Our teen correspondents, Katie and Karleigh recently interviewed KSM. KSM is currently on the 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars. Their name is KSM and they came up with the name by combining the initials of their names and added in the letter "M" for "Music". Check out this interview to learn more about the members, Kate, Katie, Shelby, Shae, and Sophia.
Katie Cecil
K&K: Can you please introduce yourself to our readers, and your role in the group?
Hello theeere! My name is Katie Cecil, and I play rhythm guitar.
K&K: How did you get started in the music industry?
Well, I've been singing my whole life, so naturally I was drawn to music. I started writing songs when I was 10, and continued writing for a while when I realized at age 12 that I had nobody to accompany me with an instrument. I decided it would be too hard to find someone to always play a guitar with me, so I gave it a shot myself. I loved it ever since I first picked one up. I had also just moved to LA from North Carolina that year, so I started taking guitar lessons with a new teacher - she's awesome. Ever since, I've continued to play :)
K&K: How did you first come together as a group?
In 2006, four of us auditioned to be part of an all-girl band inspired by the Go-Go’s. Shelby's producers Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil were also sort of working on our project as well, and they put two and two together, and in February of this year, they tested out the idea of Shelby being our lead singer. It totally worked, and now here we are!
K&K: What has influenced you musically?
I think a lot of things have influenced me musically, everything that I have on my iTunes has influenced my overall vibe musically. My sister is an amazing writer and has inspired me to write in so many ways. My dad loves to sing, not professionally, but around the house; and my mom loves music as well. We're a very musical family, though not all of us are involved in the playing of the instruments or singing. Now I am also influenced by many artists such as: -Pink -Mayday Parade -Juliet Simms / Automatic Loveletter
K&K: What's your favorite song to perform?
I love performing the song Don't Rain On My Parade, the vibe of it is really fun to get into. I also like playing Distracted, because I love the words and I think they relate to everyone.
K&K: If you could tour with anyone who would that be?
I think it would be really fun to tour with Pat Benatar. She's a great example of a girl who really rocks.
K&K: What does the next year look like for you?
I hope that this next year gets really busy. I think we will be promoting our album, which will be a lot of fun, and continuing to do tours maybe? I guess we won't really know until we get there huh ;)
K&K: Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Five years from now, I'd like to see myself on a stage. I hope to be five years better of a musician than I am now. I also see myself still having my four best friends by my side. :)
K&K: Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?
We have fans? Haha just kidding - I'd like to say thank you SO much for all of your support, it's greatly appreciated. Thanks for talking to us on our myspace, it makes us feel special (:D) and we love hearing from you! So thank you, really. That's all I can say.
Sophia Melon
K&K: Can you please introduce yourself to our readers, and your role in the group?
I am Sophia Melon and I play the bass.
K&K: How did you get started in the music industry?
I’ve been playing in bands since I was in middle school. One of the bands I was in performed at a club and someone told me about this audition for an all girl band. It was when I joined the band as their bass player that my music industry endeavor began
K&K: How did you first come together as a group?
Four of us were told about an audition Disney and The Go-Go’s were having to create a new all girl band. When we were selected to join the band and the four of us started to play together we realized that rock would be a direction that better suited us. We then found Shelby and became KSM.
K&K: What has influenced you musically?
My experiences in life are what influence me musically. As I live and look around I am constantly inspired to play and write music.
K&K: What’s your favorite song to perform?
My favorite song to perform is Crazy Over You.
K&K: If you could tour with anyone who would that be?
If I could tour with anyone I would tour with the Rolling Stones 30 years ago.
K&K: What does the next year look like for you?
I hope to continue with a few more tours and the promotion of our first album.
K&K: Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Still playing music.
K&K: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
We get out there because of you. Thank you so much.
Shelby Cobra
K&K: Can you please introduce yourself to our readers, and your role in the group?
Hey this is Shelby Cobra and I’m lead vocals.
K&K: How did you get started in the music industry?
I started training with professionals for singing, performing, and acting when I was 12 years old, and started performing at many different clubs and events. When I was 14, I performed in a showcase at the House of Blues and met producer/songwriter Robbie Nevil. I signed a production deal with him and Matthew Gerard and through that I was brought into the band.
K&K: How did you first come together as a group?
The rest of the band was brought together 2 years ago, and I joined in February of this year.
K&K: What has influenced you musically?
I grew up with an older brother and sister who always played hard rock music in the car and house, and the genre stuck with me and became my favorite to listen to and perform. And now, I look up to a lot of different artists, like Cyndi Lauper, Pat Benatar, and Juliett Simms.
