Born out of the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, Rainbow Kitten Surprise make themselves known for their unique sound where nothing is left off of the table. Blending the sounds of Americana and hip hop, the band has seen an unprecedented rise in popularity as they’ve toured all around the world. Currently supporting their new album How To: Friend, Love, Freefall, the band was kind enough to sit down with us as a part of our coverage of Sloss Fest 2018.
Melodic (Jones): I remember a year and a half ago I saw you guys play the Syndicate Lounge in Birmingham to a packed crowd of 150 people, and now you have exploded in popularity over the past two years to the point of selling out huge rooms nationwide and a massively popular new album. How does it feel to have this meteoric rise in such a short period of time?
Bozzy Keller: It’s really great because we are still learning. We have so much more available to us now that we didn’t have previously — a larger stage production and a team behind us guiding us and teaching us how to navigate through the industry.
Sam Melo: Seeing how things work (the ins and outs of the business) is fascinating to me.
Charlie Holt: Traveling the world with my best friends is the best feeling I could possibly have.
Melodic (Jones): With the many festivals that you all have played in the past two years, what’s been the wildest thing that you’ve seen?
Ethan Goodpaster: I watched some tents catch on fire at Bonnaroo because of some Chinese paper lanterns. Fire, alcohol, and camping is just a bad mix, man.
Jess Haney: Playing stuff like Okeechobee and Bonnaroo and walking out of your tent where you’ve been living, and then jumping right on stage to play for thousands is a surreal feeling that I’ll never quite get used to.
Melodic (Jones): What does the rest of 2018 and 2019 look like for RKS now that the record is out?
Ethan: A LOT of touring. This year we have roughly 200 days out of the year that are dedicated to touring. We wanna play this record until we can’t anymore.
Sam: Play it until nobody comes and sees us!
Melodic (Jones): All of our writers and friends that are fans of RKS have a very fervent love for the band. How do you think you inspire that in your fans?
Jess: Well, we really show up on stage — we try to put on a show that gets as many involved as possible. That connection endears us to our fans in a way because it feels like a big party.
Sam: Shout out to Red Bull for making it possible, because I sleep about three hours a night when we’re on tour. There’s no rest when you’re living like this, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
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Big thanks to Rainbow Kitten Surprise for chatting with us! You can learn more about them at their website, and listen to How To: Friend, Love, Freefall on Spotify.
