Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Kinsey

Singer-songwriter Alex Kinsey has seen a lot of success as an artist, writer, and producer. He’s been a part of two popular music groups that have collectively racked up over 450 million streams on Spotify and over 170 million views on YouTube. But for the first time in his career, Alex is stepping out on his own and taking full control. He’s making the music that he wants, under the solo project Kinsey. Pop Culturalist caught up with Alex to chat about this exciting next stage and his debut EP, Party of One.

PC: You write, produce, and sing. How did you discover your passion for each? Is there one that you naturally gravitate towards?
Kinsey: Writing is a means to be able to perform. I’ll take any chance I get to be on stage. That’s my favorite place to be. Producing is also a means to have more control over sessions. It all leads to me being on a stage. If I could do that forever, that would be it. I enjoy the whole process, but I really love performing.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Kinsey: My parents have always been crazy supportive. They supported my decision to leave college to pursue music. They’ve been the biggest proponents. They came to every show that I played when I was young. That was two shows a week for about four years. [laughs] They’ve always supported me.

As far as other people in the music industry though, Jason Mraz and John Mayer are my biggest influences. Without those two dudes, I don’t think I would have done music. Them and the Beatles—those three! But who has heard of the Beatles, right? [laughs]

PC: You’ve been a part of two wildly successful groups, but this is the first time you’re stepping out on your own. Were there any nerves heading into the solo project?
Kinsey: That’s a tough question. I never really thought to myself, “Okay, this is the point when I take the jump.” I’ve always wanted to do solo stuff, so it’s always been in the back of my mind. When I think about it, I was nervous. But in the moment, it felt like what I had to do. It was time, and it felt right. But looking back, I can’t believe I took that jump. It’s been years of me thinking, “Someday, I’ll be able to do something on my own.”

PC: Tell us about Party of One and what inspired the EP. What was the selection process deciding what would be on the EP?
Kinsey: It’s an EP that came out of me wanting to make music that I wanted to hear. Popular music right now is so eclectic. It comes from different angles, approaches, voices, and sounds. Throughout the entirety of the process, I never sat down and was like, “All right, I’m going to write the EP now.” I’ve been writing this EP for a couple of years. As I was in writing sessions, I’d be like, “Oh, I think that’s going to be mine.” If I knew I loved it, I would stake my claim and be like, “That’s a Kinsey song.” After a couple of years, I had enough songs for an EP. We got moving but continued to write to see if we could find any new songs.

But like I said, it’s always been in the back of my head. I started as a solo artist fifteen years ago. It’s always been something I wanted to do. As I would write and as I would hear songs, it just made sense.

I didn’t feel any qualms about what songs I chose because of how all over the place pop music is now. It’s fun that I got to say, “Oh, I like that. That’s mine.” It didn’t matter if it was a reggae song, a rap song, whatever. I just got to choose it. It was fun.

PC: If you had to pick one song that best encompasses you as an artist, what would it be and why?
Kinsey: That’s a really good question. It’s funny because that was something that I struggled with the whole time I was making the album. I was like, “All right, which one of these is my sound?” But it was also a lot of fun. I didn’t feel like I had to be pigeonholed into one sound. But man, I would say “Don’t Let Go.” There’s something about that song that when I wrote and heard it, it was the most Kinsey-feeling song.

It didn’t take a lot of time or effort to write it. My two friends and I were hanging out for a few days. We picked up a guitar and started playing chords. After three days, the song was there. We didn’t really sit down to write it. It was just written, and I think that’s a pretty good representation of how my career and life have gone so far.
You have these hopes. Then all of a sudden, something lays itself out for you. That’s how “Don’t Let Go” happened. It laid itself out for us, and we grabbed it and made it a song. It’s a good acoustic Jason Mraz-y track, which is what I started with.

PC: You’ve had a ton of success already in your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that sticks out to you?
Kinsey: Playing Radio City Music Hall. Alex & Sierra opened for Train back in the day. I think I said into the mic at least eight times the words “Radio City Music Hall.” I was so stoked to be there. My mom flew up from Florida to see the show. All of our band’s family was in town. It was a very cool, very surreal moment. That was really cool.

