Baby Alpaca

From the very first listen Brooklyn’s lo-fi folk outfit Baby Alpaca is hard to erase from your subconscious. Chris Kittrell, the brainchild behind Baby Alpaca, manages to imbue his songwriting with a hauntingly beautiful melancholy that celebrates a new kind of romantic sensibility — one in which the small, precious moments are celebrated and where the waking life effortlessly collides with the dream world. With delicate autoharp strums, echoed phantasmal vocals, and a rustic Old World charm, Baby Alpaca’s music is sentimental without being trite, dark without the macabre, and profound without the highfalutin pretense. Inspired by the ephemeral life of a world traveler, a love of human connection, and an almost child-like sensitivity to his surroundings, Kittrell weaves intricate aural tapestries that stay in your mind long after the last listen. I recently spoke with this Brooklyn-by-way-of-Ohio madcap musician about songwriting, his insatiable wanderlust, and idiosyncratic sonic inspiration. — Hayley Elisabeth Kaufman

What is your musical background? How did you first start playing and what were your first sonic incarnations?

My mother plays the piano and she would play for me when I was little. I’d sit on the carpet and just stare at her. She would play Disney hits like “Cruella De Vil” and songs from old movies like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which was my favorite. I would walk around the woods and sing it for hours rolling around in leaves and looking for images in clouds. Some of my songs come from the child-like perspective I’ve held on to. The theme song from the film Exodus was one of the best things my mother could play. I wouldn’t blink when she played it.

I started playing the trumpet in the fifth grade. I wanted to play the drums but my dad wouldn’t let me. My mom tried teaching me how to play the piano but I had more fun listening to her play and singing along. The first song I wrote on my own is called “Pierced Wing.” I wrote it on a Sunday sitting on a roof after I had bought my first autoharp. There were birds flying around and squawking back. It was so fitting.

How did Baby Alpaca come to be? Where did the name Baby Alpaca come from?

I had a crazy summer of travels. I was never home and was feeling a bit uprooted. At the time I was in New York and caught a ride to visit Ohio in a U-Haul with a friend. I had my little dog Apple, and she was wrapped up in a Gary Graham sweater I had just bought. It was a baby alpaca hand knit — just completely soft and beautiful. I had my autoharp right next to me and began to strum a chord progression and it just came out of my mouth, “would you be my baby alpaca? I would keep you warm…”

You have a very unique musical point of view. What helps to inspire your sound?

My favorite way to write a song is while in motion. I wrote “babybluebikedreams” on the way home from bike shopping. Walking home I was dreaming about buying the bike and riding it down Lorimer Street. I had also just met a nice boy with a gold bike and thought they would be lovely together. I just started singing it and daydreaming. After a little time on a park bench and the walk home the song was done.

What three albums can you not live without and why?

Beach House by Beach House. I love all of their albums, but their first self-titled album is my favorite. Victoria has a beautiful voice—it’s just so dark and dreamy. According to iTunes, I’ve listened to it 169 times.

Live at Roseland by Portishead. This is such an amazing live performance. Beth Gibbons has a great power. I love the insanity of some of the songs, like the obsession in “All Mine.” I once sang it to someone on a first date. That probably wasn’t the best choice for a first date with lyrics like, “tethered and tied / render your heart to mine.” According to iTunes, I’ve listened to it 192 times.

Medulla by Bjork. The human voice is one of my favorite things, and I love harmonies. This album does so great with this because it’s all voice in the most beautiful harmony. Some of the songs would drive my mom crazy, but I would keep listening and listening. Once I listened to it on repeat all day while I painted the trim on my parent’s old house. According to iTunes, I’ve listened to it 73 times.

You mention that a lot of your material was influenced by your travels. Where did you visit and how did your experiences weave into your songwriting? How do you capture the visceral experiences through song?

The summer I was traveling like crazy I wrote “Driving to See You Again” in a car by voice on the way to an airport in the Carolinas. I was using the steering wheel as a drum and was singing as I drove. There’s something about motion and doing something like driving that lets a part of my mind go free. The lyrics just come out. Maybe this is how I tap into my subconscious? I was about to fly to San Francisco and these lyrics came to me: “I’m flying to see you again / I’m flying because of the distance / Would of tried walking but it’d take too long / Would’ve tried swimming but I might drown.” I went to Paris and Morocco afterward. The whole point of the excursion was to see the Sahara Desert because I had seen pictures of the sand dunes resting beneath blue skies and I had to see it with my own eyes. The journey to get there was amazing, and the Sahara was everything I had dreamed it would be. “Blowing Up” was inspired by a night in the Sahara: “Wandering round with nothing to do all day / But play in the sand and wait for blue skies / Oh, Sahara makes me numb to all the lively / Sand is blowing sand in my face.”

