August 19, 2024 • 35 mins
Celebrating her FIRST #1 on the U.S. charts, Kiesza shared how "I Go Dance" was born, how long ago she started working on it, how many Vs there were of it before its release, and the real meaning of the lyrics.
Kiesza also talked about her life-altering accident, and how it changed her for the better. We even chatted a little about both living w horrific cluster headaches.
We also got to know Kiesza better w #FinkysFirsts!
Find out about:
Follow: @AmericasDance30 on all socials!
Count down the biggest dance songs in the country every week with Brian Fink on America’s Dance 30; listen on stations around the world!
Kiesza also talked about her life-altering accident, and how it changed her for the better. We even chatted a little about both living w horrific cluster headaches.
We also got to know Kiesza better w #FinkysFirsts!
Find out about:
- the first thing she wanted to be growing up
- the first song she ever wrote
- if using her real name was her first choice for her artist project name, and where 'Kiesza' came from
- her first time performing
- what makes her instantly cry, happy or sad tears, when she first thinks about it
- the first dance song that made her fall in love w EDM
- the first place she loves to dance
Follow: @AmericasDance30 on all socials!
Count down the biggest dance songs in the country every week with Brian Fink on America’s Dance 30; listen on stations around the world!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
There she is.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
We had like a scheduling issue and I you call
me in like the middle of editing a music video,
and I'm like, in my pajamas.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
But if you're cool with that, I'm totally.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Cool with that.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
I just wish I would have known I would have
been in my pajamas too.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Dance counting down the biggest dance songs in the country.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
This is America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Kaysa, it is so great seeing you again, and it
is awesome having you on the ten year anniversary of
Iideaway when welcome to America's Dance thirty for the first time.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Thank you, thank you. It's so good to be here.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
And we are just talking about how there was some
scheduling issues. I appreciate you doing this in the middle
of your video shoot.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Well it's not video shoot. So I shown a fun
teneous music video to celebrate I Go Dance Going number one,
and I literally planned it in less than twenty four hours.
Somehow had so many people show up, including pole dancers,
and like Toronto really turns up.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Let me tell you, yes, they do.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I edit my own music videos, so I've just been
rushing to edit this thing. My wrists are literally swollen.
And then yeah, there was a scheduling. I guess my, my,
we just never ended up in my calendar. So my
manager is just like, oh my gosh, calling me like
you're supposed to be on camera, and I was like,
I met my pajamas and I was like, yo, screwt.
I'm like, I break every other rule, I might as well.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Why not?
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Absolutely well, congratulations and I go dance going number one.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Thank you. It's actually my first, I think, number one
in the US.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
How is that possible? How did a hideaway not go
number one?
Speaker 2 (01:53):
You know? I thought about that. I think I think
it was just timing because because House was like bubbling
in the UK and it was crossing over the US,
so I think it was just a little ahead of
its time.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
It's so crazy because not only was it a huge
dance song, but it also crossed over to top forty radio.
We were playing it here locally, so that just blows
my mind.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I appreciate you playing it.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Well, don't thank me, thank our program director. But I'll
take all the credit now before we talk all about
I go dance and find out how this number one
was born. You know a lot of people might not
know the insane comeback story that you've had to endure.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Can you share just really quickly what you've gone through.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, So in twenty seventeen, I was in a car
crash and I wasn't driving. I was in the backseat
of an uber at cab run a red light and
t boned us, and I sustained a terrible brain injury,
which through this whole process of recovery, I've had to
relearn to read to a certain extent. I lost my
balance on the left side of my body for quite
a few years, and then many things that I was
(03:00):
dealing with, which are a lot of them are hard
to explain, but just I was in bed most of
the time, in a dark room most of the time
because it couldn't handle light. So, I mean, I always
tell people it's sad because everything about my career is
the worst thing possible for an injured brain. Lights, crowds, noise,
just chaos, and so every time I would try to
(03:22):
do my career, my brain would just swell up and
I have to go light down for sometimes a week,
like the I don't know if you ever saw the
Crave music video where I'm just dancing alone. It was
like my first dancing that I attempted after in the
middle of my recovery. But I actually had to go
like go to bed for like a week after making
that music video. So everything I did came with a
(03:44):
great cost. And there are times when I really asked
myself is it worth it? Like is doing my passion
worth the suffering and that comes with it? And I
guess I guess it was because here I am, I've
pushed through so much and now I'm just very I
guess different than I was before. Like I'm just so
(04:05):
happy to be singing and happy to be putting out
music and happy to be on stage. The rest is
just about us. Really, I don't take my passion for
granted anymore, that's for sure. Not that I did, I
just really don't now. And I also I understand struggle
so much that I more than ever really try to
strive to help others as well. I really try to
uplift all my friends and make sure that everyone that's
(04:27):
involved in the collaborative process, my songwriters, my producers, are
all getting as much hype as I am. So yeah,
it's very tribal, very communal.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Now all of that let me just tell you, you know,
your aura is just so incredible.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
You came and chatted with us at Miami.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Music Week, and just everything about you is positive and happy,
and that's that's so good to see after everything that
you've been through.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Thank you, you know. I actually it's so funny. I
had a spontaneous secret performance at the Ellen DeGeneres show
earlier this week. She had me open up for her show.
I played acoustic and I was just started talking about
my life and my career in the midst of it,
and everyone was laughing. Turns out I don't know about
my order what's changed, but maybe I'll be a stand
(05:12):
up comedian.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
There's nothing to laugh about.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Really, having a brain injury made me funny.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Well, let's talk about more positive stuff before we chat
all about I go dance and find out how it
was born. Let's get to know Kaiza a little better
with Thinky's first.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
All right, if my again once I have a brain injury,
so if my memory, my memory doesn't fail me, I'll
do my best.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
I appreciate the disclaimer, but you're gonna be just fine. Now.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
I love finding out the origin story of artists. You
have an interesting story growing up because not only were
you a sailing instructor, but I saw that you also
so joined the Royal Canadian Navy Reserves, which as a
fellow Canadian, I was born in Montreal.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Merciboku Montreel. Yeah, bojeo, melci for doing that. Mercy for
your service.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
But when you were growing up, I know that your
first song you wrote it like eighteen right, yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yeah, I'd say my first serious song, like when I
really got the songwriter's bug?
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Gotcha?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Now?
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Was music the first thing you wanted to get into
growing up or was there something else you wanted to be?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
No, music was like my therapy. Music was like basically
my escape. And I was under the impression because my
parents raised me to like think I had to be
a doctor or something, or an engineer. I was just
under impression that I wouldn't be able to make it
as a musician. So I did it only as a passion.
And it's beautiful because it really was the passion that
made me have a career. I did not think I
(06:55):
could have a career in music. It just seemed like
it was like needing a celebrity, Like I'm never gonna
meet that person, you know, we're having a celebrity crush.
You just know deep down you're never gonna date them.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
So well, what's so crazy about you saying that?
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Is now you are the celebrity and people are going
around talking about dating you.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
It was a wild shift because my like me going
becoming a celebrity happened so fast that I wasn't able
to process it. So I was walking around really confused
all the time. I was like, are you sure?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Well, I'm so glad it happened for you. That is
so amazing. Now do you remember that first song that
you wrote at eighteen?
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (07:38):
How was it?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I had a crush on of course. I thought the
lines are like, it's like so poetic and think it goes.
