Singer/songwriter, Amy Kuney (from Oklahoma and Honduras) is really taking the music scene by storm, having toured with Damien Rice, Kate Voegele, and The Veronicas all before her recent debut album release, Bird’s Eye View! Amy has been mentioned in People Magazine, featured in LA Weekly and LA Times, her music has landed on One Tree Hill, Passions, and Amy played a folk singer on a memorable episode of Gilmore Girls! Not only is Amy an incredible singer and songwriter, she is a talented pianist and guitar player and all of her talents shine through in Bird’s Eye View. If you want to hear genuine, organic music, Amy is who you need to be listening to. Her debut is truly an album that has its own sound and after you get to know Amy in this interview below, make sure to buy the album on iTunes. You’ll thank me later.
You performed in Iceland with Damien Rice…What was it like in Iceland?
It was great! I had never been to that part of the world before so it was very new to me and at that time it was daylight 24 hours so that took a while getting used to. I really enjoyed my stay there. The weather was awesome, the people were nice, the food was good. It didn’t feel like a tour, it felt like like a vacation. It was amazing.
What did you learn from Kate Voegele and The Veronicas while on tour with them?
Fans come first. They are so good to their fans. Playing shows is exhausting and Kate will stay after her shows until the last fan leaves and sign autographs for her fans and it really struck me when I first started working with her.
What are some tips for song writing?
If a song just comes to you, flow with it but the moment you feel you have to strain to think of something…put it away and come back to it. It should feel organic.
Where do you find the most inspiration?
I’m inspired by other music, I am a big fan of movies, reading books, and of course real life experiences.
What are you reading right now?
I’m reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver for the second time. That book is basically my life. When I first read it, it scared me how close she was to how I was feeling at the time when I was on a missionary trip and also living in Honduras. I’m also reading New Moon by Stephanie Meyer.
Have you been back to Honduras since you have moved to LA?
Yes, I have been back 3 or 4 times.
Did you keep a journal in Honduras?
I did but for some reason, I ended up throwing it away. At one point, I just threw a bunch of my stuff away and you know, I wish I had kept it.
How do you think your writing has changed over the years?
I’ve always loved writing and when I went to college, I actually wanted to be an author. As far as songwriting, I started off with a lot of puns and metaphors writing songs, trying to be clever to the point where it was too cute and not personal. Now, I have given that up more and it’s more simple.
We’ve seen you play guitar and piano but are there any other instruments you want to learn how to play?
Banjo would be cool. I am a big fan of Nelly Furtado and one of her albums has banjo all over it and I love it. Right now though I am really focusing on piano.
Is anybody else in your family musically talented?
My dad was in a few bands, my mom was a pastor’s daughter, so she sang in church, and my sister is a violinist. She has toured with U2 and Christina Aguilera among others. She and I are the only ones who have pursued it as careers. My other siblings just do it for fun.
Do you find other genres of music to be more inspiring than others?
I’ll listen to Fiona Apple or Tori Amos for songwriting and then I’ll listen to Hip Hop, classical, pop, rock, R&B etc.. when I’m thinking of production style. I listen to certain genres for certain things.
Will we see another guitar tutorial on YouTube?
Hopefully for my next album, yes. The songs for “Birds Eye View” are actually quite challenging to play. I learned this while I was doing my tutorial for “Thank You For Last Night.” It was hard to teach! In school, I was taking so many music theory classes, I wrote songs that challenged me as an instrumentalist/vocalist. That’s all well and good, but you can lose the listener if you go too far down that road, the songs on my next album should be simpler 🙂
What do you like the most and least about the music scene in LA?
LA is tricky. I love Hotel Cafe. It’s going to be something people talk about for a long time. That’s really the only place I enjoy playing out here. I also enjoy Ventura and San Diego, but here in LA, really just Hotel Cafe and Troubadour. LA, it’s a tough place. I’ll play in some places and I can barely hear myself, people really just come to party. For a singer/songwriter, it is very difficult to play a lot of venues out here. It’s nice when you get to play and people actually listen.
Your music has been on the hit show, One Tree Hill and it was brilliant so can we expect your music to appear again on the show?
I hope so, that would be great! My manager made that happen. She went to school with Sophia Bush and Sophia has been so supportive of my music. Umm, we are still in contact with the music supervisor and they have all of my music but it just needs to be the right scene and mood. They are very particular about their music which I think is very cool.
Are there any shows that you watch and enjoy and would love for your music to appear on?
I love So You Think You Can Dance? and that would be so cool if one of my songs were used for a dance. It has happened for a few of my friends and has been great, so yeah. I also love Glee!