Carly Harvey, “D.C.'s Queen of The Blues,” is paying homage to the pioneers of blues.
When Carly Harvey, “D.C.'s Queen of The Blues,” takes the stage at 8:30pm on Sunday Sept 22nd at the iconic JV’s restaurant, alongside her band featuring Dave Gorozdos on keys, Andy Hamburger on drums, and Russ Rodgers on bass, she will be paying homage to the pioneers of blues that inspired her career as a blues singer. Carly hopes to bridge the age gap and bring in a whole new generation of young people to get them to appreciate the roots of blues in the music they’re listening to.
Vizions of Rock caught up with the “D.C.’s Queen of The Blues” in a special interview.
Q&A
Vizions of Rock – What is the genre of your music?
Carly Harvey – I would say classic blues/contemporary blues.
Vizions of Rock – Where did the name come from and why?
Carly Harvey – Kiss and ride started out as a duo that I found with a friend of mine from college. I didn’t have a car at the time and when we booked gigs together, he was always picking me up at the metro in the kiss and ride area. He later moved to San Francisco and I decided to keep the name and form a full band.
Vizions of Rock – How did the band get together and how long have you been together?
Carly Harvey – I’ve been working with some of these guys for the better half of seven years. My regular bass player will not be with us for this particular show because she has another gig, so the bass player who will be with us at Davey’s I’ve been working with for about two years he’s from Atlanta and he’s a phenomenal jazz and blues player.
Vizions of Rock – What are your influences?
Carly Harvey – I’ve got an interesting variety of influences including Susan Tedeschi, Bonnie Raitt, Nina Simone, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Prince, Janis Joplin, LED Zeppelin, and Carole King. It’s a little all over the place but I love they all come together and bring out a unique sound in me.
Vizions of Rock – How did the evolution of your music come together?
Carly Harvey – I come from a musical family. My dad was a funk bassist in the DC area in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s and my mom was jazz singer. Growing up, I started out singing choral music and did a lot of theatre and classical music and I learned to play by ear. As I got older, I was more into Carole King and Fleetwood Mac. In college a friend of mine told me I should sing blues and I hesitated at first but then got into Susan Tedeschi and was really impressed with how she made Blues accessible but still honored and paid homage to the pioneers of blues and there began my career as a blues singer. So, I’ve been doing Blues since I was about 18. It’s quite an evolution.
Vizions of Rock – How does your song come together, what is the creative process like?
Carly Harvey – Songs come to me and all sorts of ways. Sometimes it starts with a melody and then I decide which progression will follow. Sometimes I start out with a baseline and then I orchestrate the rest of the song around that. Then I vocally record all the parts and I share them with my band and ask them to re-create it instrumentally.
Vizions of Rock – Who writes them in the band and how do you get your inspiration to write them?
Carly Harvey – I write the songs or if it’s a cover I come up with unique arrangements, so it stands out.
Vizions of Rock –Tell me about the 2019 release of your new EP titled Kiss & Ride Vol. 1 and what you’re trying to communicate with it?
Carly Harvey – This EP was released to have some material to take with us to the 2019 International Blues Challenge. There were songs that have been written years ago and not recorded yet and I just wanted to get something out there to share with people so they could hear my original music. All my songs are written from real experiences in my life, and so my original music as an opportunity to really get to know me and my story and to share it with people who might relate to it or feel moved by it.
Vizions of Rock – Has the music scene changed since you started out?
Carly Harvey – When I graduated from college in 2007, I got in to the DC Blues scene and it seemed that the blues and jazz were very cliquey and segregated. The soul and blue-eyed soul crowds are segregated and it still that way to some degree but some of the younger blues and jazz players are bleeding into the jam band scene and networking and hanging with more people in other scenes and I like that. I hope to see more of it! Because I love Blues and I love jazz and I do both and I don’t wanna make a choice, and I’m not going to. I also joined an alternative electro jazz funk band called Novo and I love doing that too.
Vizions of Rock – What was it like to share the stage with some iconic musicians like, Annika Chambers, Ron Holloway, Kebbie Williams, Ephraim Owens, Cory Henry, Kofi Burbridge, Junior Marvin, and Susan Tedeschi?
Carly Harvey – An honor to share the stage with all of them. This, answer could go on forever, so I’ll just talk about a few! Kebbie Williams and Ephraim Owens are members of the Tedeschi Trucks Band and it was so cool to have them come up to the Hamilton Loft one night and just jam with my band. They are world class players and they were humble and allowed me to lead the band and not try and show off or take over.
I appreciate their humility and level of professionalism and musicianship. It is also a really amazing feeling to have musicians of such a caliber choose to perform with you which implies that they dig what you’re doing. sometimes we all need that stamp of approval just to feel like we’re on the right track. Susan Tedeschi grabbed my hand and pulled me on stage with her at the Tedeschi trucks after party and said she would perform “the letter” if I came on stage and sang with Her. It was so surreal! Sometimes you meet one of your heroes and it’s not as impressive as you think it would be but meeting her and singing with her was everything and experience, I’ll never forget.
Vizions of Rock – Where do you record your music?
Carly Harvey – My EP was recorded at cabbage run record for a small recording studio run by my keys player Dave Gorozdos I also do some recording at Cue in Falls Church, Virginia.
Vizions of Rock – What is on the horizon for the future?
Carly Harvey – I’m hoping a BMA nomination or win And more performances Nationally and internationally.
Vizions of Rock – Is there anything unique about your band that I did not ask you?
Carly Harvey – Yes, I love blues and it is a real challenge to see it overlooked and passed up when it is the root of mainly all the music we’re listening to today. In order to bridge the age gap what I do when I play covers; is I do a blues arrangement of a popular song to bring in the young people to get them to hear the roots of blues of the music they’re listening to. Through this approach I’ve been able to have a variety of demographics at my shows and that’s what I’m really aiming to do with my Blues project kiss and ride.
Vizions of Rock – Is there a tagline or message that you would want to portray about you as a musician or as a band that you would want the world to know about?
Carly Harvey – Well I’d just like to express gratitude to venues like JVs that support local live music and all the fans that come out and support local live music.
Vizions of Rock – How do we find your music?
Carly Harvey – www.CarlyHarvey.com
Carly Harvey and her Kiss and Rise band will be performing at JV’s restaurant on Sept 22nd at 8:30pm
JV’s Restaurant - www.jvsrestaurant
666 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA 22042
703.241.9504