K&K: What’s your favorite song to perform?
My favorite song to perform is Distracted.
K&K: If you could tour with anyone who would that be?
I really want to tour with my idol and all-time favorite singer, Cyndi Lauper.
K&K: What does the next year look like for you?
Hopefully the next year will be really busy with performances, promoting our upcoming album, possibly another tour, making music, reaching highs on the charts, and continuing to grow as a band.
K&K: Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Five years from now I hope to be alive, happy and healthy. I hope to have improved as a performer and musician and to be a well-known, respected artist that’s still working hard and making music.
K&K: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
Thank you times a trillion for the support, and keep spreading the word about KSM, please!
Shae Padilla
K&K: Can you please introduce yourself to our readers, and your role in the group?
I’m Shae Padilla, and I play lead guitar in KSM
K&K: How did you get started in the music industry?
I think as soon as I picked up the guitar, something clicked and made me want to be a musician professionally. I worked really hard on improving my playing, and thanks to YouTube and Myspace, I was able to get out there and find the people I needed to help me get where I needed. A couple really lucky breaks later, and I’m living my dream everyday. I feel extremely blessed to be here!
K&K: How did you first come together as a group?
About 2 years ago, The Go-Go’s and Disney brought most of us together as an all girl band. The more we got to know each other, and ourselves, the more we moved in the rock direction. And in February, we met Shelby, and the rest is history!
K&K: What has influenced you musically?
Musically, Flyleaf, Incubus, Sick Puppies, and Paramore are my biggest influences
K&K: What’s your favorite song to perform?
Right now, Permission to Party and Distracted are my favorites to play live. They both have really cool guitar riffs in the verses, and the crowd reacts really well to them
K&K: If you could tour with anyone who would that be?
It would be awesome to tour with Sick Puppies. They have an amazing live show, and to get the chance to tour with a fellow female rocker, like Emma, would be so cool and inspiring
K&K: What does the next year look like for you?
If things keep going the way we like them, our record will be out, and we’ll be touring everywhere, doing what we love every night!
K&K: Where do you see yourself five years from now?
In five years, I see myself still playing music with these amazing girls, and making more music! Maybe I’ll have my dream guitar by then too haha.
K&K: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
Thank you guys so much for your support! You’re the reason we go out there and rock out, and we can’t wait to meet each and every one of you!
Kate Cabebe
K&K: Can you please introduce yourself to our readers, and your role in the group?
I'm Kate Cabebe and I play drums.
K&K: How did you get started in the music industry?
I started playing keyboard when I was really young and then I took violin and mandolin lessons for five years. I won a mandolin contest and the prize was some money, with that money I bought a guitar. After that I tried out drums in my friend's garage and ever since then I've been playing them!
K&K: How did you first come together as a group?
All of us auditioned separately for our roles in an all girl band that would work together with Disney and the Go-Go's. After several months in the project it was decided that we would go in a more rock direction. Since then we've met up with Shelby and begun to play music that we are totally passionate about.
K&K: What has influenced you musically?
Some artists that have influenced me include Travis Barker (Blink-182) and John Bonham (Led Zeppelin). When I first started playing drums I would work really hard to imitate the drum parts that Travis Barker played on the Blink albums and later I learned to play a lot of Led Zeppelin songs and realized how awesome John Bonham is.
K&K: What's your favorite song to perform?
My favorite song to perform would be Slow Motion.
K&K: If you could tour with anyone who would that be?
I think it'd be really cool to have the opportunity to perform with the Jonas Brothers or Paramore. It would be so much fun.
K&K: What does the next year look like for you?
Hopefully next year we'll get to tour some more and promote our new cd!
K&K: Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Five years from now I hope that I'm still in the music business whether it be playing in a band, doing production, or some other field. I also hope to have graduated from college. It's something I really hope to accomplish.
K&K: Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?
I'd like to say thank you for all the support you've given us!! None of this would've been possible without you. It sounds cliché but it's TRUE!
K&K: What is it like to be on the 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars?
It's such a great opportunity to be on this tour and I feel very fortunate to be a part of it. The gymnastics and the crew are amazing people and it's been not only an awesome experience but a lot of fun. I've learned a lot in the few weeks we've been out.
K&K: Tell us more about the "Hero In You" music video.
The "Hero In You" music video was a cool project. Especially the incorporation of gymnastics into the video. Since the "Hero In You" is the theme song for the 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars the video has clips of us playing and clips of gymnasts like Shawn Johnson doing some super cool gymnastic tricks.
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