I was like, a movie's done longing for me? You
look like a fantasy am take me away? Like you
know that you should Do one to Me as a
script is really good. I mean it's not the best writing,
(08:00):
it's not terrible, but I mean I've improved. Do unto
Me as a script written really good. I feel like
I could have taught those lyrics. Now.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
All I'm gonna say, though, is look at the memory.
Your memory is awesome.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Well, you know, The funny thing about music is music
stays when you die. Apparently the last part of your
brain to go to die is the part that holds
the memory of music. And when you have dementia, even
like music can bring back your memory. So there's just
something magical about music that I now, that's not true.
I did forget. I started classical guitar training before the
(08:34):
car crash, and anything that was in more like hadn't
been committed to long term memory. Wait, I have no
memory of any of the guitar songs I had learned
just before the car crash. Like all of my classical
training that I had worked on gone.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
It's so crazy.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Yeah, that was weird and sad, But I.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Mean that's something you could pick up again. It's not
a problem.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yeah, slowly, slowly, I mean stuff like that. Still, I
have to anything that takes a lot of mental capacity.
I have to pace myself, even choreography. I have to
take time because if I do it too quickly, it's
like I just suddenly go into the days. I get stunned,
and it's like I get separated from my body in
a weird way, and I lose access to myself. So
(09:21):
my brain will just turn the switch off. It'll be
like no. Like I did a dance class with one
of my dancers the other day and I was like,
I'm gonna do this, and then halfway through the class,
I was doing really good. Half brain just turned switch
off and I was just by the time I got
to the end, I just kept getting worse and worse,
and I was like, you know what, I tried that. Yeah. So,
(09:43):
like for my show and for my upcoming tour, which
is in October. It's my first tour back, actually first
headline tour and well since the car crash, which is
a big deal. But I have to really start ahead
of time and commit everything slowly to long term memory
and and not do it too quickly so that my
brain can keep up with the pace. So I've figured
(10:05):
out my injury a lot, and I figured out how
to work around it as much as I can so
that other people don't really know it's that I'm dealing
with it. And I you know, it's a lot of
people say just tell people when you're going through it,
but I honestly like I've I've found so many workarounds,
and I don't like to get people sad and depressed.
So I'm just like, ah, I'll give them the best
(10:25):
sides of me and I'll keep the rest of myself.
I let people know if I'm really struggling, I will
let them know.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Well listen, I'm not a doctor, but I do play
one on the radio. Please feel free to take your time,
take as much time as you need. Now, how did
your real first name turn into Kaiso with a Z?
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Me? Being like hyper competitive child? My brother Blair decided
to change his name and put a wine in it,
and I one upped him and added a ze. So
I was meeting a really competitive little sister.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
That is hilarious.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
There was no other reason. I was like, well, if
he's getting a Y, I want to put his d
into miname.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
My mom was like, we'll just legally keep your name
the way it is, but you can spell like that.
And I spelled it like that ever since.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
It was so awesome.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Now, when you were deciding on the artist project name,
was Kaiza always the first name you were going to
go with or were there other names you were considering?
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Yeah, no, it was always. I never considered a name.
This is the thing is because I never thought I
was going to be a musician as a career, so
I wasn't like, what's my name going to be, you know,
and everyone was like, definitely don't rode guys, I don't
or spell it. So I was like, right, of course.
And it's funny because when when things did pick up,
like my my first label, they begged me to change
(11:54):
my names, like you still have a chance, you can
still do it, and I was just like, eh, you
know what, don't figure it out.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Oh, I'm so glad you kept it because it is
such an iconic name.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Thank you. Yeah, it's it's definitely like I can go
with the one the one name wonder because literally no
one else has that spelling. It's funny because the name
is a Norwegian name and it normally has a jane it.
So my mom thought she was like helping people out
by by spelling it different, and then I went ahead
and changed it more. So it's just like no one
has this spelling except one person in the Philippines name
(12:29):
their daughter after me. So there is there is someone
in the Philippines I know for certain named Kaisa. Wow.
I bet they pronounced it different.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
It's probably like Kija.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Or nobody ever gets the pronunciation right on the first try,
like one maybe, but they always say Kisa or Keisha.
I don't know. It's okay though, I you know, people
say ask me if I get mad about that, and
I actually kind of like hearing all the versions of
my name. It's almost like I have a new personality
every country that I go to.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
That's kind of like tove Low because hers is actually
to and she's okay with everybody mispronouncing it.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Yeah, yeah, it's tough. I mean all the she's from
Sweden or normal Sweden. Yeah, yeah, it's like, yeah, it's
like too blue. We're not even saying her name right.
You say your name right, You're not saying right that
I know because it's like in the whole there's melody
that goes with the Scandinavian names too, like my name
(13:26):
is instead.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
Well, we're just gonna stick with tov Low and Kaisa
with that.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Now.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
You opened up for Demi Levado in the past, you
opened up for a good show, Lindsay Sterling. You've done
your own tour in the past, and you're about to
kick off your tour again. I mean, we had you
at jingle Ball a bunch of years ago. Performing live,
which is great, but do you have me, yes, absolutely
catching myself. Do you remember your first time performing?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yes, I was seven. Actually I was really shy. Believe
it or not. People don't believe this. That made me.
I was like clinically shy. But my mom was in
this thing called the Young Canadians when she was a kid,
and she told me about it, and then I wanted
to audition for it, and she was like, are you sure.
You don't like to even speak? But I learned this
(14:17):
song I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee,
So I was like, come from Banja, the banjo on
my knee. And I auditioned and I didn't make it,
but the next year was so determined, so I was like,
I'm gonna get in. So I learned Rocking Robin and
I sang it like Michael Jackson, like Babel Michael Jackson
like I went for it, and I got in and
I literally my first performance was for thirty thousand people
(14:40):
at the age of like eight. God, needless to say,
I got the buck early.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
That's one way to get over being shy.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Yeah, but I wanted to be an eye surgeon at
the age of eight. I was like very determined to
do surgery on eyes. I just was obsessed with eyes.
I was just like, damn, these things are Oh, I
want to like open them up.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Well, it's so crazy that you mentioned about being shy
and that people don't believe it, because I'm an introvert
as well, and people don't understand it with me being
on the radio and getting on stage in front of
thousands and thousands of people.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
But I'm an ambervert.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
So I'm introverted when I'm to myself, but extroverted when
i have to be.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
You know. I think the greatest artists are like that.
You notice a lot of actors are very shy off
camera and then they get on camera and you're like, wait,
where did that come from. I think it helps art
because we when we go into ourselves, we connect so
deeply with ourselves and it's like we go into this intense,
meditative state where we're like we're literally like syncing up
(15:42):
with the ether, and we're like everybody out, everybody else,
stay away, I'm connected, and then suddenly it's just it
all comes out. So it comes out with just as
equal energy as it built up inwardly. So there's just
a lot of power behind I think people who can
go into both spaces, at least I've noticed, because I
(16:05):
still do get very introverted. Like I went and lived
in a cabin in Norway last year for six months
with no Wi Fi.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
I was just like I needed to know if I
really could come back, and I needed to get act
with my soul because it is I'm not gonna lie
like I love it, but there is a lot of
pain involved with my comeback, and it is like I
have so many hard days still, but I I had
to like go just really ask myself, like can I
(16:33):
can I do this? And then all these creative ideas
started coming and suddenly I'm making a movie to every song,
and I just like the questions sort of answered itself.
