Kayora (no association with the famous brand Crayola) is a new experimental rock band formed by CU Boulder students – Bella (bass guitarist), Rue (vocals), Ned (lead guitarist), and Marcus (Drummer) – with the intent of making fun music as a creative outlet. I had the great pleasure of talking with their bassist, Bella Steiner, to better understand the band’s roots and intentions for their future.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you got your start with playing guitar?
Bella: “It just happened. When I was in high school, I was already into doing music when I first discovered my dad’s guitar. Very quickly, I was completely enamored by it. This led me to get my own 12-string guitar and start my own guitar journey, eventually leading me to play bass.”
Every member has a sense of humor. In fact, I learned that Marcus, the band’s drummer, is such a big Sunny D fan (yes, the concentrated orange juice drink) that he is sponsored by them. This isn’t the only fun fact I learned, but it lends itself to the fun chaos this band embodies.
If you think, ‘How did this group of people gather?’ it’s a fun story.
I saw that you all first performed at Illegal Pete’s on May 3rd? Did your band start around that time, or did it come together differently?
Bella: “We were yet to be formed as the band we are now when we did that. Ned and I met and then decided to start a band, and then our talented drummer Marcus got added into the mix. We still needed an established vocalist when we did that performance, but in September, Rue became our vocalist. Our first official performance will be on October 19th at the Fox Theatre.” Kayora’s first ever performance can be seen on the fifth slide in the Instagram post below.
Judging from your stories and social media, the whole band enjoys being a little silly. What is the dynamic of Kayora?
Bella: “We don’t have a set process. Everyone gets together for a long, chaotic time, and then there is a song. It’s one big jam session, and music comes out of it. If I had to put the process into words: it boils down to a sequence of figuring out the desired emotions we want to display in a song and then letting the lyrics and music come together around that.”
Kayora may be a new band, but Bella has described the vibe of their original music like the song “Cut” by Sweet Pill. It’s an emotional rock song with pop and hardcore influences that Kayora is embracing currently.
Since you said you have not released original music, do you have a favorite song you enjoy covering?
Bella: ‘”Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana. But we will have some originals coming soon to play at our shows.”
When asked to elaborate, Bella mentioned that they have yet to establish a sound that is uniquely theirs. All members of Kayora hope to embody the glam rock/ pop aesthetic of Maneskin (the 2021 Eurovision winners) while fusing the sounds of 80s-2000s alternative rock with elements of modern indie and shoegaze.
Bella was excited to learn I also liked Maneskin and knew of most of the songs and music influences the band had (the power of research!).
Do you relate to any of the Maneskin members? Maybe Victoria, the bassist?
Bella: “Yeah, I like her [De Angelis]: she’s amazing. I look up to the Maneskins bassist. I like her energy and presence and try to embody some of that myself.”
Both Bella Steiner and Victoria De Angelis are musicians who have a similar way of being humble but excited about their music, so it was exciting to learn about Bella’s inspiration. Also, both Maneskin and Kayora formed in similar ways: a bassist and guitarist getting together to create a band. This is just a few parallels between Kayora and Maneskin I found while researching Kayora’s inspiration and sound.
Along with the fact that the members of Kayora find inspiration in classic punk rock bands like Nirvana, they are also looking for more modern inspiration like the punk band Sorry Mom. This fusion differs from modern rock and Indie approaches we have seen more recently; Kayora is slowly establishing itself as a unique sounding band and I am excited to hear some of their original music in the future.
Why the name Kayora?
Bella: ” Kayora is a word. It’s a word we made up. It has a meaning that only we in the band know, and just for the fun of it, we’re gonna keep it that way.”
I’ll let the band keep its secrets. Still, I want to know more about the sound and music they’re crafting. If you do too, the band will perform their original song set at the Big Table Records Artist Showcase at the Boulder Fox Theatre on October 19th.