Asheville’s Citizen Times feature on Kyler
Singer-songwriter England brings her smooth sound to the Grey Eagle
By Laura Blackley
CITIZEN-TIMES CORRESPONDENT
published: December 2, 2005 6:00 am
Kyler England writes and sings of live wires and brushfires things that are fast to ignite and faster still to burn out. But the singer-songwriter s music and her presence suggest a different kind of warmth more of an intimate flame that emits a nurturing light.
One of the reasons I love music singing it or listening to it is because it makes you feel alive, England says. I m a junkie for when a song knocks the wind out of me. I want to do that with my music make people feel. That s the most important thing for me.
The Raleigh native (and N.C. State University alumnus) now resides in Los Angeles but admittedly spends most of her time on the road, having been a full-time musician for about three years now.
I m a self-employed musician, England says. From the time I get up in the morning until the time I go to bed I m doing something related to my career … I have a strong work ethic, (which) serves an independent musician well you can t just sit around and wait for someone to come and rescue you.
Having shared stages with such superstars as Sting, James Taylor and Melissa Etheridge, and winning a handful of prestigious songwriting contests, it s apparent that England is in no need of rescue anytime soon.
My family was always singing, the guitarist/pianist admits. Music was a way to entertain ourselves. Dad played the acoustic guitar and the trombone … and Mom used to always sing, too … music was just a part of daily life.
England s songs are rife with complex melodies and emotional honesty, and they crackle to life when combined with her pop sensibilities and sultry, magnetic delivery. She s been called breathless and fragile, yet she s gutsy and real at the same time. Sweet and soulful, England s voice is effortlessly haunting and disarming, and she sings like there s no tomorrow.
I would describe my genre as acoustic-based pop rock, England says. If you were going to file my CD in your own collection, it would go between Sarah McLachlan and Patty Griffin, with Coldplay and Jonatha Brooke somewhere close by, she explains.
England performs in Asheville for the first time since Bele Chere this past summer. It s her first show at the Grey Eagle, and a co-bill with talented local songwriter Ashley Chambliss.
Most of my best gigs are house concerts with 30 or so people at them, England admits. (Those gigs) have such great energy … it s really not all about being a rock star all the time, England continues, but, then again, I haven t really started playing the stadiums yet.
Laura Blackley writes about entertainment for the Citizen-Times. E-mail LauraBlackleyBand@yahoo.com.
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