But I realized, like, as long as I'm looking out
for myself and doing it at my own pace, and
if things go slower than what the industry deems like
appropriate or whatever, like and like if I if I
(16:55):
don't meet all the algorithms and everything, because I have
to take care of myself one day or I can't post.
It's so hard on everything's algorithm base, So you have
to be so consistent, but I have days when I
can't get out of bed still sometimes, or I have
a really bad headache and I need to sleep in.
I was like, you know what, that's okay, I'll do
it at my own pace. What it will be, what
it will be, the Only thing I'm gonna do is
(17:15):
I'm gonna give as much love as i can to
as many people as I can, and I'm going to
try to uplift as many people as I can in
the process. And my hope is that coming back, I'll
help open up other people to feel like they can
they can follow their passions and dreams and they don't
have to be I don't have to compare themselves to
anyone else. And it's honestly, it's been really I've been
(17:36):
I've been seeing that happen already, so I'm really excited
for this chapter. It's it's really about it's about unfolding
and not just myself, but the whole tribe, all of us.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
I really appreciate you saying that because and this is
in no way in comparison with a bad accident and
brain damage, but I suffer from clusters and migrains and
it is so bad over things. Yeah, so you know that.
I mean, they're nicknamed suicide headaches because they're so bad.
I mean, yeah, yesterday, I was literally in bed yesterday
(18:09):
from four pm into one am, just in the fetal position,
in excruciating pain. And one of the thoughts going through
my head was, oh my god, I've got a post.
Oh my god, what am I gonna do? I've got
to and you just don't because we're such workhorses. We
don't even think about no, hold on, we got to
take care of ourselves first. Don't worry about this social
(18:32):
media world. Worry about yourself first. So I'm so glad
you said that.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Also, I actually I discovered one person who cured cluster
headaches and I have you should call me after because
I'll tell you all about it.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Oh my god, please.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah. It's not easy, but it's supposed to be incurable
and it's it's very manageable.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
So I actually do botox every three months for the migraines,
and thankfully it's broken my cycle. I mean I used
to be on really strong, like really strong medication for
them that didn't keep them away. Yeah, And I was like,
why am I even on this if it's not keeping
them away, but the boatox has broken the cycle. The
only problem is is that when I deal with barometric
(19:13):
pressure or towards the end of the boatox cycle, that's
when they start breaking through and breaking through even worse
because they haven't been here. So so yeah, I'll reach
out to you after ords. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Yeah, yeah, after we're done, I'm going to tell you
all about it. Because I thought there was no hope.
On top of my brain injury, I developed cluster headaches.
So it was like brain damage and cluster headaches. It's
rare for a woman to get cluster headaches as well,
so it's just I just had I know what they
feel like. They're the worst pain in the world. They're
(19:46):
actually considered one of the one of the worst pains
that a human can feel. So I really feel for you.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Well, we'll chat later on time. We should hang out, Yes,
in a dark room.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Radio show for clusters.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Now on to happier stuff.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Do you remember the first dance song that made you
fall in love with edm.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Oh, that's a good one. It's kind of cheesy, but
I will survive. Is that considered a dance song? I'd
say so, I mean the seventies. Yeah, I was like,
that was like my karaoke song, and it still is
to this day. So I have like it's ingrained in
my whole life. It's just like I think that I've
been dancing that. But Michael Jackson was my earliest. My
mom was obsessed with Michael Jackson to the point where
(20:32):
she literally, I have two brothers, and she tried to
make us into like the Canadian version, like she got
us still like sparkly hats and literally somehow convinced Pearl
Jam to let us open for them, and then pulled
us out because she was like, you guys have never
been on stage, and putting you on stage with Pearl
Jams sounds like a terrible idea for your first ever show.
(20:54):
So we ended up pulling back. So I didn't get
to open for Pearl Jam as my first ever performed
and sadly, but you did.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Mention that your first performance was in front of thirty
thousand people, so I'd say you did pretty well.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
I know it was like meant it was really meant
to be. It was it was my calling and I
feel that very deeply. I do, especially now when I sing,
I feel like I connect very emotionally with people that
I'm singing to in my audience, Like we literally lock
in and we have this emotional experience. And I did
have that before, but it's on another level now. So
(21:27):
that's why I'm so excited to tour again, because I
know it's not just going to be a show. It's
going to be a whole like emotional experience that we
all share. And I have some wild things planned for
it as well well.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
I can't wait to see it.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Speaking of emotions, you know, I saw the video you
posted about how a good cry is as good of
a release for you as a good dance. Yeah, what's
the first thing that when you think about it, it
instantly makes you cry?
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Happy or sad.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
My best friend who passed away.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
My condolences. I'm sorry about that.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
As I'm not crying. I'm crying. I actually just went
to memor I just biked seventy one miles in her honor.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Like congratulations.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Yeah, her dad really wanted to think of her. And
I was like, I will fly to Madison, Wisconsin and
bike with you, and we did.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
That is amazing. Now, was that your first time biking
that many miles?
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Yes? But I won't lie. I did rent an electric
bike sad then.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
As somebody that cycles a lot, I am offended.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Right now, guys, there was this.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
A safety mechanism just in case. I was like, I
don't want to die bad. He bikes every day, so
I was like, he's gonna I'm I'm not gonna make it.
I have to I have to do this. So I
honestly didn't have the motor on most of the time.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Well, listen, I do bike ms every year, and so
this past time.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
I did sixty five. I've done one hundred miles in
one time. I'm just happy that you got in the
saddle and did it. That is so amazing.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
We can we can bike, and we talk about clusters.
We have so much in common.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
I need to go online and order a bffff little
dependant to send you tattoos.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Now, finally, in honor of I go dance going number one.
Where is the first place that you love to dance?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
I mean, I bring me back to like three year
old ballet class, good toes, bad toes, And then my
mom my mom did this thing which it was either
genius or was super traumatic, but you would put me
in like dance competitions, but in like with kids that
were older than me, knowing that I wouldn't win because
(23:57):
you wanted me to teach me how to be a
good loser. Wow. So I did all these dance competitions
and I lost all them except one I did win.
But I was like, I'm looking back, I'm like, you
know what, when I don't get things, it doesn't phaze me.
And I'm like, maybe my mom was a genius.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
That is kind of a brilliant move.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Yeah. She's like, I want her to know what it's
like to lose and get through it multiple times, so
she's yeah, So I was like in a dance class
with kids that were definitely older than me and doing
the competitions with them and losing all the time.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
So are you still a good loser?
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Yeah? I You know what I realized there is like
the winning is the journey. It really is. I mean
coming back through this whole hard recovery, the growth that
I've been through as a person, like also knowing that
I can get through something that that horrific and come
out on top. Not only that, like this this time
I'm doing it independent. I have no label like this,
(24:56):
I go dance went number one fully independent with a
brain injuries.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Yeah, that is so incredible.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Yeah, I'm really enjoying this. I'm enjoying the process. I'm
enjoying the people. I'm leaning into the experience. Whereas before
it was like always projecting to the next step, like Okay,
what's next, what's next, what's next, and kind of missing
the meat and potatoes of all of it. I wasn't
smelling the flowers because and I wasn't saying no to
(25:29):
things like we can only do so much as humans
and as much as like when it rains it poors,
you can't say yes to everything. You have to be like, no,
I have to sleep, I have to actually clean my
house and be human and hang out with my friends
and have board game night and stuff like that. So
I've just been prioritizing things that I forgot to prioritize
(25:49):
and I didn't know they were priorities in the past.
