Pixikill

Jewel & Blaire Restaneo of Pixikill are buzzing. The highlighter-hued-hair siblings are poised to hit it big with their grunge-infused electro-pop. The LA duo dropped their first EP in July, The Luring, comprised of five self-written songs. The girls also showcased their producing, directing and editing skills in their video for "Chameleon," their first single. (A full-length is due out later this year.) Of their band name, the pair say "people often mistake Pixies for Fairies... In original folklore, Pixies are actually evil creatures. In our own sort of way 'Pixikill' is like fighting evil; it's the superhero in us."

Both Jewel and Blaire have theatre backgrounds, starring in Broadway plays like Annie Get Your Gun and A Christmas Carol. The girls have a refreshing approach to style, usually rocking carefree looks. Watch this exclusive video to see how the sisters style themselves.


Read More http://www.teenvogue.com/industry/blogs/music/2011/11/video-exclusive-pixikills-jewel-and-blaire-give-teen-vogue-a-tour-of-their-closet.html#ixzz1fKQUOxce

- TeenVogue.com

When I was first asked to interview the lead singers of the new band, Pixikill, I have to admit, I was hesitant. I am always wary of interviewing someone I'm not familiar with, for fear of endorsing someone I myself wouldn't support. But now I am glad that I agreed.

Jewel and Blaire Restaneo are very polite young ladies, with great careers ahead of them. Careers that I have no trouble supporting. I enjoyed interviewing them and hope you enjoy reading it just as much.

Rachel- Tell us a little about yourselves.

Jewel Restaneo- Okay, well, we're sisters, and we are in a band called Pixikill. I'm Jewel, and I have blue hair.

Blaire Restaneo- I'm Blaire. I have blond hair. {laughs} And we sing electro-pop/grunge music, and we're in a band with three other guys who are awesome.

JR- We just released our debut EP, "The Luring."

RH- How did you two first become interested in music?

BR- We first became interested in music when we were on Broadway. We were on Broadway as kids. I was six and Jewel was eight. I think from then on we just, like, had a passion for music. When I was nine, I started playing guitar, and Jewel was eleven when she started playing drums. We just branched off into different kinds of musical instruments-

JR- And writing.

BR- And writing our own songs. So, it just progressed from there.

RH- Where did you get the name, "Pixikill?"

JR- Pixikill is sort of like an inner superhero name. We were actually doing some research on folklore one day, and we found it kind of interesting that pixies are not like fairies. People think pixies are cute little creatures, but they're actually evil and they do some pretty rotten things. So, that's how we sort of got the name "Pixikill," 'cause it's like fighting evil.

RH- So, I hear that you two used to live in a haunted inn; tell us a little about that.

BR- Yeah, well, when we were younger... (I was born in that house; Jewel wasn't born in that house.) It was just an old house that was haunted!

JR- It was built in the 1700s, I believe, and, yeah, it was used as, like, an old hotel back in the day. So, we would always hear stories from family members and friends, you know, that they've seen ghosts or they've found hidden staircases, and stuff like that.

RH- How did you guys meet your band members?

JR- We met Chris, our guitarist...We actually auditioned band members. (This was probably three years ago.) And we fell in love with him, 'cause he's really awesome and cool and chill. About a year into that, Chris brought in Mike, 'cause we needed a drummer, and, so, we fell in love with Mike! And about, [to Blaire] what do you say, like, a year after that?

BR- Maybe like six months...

JR- Six months after that Victor, our bass player, did a sub[stitute] for a show. His stage presence was insane, and we knew we had to have him! So, yeah.

RH- Who do you guys count as your inspiration?

BR- I think I'm, like, inspired by the music I listen to, and I listen to a lot of Passion Pit, Bloc Party, anything Mark Ronson produces.

JR- We listen to Miike Snow, and just a lot of, I guess, electronic remixes of songs. I think two of the biggest influences are Bloc Party and Miike Snow just because we love the driving guitar element of Bloc Party; and we love the production and the electronic elements of Miike Snow.

RH- What was your inspiration behind the song, "Chameleon?"

JR- "Chameleon" is sort of a sarcastic kiss-off to giving to conformity. It's sort of like, if you watch the music video, you sort of see this lead boy, and progressively throughout the video his face is becoming whiter and whiter. The white face paint just sort of represents blending in with everybody else; blending in, you know, with your surroundings. So, basically, you know, it's just talking about [how] you don't really need to fit in; when you fit in it's to the point of having no personality.

