Interview: Kaylene Widdoes & Lauren Seveney of Keys & Corridors

Keys & Corridors are an alternative rock band from Akron, Ohio. With the release of their debut EP, Thieves, just around the corner, Legendary Kids Press was able to speak with vocalist Kaylene Widdoes and guitarist Lauren Seveney about the release, the band’s touring schedule and their decision to pursue music for a living.
How would you describe your sound to those who have never listened to Keys & Corridors before?
We get a lot of comparisons to other female-led alt bands, like Paramore and Flyleaf. Whenever we try to describe our sound, we use them as examples. But I think we strive to put a spin on the genre as well. Every band member has come from different musical backgrounds and has played different genres of music, which provides a unique sound to the band as a whole. I also like to tell people that we try to be very deliberate with our lyrics, so expect a nice alternative rock sound with some heart in it!
What made you decide to pursue music for a living?
Lauren Seveney: I have used poetry and songwriting as a release for a long time now. Growing up, it was really difficult for me to express what I was feeling, especially within difficult situations like divorces, not having friends at school, etc. So when I felt like no one was listening to me, I wrote down my pain and tried to create something beautiful from it. It became a passion. So pursuing a way to write and be creative has always been important to me.
As far as pursuing music, I’ve just never felt like I was good at anything else. Nothing feels more natural to me than writing a song, and I feel really called to help kids who were broken like me. To me, that’s worth fighting for.
Kaylene Widdoes: I think I would say I can’t imagine doing anything else. Sitting in an office for the next 30 years doesn’t sound nearly as fun as touring the country and playing shows every night. We love what we do and there’s passion in every note we play. To be able to do what I love and play music that we’ve written is amazing.
How would you describe Akron’s music scene? Is there a lot of support for up-and-coming bands?
Akron’s music scene is awesome. We have a lot of nice and professional venues in the area and a lot of bands and musicians always playing. There’s also a wide variety of genres in the area, so every show is unique and interesting. One night, you can play with a heavy metal band and the next can be indie rockers. I think there’s a ton of support for up-and-coming bands. The venues in the area that book big bands are always willing to put a local band on the bill, which is incredible. We’ve had the opportunity to open for Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, A Skylit Drive and Courage My Love, just to name a few. The promoters in the area are great about helping out the locals and the Akron scene has shown us a lot of love.
You’ll be releasing your debut EP, Thieves, on June 6th. What can fans expect?
I am so beyond excited for this release! The release show is at Musica on the 6th and it will be a crazy night to say the least! I can’t give you all the details, though - gotta have some surprises! But I will says that we’ve poured our heart and soul into every track on the EP and we’ve been holding onto it for over a year now!
We can’t wait to finally put physical copies in people’s hands and see what they have to say about it. The songs on the EP were the very first we wrote as a band, so they were an exploration for us as far as what we want our sound to be, and I think there’s something really cool about being able to release that.
What track are you most excited for everyone to hear?
KW: I am most excited for everyone to hear “Transparent” and “Transparent (Acoustic)”, which surprises everyone else because the rest of the band is incredibly stoked on “Thieves”. The lyrical depth that Lauren and I delved into was so taxing and emotional, and I hope that everyone else can feel the raw emotion we poured into it.
[Also], “Transparent (Acoustic)” is the acoustic side of “Transparent” and it’s a song that we mixed by ourselves, so it’s a neat thing to see that on the EP as part of everything to even close out the record.
LS: My favorite song on the EP is “Thieves”. It’s the most recently written song on the EP and I think it’s our most mature sound. Kaylene and I wrote it almost completely half and half, so it shows our strength as songwriters coming together. I also think it’s one of our most dynamic [tracks], musically. Plus, it’s incredibly fun to watch people’s reactions to the screaming in the bridge, especially when we tell them it’s me.
You released the EP’s lead single, “Abandon Ship”, back in March. How has the reaction been from listeners thus far?
LS: “Abandon Ship” has gotten so much love! We are so incredibly grateful for the response. It’s everything that we could have asked for and more. I think we’re all really proud of the way it’s turned out. It was the first song we every wrote as a band, the first one I learned, the song we auditioned Austin [Melaney, drums]. I think when we all heard the acoustic demo Kaylene made, we heard the potential for something really special, and now it’s amazing to see its completion and that everyone else loves it too.
We’ve had people come out to shows and sing the chorus along with us. It’s great to have people so excited to share our stuff as well. Our Warped Tour Battle of the Bands page takes votes in the form of sharing our page and we have met a lot of new people though the kindness of fans sharing our page around.
How was it working with Atlas Uncharted’s Dommie Frusteri?
The first thing Dommie said to us when we started rehearsing in the studio was “I’m glad you guys don’t suck,” haha, so I suppose that was a good start. He actually took a huge risk in working with us because he agreed to feature on our song without even hearing it or us first! All joking aside, he’s a great guy and it was awesome to work with him! We really like Atlas Uncharted and his voice is really unique and dynamic. We want to be band friends and take Atlas out for bowling night or something, haha.
Where do you get the inspiration for your lyrics?
LS: Inspiration comes from everywhere! I have to constantly stay vigilant and write down everything because [I] never know what’s gonna be the next song. I draw a lot from life experiences, but I try to disguise it. So people can’t figure out what I’m talking about, haha. Make them think a little by obscuring the meaning.
I think I try to draw from different emotions too. “Exchange” is obviously a really angry song, indignant and meant to call someone out. But then “Red Letters” is all about my struggles with anxiety and how it can be hard to deal with, so it’s dark and anxious and full of tension. And then there’s “Transparent”, which is hopeful, bittersweet and all about friendship and what it means to be vulnerable with someone.
I just want to make sure my writing reflects my full range of emotion and life. What good is it if I only write about things that upset me? I want to write things that celebrate the good stuff too, and I want to represent a whole host of emotions and experiences.
What do you hope fans take from your music?
KW: I hope that people can hear the passion we put in our lyrics, and I hope they genuinely enjoy what they’re hearing. Someone told us the other day that they couldn’t fall asleep because “Abandon Ship” was stuck in their head and it’s cool to hear that we can write things that stick with people. Most importantly, I want fans to feel like they can have a connection with us that goes beyond the music. We love when people come up to us at shows and tell us about what’s going on in their lives and share who they are with us too.
LS: Speaking as a kid who grew up in a broken home, feeling like no one was ever really listening to me, music was one of the only things that helped me get by. Hearing music that I could relate my pain to was everything to me. It made me feel like at least someone was out there who understood what I was going through, and it gave me hope that they were able to take that pain and creative something new and beautiful with it. So that’s what I want to be for our fans. I hope they listen and feel like they can truly connect to what we’re saying and find some peace in it. Music has this incredible ability to bring people together. I want to do for our fans what my favorite bands did for me.
Apart from the EP release, what other plans do you have for the remainder of 2015?
We’re going on tour in June to promote the release and we’re all really excited for that! We can’t reveal everything about that yet, but big things are in the works! Aside from that, we’re going into festival season and then we’re just going to play as many shows as we can before we have to go back to school!
Once that dies down some, I think we’re naturally moving to a place of writing a new record. We’ve already gotten four new songs completely written and we’re really amazed with how they’re turning out. We’re already so excited to get back in the studio again.
Any last words?
Thank you so much for reading this and thanks for checking us out! Also, thanks to the nice folks at Legendary Kids Press for taking the time to talk to us. Thieves comes out June 6th and the release show is at Musica that night!
You can find Keys & Corridors on Facebook and Twitter. You can also help them play this summer’s Vans Warped Tour by visiting their Battle of the Bands page.