Traveling separates you from places you’re used to and the people that you love. This distance makes relationships grow so much. When you miss someone or a place so much and you eventually return, all the feelings come rushing back and your heart knows that the love is true. “True Heart” was inspired by this concept: “Hearts apart are growing wider / Hearts apart farther stronger / Hearts apart prove true hearts.”

How did you start playing the autoharp? Why is it your instrument of choice?

I first played the autoharp when shopping for a guitar at a used music store in Ohio. I had never seen one before and was intrigued at the first sight of it—a ream of strings stretched over a blond wooden base. So, I picked it up and gave it a strum. The resulting sound was dreamy and haunting and I just felt an instant connection to it.I knew that it was going to be my instrument.

Do you find that there are certain thematic patterns that you return to and constantly explore with your lyrics? If so, do the themes morph and change the more you write about them?

To me music is escaping the cares of life while growing and enjoying it with those close to you—to embrace life’s hardships and not let them defeat you. I tend to write about lessons that I learn or experiences I want to share. Once I was at an apple orchard in Kentucky at a trippy party on the river where there was a huge
bonfire. These boys were contemplating jumping over the fire and I knew I could do it so I went for it. It was big, like ten feet, but there was a big stump I used to jump onto and over. So eventually the dudes got the courage to do it, too. I wrote a song “Fire Walker” about the night.

I hope that people can learn and grow though the songs. I’m also obsessed with how words sound together. Sometimes I can get lost in the words—even just the sound of them will take me through a whole song. And love is a big part of it: finding love, cherishing love, losing love, and finding it again. And I think about death. Blackness. Some darker thoughts are coming out on newer tracks. I’ve been holding off on going there. I try to teeter on the bright side as long as I can.

Do you have a quote or a mantra that you live by?

Play with fire / Take the burn / Bare the scars.

How would you describe Baby Alpaca in five words?

Dreamy, clouds, golden, hearts, innocence.

You have mentioned that music was an escape for you during your teenage years. What bands helped with this musical escapism and how did this change the roll of music in your own life? What message do you want to come across in your own music?

I listened to music all night long because my mind was so rapid I couldn’t fall asleep. I loved the Cranberries, Radiohead, Bjork, and Emiliana Torrini. Music let my mind wander and dream. I mostly dreamed about getting out of school and out of my house and on to better things. I wanted to create and live freely. And I did escape, but I’ve found achieving absolute freedom is not easy. I’m not sure it exists until death, but I still hope it does.

I hope my music does the same thing for people; to make them dream and think about life. I’m introspective, so maybe my music will help others dive deeper into themselves. I also love lovers. I hope people lay around and kiss to the tunes. I hope I find someone I want to kiss, too.

What is something about you that we might find surprising?

I collect vintage ping pong balls.

After living a transient life you have now called Brooklyn home. What made you want to settle here? What is it about Brooklyn that felt like home—even if it’s a temporary one?

I have so many friends in Williamsburg and it feels like the neighborhood I grew up in. There are great places to drink and eat. Great crowds, but not too crowded. I love hamburgers and Roebling Tea Room has the best one in the world. This is up for debate, but I have eaten a lot of hamburgers. The Commodore is such a lovely place to have some late night drinks and there are always people dancing, great DJs, and they have a backyard to sit, smoke, and talk. The East River Park is beautiful. The grass lulls from the street to the East River and across it you can see Manhattan stretching out of the water. I think that’s my favorite part about Manhattan—looking at it from Brooklyn. I also have my puppy dog, and everywhere she is feels like home.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 18th, 2010 at 12:39 AM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. - Oakazine

BABY ALPACA

Location: Brooklyn
Sound: Lazy, hazy, vaguely psychedelic folk
Bonus: Their music will make you want to fall asleep in the sun.
http://www.myspace.com/babyalpacashow—Claire Suddath

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/10/25/battle-of-the-bands-mantyhose-vs-wetnurse-behold-cmjs-oddest-band-names/picture-10-16/#ixzz14Wf5sYHK - TIME

Standing at over six feet five inches Chris Kittrell is closer to the height of an adult alpaca rather than of his stage namesake Baby Alpaca. After sitting down with him for a few cups of tea you soon uncover a warm, gentle and deeply talented artist whose music allows you to escape to the places you’d much rather be, and as his great performance at the recent EVB-hosted happy hour at Pussy Faggot confirmed, you’ll soon be escaping much more with him.

