Canadian actor and musician Kurtys Kidd has recently been stepping into the spotlight as a solo artist, utilizing his many years of experience as a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter in a band format. His latest single “Out On The Spiral Arm” is the first track off of his upcoming full-length album This Dirty Machine. The kickoff single gives a nod to grunge and other 90s alt styles, as well as a more modern take on alternative rock.
From The Strait: Tell us about the new single, “Out On The Spiral Arm”.
Kurtys Kidd: “Out On The Spiral Arm” is a song about isolating yourself because you’re hurt but then finding out that wherever you go you can find love if you open yourself to it. Love is all around us in this universe – but you have to be open to it to receive it.
The song was recorded as part of the upcoming album This Dirty Machine. The album is a themed album that tracks a journey into space and time. The album stems from when I was in a dark period in my life and I took a night and drove out to the desert and stared up at the stars all night. I sorted through my existence and decided to make some changes and realized that we are so very insignificant in the grand scheme of things that beating ourselves up over small problems doesn’t change, fix or solve anything. We are so small in the wide scope of everything – we need to find love and happiness wherever we can. We have to be brave and we have to go forward.
From The Strait: What first made you become a musician?
Kurtys Kidd: When I was an 11-year-old boy, I got hooked by the Beatles. I listened to them almost exclusively and endlessly for over a year. By the time that I was 12, I had convinced my parents to get me a guitar and lessons. I think I wrote my first song after I learned my first 3 chords. I haven’t stopped writing yet!
From The Strait: What, in your opinion, sets your sound apart from others?
Kurtys Kidd: As someone who has spent many years playing in very genre-defined bands like The Viletones or The Vampire Beach Babes, I had a specific criteria to work within that informed the sound and created a vibe. Now – out on my own, I am unencumbered by limitations. The music I make now is made solely from the perspective of telling the story I want to tell and making the song that hits that. I no longer worry about what kind of sound or genre I end up in. The song is the song at its purest form. I am now just making little bits of me to send out into the world.
From The Strait: What’s one album or artist you can’t get enough of right now?
Kurtys Kidd: Right now I have really been enjoying Angine de Poitrine! Talk about finding your own space!! I find myself hypnotized by their rhythms and musicality. Amazing!
From The Strait: Imagine you were selling out stadiums – what would you put on your rider?
Kurtys Kidd: Selling out stadiums? Hahaha sure – okay – I’d have a travelling masseuse and have a yoga class scheduled each day. Also nice bourbon….
From The Strait: If you could curate a festival (with you headlining, of course), who would you want on the bill and what would it be called?
Kurtys Kidd: I’ve actually thought of this before – I’d create “Festival for the Stars” this festival would happen somewhere out in the desert. It would raise funds and awareness for astronomy and cosmology. It would create a fund that could help further our knowledge of the universe and also help to find places to be Dark Sky preserves.
I would have anyone who is a supporter of space and astronomy on the bill for sure – I’m sure Foo Fighters, Angine de Poitrine and Clutch would be on the bill…
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Check out “Out On The Spiral Arm” by Kurtys Kidd!
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