Kitten Brainchild Chloe Chaidez on New Music and Why Her Upcoming Fonda Show Is a Long Time Coming

Some artists wait all their lives to finally be able to perform at the venue they love so dearly, but Chloe Chaidez of Los Angeles-based indie band Kitten has reached that landmark at a mere 21-years-old. The venue of Chaidez’s captivation is one of Hollywood’s most revered and historic spots, The Fonda Theatre. As elaborated by the singer-songwriter below, she carried her sound across the country, back and forth, only to finally land back home in L.A. ready to reclaim her throne on Kitten’s biggest stage to date.

As a recent 21-year-old who’s been playing music for 10+ years, do you feel like you’re currently at the top of your game?

Yea, definitely.

You grew up in L.A., moved to New York last year but have been back in L.A. recently. Where do you call home these days?

These days I would probably say L.A., but I do come back to New York to record a lot. But I think L.A. will always be my home, especially with Kitten, because we’re a very Los Angeles band and that’s where a large majority of our fanbase is.

(While in New York) I did a residency at a place called Baby’s All Right and I actually played some shows in the subway as well and documented that. It was awesome! It was really cool actually because the people in the subway didn’t know that I had promoted it, so they just thought I was just this captivating young girl just grabbing the intrigue of everyone in the subway.

You’ve said that your upcoming show at The Fonda is one you’ve been waiting for all your life. Why is this particular L.A. gig so important to you?

I’ve seen a lot of shows there growing up. It’s just kind of like one of those bucket list venues for me. I think that every time we play L.A. we try to play bigger and bigger and say ‘OK, can we do this?’ and we always end up pulling it off. So after selling out the Troubadour two nights, (we thought) this was the next step. It’s going to be really amazing. I’ve just grown up at that venue and seen so many amazing shows there.

Do you try to separate Chloe from Kitten, or have you two pretty much become one at this point?

They’re pretty separate. I think aspects of my everyday personality obviously come out on stage, especially when I’m talking to the audience (because) I’m not so good at that. I definitely become Chloe in those moments. But as far as the actual song performances, I think that that character obviously dwells within me, but I don’t access that (character) in everyday life. That’s the beauty of being on stage; You get to reveal this aspect of yourself that normally never gets to be revealed.

You recently recorded your new EP on a secluded ranch in Nevada. Was it a conscious decision to write and record in a place of seclusion?

Yea, definitely. I think that as an artist, as you grow and release music, I think sometimes there’s a pressure that’s involved, just artistically and within yourself to top whatever you’ve done. Being in L.A. or New York, or any major city with all of those distractions… it kind of bogs you down. We went to the middle of nowhere Nevada and also in upstate New York in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t’ have any Internet in Nevada and very little Internet access in upstate New York. That just really helps you focus in on what you’re doing. The overflow of content around you can be really distracting and not so productive to what you’re doing.

Where are you in the process of recording your new full-length album? Have you set a release date?

There’s no release date for that but after the show and after we release the EP we’ll probably play some more shows, and I’m going to start dabbling into the second record. I have a lot of songs written for it already so that should be great. One or two of (the songs from the upcoming EP) will probably make it to the record so we’ll be playing some of those at the [Fonda Theatre].

Kitten will perform at The Fonda Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 30. Click here for ticket information.