Photographs and video portrait of Chris shot for EVB by Jessica Yatrofsky

Richard Welch: You played some new tracks from your debut EP True Heart at the Pussy Faggot party last month - how did that go?

Chris Kittrell: It was our first Manhattan show. The crowd had a great energy, and I think that’s one of the loveliest things a musician can hope for. I’ve also never played such a male-heavy audience.

Richard: Collaborative, peace and fun loving, living free, making music from whatever is laying around, ethereal dreamy kind of psychedelic music, and designer of feathered jewelry. It all sounds very hippie on paper, but unlike hippies, it all comes together for you in a good way. Are you a kind of ‘new’, hippie?

Chris: I would say there’s a generation of “a new kind of hippie,” but I wouldn’t say that I’m the first! I’ve come across a lot of free-spirited people that love collaboration and are really in touch with nature. But then there are so many degrees of what that might be, and I feel like when it comes to me, I’m doing it in my own way. I’m really in touch with nature but I also have a strong fashion background which in many ways could be viewed as anti-hippie. So, I feel, like, while embracing nature, I also embrace fashion and beauty and a lot of things that aren’t completely natural to the earth, but maybe are completely natural to myself.

Richard: What do you think the “new kind of hippie” should be called? No doubt someone will coin a label for them - maybe you can do that?

Chris: Baby Alpaca!

Richard: Collaboration at the center of what you do. Why is it so important to you?

Chris: I love people and love what other people do. In our super connected age, collaboration is the norm. Collaboration makes life much more full. It has more sides, more view points. When you bounce ideas off of one another the idea grows. Once a candle of an idea is passed along to more and more people they throw their wood onto it and it becomes a full-fledged fire. It’s kind of, like, if you do something by yourself then it’s just yours, but when you do it with a family of people - a family of creative artists - then its all of yours’ and you can see every little part that everyone contributed.

Richard: Baby Alpaca, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Polar Bear, Panda Bear, there’s kind of…..

Chris: Animal magic!!

Richard: Yeah! How did you join the zoo?

Chris: I bought a sweater that was made out of baby alpaca, and it inspired me to write a song called “Baby Alpaca” based on how amazingly comfortable the sweater was. I’d never actually seen a baby alpaca, then I looked them up, and saw similarities between them and my look at the time. I had been traveling and my hair was grown out - it’s naturally curly so it was big and pompadourish, much like an alpaca. Kind of like helmet hair you could say. I hadn’t named my music project so it was just a natural thing, like, “Oh, I should just call it Baby Alpaca!”

Richard: Speaking of comfort, there’s been a resurgence of restaurants serving classic comfort food. Are you making comfort music?

Chris: The music is definitely very comforting.

Richard: It also has an escapist quality to it. Where do you like to escape to when you’re making it?

Chris: Ever since I was a child the place I escaped to is my Grandmother’s farm in Ohio. I used to go there and walk around in the woods and sing to myself. It’s one of the most comforting places that I like to think of. I feel like I’ve gotten so good at being comfortable I can kind of be comfortable anywhere now. It’s not really something that I have to turn on and off. I would like people to feel and hear comfort in my music.

Richard: You play an autoharp. How did you come to learn that instrument?

Chris: Well, I had been traveling with a lot of musician friends, and was in this second-hand music store and happened across one, I had never seen an autoharp before and just started playing it in the store. It was out of tune and really old and there wasn’t a tuner with it but it was really cheap so I bought it and I started playing it - out of tune. Eventually I ordered a tuner and was sort of teaching myself how to play it, watching a lot of videos of people that used to play it and I discovered I used it in a much different way.

Richard: It kind of links back to the farm and the country, doesn’t it?

