An Interview with Musician Amy Kuney
The Up-and-Coming Artist's Story, Inspiration, and Debut Album
Sep 4, 2009
With the release of her debut album, Bird’s Eye View, and a busy tour schedule, it’s fortunate to find a minute to speak with up-and-coming music artist Amy Kuney. Kuney writes and performs her own music on the album, and has also performed covers of other artists’ music.
Amy Kuney's Story and Inspiration for Her Music
One of five siblings, Amy Kuney grew up in a large family and was homeschooled. At the age of thirteen, Kuney's family moved to Honduras. As a teenager, she really didn't want to be there, uprooted from her home in Tulsa, OK. "Bored and pissed off about living in Honduras," she wasn't seriously into music at the time, and "didn't make the most of the experience."
A Traumatic Experience as the Catalyst for Writing Music
In 2003, at the age of seventeen, Kuney and some of her friends were kidnapped by rebels while traveling in Guatemala. Sadly, while she and others were released, one of her friends was killed while trying to protect the rest of the group. The life-changing experience was something she saw as "a second chance."
Writing Music as a Form of Therapy
Afterward, "I started writing profusely," she says. "It gave me a lot to write about." Writing became Kuney's way of working through the emotional scars left by her experience. "I started getting serious and writing songs, and sent them to producers in L.A." After telling her story to one producer in particular, he became very interested in her music, and Kuney has been working with him since.
Significance of the Debut Album, Bird's Eye View
"I wrote about half of the tracks [in Honduras] when I was younger, and the other half after I moved to L.A," says Kuney. The title track is about how "after leaving Tulsa, Oklahoma, I had...not a very open mind." After moving to Honduras, "I saw everything completely new." Upon returning to the United States, "it was hard to go back to Tulsa and relate with the people I had been friends with before." The concept, she says, is change and transition.
Track Titles on Bird's Eye View
Many of the song titles on Bird's Eye View have eye-catching titles, like "Rocket Surgery," and "Angel Tangled in the Telephone Lines." She’s not really sure where the titles of songs come from: "Titles are my thing,” Kuney says. Often she comes up with the title before writing a song. "I have all these Word documents that are blank except for a title." She saves her unique titles for when inspiration strikes and she starts to write lyrics that fit with a particular title.
Favorite Songs on the Album
"To play," she says, "my favorite is 'Appreciate Your Hands.'" But when listening to how the songs turned out on Bird's Eye View, as far as the production and sound of her voice, "Simple Things" and "Bird's Eye View" are her favorites.
Musical Influences and Collaborations
Kuney speaks highly of Damien Rice, who she has toured with and written with: "He's taught me a lot about being an artist...He's not caught up in the fame thing." Other artists she's working with include Ari Hest, Jeremy Ruzumna, and Jason Reeves. Of her tour with Kate Voegele and the Veronicas, she says, "I had a blast," and she realized that that type of music is a direction she'd like to pursue in the future. Mainly she's hoping to do music that is "more upbeat," with a full band.
What's Next for Amy Kuney?
Kuney has been touring for much of this past year, and the tour will resume in the middle of September 2009. Check out Amy Kuney's myspace page for tour dates and venue details, and to get the debut album, Bird's Eye View, which is also available on iTunes.
Multiple collaborations, a tour, and a debut album? Amy Kuney's music career is definitely on the rise. A growing fan base for her covers on YouTube, plus her album's release on iTunes, are also propelling her status as a musician forward. Her unique story and the significance of it in her music, combined with the overall quality of her voice and talent on the piano and guitar, make it clear that the already-present respect for her as an artist can only increase from here.
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