And my life is so enriched now, like I have
such good friends, And when I first got in the
car crash, I realized so quickly that most of the
people I was spending all my time with a lot
of big celebrities and stuff, they didn't even call me
when I got sick, and I sort of was no
longer relevant because I was no longer in the spotlight,
(26:11):
and the people that really came forward were people that
I was not spending that much time with. I was like,
I'm so busy, I'm in this country, that country. And
I've reconnected with my childhood best friend who I hadn't
seen in like fifteen years, and she was so supportive
and now we're like best friends again and we do
(26:33):
things together. Have I bring into my experience, but she
brings me into her experience. And I just appreciate every
individual I think more equally than I did in the past.
And I really am passionate about human beings in a
way that I wasn't before. And having that added to
my life now has just made my life so much
(26:56):
more like rich. Really, it's full of love. I'm just like,
I'm overwhelmed with love everywhere I go. Now.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
That is so incredible to hear. You know what.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
The only sad part about that is is that as humans,
it takes something like that, like almost tragic, for us
to realize that we need to readdress our priorities in life.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
That is so crazy.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
It's so true, But you know what, I think that's
part of our journey and all of our individual expansion.
I think we I think we come here and we
have our growth that we've been given, and we we
try our very best, you know, and it's okay. It's okay.
Like nothing in life is perfect, and including our life,
so we don't have to be perfect. We just have
(27:41):
to try our very best.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
Well, speaking of perfect, let's talk about this number one.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
How was I Go Dance Born?
Speaker 2 (27:51):
You know? It was funny. It's born out of a
deep conversation about We're talking about my co writer k
by K Sodomyer. She and I were talking about how
everything in life, the light and the dark, is all
in some way connected to self healing and our mind
are soul. It's always trying to heal us, even if
(28:14):
sometimes it works against us. And if you really look
for the healing angle and everything, you can have a
lot more compassion for people and especially people that you
would normally hate. But then you look look at life
and look at at places like strip clubs and stuff
that are seen as really dark places. But then, but
if you actually analyze the art of a pole dancer,
(28:35):
it's this magnificent dance form. It's angelic in so many ways.
And it then led us to writing a stripper whole song.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
And this just took a turn.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
You know, we're like, how I know it's like this
I know what really was like this deep conversation and
we're like, well, in that note, this stripper song is great.
But if you go to the verse you can kind
of tidbits of that conversation in it, because it's like,
I know why you came. You don't have to say
I can be the love that you want to feel.
We can play the game, but you know your place.
(29:08):
I might take what you got, but you get the thrill.
I know what I am, Baby, what are you? I'm
the paradise and you're broken, mirror healing you from above.
That's what angels do? You create your how I may
it disappear? So there's like there's tidbits of that conversation
in the verse.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
It's so funny now that you mentioned what it's about,
it totally changes the lyrics.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
It is a very deep song. It's disguised. It's like
it's like the eggshell. It's like there's a shell, but
there's a there's a lot of depth underneath. While you
go to your pole dancing class, you can think.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
About, now, when did you guys write it.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I don't remember the exact date, but I remember it
being warm outside, and yet that was in La so
that would explain why I was warm. I could go
back to my voice memos. I'm gonna say it was
probably about two years ago, because maybe a year and
a half ago. It was like a two year process.
I wrote a lot of the music and then I
had to take my sabbatical Norway, so that was a
(30:01):
six month break and then was like, okay, let's do it.
I'm going to say about two years ago when it started,
when it began, when we began the process.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Now, something I love to find out about songs is
how many different v's there are from when you start
working on it, all the tweaking that goes on to
when it finally gets released and mastered. Ar KISA songs
normally revised a lot. Are there a lot of versions
or is it pretty?
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Really?
Speaker 2 (30:26):
I think there's like there's like eleven versions of every
song at least, Like a lot of my songs, I'll
sit and write by myself, like strangers. You'll see on
the co write there's a lot of writers, but the
lyrics and the melody I wrote all those by myself
at four am. But like, for example, I go dance,
I like to have somebody there to bounce ideas off
(30:48):
of and can I connect so much as humans and
we're on it. We're in a similar growth experience in
our lives. So I brought her into my project as
my my mirror, as my co writer. It was supposed
to be for some records, but we were just having
the best time. Like we literally we were dying, laughing
on the ground, rolling around and I swear Sugar Jesus,
(31:10):
who was a producer, he was I mean, I don't
know how he got through the process with us. And
then we'd have the wildest conversations and we'd be in
the studio like and he'd just be sitting there and
we'd be talking about like living past lives together and
all this stuff, and he's just like, Okay, it's the
lyric gonna come. Like like literally, making this project was
(31:32):
as fun as it sounds. And like the mysterious disappearance
of at a place like that was written because I
went Dino digging in Wyoming and fell in love with
my airbnb host and got him to recite a poem
that he wrote in my phone and turned that into
a song and then wrote it about a story because
he's a historian. That he told me there's there's so
(31:54):
much life and living in the music, and I love
that about it. But you're talking about so like I
would go away on some adventure, come back and be like,
you know what we need the sound of wind, or
like k Kay is obsessed with whales, So there's whales
hidden through the whole project, Like yeah, because whales is
so healing, and so we put magical healing whale sounds.
(32:16):
They're all secret you hear like in little places and
there's low whale frequencies and like there's a there's a
song coming up next on the next volume, volume two,
which is like there's a very loud like so Kay
says with whales and she we literally listed her as
(32:36):
our professional whale list.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Well, now I know why when I listen to kuys
of music, I feel so healed.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
I mean it was made in a healing frequency. Every
song is definitely I think healing, and I really think
music takes on the vibration of the moment and the
vibration of the moment of all this music is extremely
healing and full of love and joy. So whether it's
about pole dancing or some lady running with gold because
(33:05):
of her outlaw lovers getting shot, debt to death, there's
love and all of this and like it's it's so serious,
but not like I have a song on the next
one where I'm literally yodling, really but it sounds so
it sounds so serious.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
I can't wait to hear it, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Yodelers will not They'll be like that. I'm on the
I'm on the yodeling journeys.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
Well, congratulations on this journey that you've been on. Congratulations
on the comeback, Congratulations on Igo Dance going number one,
Congratulations on the upcoming tour. I can't wait to see
you performing on stage again. Kai, It has been so
awesome chatting with you. Thank you so much for your
(33:55):
time with us on America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Thanks thanks for having men, Thanks for allowing me to
come on in my jamas next time. You know what, Okay,
I'm actually wearing. I was out working on my orchestra
show which is in October. I'm playing with a symphony
and Mike, one of my orchestrators, lives in Nelson, BC
in Canada, and like and at forty minutes I think
north of where we were, there's a rave in the
(34:19):
middle of the mountains and one of my friends were playing,
so they're like, do you want to crash our set?
And I was like, it's going to destroy my head,
but I will do it for you because you're my friend.
