Kimi of Moonpools & Caterpillars

by Su Chon

I interviewed Kimi Ward Encarnacion, female frontperson. She is one of the nicest people you could meet, and she's interesting to talk to. Now if you're new to the RAD scene and haven't heard us talk about MPC, go back into the archives and READ our reviews and the interview with the guys! MPC is a fun band - they're energetic, playful, and groovy. They love their audiences, and their shows are always fun.

RAD

Tell me about your songs because a lot of people hear your music and they tend to think that it's really happy, but when you dig into the lyrics, the lyrics aren't all that happy. Like "Soon..."

Kimi

Soon actually is about, well, I went through this when I first got out. Maybe you're thinking about "Heaven." It's kind of a nice thought for me that there are people up there I know that are checking up on me every so often. You know, it just kind of makes you feel good to think that you go somewhere, that there's something after all this. And that's all that is, it's just my interpretation of that. A lot of the letters that we get, a lot of people that tell me what their favorite song is, they name that as their favorite. I was really surprised, but I think that's why because it's a nice way to think and it's something that people don't know what to think about it.

RAD

You kind of sound like a mix between, what's her name, Merchant, Natalie Merchant and sometimes you sort of sound like Liz Fraser...

Kimi

Yeah, people have told me that, the guys actually, and every once in awhile, they'll go, "Whoa, Cocteau."

RAD

What about "Crazy Old World?" What inspired you to write that?

Kimi

I don't know. Before we wrote three years ago, I had just been camping with my family so when I was writing it, it just made me think of a nature-y feel. I had gone for a walk one day in the mountains by myself, which I don't do too much because I don't like being by myself, but kind of what things I was thinking about. That's all. Those words just came really easy - a lot of them do, almost the first time we play them. I'll sing certain lines and then I build the song around what came out.

RAD

So you work impromptu, you don't sit down and think about it.

Kimi

Yeah, in fact, we've got some new songs we're working on that we've been trying to record before we left for the tour. And I couldn't get words to one because I kept making more out of it than what it was. Finally I went back to just the jumbled that I was singing and it makes sense. It feels better to sing it that way.

RAD

You seem to deal with relationships, broken relationships, a "you've lost your chance".

Kimi

People think "Soon" is about that. The words "one day soon it will happen to you..." That song is kind of...everybody goes through, well at least I did when I moved away from home and started doing things on my own, you realize things about yourself. You think, "Oh shoot, man, I've got to handle that or nobody is going to like me or I'm not going to be able to accomplish this or that." And you go through this change where you, growing up you were just fine, but you realize that there are things as a person that you have to work on. That's what it is, but a lot of people think that it's a sourpuss relationship kind of thing. It's not it at all.

RAD

People just relate it to what they know.

Kimi

And that's okay. Sometimes I write songs and I don't know what they're about. People tell me, "I like the one about the loser guy who doesn't want to live on a farm anymore." [Note: She's referring to "The Buick.] Oh, Okay. I like it when they get a whole different part of this song. That's alright, I don't mind it at all.

RAD

So do you read to get inspiration? What's your main inspiration?

Kimi

No, I'm not much of a reader, in fact, I started reading more while we're touring because we have so much spare time. That's why I've never read because I'd rather doing something with my hands or creating something. So no, I've never really been inspired by things that I've read. It's more of things that I notice or things that I see. To me, music isn't my outlet. I don't see it as that, but secretly I think it is. Things just kind of pour out, and it's fun. I like words that are catchy and words that are lighthearted. I think there's a lot of serious songs out there that make you feel sad or mad. Maybe someone wants a different kind of song for a change. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it just isn't what comes out of me.

RAD

That's what I said in my first concert review of your band. If you're looking for angst or self-destruction, you're not going to find it here. It's nice for a change to hear something upbeat. Although most of the songs have deeper meaning, you come away feeling more positive than listening to something that would bring you down.

Kimi

Yeah, and it's not songs about getting a red piece of bubblegum from the machine. A couple of critics cut me up because they don't take time to talk to the band, they listen to a record maybe once and then they write what the record's about. There are a couple who said that the words were really shallow, really light. And I thought, "Wow, that person must not have read through it because I don't think they've understood what it's about.

RAD

Sometimes it takes more than one listening to a cd before you like it or even get an inkling what it's about.

Kimi

We have some friends called Edna Swap. They were on Elektra but they're on a new label with a new record coming out. That's the same with them, I saw them live first and I thought, "Wow, that's really cool." Then I got the record and I listened to a couple of songs and thought, "Aaah." But then JayJay liked this song and kept listening to it over and over and now it's one of my favorite records. So it's so true. It's hard to find a record that's good on the first listen.

RAD

I know that the words [to the songs] seem shallow, but sometimes the simplest words hide the deepest meaning.

Kimi

I love that when people tell me that because I never thought of myself as a poet or this writer that can come across with all this highly expressive information. I love it when people tell me that. They tell me "I love that song" or "It made me cry." A lot of people have said that and I think, "Wow" because very seldom do I listen to somebody's music and it makes me cry. That to me is one of the highest compliments. It made me feel confident, too, because I didn't have a sense of being able to write songs. It just sort of happened.

RAD

We heard you were a fashion design major and you graduated?

Kimi

Yeah.

RAD

Have you been doing that lately?

Kimi

I had a line of dresses that I sold to different shops. I wanted to start a line of some women's snowboard clothing, but I didn't get around to it. So I think that might be one of my next projects when we're not on the road for some time.

RAD

Are you the one who's designed all the T-shirts?

Kimi

I didn't draw those things, the logo for Moonpools and Caterpillars, that's mine. Our friend, the art director, he tweaked it around to make it fit. I just talked to the artist that we chose that this is what I think would be cool. And this is what he drew. But I'm the one that always bothers to get the shirts and everything ready. I always create jobs for myself.