Chris: Yeah, it definitely does, it’s fitting for me to play and also the sound it really fitting. I was looking into playing a harp, but it’s their size…

Richard: It’s quite a lot to hold between your legs!

Chris: Yeah, they’re huge.

Richard: How do you escape when you’re in Bushwick. Brooklyn is about as far away from a rural idyl as you can possibly get.

Chris: Yeah. I feel like my best escape is through music. When I’m not somewhere where I’m physically escaping, I think that that’s what I do - I make music. And like you said, my music has an escapist quality. Music, and also fashion, is the way that I do it. It allows me to be who I want and defy gravity, or just not think about what’s around me and just make songs. That’s the most creative I feel I can get. I mean, you can do drugs or something else, but those all seem to end up badly for most people, so it seems like music is my best escape.

Richard: Your escapism to me doesn’t seem to be about totally disconnecting yourself from a reality. It’s seems to be more about enhancing your reality.

Chris: Yeah, it’s about finding a reality worth being in, trying to surround yourself with people and friends, and hanging in the places that have a certain type of people, but you do have to sort of escape from where you are if you’re going to eventually find that.

Richard: Your music feels very free form and organic. Do you have a song writing and recording process? How does it work?

Chris: I like to to have a fully developed song and idea before I start recording. I like to play it on my aut harp or accordion, making up chord progressions, or I’ll make beats with my feet while playing the autoharp and sing, and I’ll record it on my iPhone. However, I rarely ever listen to those recordings. I think I use them as a crutch. It’s one of those things where I know, “Oh, I can go back to them, and hear all the words I sang last night on the roof.” But I tend to actually remember the whole experience, and it has almost becomes like a check that I do with myself, like if I don’t remember the words and I don’t remember the chords, maybe they’re not worth remembering.

When other people come in to play with Baby Alpaca I don’t give any direction. I only like to play with people that get it. I like people that fit in, and I don’t have to worry about. I feel doing it any other way would just hinder the whole creative process.

Richard: And is it difficult to find musicians who “get it”, ?

Chris: It’s been extremely difficult. My biggest struggle is finding people that are free and know how to let go, but are also grounded. I’ve gone from meeting musicians that are so free, though really all they are is ‘fucked up’, through to classically trained musicians that just don’t get the sound that I’m going for. But since I’ve been living in Bushwick I’ve made some really close friends thatI know will become solid, long-term musical collaborators. There are some people, like my brother, who started out as a classically trained musician that I would play with, who through playing with me a lot, and me dealing with him and him dealing with me, we ended up developing a great musical understanding of each other. I feel like he’s changed a lot since he’s been playing with Baby Alpaca, which is a cool thing to see, because he’s someone that I really love and care about in so many ways other than just musically. I think it’s the freedom that Baby Alpaca has that gave him freedom to let go and find himself. He’s in Japan now, so he’s become so free he’s gone!

Richard: Tell us about your jewelry and fashion collaborations

Chris: I was shopping in Clifton, a college town in Cincinnati, and came across some really interesting pieces of jewelry by Vein. It turned out that the designer Linda and I have a lot of friends in common, but we only found out when I was wearing her jewelry and she recognized it and now we’ve become really close friends. She started making pieces for me that I would wear to shows, and I had been working for a home accessories label called Middleton, which uses lots of natural materials… so, we started doing a collaborative jewelry line, which we call Vein & Baby Alpaca.

Richard: And what future collaborations do you have planned?

Chris: Future? We’ll definitely continue to do the jewelry, it’s been selling very well, and lately I’ve been planning with a few friends who work at The Row [The Olsen’s label]. I worked there last spring, so it’s kind of how I know everyone there. We’ve been working on ideas for performance-wear for Baby Alpaca. We want to develop a really strong visual aesthetic that embodies everything we’re inspired by: nature, found materials and of course comfort. It’s also definitely got a strong unisex feel - being able to lose gender and lose your mind and lose what you are.

Richard: Back to the music, tell us about your new single, “Beware the Woods”.

Beware the Woods - Baby Alpaca

Chris: I wrote “Beware of the Woods” a couple of months ago on my roof in Bushwick. It’s about the masculine being lost in lust over the feminine. “She’ll take you to the garden with the flowers/you’ll take off all your clothes and lay for hours”. In love, time can disappear. When blind in the arms of another, you become lost.

