Artist: Kinsey Lee
Hometown: Los Angeles Suburbia, California
Latest Album: Cold Cuts
Rejected band/DJ name: Dr. Kinsey

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Barbara Streisand had a big influence on my voice as a young singer. My mom was a big fan and growing up I would play her music in the car on the way to school and essentially warm up to songs like “Don’t Rain On My Parade.” I could sing the whole soundtrack of Yentl before ever seeing the movie in my 20s. I still can.

What other art forms – literature, film, dance, painting, etc. – inform your music?

Before I knew I would be a musician I always wanted to be a costume designer. I styled and collected vintage costumes for my shows for many years with The Wild Reeds and when my band slowed down I took what I had to New Orleans for my first Mardi Gras and sold them on the street at pop-up markets for cash. Six years later, I still do and made a business doing this with my partner Camille Weatherford of The Lostines. It is a great creative release to design, make, and find homes for my little creations. It also frees up my brain to put less pressure on music.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do they impact your work?

I now live on the water with my fiancé in a 30-foot sailboat. Water has always drawn me to it. I grew up in California and ran to the beach at any chance I had. I would swim all day and talk to the waves as if we were collaborators in play. I work in a plane for my day job, which feels like the most unnatural environment to spend your day in. When I get home I jump on the boat and it is an immediate reset.

If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?

I would work with seniors and maybe become a death doula. I have such great relationships with my grandparents and such a deep love and respect for the elderly. I was honored to be a part of my grandmother’s last days in 2020 and it was one of the most enlightening experiences I have ever had. I feel like she taught our family how to die. I would love to bring comfort to people in their final chapter and shepherd them through the end.

What would a perfect day as an artist and creator look like to you?

For me it would be a full day without a clock, in my bikini, and in the sun floating on the water. A Jimmy Buffett sort of day.

Photo Credit: Horatio Nguyen