Bonnie McKee, the 20-year-old classically trained artist who is performing at Groovin’ on the Grounds, has plenty to say about sex.
Songs about her longing to reach the age of consent, love affairs and the pain of being a teenage girl fill McKee’s catalog.
Her major-label debut on Reprise Records, “Trouble,” is laced with songs of broken hearts and relationships, and Friday she is going to bring these songs to the Parade Grounds.
McKee said she has had a great time performing on tour.
“I love to move people and get people excited,” McKee said. “[Performing] is kind of like a drug, really. Nothing is going through my head. It’s kind of like an escape, a release.”
McKee not only sings on her album, she also plays the piano and wrote the music.
She said she comes from a musical family. She has been playing the piano since she was five and she was performing in classical choirs at six. She was a member of the elite Seattle Girls’ Choir, which has performed for the Pope.
By the age of 12, McKee was writing her own lyrics and music.
In addition to the classical choir performance experience she gained, McKee also performed at open mic nights in clubs throughout Seattle.
She said singing in the choir gave her resistance training, allowing her to keep singing on stage, but performing in bars helped her get over her stage fright and it gave her more of a “competitive mindset” toward singing.
“When I go to another [artist’s] show, I’m always like, ‘I want to be on stage,’” McKee said.
At 14, McKee made a demo tape for a high school project and ultimately used it to launch her career.
“I gave it out everywhere,” McKee said. “Every bus stop, every party I went to, I gave the demo out.”
Thanks to her aggressive self-promotion, the demo ended up in the right hands and made its way to Los Angeles.
McKee said that though she came from a strong musical background, her parents never pushed her, but supported her all the way.
“It was all that I wanted to do,” McKee said. “I put music before everything, in my head.”
She said that music even came before school, and she was kicked out of high school.
However, McKee said she drew on this experience to create her music.
“I think it motivated me,” McKee said. “It made me say, ‘I’ll show them,’ and I have.”
McKee said said she is inspired by several artists, including Bjork, Fiona Apple, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Michael Jackson, and “of course, Madonna.”
Unlike most pop artists, McKee writes both the music and lyrics to her songs, something that allows her to have a more hands-on approach to the creation of the album than other artists.
She said that a problem she often sees in pop music is since so many artists work with the same writers, a lot of the music sounds the same.
McKee said it was important that she handle the bulk of the creative process.
“It was important, for me, for the whole record to be me,” McKee said. “To prove to myself that I could be a writer and not just a singer.”
Helping to produce the record were Rob Cavallo, who produced Green Day albums, and Bob Power, who has produced of The Roots albums.
McKee said working with these two producers was an excellent experience.
“I was eager to learn and eager to create,” McKee said. “And they were both very inspiring and patient.”
McKee said she wrote “Trouble” between the ages of 14 and 15 as a way to deal with the heartbreaks and problems she had been through.
She said writing about her pain and performing the songs provides some sense of closure for her.
McKee said that one of the hardest parts for her, creatively, is trying to stay true to herself while creating music that people enjoy.
“A lot of times I end up writing songs that I think people want to hear, instead of music for myself,” McKee said.
But, she also said the songs have been well received by the public, especially on her latest tour with Ryan Cabrera.
McKee said that though she and Cabrera are “completely different animals,” the crowds have been very receptive.
“The kids seem to really enjoy it,” McKee said. “They don’t have to sing along, and they don’t scream if they don’t want to.”
McKee said each performance on the tour has been better than the last.
She said that being an opening act is always tough, but she acknowledges this tour is “an amazing opportunity for her.”
Jennifer Bishop, the adviser for Students on Target, said booking a new artists is a good opportunity for the University.
“I think people want to see newer acts, and college students are on the edge of that,” Bishop said. “Sometimes it’s a gamble; you try to hit before they blow up.”
McKee, though she is making a name for herself in the industry, has not “blown up,” yet.
She even admitted she is not as far along as she hoped she would be by this time. But she said she has always been dedicated and she will not quit.
“If I didn’t have music, I don’t know where the hell I’d be,” McKee said. “It better work, because failure is not an option.”