Richard: When do you plan on releasing your debut album?

Chris: Summertime! Can’t give the exact date, but it’s on its way. There’s going to be a song called “Dark Vodka” which is a mix of the song “Vodka Lemonade.” An alternate video is in the works too, to come out at the end of the summer.

Richard: And finally, you said that Baby Alpaca was a little like John Coltrane’s “A Few of My Favorite Things”. What are a few of your favorite things?

Chris: I love champagne. My dog Apple. I love her, she’s the most comfortable pet. And I love beautiful boys and girls who like to have fun… just like the von Trapp children. I like dressing up in curtains. And I like finding people. My most favorite thing is finding someone on the same page I’m on.

Baby Alpaca will be performing with PAPS, Thursday May 13, at Pete’s Candy Store, 709 Lorimer St, Brooklyn, 8PM
and opening for Brahms, Tuesday June 1 at Pianos, 158 Ludlow St, New York, 8pm
- East Village Boys

Baby Alpaca, apart from being an ADORABLE fuzzy animal, is a band from Brooklyn with a sound that’s a little shoegaze-y, a little moody, and totally gorgeous. They play at 7:30 p.m. upstairs at the Delancey. - Austin Writes Music

We recently covered this extremely mellow psych-ambient rock band called Baby Alpaca. They just released this new video, which seems perfectly suited for these muggy NYC summer days. The video was filmed on vocalist Chris Kittrell’s family farm in Ohio, his own sanctuary since childhood. Baby Alpaca is currently recording their first album, slated for an end of summer release. Check them out at Glasslands on July 14. - Deli Magazine

If you’ve never seen Chris Kittrell (aka “baby alpaca”), he’s like this 7-foot-tall autoharp-wielding Ginsbergesque satyr who’s on a personal mission to provide others with an auditory escape from the everyday, as well as an outlet for creative collaboration and/or a skinny-dipping partner, all under the umbrella of his cuddly moniker.

And because he doesn’t really separate his identity from his band/brand name, Kittrell looks the way baby alpaca sounds. Both his clothing and his lyrics have a pro-experimental, psychedelic sensibility he’s picked up from his frequent travels, partially thanks to DAAP fashion design co-ops and partially due to his own wanderlust.

It’s not uncommon to see Kittrell onstage (or off) draped in fur, scarves and necklaces, which he creates in partnership with local jewelry label VEIN, or decked out in short shorts with combat boots.

His latest song, “Vodka Lemonade,” has this same sort of soft, neo-hippie ethereal Dream Pop feel, like Mazzy Star but not as dark, with lyrics that revel in the freedom of giving yourself up to the seasons: “Let’s quit eating/ Only drinking/ Winter weight/ Waste away/ Let’s live out heroin dreams/ Let’s dance fast with the coke fiends/ And waste away in the sun/ Sunken in our vodka lemonade.”

“Whenever I think of baby alpaca, I think of the song, ‘These Are a Few of My Favorite Things,’ ” Kittrell says, “because that’s what baby alpaca is. … It’s about escape and being free. Doing what you want.

Living free. Living fast. Not being afraid to fall down. Walking over fire or playing with fire but also knowing how dangerous fire is and knowing when to stop.

“The sound is definitely up in the clouds, for sure. Kind of far out, breezy.”

Kittrell achieves that loose, breezy feeling through his mobile recording techniques, a collaborative band lineup and by utilizing sounds from the natural environment.

Lately he’s been putting effects on his autoharp, an instrument he refers to as “traditionally Bluegrass,” in order to create a “trip acid-type Jazz spin.” Along with that, he’s been incorporating a variety of nontraditional percussive sounds.

“We’ve used bongo drums, tambourines, partial drum kits with a bass kick, vodka lemonade bottles,” he says. “Whatever’s lying around — shakers, clapping, snapping.

I like the idea of using experimental drums… and things that you find.”

“Things that he finds” also includes random band members. Kittrell tends to be the only consistent member of the group, though the current lineup of his brother Brian and Tony Kuchma, both from Gold Shoes, seems relatively stable. Because he’s so mobile, he thrives on collaboration. To him, baby alpaca is “whoever’s around, whoever wants to make beautiful music.”