RH- And you guys directed and edited your first music video; how did that work out?

JR- It was a lot of fun! We actually got together a pretty big group of friends and we locked ourselves in a warehouse for a week. Yeah! I don't know! Something magical turned out with that thing.

BR- Yeah.

JR- We had a lot of fun because we were very hands-on with everything. It's cool to have creative control. And editing it was a blast!

RH- What can fans expect on your debut album?

BR- I think they can expect, you know, more of what they heard on the EP. More songs about, you know, different situations. We're definitely growing in our writing as we go along. We're seeing a lot of new things that are happening. Just more of the electro-pop/grunge. Hopefully it will be more spastic!

RH- What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?

BR- If people really want to be musicians and they're really passionate about it, I think they should keep doing it. Just go for it! Keep practicing, keep getting better and keep challenging [yourselves].

JR- Yeah. Progression is gonna happen. The best thing you can do is just keep at it and not take anybody else's opinion; don't listen to any negativity. Just keep trying and trying.

RH- Do you two have a special message you would like to share with your fans?

JR- I guess a special message would go hand-in-hand with what we said about music. I mean, I guess that applies to all things in life, you know. We're out there to sort of give a message and to write songs that hopefully people can relate to. We just want to contribute all [our] music to the world. Hopefully some inspiring words can come from our lyrics and our writing.

RH- Alright, well, thank you! I wish you all the best of luck with your music. I love your EP, so hopefully I will be buying your album when it comes out.

{Both}- Thank you so much! - Teen Ink

J-14 had a blast hanging out with female-fronted band Pixikill when they stopped by our offices. They dished to us all about their debut EP The Luring and even performed two songs off their new album just for us.

READ IT: J-14 Hot Band Alert: Pixikill
- J-14 Magazine - J-14.com

Hey girls,
TWIST recently hung out with Pixikill, an awesome electro-rock band from Los Angeles! Sisters Blaire and Jewel Restaneo (both guitar, vocals, synthesizers), Mike Kimchi (drums), Chris Norwood (guitar, keyboard) and Victor Trevino (bass, synths) dished about performing, their EP and more! Check out their video for "Chameleon" and their exclusive performances for TWIST below!

Xoxo,
TWIST

TWIST: Your website describes your music as a hybrid of electro-pop grunge, but I know you guys have done Broadway shows and you play lots of instruments. Are there any other things you'd like to bring to your music or you're looking to incorporate later on?
Jewel: I think we all sort of bring a different element to our music because we all sort of come from different musical backgrounds. I lot of times we have punk elements coming in from [the] guys, and we sort of like to take it a bit further with electronic stuff. And loudness like hard rock from Mike. He just beats the heck out of the drums!

TWIST: What's the best part about performing or being on tour?
Blaire: Probably the energy. The crowd is really cool, and just the whole experience or playing a show and being on stage performing.
Victor: It's like electricity going through your veins. There's nothing quite like it. It's awesome.

TWIST: What's the worst part?
Jewel: The chaos that comes before the show, I guess. It can be a little chaotic setting up, because we're a band with a lot of gear.
Victor: Yeah, just making sure everything's perfect because we have costumes and a bunch of stuff. We go crazy, [and] we want to make sure everything is just the way we want it.

T: Besides performing, you guys have been working on an album? Is that right?
Jewel: Yes! It's going really well. We just released an EP not too long ago, and once we get back to L.A., we're going to keep recording for the full-length album.


TWIST: What is your favorite song from the EP you released in July?
Blaire: My favorite song is "Ninja." It was just my favorite song to write. It was really close to my heart while I was writing it.
Jewel: I would say "Ninja" as well because I like the energy around it, or "Banshee" because I think that one's really pretty.
Chris: "Vampire" is probably my favorite. I just like the dynamics of the song. It starts off really quiet and mellowed out, and towards the end, all the electronic elements kind of mesh together.
Victor: I think my favorite is a tie between "Vampire" and "Ninja." I really really like both of those songs, so I can't pick one.
Mike: I would say "Victory." That's pretty big. Those big choruses - it's just massive, so I like that a lot. - Twist Magazine

Reviewed by Annie Robinson, 14
Toronto


2011, Damsel Media



It is hard to find a band with both killer vocals and intense instrumentals, but that is exactly what Pixikill has. The Luring is Pixikill’s debut E.P. that features five up-tempo tunes. Blaire and Jewel Restaneo, the lead singers, want their E.P. to be something girls can relate to. Their music is full of energy and leaves you wanting more. Fans of Avril Lavigne and The Veronicas will love this amazing band.

