Photos by Emilio Venegas Jr. 

Feral Kizzy put on the kind of show that astounds audiences and makes soundmen nervous. Lead singer Kizzy Kirk charges into the audience, prowling the dancefloor like, yes, some feral creature. It seems as if the energy that the band behind her is putting out has pushed her off the stage, but they are also her anchor and the music pulls her back to recharge before the next assault.

As promoter Christopher Kramme, of Garth’s Jelly Donut, describes them, “Their songs live in dimly lit whiskey bars. Kizzy Kirk’s confrontational stage presence commands reaction. It becomes impossible to look away. We want more. Wherever they’re going after the show, that’s where we want to be.”

In less than two years, Feral Kizzy has impressed audiences across SoCal and beyond with their high energy shows and hard-edged New Wave sound. They bring together a surprising variety of genres and blend them into a coherent whole.

Guitarist Johnny Lim and bassist Hannah Smith-Keller cite grunge, while drummer Mike Meza listened primarily to classic rock in his youth. Brenda Carsey, on keyboards and vocals, listened to “all hip-hop, soul, funk;” she never listened to any rock music until college. Kirk claims 70s glam and punk, especially Patti Smith and as a result, the band has the energy and emotion of punk, but the melodic sense of pop music. The music is complex, full of flourishes and accents, without becoming obtuse, without loosing its drive. Kirk describes it as “all the fish in the sea.”

Most of the band members started playing at an early age, somewhere between five and eight. Meza’s father was a drummer; he first picked up the sticks at four or five. Lim also lists a family influence, “I snuck into my brother’s room and played his guitar.” Carsey started singing in choir at 5, and played clarinet in school band. She started playing piano at 10. Her classical training at times adds a surprisingly delicate element to their sound. Smith-Keller, describing her start as a musician, says, “I found a guitar in a dumpster when I was seven [and said] I’m gonna play this shit.”

Kirk, on the other hand, has no formal training. She attributes her talent to a previous life as “a tranny cross-dresser.” She says, “After seven billion times singing in the mirror and the car and the shower, I thought, maybe I should try it.” She started working with Lim, writing acoustic songs in a PJ Harvey mold.

This summer they released their first, self-titled EP. Rodney on the ROQ, on KROQ, played the lead off track, an ode to suicide titled “Jump the Bridge” (the cover of the EP depicted a body falling from the Vincent Thomas Bridge; the CD was officially released the day after director Tony Scott jumped from that very bridge). They followed that up with a successful Bay Area tour in August. I was lucky enough to catch them playing at a house party in Oakland, and I can tell you they still put on a great show, even in a bare garage.

Now they are preparing to release their first professional video of their song “22 a Month.” The video was directed by Jacqueline Boubion, a high school friend of Lim and Meza and first-time director who worked on the film Small Apartments as well as several commercials and music videos. It will be debuted at a show at the Prospector this month.

“I want people to feel a little bit of what I feel when I see them live,” Boubion says. “It’s always a good time with friends, having a drink and feeling inspired—I hope to have translated at least a little bit of that into the video.”

The video was shot during a live performance in The Dark Room, Feral Kizzy’s rehearsal space, which was decorated with the appropriately punk paintings of Luka Fisher. It also contains staged sequences with the various band members.

Looking to the future, they are now concentrating on writing new songs for a vinyl LP they plan to release this summer. In the past, Kirk and Lim would write songs together, and bring them to the band fully formed. Now they are working collaboratively, creating songs out of group jams. All of the members are happy with the results. Even before the new video is released, they are already planning the next one, for one of the new songs, titled “This Is Not My Mind.” They plan on working with Boubion on that one as well. They are also hoping to play several festivals this summer.

Back to those poor, abused soundmen. Any band with this much energy is bound to cause some nervousness. But most of the stories they tell include an element of overreaction. For example, at the Long Beach Zombie Walk this past fall, the stage manager became incensed because they sprayed fake blood on the stage. “This is Zombie Walk,” they told him. “There’s going to be blood!” And they even cleaned up after themselves.

Besides, Carsey adds, “Every place we’ve been kicked out of, we’ve been invited back.”

Feral Kizzy will be hosting their music video release show on Thursday, Feb. 21 with Red Orchestra and The Potential Lunatics at the Prospector, 2400 E. 7th St. Brenda Carsey with We Are/She Is is also playing Sunday, Feb. 17 at Viento Y Agua Coffeehouse, 4007 4th St. Find Feral Kizzy online at feralkizzy.com