Submitted by Mike Williams — Managing Editor (@imikewilliams)
Kim Arrington is a deep thinker. Kim Arrington is soulful. Kim Arrington is passionate about love and life. The Durham native is on a musical journey that took her overseas and back — right into your living room. Literally.
While working on her new album, “Getting II Yes,” Arrington has been performing in the Triangle. I caught up with her recently after a show at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, which featured an exhibit by Durham artist Franco.
Here are my Seven Questions with Kim Arrington.
Q: You’ve been singing and writing songs since you were a little girl. When did you decide music wasn’t just going to be a hobby, but a career?
I always wanted to sing, since I was 4 years old. I wrote my first song at 7. Six days after turning 10, my dad was killed by a drunk driver — a mile from our house. The immense space music occupied in my life became waterlogged with quarts, pints and gallons of loss. When my dad’s manslaughter case was being tried, the lawyers in the case seemed so helpful and respectable. I gave up my dreams of being a singer right then. I wanted to be an attorney to help people and to honor my father’s memory. I even started out as a political science major in college. Before long, I felt like I was playing a game of ping-pong by myself. It wasn’t me. People started to tell me a song I sang would bring them joy, or help them move through grief. I decided my way to connect with people was through words and voice.
Q: You and I met while studying at North Carolina Central University. Talk about your time there. Is your music influenced by the historically black college experience?
I am a student of wonder. My curiosity activates whether I’m in the rainforest of Panama, or speaking with a person in line at Red and White Supermarket. Actually, I started [college] at Howard University in Washington, D.C. For the first time in my life, I was around people from Aruba, Nigeria, Jamaica, and all over the United States. I couldn’t believe how similar and unique we all [were]. That newness was forced to show up in my music.
I dropped out of Howard. I came home to work [and] ask myself what I truly wanted. I applied to North Carolina Central University [to study] music, and it was such a powerful awakening. The world-renowned jazz program is masterfully illuminating. I fell in love with Durham again. Central was the perfect fit for me, and I’m forever indebted for all that I received there.
Q: What was it like recording your first album, "First Love Note of Kim Arrington"?
I’d been writing my first CD my whole life. That was the easy part. I remember that day so well, because the pollen count was astronomical. You can hear it in my voice. “Hurry On, Silly Boy” was the first song we recorded. We got it in one take. I was so excited, unsure, crazed and audacious. It was a block party with instruments and audio engineer John Plymale running around making sure we captured it just right.
Q: Tell me about your tour in Europe. Did the experience help shape the direction of the album you’re currently working on?
People all need family, love, food, shelter and what I call “wind,” or passion. The address doesn’t matter much. In London, you can go to hundreds of places to hear music every day and see some of the world’s best art for free. That’s real commitment to what makes us human, but so is an impromptu drum circle in downtown Durham. The way life bumps into you is what you talk about the most.
Traveling pushes your limits. I require open hearts wherever I go. I found that in Panama. I found that in Switzerland. I find that everywhere.
Q: Speaking of the upcoming album, let’s talk about “Getting II Yes.” What’s the significance of the title?
“Getting II Yes” is all about what’s happened since “First Love Note of Kim Arrington.” I finally allowed myself love, family and a career that fits simultaneously. I invite people to witness my musings, and to join me. It’s honest, genre-bending music. The greatest paradox of life is what liberates you is what [you remember] you wanted when you were 7 years old. I listened and followed. My dad would be proud.
Q: You’re also a poet and published your first volume of poetry, “The Lapis Dwellers,” in 2005. Are the messages in your poetry different from those in your music?
The only thing I’ve ever written about, and will ever write about, is love. That’s all there truly is.
Q: You’ve been pretty excited about your series of Living Room Concerts. Talk about what this concept is all about.
Living Room Concerts are an easy way for me to connect with people, and for my supporters to get in on the action. My keyboard player and I literally come into your home. We give you, your friends and family your own personal concert. We’ve helped people to celebrate everything from birthdays to baby showers. We just ask for a donation to help fund ”Getting II Yes,” the new CD. There is nothing more remarkable than people giving. We are accessible, touchable and open. If you email me, you’re going to get a response back. Tell me where you’d like us to come, and I’ll show up ready to sing. As long as I have a voice, I’ll do the Living Room Concerts forever.