One of the main reasons I liked The Luring was that I could relate to the topics PixiKill sings about. As teen girls themselves, Jewel and Blaire are dedicated to penning lyrics from personal experience. This E.P speaks about a broad range of issues to which teenage girls can relate, whether it’s something serious like depression, something overwhelming like fitting in, or something fun like a crush. The Luring has music any girl can identify with.

Blaire and Jewel’s vocal range captivated me throughout the album and their passion for music is obvious. This synth-infused electro-pop grunge music is anything but dull. The Luring is a musical punch to the guts with cutting-edge vocals.

No music library is complete without Pixikill’s first E.P. Pixikill is a band whose music speaks directly to teens through thumping beats and dramatic melodies. Once you start listening to this five-song E.P. you crave more Pixikill. Don’t worry though, the band plans on releasing a full-length album this fall! The Luring is a fantastic debut E.P that does just what its title says: it lures you in! - TeenVoices.com

Of the five bands playing The Roxy Saturday night, one band shined much brighter than the rest. Pixikill, a five-piece band fronted by sisters Jewel and Blaire Restaneo, confidently unleashed a pandora's box of slash and burn guitars delivered over clobbering beats in front of a packed crowd.

If they looked confident onstage, it's no surprise. Jewel and Blaire have been performing most of their lives. Between the two, they've already performed on Broadway and had roles in television, movies and commercials – all this before breaking their twenties. On the music front, the duo have already recorded a few albums, donating all their proceeds to Children's Hospitals. And it seems there's no slowing down for the pair. Their new venture is fronting Pixikill with band members Mike Kimchi (drums), Victor Trevino (bass), and Chris Norwood (lead guitar). This night, they were performing in support of their debut EP album, The Luring.

There's more to this band than lush pop songs and bubble-gum punk. That's what I expected but what they showed us was the complete opposite. From their fist-pumping frenetic first single "Chameleon" about losing your true identity for the sake of fitting in to dealing with the subject of depression in the noirish "Vampire," Pixikill gives us music with a message.
Sisters Jewel and Blaire, who write all their songs, holds your attention with dramatic flourish showing their musical range, veering from atmospheric synths to guitar-heavy arrangements while also surprising with dark, textured ballads such as "Banshee" and the aforementioned "Vampire."

Pixikill aren't the run of the mill girl-pop band. They play well beyond their years with a polished sound that puts most debuts to shame. And as they continue to play more dates this summer in support of the debut EP, they're also preparing to release their full-length album later this year. - www.picksysticks.com

Just one of them would be enough energy to light up Los Angeles. But even better, there’s two. Teenage sisters Jewel & Blaire Restaneo, front-women of Pixikill, will release their first EP The Luring on June 21st. The 5 song EP, which was executive produced by award winning multi-platinum songwriter/producer PJ Bianco (Jonas Brothers, Metro Station), was written entirely by Jewel and Blaire and features their explosive first single “Chameleon.” Check out the video for “Chameleon” below, which the girls produced, directed, and edited themselves. Before being able to truly appreciate the music though, you must know the origin of their namesake which the band credits to an unlikely source. “People often mistake Pixies for Fairies… In original folklore, Pixies are actually evil creatures. In our own sort of way ‘Pixikill’ is like fighting evil; it’s the superhero in us,” says the sisters.
Pixikill is music with a message. The lead single and album opener “Chameleon” jumps at you with its fast-paced melody, boldly declaring to be your own person while the dark and tempestuous “Vampire” isn’t so obvious says the sisters, “We want to go beyond what’s typically being written about. A typical song is a love song or a party song. ‘Vampire’ is about depression, and lyrically it could be about a person suffering from depression, or it could be about the object that is pulling them into depression. We like taking it to that level, and then leaving some gray area for the listener to think for themselves.” Other notable songs include, “Your Highness” which screams of empowerment and the beat heavy “Riddle,” an anthem for being self confident.

