doing it from an energy sense.
Smitty: Yes.
KE: And I felt bad that like I needed it so badly, like there must be something wrong with me that I need to be up there singing and there must be something wrong with me that I come off on such a high…. and the rest of my time like there’s nothing really out there in the regular world that makes me feel that. The only other thing might be painting. I really enjoy that. Oh, and acting. I really like that.
Smitty: Oh wow.
KE: So those three things for me give me the biggest rush. I don’t drink coffee; I don’t smoke or take drugs or drink. So I don’t really have any other way to get that feeling that people are always looking for.
Smitty: Well, Kellylee, you know what it is.
KE: Tell me.
Smitty: You’re just doing what you love. Like everyone else.
KE: I thought you were going to say “You know it is: you’re just an addict.”
Smitty: I guess we all are to a certain degree, but it’s a good thing in that I think it’s all perspective driven and it’s all about what we’re doing, what we love to do. Regardless of whether it’s a positive thing or a negative thing, we’re all addicted to something because it’s very difficult to be that well balanced, and when we find something we love, be it reading or bicycling or whatever it is, it’s something that we love and we could do it for hours.
KE: Yeah.
Smitty: So whatever that is, yeah, I guess you could term that as an addiction, but the word “addiction” doesn’t have to have negative connotations all the time, so I think it’s beautiful when we have an addiction that is helpful to other people and it helps us at the same time. And that’s affect of your music and your live performances.
KE: Now you made me feel even better. I’ll remember that.
Smitty: Hey, Kellylee, that was my Dr. Phil routine.
KE: It was good, it was good. Get your own show with your own Web site. You’re on your way.
Smitty: (Laughing) Okay, you got me laughing now, man, I’ve got to quit. Okay, so where can people get the record?