So I end up getting these these overalls that are
like raver overalls, and I'm literally I wore them to
the Elm Show so I still.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
Have my own.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
All I know is next time, don't be surprised when
I'm in my pajamas.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
That's all I'm gonna say.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
No neat. I mean, they're like they're like those they're
they're they're so soft, they're like they could be pajamas,
they could be a show outfit. They're so bright, they
could be anyone on drugs will definitely be your best friend.
I don't encourage, I.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
Don't think.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
Disclaimer. I absolutely love it. Kaisa, it's great chatting with you.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Thank you y'all. See Pajamas, Next Time, Pajama Party. America's
Dance Artie counting down the biggest dance songs in the country.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
America's Dance thirty
There she is.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
We had like a scheduling issue and I you call
me in like the middle of editing a music video,
and I'm like, in my pajamas.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
But if you're cool with that, I'm totally.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Cool with that.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
I just wish I would have known I would have
been in my pajamas too.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Dance counting down the biggest dance songs in the country.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
This is America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Kaysa, it is so great seeing you again, and it
is awesome having you on the ten year anniversary of
Iideaway when welcome to America's Dance thirty for the first time.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Thank you, thank you. It's so good to be here.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
And we are just talking about how there was some
scheduling issues. I appreciate you doing this in the middle
of your video shoot.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Well it's not video shoot. So I shown a fun
teneous music video to celebrate I Go Dance Going number one,
and I literally planned it in less than twenty four hours.
Somehow had so many people show up, including pole dancers,
and like Toronto really turns up.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Let me tell you, yes, they do.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I edit my own music videos, so I've just been
rushing to edit this thing. My wrists are literally swollen.
And then yeah, there was a scheduling. I guess my, my,
we just never ended up in my calendar. So my
manager is just like, oh my gosh, calling me like
you're supposed to be on camera, and I was like,
I met my pajamas and I was like, yo, screwt.
I'm like, I break every other rule, I might as well.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Why not?
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Absolutely well, congratulations and I go dance going number one.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Thank you. It's actually my first, I think, number one
in the US.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
How is that possible? How did a hideaway not go
number one?
Speaker 2 (01:53):
You know? I thought about that. I think I think
it was just timing because because House was like bubbling
in the UK and it was crossing over the US,
so I think it was just a little ahead of
its time.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
It's so crazy because not only was it a huge
dance song, but it also crossed over to top forty radio.
We were playing it here locally, so that just blows
my mind.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I appreciate you playing it.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Well, don't thank me, thank our program director. But I'll
take all the credit now before we talk all about
I go dance and find out how this number one
was born. You know a lot of people might not
know the insane comeback story that you've had to endure.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Can you share just really quickly what you've gone through.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, So in twenty seventeen, I was in a car
crash and I wasn't driving. I was in the backseat
of an uber at cab run a red light and
t boned us, and I sustained a terrible brain injury,
which through this whole process of recovery, I've had to
relearn to read to a certain extent. I lost my
balance on the left side of my body for quite
a few years, and then many things that I was
(03:00):
dealing with, which are a lot of them are hard
to explain, but just I was in bed most of
the time, in a dark room most of the time
because it couldn't handle light. So, I mean, I always
tell people it's sad because everything about my career is
the worst thing possible for an injured brain. Lights, crowds, noise,
just chaos, and so every time I would try to
(03:22):
do my career, my brain would just swell up and
I have to go light down for sometimes a week,
like the I don't know if you ever saw the
Crave music video where I'm just dancing alone. It was
like my first dancing that I attempted after in the
middle of my recovery. But I actually had to go
like go to bed for like a week after making
that music video. So everything I did came with a
(03:44):
great cost. And there are times when I really asked
myself is it worth it? Like is doing my passion
worth the suffering and that comes with it? And I
guess I guess it was because here I am, I've
pushed through so much and now I'm just very I
guess different than I was before. Like I'm just so
(04:05):
happy to be singing and happy to be putting out
music and happy to be on stage. The rest is
just about us. Really, I don't take my passion for
granted anymore, that's for sure. Not that I did, I
just really don't now. And I also I understand struggle
so much that I more than ever really try to
strive to help others as well. I really try to
uplift all my friends and make sure that everyone that's
(04:27):
involved in the collaborative process, my songwriters, my producers, are
all getting as much hype as I am. So yeah,
it's very tribal, very communal.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Now all of that let me just tell you, you know,
your aura is just so incredible.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
You came and chatted with us at Miami.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Music Week, and just everything about you is positive and happy,
and that's that's so good to see after everything that
you've been through.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Thank you, you know. I actually it's so funny. I
had a spontaneous secret performance at the Ellen DeGeneres show
earlier this week. She had me open up for her show.
I played acoustic and I was just started talking about
my life and my career in the midst of it,
and everyone was laughing. Turns out I don't know about
my order what's changed, but maybe I'll be a stand
(05:12):
up comedian.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
There's nothing to laugh about.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Really, having a brain injury made me funny.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Well, let's talk about more positive stuff before we chat
all about I go dance and find out how it
was born. Let's get to know Kaiza a little better
with Thinky's first.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
All right, if my again once I have a brain injury,
so if my memory, my memory doesn't fail me, I'll
do my best.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
I appreciate the disclaimer, but you're gonna be just fine. Now.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
I love finding out the origin story of artists. You
have an interesting story growing up because not only were
you a sailing instructor, but I saw that you also
so joined the Royal Canadian Navy Reserves, which as a
fellow Canadian, I was born in Montreal.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Merciboku Montreel. Yeah, bojeo, melci for doing that. Mercy for
your service.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
But when you were growing up, I know that your
first song you wrote it like eighteen right, yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yeah, I'd say my first serious song, like when I
really got the songwriter's bug?
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Gotcha?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Now?
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Was music the first thing you wanted to get into
growing up or was there something else you wanted to be?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
No, music was like my therapy. Music was like basically
my escape. And I was under the impression because my
parents raised me to like think I had to be
a doctor or something, or an engineer. I was just
under impression that I wouldn't be able to make it
as a musician. So I did it only as a passion.
And it's beautiful because it really was the passion that
made me have a career. I did not think I
(06:55):
could have a career in music. It just seemed like
it was like needing a celebrity, Like I'm never gonna
meet that person, you know, we're having a celebrity crush.
You just know deep down you're never gonna date them.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
So well, what's so crazy about you saying that?
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Is now you are the celebrity and people are going
around talking about dating you.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
It was a wild shift because my like me going
becoming a celebrity happened so fast that I wasn't able
to process it. So I was walking around really confused
all the time. I was like, are you sure?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Well, I'm so glad it happened for you. That is
so amazing. Now do you remember that first song that
you wrote at eighteen?
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (07:38):
How was it?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I had a crush on of course. I thought the
lines are like, it's like so poetic and think it goes.
I was like, a movie's done longing for me? You
look like a fantasy am take me away? Like you
know that you should Do one to Me as a
script is really good. I mean it's not the best writing,
(08:00):
it's not terrible, but I mean I've improved. Do unto
Me as a script written really good. I feel like
I could have taught those lyrics. Now.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
All I'm gonna say, though, is look at the memory.
Your memory is awesome.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Well, you know, The funny thing about music is music
stays when you die. Apparently the last part of your
brain to go to die is the part that holds
the memory of music. And when you have dementia, even
like music can bring back your memory. So there's just
something magical about music that I now, that's not true.