“I really like it that way,” Kittrell says, “and that’s the idea behind everything about baby alpaca. Almost anyone that is creative and talented and loves beauty, nature, freedom and fun totally fits in.” Eventually he wants to lend his name and spirit not only to jewelry lines like VEIN but also to fashion endeavors, writing, philosophy, art, photography and more, like a cross-country Warhol Factory.

Part of this obsession with nature, freedom and fun is inspired by the time Kittrell spends at his grandmother’s farm out in Owensville, Ohio. It’s been in his family since his mother was a child, and he’s grown up watching the landscape change and sees it anew through the eyes of the friends he brings there.

“The peacefulness of the music really comes from the farm and the peacefulness that I carry around in general,” he says. ”Just like I would say the farm’s a breath of fresh air for me, I hope people say the same about baby alpaca.”

To capture that essence, he’s been experimenting with incorporating sounds from the farm.

“I’ve been playing a lot with recording vocals outside, like in a barn, by the creek, with birds in the background,” Kittrell says. “I’m trying to make sure (it’s) not contrived in any way.

Like it really has the free sound and it’s not just trying to be free.

“I hope people listen to my music and … feel more free like they can do whatever they want, which I feel like anyone can because there are so many possibilities. People see limits and boundaries where I just see no ceiling.”

And if you can’t spend your days out on the farm drunk on vodka lemonade, that’s what baby alpaca is for.

“I want people to listen to it that need it,” Kittrell says. “Some people need the escape that feel trapped. People can learn from it. baby alpaca is me giving that back to whoever wants it.”

- City Beat

Here at EVB we have been incredibly saddened by the wave of recent gay teen suicides around the country, as well as the barbaric attack in the Bronx here in New York City. We send our love to the victims’ family and friends. And it is important to remember, they are not only victims of school bullies, but of the Republican politicians and religious leaders that denounce and demonize homosexuality and of a government that continues to support ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’. What else are the school bullies to think, when so many of the country’s leaders all but facilitate their behavior?

All of us have our own story to tell about coming to terms with who we are in environments like this, and worse, all over the world. It’s important that young people hear these stories, receive comfort from them and know that there are people in our communities who want to listen and do understand. People who will embrace them for who they are, and welcome them with open arms when they find us. It’s important that they know that it gets better.

We’d like to share one of those stories with you, from our friend Chris Kittrell, from Baby Alpaca. They’ve also recorded a new track, ‘Rainbow Fields’, as a response to the sad news we’ve all been bearing. - Editors

Grab your heart it’s time to make a change/Let’s run into the rainbow fields/
Pack your bags we’re moving on/The rainbow fields will take us away.”

‘Rainbow Fields’ - Baby Alpaca [download]

‘Rainbow Fields’ is an anthem to me. It’s about being proud of who you are, loving freely, and escaping from anything that holds you back. I wanted to do something for It Gets Better because I had a lot of troubles in school. I was made fun of endlessly, physically assaulted and sexually interfered with by a teacher. I lived in an area where being gay was simply wrong. Music was my only escape, listening to the Cranberries all night long, plotting my way out. Music was the only way I could finally fall asleep. Hopefully someone will find that same solace and comfort in Baby Alpaca.

I feel that as important as it is to share personal woes so that the younger among us know that they’re not alone, it’s also important to be positive and talk about “the rainbow fields that will take us away.” I think that rainbow fields are different for everyone. Personally, I only had half of a family that loved me, and another half that didn’t. My dad would say, “I’ll always love you. You’re my son, I just don’t approve of you being gay.” At graduation an uncle said “don’t move to New York and become a freak like Elton John.” I thought “Elton John is amazing, and if you don’t love me for who I am, or who I love, and what I want to be, then you don’t really love me.” I made a decision that day that I would forget anyone that didn’t love me for me. I was also headstrong about finding a place where I would belong, and finding a group of people I could truly love and create with.

City living was my way out of the Midwestern fish bowl. Bigger cities have a culture and people that understand and embrace diversity. My mother was the biggest help in my escape. She could see how bad school was going when I became a suicidal Junior. She sent me to The Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts. Downtown Cincinnati was the first place I could be myself and make real friends. I took the Metro to school, was in the open city, found gay restaurants and coffee shops, and I think more than anything else, freedom.

