Chloe Chaidez talks Nasty Cherry, Kitten and the 'empowerment' of appearing on a Netflix docu-series
Gathering an extensive list of projects where she leads as frontwoman for Kitten, plays electrified shows with band Nasty Cherry to her Netflix series, Chloe Chaidez has donned many hats in her musical evolution.
Kitten has featured in the Rolling Stone, Billboard, PAPER, FADER, Stereogum, i-D, MTV, Nylon, and Idolator. She expressed her excitement for the headlines, saying how "It feels great to be noticed" and how she loves every article on Kitten. "It was awesome."
She also said "definitely not" when asked about the band skyrocketing to fame after such publicity, "but we keep on rolling, you know, and I think that it's them together, all of them working together that, really, are powerful. It takes a village."
On the origin of the name Kitten, Chaidez says, "I came up with it when I was very young and it sounded iconic. And that's kinda the end of the story".
Kitten have always kept fans on their toes with surprising twists and turns to their music and onstage performances, and their new EP 'Goodbye Honeymoon Phase', released in October, blends electronic energies with contemporary pop tones.
'Big Dope Baby', released in 2015, features as one of those surprises, carrying heavier punk and 70s' rock 'n' roll themes. Kitten has never been constricted to any genre, although Chaidez shared an alteration in their latest sound, saying, "I think we're actually fine-tuning honestly. And I look forward, with each release, to having a pretty direct voice. I'm trying to be as little sprack as possible, but it's hard. I think that's my tendency in life and creatively so I'm trying to dial that back, honestly. I think we all are".
Chaidez has other involvements too. She is the guitarist for Nasty Cherry with renowned English singer-songwriter Charli XCX on vocals and "the coolest DJ around" Blu DeTiger, as deemed by Vogue Magazine.
In her latest endeavors, Chaidez has been keeping busy with the new unfiltered and intimate Netflix docu-series 'I'm With the Band: Nasty Cherry'. The series features the girls behind the music of Nasty Cherry and their fun relationship together as they enjoy their music creating moments.
Chaidez explains that the series aims to give its viewers "empowerment, truly", explaining the spirit of the show being "women in control making music and having a good time with each other." Chaidez spoke on how she met Charli XCX and Blu DeTiger, saying, "I met Charli years ago when I was actually on MySpace. She messaged me and said, 'Lets rage when we get to the UK'. She was 16, I was like 14, and then we reconnected a couple years later in L.A. and I opened for her".
She explained that their relationship developed and she went on tour with her. "And with Blu, she opened for Kitten playing bass and DJing about five years ago. We became friends and stayed in touch".
Discussing Kitten and Nasty Cherry alongside Charli and DeTiger's solo work, as well as her own, Chaidez says, "I think we can do it all in the name of rock and roll. It's hard to project that far into the future. All of our goals, I think, are to just make music in all of our projects".
She describes the juggling act between projects as "definitely exciting and a rollercoaster of different environments and new inspirations and new people and I feel really grateful to be able to do both, honestly. Sometimes it gets hard, but life is hard in other ways that are more challenging than being in two bands. For instance, having a kid and having a job, or being married: these things are difficult".
The greatest challenge she has had to deal with in the bands, she says is "being away from each other", adding, "That physical touch being gone, I think that is one of the hardest things, but we get through it".
Kitten has covered songs by LGBTQIA artists for each week of Pride Month. Chaidez also showed further interest in such pursuits, saying, "We are a band that fully supports gay rights, so I hope that we can do more in the LGBTQ community".
Kitten has collaborated with numerous big names in the music industry, such as Smashing Pumpkins' James Iha and Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, and Chaidez shared how they were influential in Kitten's work. "They're huge influences on us and it was really amazing. They're legends. So, it was just incredible that they reached out to me. It was insane," she says. "I'm so thankful that I know them".
Fun facts about Chloe :
She was never really into girl/boy bands, but Avril Lavigne was more her "jam".
Her favorite actresses are Audrey Hepburn, Tilda Swinton and Nicole Kidman. "Those are my actress gods".
Chaidez loves to light up the stage with her very physical stage presence and was into gymnastics as a kid. Her worst injury on stage was when she "fell straight on her back from a really high amp. That fricking hurt".
Her roommate, Abigail Tulis, used to design her clothes, but now the band pulls their clothing from an archive in New York called Artifact, run by their keyboardist Max Tsiring.
Can we expect a new full-length LP this year or in the near future?
"I can't say, but probably."