With the Kinsey stuff, the first-ever music video I released for “Simple” premiered on Billboard. My cousin and I got together for a weekend, and we did two music videos with our friends. It’s something that we’ve been talking about since we were kids. To have that out and premiere on Billboard was a big accomplishment. That was a wild day.

PC: Does that success add any additional pressure now heading into this solo career?
Kinsey: I’ve struggled with that. I’ve been trying to figure that out too because it adds something. I just don’t know what it is. I don’t know if it’s self-imposed pressure or if I feel pressure from outside sources. But I definitely feel like I have to deliver. At the same time, there’s way less stress about all of it because I just get to deliver what I want to deliver. It’s a double-edged sword.

PC: What does the rest of the year hold for you as we look ahead to the end of 2019 into 2020?
Kinsey: I’m not actually sure. Every time I make a plan, it never happens. Life figures out how to make its own stuff happen. I would love to go on tour. Like I said earlier, the stage is where I live. I would rather be there than anywhere else. I’m also writing every day, and I’ve been in the studio a bunch.

I’m also working on figuring out a way to share music with my other musical friends. I want to start some concert series. I don’t know if it’s YouTube or something similar, but there’s going to be something where I involve all my musician buddies. I haven’t quite figured everything out yet, but I definitely have plans to figure out how to celebrate my music, my friends’ music, and the people’s music that I like. I want to celebrate it. It’s a fun life to be able to make music, work in this industry, and I want to be able to celebrate it with the people I care about.

PC: Having been part of this industry for a couple of years now, what’s been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned along your journey?
Kinsey: Honestly, education—not in the typical sense. I really, really wish that fifteen-year-old me would have read more about the music industry. Artists have to be business people. They have to know how to master, how to publish, etc. And then there’s stuff that isn’t just about making music. It’s the part of the industry that I’m not fully confident in, so I wish I would have done more learning when I was younger.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Kinsey: Everything Lizzo is doing right now is incredible. I am obsessed with her. I love the fact that she makes the music she wants to make. I love the fact that she’s the person that she wants to be. I love the fact that she plays the flute. She’s incredible. She’s just being an artist, and I love that about her. She’s been working hard at it. Her song came out two years ago, and it’s finally getting momentum. I appreciate her hustle. She stuck with it, and I think she’s awesome.

PC: First album you bought?
Kinsey: First album I bought? I actually don’t remember. I remember the first album I owned was Abbey Road by the Beatles. My dad had it on cassette, and we’d play it in the car. I remember taking that one and I would listen to it on repeat every morning on the way to school. The first album I remember getting on my own is Summer Girls by LFO. I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone that. [laughs]

PC: First concert you attended?
Kinsey: The first one that I remember was a free concert on the beach in Daytona, where I’m from. It was 2001 Sugar Ray at the prime of their career. I actually met Mark McGrath a couple of years ago, and I told him, “Dude, I saw you guys when I was eight years old on the beach.” That was a fun, full-circle moment.

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
Kinsey: Abbey Road is the reason that I do music. Continuum by John Mayer is one of the greatest albums ever made. To see someone go from pop like “Your Body Is a Wonderland” to incredible blues made me realize that climbing the ladder looks different for everyone. He was always going to be a musician. He never wanted to do the stuff that he was doing, but he knew that if he did, it would give him an outlet to be able to make the music he wanted to make. I keep that in my mind a lot.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Kinsey: Red Rocks Amphitheatre. I refuse to go to it until I’m playing it. I’ve never been, I won’t go see anyone play, and I won’t go until I play it. So I may never go. We’ll see.

PC: A must-have on the road?
Kinsey: That’s another good one! I would say a pillow. I’m a pillow guy. I go stay at someone’s house and I’ll bring my pillow before I bring anything else. If I don’t have a good pillow, I don’t sleep. I’ve had a memory foam pillow for ten years.

To keep up with Kinsey, follow him on Twitter and Instagram, and pick up Party of One on Amazon Music, iTunes, or stream it on Spotify.