I did forget. I started classical guitar training before the
(08:34):
car crash, and anything that was in more like hadn't
been committed to long term memory. Wait, I have no
memory of any of the guitar songs I had learned
just before the car crash. Like all of my classical
training that I had worked on gone.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
It's so crazy.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Yeah, that was weird and sad, But I.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Mean that's something you could pick up again. It's not
a problem.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yeah, slowly, slowly, I mean stuff like that. Still, I
have to anything that takes a lot of mental capacity.
I have to pace myself, even choreography. I have to
take time because if I do it too quickly, it's
like I just suddenly go into the days. I get stunned,
and it's like I get separated from my body in
a weird way, and I lose access to myself. So
(09:21):
my brain will just turn the switch off. It'll be
like no. Like I did a dance class with one
of my dancers the other day and I was like,
I'm gonna do this, and then halfway through the class,
I was doing really good. Half brain just turned switch
off and I was just by the time I got
to the end, I just kept getting worse and worse,
and I was like, you know what, I tried that. Yeah. So,
(09:43):
like for my show and for my upcoming tour, which
is in October. It's my first tour back, actually first
headline tour and well since the car crash, which is
a big deal. But I have to really start ahead
of time and commit everything slowly to long term memory
and and not do it too quickly so that my
brain can keep up with the pace. So I've figured
(10:05):
out my injury a lot, and I figured out how
to work around it as much as I can so
that other people don't really know it's that I'm dealing
with it. And I you know, it's a lot of
people say just tell people when you're going through it,
but I honestly like I've I've found so many workarounds,
and I don't like to get people sad and depressed.
So I'm just like, ah, I'll give them the best
(10:25):
sides of me and I'll keep the rest of myself.
I let people know if I'm really struggling, I will
let them know.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Well listen, I'm not a doctor, but I do play
one on the radio. Please feel free to take your time,
take as much time as you need. Now, how did
your real first name turn into Kaiso with a Z?
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Me? Being like hyper competitive child? My brother Blair decided
to change his name and put a wine in it,
and I one upped him and added a ze. So
I was meeting a really competitive little sister.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
That is hilarious.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
There was no other reason. I was like, well, if
he's getting a Y, I want to put his d
into miname.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
My mom was like, we'll just legally keep your name
the way it is, but you can spell like that.
And I spelled it like that ever since.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
It was so awesome.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Now, when you were deciding on the artist project name,
was Kaiza always the first name you were going to
go with or were there other names you were considering?
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Yeah, no, it was always. I never considered a name.
This is the thing is because I never thought I
was going to be a musician as a career, so
I wasn't like, what's my name going to be, you know,
and everyone was like, definitely don't rode guys, I don't
or spell it. So I was like, right, of course.
And it's funny because when when things did pick up,
like my my first label, they begged me to change
(11:54):
my names, like you still have a chance, you can
still do it, and I was just like, eh, you
know what, don't figure it out.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Oh, I'm so glad you kept it because it is
such an iconic name.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Thank you. Yeah, it's it's definitely like I can go
with the one the one name wonder because literally no
one else has that spelling. It's funny because the name
is a Norwegian name and it normally has a jane it.
So my mom thought she was like helping people out
by by spelling it different, and then I went ahead
and changed it more. So it's just like no one
has this spelling except one person in the Philippines name
(12:29):
their daughter after me. So there is there is someone
in the Philippines I know for certain named Kaisa. Wow.
I bet they pronounced it different.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
It's probably like Kija.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Or nobody ever gets the pronunciation right on the first try,
like one maybe, but they always say Kisa or Keisha.
I don't know. It's okay though, I you know, people
say ask me if I get mad about that, and
I actually kind of like hearing all the versions of
my name. It's almost like I have a new personality
every country that I go to.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
That's kind of like tove Low because hers is actually
to and she's okay with everybody mispronouncing it.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Yeah, yeah, it's tough. I mean all the she's from
Sweden or normal Sweden. Yeah, yeah, it's like, yeah, it's
like too blue. We're not even saying her name right.
You say your name right, You're not saying right that
I know because it's like in the whole there's melody
that goes with the Scandinavian names too, like my name
(13:26):
is instead.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
Well, we're just gonna stick with tov Low and Kaisa
with that.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Now.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
You opened up for Demi Levado in the past, you
opened up for a good show, Lindsay Sterling. You've done
your own tour in the past, and you're about to
kick off your tour again. I mean, we had you
at jingle Ball a bunch of years ago. Performing live,
which is great, but do you have me, yes, absolutely
catching myself. Do you remember your first time performing?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yes, I was seven. Actually I was really shy. Believe
it or not. People don't believe this. That made me.
I was like clinically shy. But my mom was in
this thing called the Young Canadians when she was a kid,
and she told me about it, and then I wanted
to audition for it, and she was like, are you sure.
You don't like to even speak? But I learned this
(14:17):
song I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee,
So I was like, come from Banja, the banjo on
my knee. And I auditioned and I didn't make it,
but the next year was so determined, so I was like,
I'm gonna get in. So I learned Rocking Robin and
I sang it like Michael Jackson, like Babel Michael Jackson
like I went for it, and I got in and
I literally my first performance was for thirty thousand people
(14:40):
at the age of like eight. God, needless to say,
I got the buck early.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
That's one way to get over being shy.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Yeah, but I wanted to be an eye surgeon at
the age of eight. I was like very determined to
do surgery on eyes. I just was obsessed with eyes.
I was just like, damn, these things are Oh, I
want to like open them up.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Well, it's so crazy that you mentioned about being shy
and that people don't believe it, because I'm an introvert
as well, and people don't understand it with me being
on the radio and getting on stage in front of
thousands and thousands of people.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
But I'm an ambervert.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
So I'm introverted when I'm to myself, but extroverted when
i have to be.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
You know. I think the greatest artists are like that.
You notice a lot of actors are very shy off
camera and then they get on camera and you're like, wait,
where did that come from. I think it helps art
because we when we go into ourselves, we connect so
deeply with ourselves and it's like we go into this intense,
meditative state where we're like we're literally like syncing up
(15:42):
with the ether, and we're like everybody out, everybody else,
stay away, I'm connected, and then suddenly it's just it
all comes out. So it comes out with just as
equal energy as it built up inwardly. So there's just
a lot of power behind I think people who can
go into both spaces, at least I've noticed, because I
(16:05):
still do get very introverted. Like I went and lived
in a cabin in Norway last year for six months
with no Wi Fi.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
I was just like I needed to know if I
really could come back, and I needed to get act
with my soul because it is I'm not gonna lie
like I love it, but there is a lot of
pain involved with my comeback, and it is like I
have so many hard days still, but I I had
to like go just really ask myself, like can I
(16:33):
can I do this? And then all these creative ideas
started coming and suddenly I'm making a movie to every song,
and I just like the questions sort of answered itself.
But I realized, like, as long as I'm looking out
for myself and doing it at my own pace, and
if things go slower than what the industry deems like
appropriate or whatever, like and like if I if I
(16:55):
don't meet all the algorithms and everything, because I have
to take care of myself one day or I can't post.
It's so hard on everything's algorithm base, So you have
to be so consistent, but I have days when I
can't get out of bed still sometimes, or I have
a really bad headache and I need to sleep in.