I’ve never left cities again except to go to my Grandmother’s farm or the beach. And I’ve found many “rainbow fields” - in Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, New York, LA, San Francisco, Paris, London, Morocco, Sweden. There must be thousands at least, BUT, the only way to find them is to search for them. Sometimes you have to travel, get lost driving, fly somewhere. Persistence is a must. You may have to go out of your way to make friends but for me, those friends make me the happiest. Some of them I met on my fire escape and others far far away. I hope you can find your rainbow fields, and I hope this song helps you have hope of you don’t already. - East Village Boys

There are moments when everything is wrong in your life and you end up at a show and you realize the power of live music to staunch the internal bleeding of your soul. It sounds really effing pretentious, but it’s the only way I know how to describe it. Not all bands can do it. But Baby Alpaca definitely can. And they definitely have.

I’m thinking of a particular night a couple weeks ago at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg. I’m there because I’ve read about Baby Alpaca on EastVillageBoys.com—where there are several photos of front man Chris Kittrell running about naked, sometimes on a beach. Somehow, I neglected to listen to the songs that the EVB’s Q&A linked to, so I have no expectations beyond the usual preconceived notions about a dude playing the Autoharp with a keyboardist/drummer and a guitar player. I’m not thinking electro. I’m thinking Bat for Lashes and I’m not entirely off the mark. At least I don’t think I am when Baby Alpaca meanders into their set of dreamy folk pop on the bar’s tiny, Punch-and-Judy-show stage.

I’m transfixed, almost immediately transported into a sort of lazy reverie. The band’s sound brings to mind warm night air. Summer Sunday nights with all the oddly comforting melancholy that comes with them. With a chill in the air that cuts right down to your heart, in just the right way.

Most of Baby Alpaca’s set has a dusty, lonesome feel to it: a bit slow with whiny guitars that tug at your heart. Their songs take you to the same angst-y territory as The Smiths without the ’80s energy. In fact, Kittrell is channeling something awfully Morrissey-esque in songs like “Beware the Woods.”

Onstage, Kittrell is unassuming behind his Autoharp—or as unassuming as someone can be at six feet, five inches. Tall and lanky with bleached blond hair, he reminds me of Patrick Wolf without the British wunderkind’s bravado. His voice melts into the songs, all echo-y and distant, like a voice in a dream. There’s something almost bashful about the way he gazes down at his Autoharp, glancing up at the audience every now and then and smiling. But maybe that’s more the hazy, sleepy tone of his songs than anything else. “True Heart” and “Polar Lights” are mellow without seeming especially depressing. And that’s really the beauty of Baby Alpaca. Their songs are soothing in a way that you don’t expect from ballads—and really, most of their songs are ballads. I don’t hear heartbreak, though their music is so lovely it could break your heart. It’s more the kind of music you listen to in bed with the one who will probably break your heart, or maybe mend it. N


Baby Alpaca plays June 10 at Pianos (158 Ludlow St, 212-505-3733). Visit MySpace.com/BabyAlpacaShow for more info.

On Stage This Month:

If you’re lucky enough to be reading this on Thursday night (June 3) you may still be able to rush over to The Fillmore NY and score tickets to see Lil’ Kim. If not, your weekend’s not a total bust; you can still see Jeffree Star at the Gramercy Theater on the 4th and on the 5th catch Cudzoo & the Faggettes, The Homewreckers and Iron Chic at QxBxRx at Cake Shop. The following week is a big one for shows. On June 7, Erykah Badu plays Roseland Ballroom, Camera Obscura plays the Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom, and La Roux plays Terminal 5. The Futureheads take the stage at the Bowery Ballroom on the 8th, and on the 11th CocoRosie bring their dreamy freak folk to Terminal 5. Two reunited boy bands attack New York this month as the Backstreet Boys play Hammerstein Ballroom on June 10th and the New Kids on the Block play Radio City Music Hall June 17–19. The Johns rock Folsom St. East on the 20th and on the 23rd Tami Hart of Mkng Frndz plays Cake Shop while Goldfrapp takes on the Hammerstein Ballroom. Brooklyn folk duo Paps plays Cake Shop on June 24 and on the 25th JD Samson’s Men play The Knitting Factory. Wrap up your month with one of two Maxwell shows at Madison Square Garden: Jill Scott opens June 25 and Erykah Badu opens June 26. - Next Magazine