Long before they were killing pixies, Jewel and Blaire were little country firecrackers growing up in a haunted old Stagecoach Inn outside of Pittsburgh, PA. During many days spent alternately goofing off to the Spice Girls CDs, selling their own albums and donating the money to children’s hospitals, two things became clear: they were talented, and they had heart. This made them perfect fits for the national touring company of Annie. After rocking the hard knock life, they adopted New York City as home while starring on Broadway in Annie Get Your Gun and A Christmas Carol, along with making several appearances in kid roles on Saturday Night Live. After four years in New York, Jewel and Blaire headed for Los Angeles, where they started playing guitar, writing original songs, and walking the road that led them to Pixikill.

The crackling energy from the band is made up of Jewel and Blaire who handle the songwriting and arranging duties along with guitars, vocals, and synth, while Mike Kimchi plays drums and Victor Trevino and Chris Norwood multi-task with bass, guitar, keyboards, and synth. The bands collision of personality, experience, and feeling has marked Pixikill as ones to watch.

Full-length album slated for release next year! - www.musicremedy.com

Just one of them would be enough energy to light up Los Angeles. But even better, there’s two. Teenage sisters Jewel & Blaire Restaneo, front-women of Pixikill, will release their first EP The Luring on June 21st. The 5 song EP, which was executive produced by award winning multi-platinum songwriter/producer PJ Bianco (Jonas Brothers, Metro Station), was written entirely by Jewel and Blaire and features their explosive first single “Chameleon.” Check out the video for “Chameleon” HERE, which the girls produced, directed, and edited themselves. Before being able to truly appreciate the music though, you must know the origin of their namesake which the band credits to an unlikely source. “People often mistake Pixies for Fairies… In original folklore, Pixies are actually evil creatures. In our own sort of way ‘Pixikill’ is like fighting evil; it’s the superhero in us,” says the sisters.
Pixikill is music with a message. The lead single and album opener “Chameleon” jumps at you with its fast-paced melody, boldly declaring to be your own person while the dark and tempestuous “Vampire” isn’t so obvious says the sisters, “We want to go beyond what’s typically being written about. A typical song is a love song or a party song. ‘Vampire’ is about depression, and lyrically it could be about a person suffering from depression, or it could be about the object that is pulling them into depression. We like taking it to that level, and then leaving some gray area for the listener to think for themselves.” Other notable songs include, “Your Highness” which screams of empowerment and the beat heavy “Riddle,” an anthem for being self confident.
Long before they were killing pixies, Jewel and Blaire were little country firecrackers growing up in a haunted old Stagecoach Inn outside of Pittsburgh, PA. During many days spent alternately goofing off to the Spice Girls CDs, selling their own albums and donating the money to children’s hospitals, two things became clear: they were talented, and they had heart. This made them perfect fits for the national touring company of Annie. After rocking the hard knock life, they adopted New York City as home while starring on Broadway in Annie Get Your Gun and A Christmas Carol, along with making several appearances in kid roles on Saturday Night Live. After four years in New York, Jewel and Blaire headed for Los Angeles, where they started playing guitar, writing original songs, and walking the road that led them to Pixikill.
The crackling energy from the band is made up of Jewel and Blaire who handle the songwriting and arranging duties along with guitars, vocals, and synth, while Mike Kimchi plays drums and Victor Trevino and Chris Norwood multi-task with bass, guitar, keyboards, and synth. The bands collision of personality, experience, and feeling has marked Pixikill as ones to watch. - www.americanmusicchannel.com

Hey girls,

TWIST just got off the phone with Jewel from the new band Pixikill! Jewel and her sister, Blaire, just released their EP that includes their awesome song Chameleon! We got the scoop on the song and what it was like to make the video. Check out our convo to learn more about the band and what Jewel told TWIST about their upcoming album, summer tour and how they got their band name!

XOXO,
TWIST

TWIST: Can you tell me a little about how you and your sister got into music?
Jewel: We've been in it for a very long time. When we were younger we would dance around our living room and sing to different CDs and dance like crazy. Eventually that led us to getting involved in dance. I would compete in dance competitions all across the country. One day I was performing and an agent saw me and signed me to an agency in New York. It just branched off from there. We eventually auditioned for the musical "Annie" and we both booked it, that sort of started music with our lives. We started doing Broadway shows and then moved out to L.A. to discover what more we could do with music by trying different styles, meeting different producers, writing music and playing guitar.