I was like, you know what, that's okay, I'll do
it at my own pace. What it will be, what
it will be, the Only thing I'm gonna do is
(17:15):
I'm gonna give as much love as i can to
as many people as I can, and I'm going to
try to uplift as many people as I can in
the process. And my hope is that coming back, I'll
help open up other people to feel like they can
they can follow their passions and dreams and they don't
have to be I don't have to compare themselves to
anyone else. And it's honestly, it's been really I've been
(17:36):
I've been seeing that happen already, so I'm really excited
for this chapter. It's it's really about it's about unfolding
and not just myself, but the whole tribe, all of us.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
I really appreciate you saying that because and this is
in no way in comparison with a bad accident and
brain damage, but I suffer from clusters and migrains and
it is so bad over things. Yeah, so you know that.
I mean, they're nicknamed suicide headaches because they're so bad.
I mean, yeah, yesterday, I was literally in bed yesterday
(18:09):
from four pm into one am, just in the fetal position,
in excruciating pain. And one of the thoughts going through
my head was, oh my god, I've got a post.
Oh my god, what am I gonna do? I've got
to and you just don't because we're such workhorses. We
don't even think about no, hold on, we got to
take care of ourselves first. Don't worry about this social
(18:32):
media world. Worry about yourself first. So I'm so glad
you said that.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Also, I actually I discovered one person who cured cluster
headaches and I have you should call me after because
I'll tell you all about it.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Oh my god, please.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah. It's not easy, but it's supposed to be incurable
and it's it's very manageable.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
So I actually do botox every three months for the migraines,
and thankfully it's broken my cycle. I mean I used
to be on really strong, like really strong medication for
them that didn't keep them away. Yeah, And I was like,
why am I even on this if it's not keeping
them away, but the boatox has broken the cycle. The
only problem is is that when I deal with barometric
(19:13):
pressure or towards the end of the boatox cycle, that's
when they start breaking through and breaking through even worse
because they haven't been here. So so yeah, I'll reach
out to you after ords. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Yeah, yeah, after we're done, I'm going to tell you
all about it. Because I thought there was no hope.
On top of my brain injury, I developed cluster headaches.
So it was like brain damage and cluster headaches. It's
rare for a woman to get cluster headaches as well,
so it's just I just had I know what they
feel like. They're the worst pain in the world. They're
(19:46):
actually considered one of the one of the worst pains
that a human can feel. So I really feel for you.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Well, we'll chat later on time. We should hang out, Yes,
in a dark room.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Radio show for clusters.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Now on to happier stuff.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Do you remember the first dance song that made you
fall in love with edm.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Oh, that's a good one. It's kind of cheesy, but
I will survive. Is that considered a dance song? I'd
say so, I mean the seventies. Yeah, I was like,
that was like my karaoke song, and it still is
to this day. So I have like it's ingrained in
my whole life. It's just like I think that I've
been dancing that. But Michael Jackson was my earliest. My
mom was obsessed with Michael Jackson to the point where
(20:32):
she literally, I have two brothers, and she tried to
make us into like the Canadian version, like she got
us still like sparkly hats and literally somehow convinced Pearl
Jam to let us open for them, and then pulled
us out because she was like, you guys have never
been on stage, and putting you on stage with Pearl
Jams sounds like a terrible idea for your first ever show.
(20:54):
So we ended up pulling back. So I didn't get
to open for Pearl Jam as my first ever performed
and sadly, but you did.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Mention that your first performance was in front of thirty
thousand people, so I'd say you did pretty well.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
I know it was like meant it was really meant
to be. It was it was my calling and I
feel that very deeply. I do, especially now when I sing,
I feel like I connect very emotionally with people that
I'm singing to in my audience, Like we literally lock
in and we have this emotional experience. And I did
have that before, but it's on another level now. So
(21:27):
that's why I'm so excited to tour again, because I
know it's not just going to be a show. It's
going to be a whole like emotional experience that we
all share. And I have some wild things planned for
it as well well.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
I can't wait to see it.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Speaking of emotions, you know, I saw the video you
posted about how a good cry is as good of
a release for you as a good dance. Yeah, what's
the first thing that when you think about it, it
instantly makes you cry?
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Happy or sad.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
My best friend who passed away.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
My condolences. I'm sorry about that.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
As I'm not crying. I'm crying. I actually just went
to memor I just biked seventy one miles in her honor.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Like congratulations.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Yeah, her dad really wanted to think of her. And
I was like, I will fly to Madison, Wisconsin and
bike with you, and we did.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
That is amazing. Now, was that your first time biking
that many miles?
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Yes? But I won't lie. I did rent an electric
bike sad then.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
As somebody that cycles a lot, I am offended.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Right now, guys, there was this.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
A safety mechanism just in case. I was like, I
don't want to die bad. He bikes every day, so
I was like, he's gonna I'm I'm not gonna make it.
I have to I have to do this. So I
honestly didn't have the motor on most of the time.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Well, listen, I do bike ms every year, and so
this past time.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
I did sixty five. I've done one hundred miles in
one time. I'm just happy that you got in the
saddle and did it. That is so amazing.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
We can we can bike, and we talk about clusters.
We have so much in common.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
I need to go online and order a bffff little
dependant to send you tattoos.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Now, finally, in honor of I go dance going number one.
Where is the first place that you love to dance?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
I mean, I bring me back to like three year
old ballet class, good toes, bad toes, And then my
mom my mom did this thing which it was either
genius or was super traumatic, but you would put me
in like dance competitions, but in like with kids that
were older than me, knowing that I wouldn't win because
(23:57):
you wanted me to teach me how to be a
good loser. Wow. So I did all these dance competitions
and I lost all them except one I did win.
But I was like, I'm looking back, I'm like, you
know what, when I don't get things, it doesn't phaze me.
And I'm like, maybe my mom was a genius.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
That is kind of a brilliant move.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Yeah. She's like, I want her to know what it's
like to lose and get through it multiple times, so
she's yeah, So I was like in a dance class
with kids that were definitely older than me and doing
the competitions with them and losing all the time.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
So are you still a good loser?
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Yeah? I You know what I realized there is like
the winning is the journey. It really is. I mean
coming back through this whole hard recovery, the growth that
I've been through as a person, like also knowing that
I can get through something that that horrific and come
out on top. Not only that, like this this time
I'm doing it independent. I have no label like this,
(24:56):
I go dance went number one fully independent with a
brain injuries.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Yeah, that is so incredible.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Yeah, I'm really enjoying this. I'm enjoying the process. I'm
enjoying the people. I'm leaning into the experience. Whereas before
it was like always projecting to the next step, like Okay,
what's next, what's next, what's next, and kind of missing
the meat and potatoes of all of it. I wasn't
smelling the flowers because and I wasn't saying no to
(25:29):
things like we can only do so much as humans
and as much as like when it rains it poors,
you can't say yes to everything. You have to be like, no,
I have to sleep, I have to actually clean my
house and be human and hang out with my friends
and have board game night and stuff like that. So
I've just been prioritizing things that I forgot to prioritize
(25:49):
and I didn't know they were priorities in the past.
