Amanda Kitchens eloped in 2003, being happily wed ever since; her true love being music, with all of its imperfections and idiosyncrasies only adding to her undying affection. Her sound is like the lovechild of a Texas Tom Waits & a Romanian Nina Simone. She has been deeply involved in the Bluegrass, Klezmer, World Music, Folk, Balkan music scenes as an Accordionist.  Her sound mixes rock, americana, jazz and eastern european flavors. Amanda's performances at festivals and theaters across the country has made her a dynamic and engaging artist. Her two solo albums were produced by Dr. Sick of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, an incredible band she's had the pleasure of sitting in with multiple times (see the Photo Section).

 

About the Debut Album: If This is Love, Kill me Now

It’s no surprise that this album has roots in Austin, Texas. The city has a long standing history of defying popular music genres and industry trends while simultaneously pumping out timeless acts that have revolutionized modern music, despite criticism. From Stevie Ray Vaughn to Spoon, The Gourds to Ghostland Observatory, The Butthole Surfers to Brown Out, it’s not surprising that Amanda Kitchens’ debut album feels like a personalized mix tape, meticulously hand tailored to engulf the listener. 

A song writer since the age of 22, Amanda compiled the songs on this album in hopes of embracing a very specific mood. “Traveling around the country from gig to gig in a beat up van with no cd player, I listened to tons of radio, and there didn’t seem to be any sad songs coming out of the speakers anymore.” The album highlights include lovelorn tracks like “Get Out of My Dreams”, “Malone”, and “This Hand I Hold”, the latter being a tragic story of a love affair which sounds as if Stevie Nicks sang the end-credits to a classic Western with Ennio Morricone’s Orchestra. 

The album is somewhat autobiographical, which you can hear in Amanda’s gentle, often haunting voice. The themes of love, heartache, and empowerment resonate familiar. Yet, it’s delivered in a way that makes the listener feel comforted, like the stories on the record could have been written about their own personal experiences, and life always works out in the end. 

Besides the personal element to the lyrics, Amanda’s unique musical background plays an equally important role in the treatment of the record. Her roots grew from bluegrass, klezmer, and modern singer/songwriter anthems. The playfully dark chord changes on songs like “The Painted Lady” and “Nodessa” are decorated with her robust accordion rhythms that make crowds dance like they’re at an eastern European wedding. The songs where she plays guitar (“Malone” and “Never to be Found”) have the classic American backbeat, and set a trancelike drone akin to Old Time music. 

Other songs take a drastic stylistic turn, like the swampy 1950’s-esque prom ballad “Crystal Eyes”, or the screaming Gospel element in “Walk On”, in which her voice has the power of a semi-truck barreling down the highway. This might be in part to her choosing New Orleans based multi-instrumentalist Dr. Sick as producer on this project, a first for him as well. “I’m so happy that Amanda trusted me with her tunes, and was immediately interested in the idea of jumping between genres while keeping the songs away from being overproduced. It’s easy to put too many sounds on a track, but she said she wanted the music to sound like a band, not a symphony.” 

“If This Is Love, Kill Me Now” by Amanda Kitchens was recorded and mixed by Eldridge Goins at Mixorama in Austin in the Spring of 2015.