Click HERE for more

TWIST: You write all your own music. What inspires you?
Jewel: It can be lots of different things. It's all very experienced based. I think that's important if you want an honesty to come from your lyrics. It can be inspired by boys, relationships or by friends. If you see different situations that your friends are going through, a lot of times it's cool to write about that because it's something that you kind want to elaborate on. I know that Blaire can write songs about me. I think that's super cool because she's observing it. But yeah, it's very random but it's usually relational or sometimes even fictional which is cool too.

TWIST: Tell me a little bit about your song, "Chameleon".
Jewel: That song is basically about conformity. If you watch the video there is this lead boy who starts out just regular. Then you have all these crazy dancing people around with white faces. By the end of the video the boy's face is now white. It's sort of a sarcastic way of saying, 'go ahead and fit in'. It's not particularly about a boy. It could literally be about any of your friends. It's about that one person who adapts to whom they are hanging out with. Their true personality isn't showing through at all because they are too busy trying to please everyone else.

TWIST: In the music video, you didn't just perform in it, you also produced directed and edited it. Can you tell me about that experience?
Jewel: That was an amazing experience. Basically we got a crew of our friends together to do it. We went to a warehouse for a weekend and it was hectic to try to come up with visions while we're trying to worry about being on camera as well. It was an experience I will never forget because it was absolutely amazing. Afterwards the editing part was great. I really love editing and anything behind the scenes I really love to get my hands on.

TWIST: How did you guys come up with your name, Pixikill?
Jewel: Okay, well a lot of people believe that pixies are cute little fairy creatures, like Tinkerbell, but we actually read that pixies are evil creatures. In saying Pixikill, it's our way of saying we're fighting evil. It's

TWIST: Is it sometimes hard being with your sister so much?
Jewel: It's actually not hard. We are basically best friends even aside from music, so we are pretty much hanging out 24/7. There has never been a questioning if we hang out too much or the 'you're kind of annoying' idea. Of course we have those "sister moments". We're not perfect, but we have this special bond that I couldn't be more thankful for. She's my best friend and I would do anything for her. So working with her is like a dream come true.

TWIST: Lastly, what can we look forward to see from you next?
Jewel: Many things! A tour this summer, we are definitely going to be playing a lot of shows in the L.A. area and we're hoping to branch out towards the southwest. We're releasing our EP this June and hopefully later this year we'll have a full album. So we're currently writing and recording for that.

TWIST: Well TWIST is definitely looking forward to hearing your album. Thank you so much for talking with us.
Jewel: Thank you! - www.twistmagazine.com

J-14 is scouting out the hottest bands around... and this week's pick is Pixikill!

Here are five things you need to know about Pixikill whose EP The Luring is out on June 21!

1. Pixikill was formed by sisters Jewel and Blaire Restaneo, two small town girls with big dreams from Pennsylvania. When they weren't singing their hearts out to Spice Girl CDs, they were recording their own albums, selling them, and donating the funds to children's hospitals. Though their music career is just starting to take off, these girls are no strangers to the stage. They both toured the country in the national touring company of Annie before they moved to NYC when they landed roles on Broadway in Annie Get Your Gun and A Christmas Carol.

2. The band was officially formed in May of last year after the sisters moved out to L.A. with other members Chris Norwood (guitar and synth), Mike Kimchi (drums and percussion), and Victor Trevino (bass and synth). "We were comfortable with the guys we were working with," Blaire tells J-14. "We really found where we wanted to go with our sound, started directing and producing music videos, and found somewhat of a more theatrical approach to live shows." And Jewel adds, ?"It was all about discovering who we wanted to be."

3. They found inspiration for their band name from fantasy folklore. "We were always sort of fascinated by fictional creatures and we found it interesting that people have this misconception that pixies are like fairies, but in actual folklore, pixies are evil creatures," Jewel says.

4. Pixikill's music is a lot more than your typical one-dimensional pop songs. "We call it electro pop grunge - angsty lyrics, a good blend of addictive synths with electric and acoustic guitars, driving beats, huge drums," Jewel tells J-14. "It's fun, yet it has its dark elements."

5. Included on their album The Luring is their explosive single "Chameleon," that talks about struggling to fit it. "It's about conformity." Jewel says. "It's sort of a sarcastic kiss off to someone who just kind of adapts to whoever they're surrounded by."
- www.j-14.com