And my life is so enriched now, like I have
such good friends, And when I first got in the
car crash, I realized so quickly that most of the
people I was spending all my time with a lot
of big celebrities and stuff, they didn't even call me
when I got sick, and I sort of was no
longer relevant because I was no longer in the spotlight,
(26:11):
and the people that really came forward were people that
I was not spending that much time with. I was like,
I'm so busy, I'm in this country, that country. And
I've reconnected with my childhood best friend who I hadn't
seen in like fifteen years, and she was so supportive
and now we're like best friends again and we do
(26:33):
things together. Have I bring into my experience, but she
brings me into her experience. And I just appreciate every
individual I think more equally than I did in the past.
And I really am passionate about human beings in a
way that I wasn't before. And having that added to
my life now has just made my life so much
(26:56):
more like rich. Really, it's full of love. I'm just like,
I'm overwhelmed with love everywhere I go. Now.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
That is so incredible to hear. You know what.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
The only sad part about that is is that as humans,
it takes something like that, like almost tragic, for us
to realize that we need to readdress our priorities in life.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
That is so crazy.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
It's so true, But you know what, I think that's
part of our journey and all of our individual expansion.
I think we I think we come here and we
have our growth that we've been given, and we we
try our very best, you know, and it's okay. It's okay.
Like nothing in life is perfect, and including our life,
so we don't have to be perfect. We just have
(27:41):
to try our very best.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
Well, speaking of perfect, let's talk about this number one.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
How was I Go Dance Born?
Speaker 2 (27:51):
You know? It was funny. It's born out of a
deep conversation about We're talking about my co writer k
by K Sodomyer. She and I were talking about how
everything in life, the light and the dark, is all
in some way connected to self healing and our mind
are soul. It's always trying to heal us, even if
(28:14):
sometimes it works against us. And if you really look
for the healing angle and everything, you can have a
lot more compassion for people and especially people that you
would normally hate. But then you look look at life
and look at at places like strip clubs and stuff
that are seen as really dark places. But then, but
if you actually analyze the art of a pole dancer,
(28:35):
it's this magnificent dance form. It's angelic in so many ways.
And it then led us to writing a stripper whole song.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
And this just took a turn.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
You know, we're like, how I know it's like this
I know what really was like this deep conversation and
we're like, well, in that note, this stripper song is great.
But if you go to the verse you can kind
of tidbits of that conversation in it, because it's like,
I know why you came. You don't have to say
I can be the love that you want to feel.
We can play the game, but you know your place.
(29:08):
I might take what you got, but you get the thrill.
I know what I am, Baby, what are you? I'm
the paradise and you're broken, mirror healing you from above.
That's what angels do? You create your how I may
it disappear? So there's like there's tidbits of that conversation
in the verse.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
It's so funny now that you mentioned what it's about,
it totally changes the lyrics.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
It is a very deep song. It's disguised. It's like
it's like the eggshell. It's like there's a shell, but
there's a there's a lot of depth underneath. While you
go to your pole dancing class, you can think.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
About, now, when did you guys write it.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I don't remember the exact date, but I remember it
being warm outside, and yet that was in La so
that would explain why I was warm. I could go
back to my voice memos. I'm gonna say it was
probably about two years ago, because maybe a year and
a half ago. It was like a two year process.
I wrote a lot of the music and then I
had to take my sabbatical Norway, so that was a
(30:01):
six month break and then was like, okay, let's do it.
I'm going to say about two years ago when it started,
when it began, when we began the process.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Now, something I love to find out about songs is
how many different v's there are from when you start
working on it, all the tweaking that goes on to
when it finally gets released and mastered. Ar KISA songs
normally revised a lot. Are there a lot of versions
or is it pretty?
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Really?
Speaker 2 (30:26):
I think there's like there's like eleven versions of every
song at least, Like a lot of my songs, I'll
sit and write by myself, like strangers. You'll see on
the co write there's a lot of writers, but the
lyrics and the melody I wrote all those by myself
at four am. But like, for example, I go dance,
I like to have somebody there to bounce ideas off
(30:48):
of and can I connect so much as humans and
we're on it. We're in a similar growth experience in
our lives. So I brought her into my project as
my my mirror, as my co writer. It was supposed
to be for some records, but we were just having
the best time. Like we literally we were dying, laughing
on the ground, rolling around and I swear Sugar Jesus,
(31:10):
who was a producer, he was I mean, I don't
know how he got through the process with us. And
then we'd have the wildest conversations and we'd be in
the studio like and he'd just be sitting there and
we'd be talking about like living past lives together and
all this stuff, and he's just like, Okay, it's the
lyric gonna come. Like like literally, making this project was
(31:32):
as fun as it sounds. And like the mysterious disappearance
of at a place like that was written because I
went Dino digging in Wyoming and fell in love with
my airbnb host and got him to recite a poem
that he wrote in my phone and turned that into
a song and then wrote it about a story because
he's a historian. That he told me there's there's so
(31:54):
much life and living in the music, and I love
that about it. But you're talking about so like I
would go away on some adventure, come back and be like,
you know what we need the sound of wind, or
like k Kay is obsessed with whales, So there's whales
hidden through the whole project, Like yeah, because whales is
so healing, and so we put magical healing whale sounds.
(32:16):
They're all secret you hear like in little places and
there's low whale frequencies and like there's a there's a
song coming up next on the next volume, volume two,
which is like there's a very loud like so Kay
says with whales and she we literally listed her as
(32:36):
our professional whale list.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Well, now I know why when I listen to kuys
of music, I feel so healed.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
I mean it was made in a healing frequency. Every
song is definitely I think healing, and I really think
music takes on the vibration of the moment and the
vibration of the moment of all this music is extremely
healing and full of love and joy. So whether it's
about pole dancing or some lady running with gold because
(33:05):
of her outlaw lovers getting shot, debt to death, there's
love and all of this and like it's it's so serious,
but not like I have a song on the next
one where I'm literally yodling, really but it sounds so
it sounds so serious.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
I can't wait to hear it, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Yodelers will not They'll be like that. I'm on the
I'm on the yodeling journeys.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
Well, congratulations on this journey that you've been on. Congratulations
on the comeback, Congratulations on Igo Dance going number one,
Congratulations on the upcoming tour. I can't wait to see
you performing on stage again. Kai, It has been so
awesome chatting with you. Thank you so much for your
(33:55):
time with us on America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Thanks thanks for having men, Thanks for allowing me to
come on in my jamas next time. You know what, Okay,
I'm actually wearing. I was out working on my orchestra
show which is in October. I'm playing with a symphony
and Mike, one of my orchestrators, lives in Nelson, BC
in Canada, and like and at forty minutes I think
north of where we were, there's a rave in the
(34:19):
middle of the mountains and one of my friends were playing,
so they're like, do you want to crash our set?
And I was like, it's going to destroy my head,
but I will do it for you because you're my friend.
So I end up getting these these overalls that are
like raver overalls, and I'm literally I wore them to
the Elm Show so I still.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
Have my own.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
All I know is next time, don't be surprised when
I'm in my pajamas.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
That's all I'm gonna say.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
No neat. I mean, they're like they're like those they're
they're they're so soft, they're like they could be pajamas,
they could be a show outfit. They're so bright, they
could be anyone on drugs will definitely be your best friend.
I don't encourage, I.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
Don't think.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
Disclaimer. I absolutely love it. Kaisa, it's great chatting with you.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Thank you y'all. See Pajamas, Next Time, Pajama Party. America's
Dance Artie counting down the biggest dance songs in the country.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
America's Dance thirty
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