The Broadcast

"At the end of May, I went to see The Broadcast perform. It was a show I was looking forward to based on having heard their new full length debut record Over The Undercover, which I've been listening to for about a month now. The first thing that catches you is the voice of Caitlin Krisko. She has a rich soulful instrument that goes from sultry to vulnerable and back again with ease. Krisko reaches down in her soul and comes up a grand amount of passion that sucks the listener in. With every inflection, be it subtle or blistering, she makes the listener feel all of the pain and pleasure of each song. The first time I listened to "The Unintelligible Truth," I thought to myself, this is one hell of a song, and sure enough The Broadcast opened their show with it. What I saw and heard nailed it all up to the wall leaving me with one of those speechless moments that you get when you have just been smacked by something good. Since then, this song has moved to the top of my list of favorites. While each track stands well alone, Over The Undercover is a record that can be fully appreciated as a whole without hitting the skip button on any songs." - LaNita Adams of Quirky NY Chick Music

"It's rare you hear a band of this caliber and not think to yourself that you're seeing something special happening before your eyes. With the spirit of Janis Jopin thriving right beneath the surface, Caitlin Krisko belts out breathtaking originals with lyrics well beyond her 25 years. With sweeping melodies and piano driven soul rock, you'll be left on the edge of your seat wanting more. Their live performance is a rare treat with Krisko's vocals going above and beyond what is captured on their record. Her emotion bleed into her microphone and it's so refreshing to see such talent at such an early stage of success." - Jennifer Ross of Atlantic Records

"Irresistible soul fusion makes up ninety percent of the draw when it comes to all things Caitlin Krisko. The other ten percent proves a much harder ingredient to identify but one thing's for sure - to try and fight it would be an impossible task. Krisko herself believes that music should inspire thoughts and ideas and revitalise a long forgotten sense of community and performs with that same conviction - highlighted in her stunning vocal laden with depth and integrity. Lyrically, Krisko writes with a maturity not often seen in an artist so new to the industry but her debut LP release 'Over the Undercover' makes a mockery of that belief." - Rebel Spirit

"Caitlin Krisko [vocalist of The Broadcast] has a voice drenched in honey, and dripping with soul." - Cosmopolitan Magazine

Broadcast News
Caitlin Krisko and her band of Brooklynites are about to unleash soulful star power on Asheville.

by Joanne O’Sullivan

photo by Stewart O'Shields, shot on location in the Kessler Ballroom at the Grand Bohemian Hotel
makeup by Mendy Hoffman for Makeup at the Grove Arcade
hair by Gretchen Pheffer for The Secret Spa

The typical rock band trajectory is this: play your heart out in small town, then move to a city like New York and hope you make the big leagues. Maybe even sign a record deal. But The Broadcast, featuring lead vocalist Caitlin Krisko, isn’t a typical rock band. They left New York this summer when their star was on the rise and relocated to Asheville to pursue music full-time, free of rat-race stress. “Before you can be successful, you need to be of sound mind, body, and spirit,” says Krisko, who seems wise beyond her years at 25. Where better to achieve that than here?

The soul-driven band (which dropped “Caitlin Krisko and” from its name with the move) was filling spots like New York’s Mercury Lounge and the Bitter End, developing a following with live shows and a record last year, Over the Undercover. Krisko has drawn comparisons to vocalists such as Joss Stone and Janis Joplin. But you know the drill: expensive city life means struggling to make a living so that you can make music. Keyboardist Rich Brownstein was a booking agent. Guitarist Christian Mendoza worked at a music venue. Other band members, brothers Michael and Matthew Davis (drums and bass, respectively) and percussionist Tyler Housholder all had day jobs, too. So, with a little “feminine persuasion,” she says, Krisko convinced the whole band to move to Asheville in June. They share a North Asheville house in which they’ve set up a recording studio. (Expect a new EP at the end of this month). A typical day now starts at the gym, then doing outreach and bookings. They tout their high-energy live shows and cast the net wide. “We’ll call a fraternity house and ask if they need live music at their parties,” she says. Then the band rehearses all afternoon and has dinner together. The togetherness, she says, makes their music stronger.

Krisko grew up in Michigan with hippie parents (her dad was at Woodstock) who filled the house with Motown soul and the Beatles. “If music is my religion,” she says, “Stevie Wonder is my god.” She performed locally from childhood, and in middle school, a teacher singled out her vocal talent. A friend at the time auditioned for a New York City conservatory, which planted the seed for Krisko: why not audition for the High School of the Performing Arts, popularly known as the school from the TV show Fame? Undaunted by a winter storm that cancelled their flight there for the audition, she and her mother drove through the night to make it, and when she got in, the two pulled up stakes and moved to New York.

She learned how to promote herself on the solo acoustic circuit for about a year, with rotating band members, until the current lineup solidified recently. For her, moving to Asheville doesn’t mean giving up on the dream of bright lights and a record contract. “You don’t have to be in New York to make it anymore,” she says.

Hear The Broadcast live November 7 at MoDaddy’s, November 12 at White Horse Black Mountain or November 18 at MoDaddy’s with Spiritual Rez. For more details, check out www.thebroadcastmusic.com.
- VERVE Magazine

Caitlin Krisko has one of those voices that make folks sit up and listen: it’s smoky, compelling and remarkably nuanced for one so young (she turns 26 this month). As lead vocalist of self-described “soul-infused rock band” The Broadcast, Krisko’s voice soars on the group’s recently released EP, Days Like Dreams.

The five guys who back up Krisko are Christian Mendoza on guitar, Rich Brownstein on keys, Matthew Davis on bass, Tyler Housholder on percussion and Michael W. Davis on drums. The first track on the new EP, “Loving You,” is a Motown-influenced dance tune. The other songs range from the pop-like “Trouble Remembering” to the more electronic-infused “The Reckoning. “The Broadcast’s sound is easy to move to, and their live shows supposedly keep the crowds jumping.

“Caitlin’s often compared to performers like Janis Joplin, Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant — sweating and emoting the words she’s singing, allowing people to get a sense of her soul and where the music is coming from,” says Housholder.

While the band clearly has some serious musical chops, each of the songs on the EP feels a bit derivative. The Broadcast’s challenge, I think, is to use their obvious talent to create a truly original sound. If they can do that, there will be no stopping them.

Their story begs telling as well. The entire band quit their day jobs and moved to Asheville from Brooklyn in September to chase their dream of playing music full-time. They’d been making music together since 2007, but strictly on a weekend warrior-touring basis. The six band members now live in a rented house in North Asheville where they can tour and create music together 24/7. They’re currently playing weekly at the new Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Charlotte, and recently returned from touring up North, revisiting their former stomping grounds.

“In the four months we have lived here, we’ve had more opportunities come up for us than we did in three years in New York City,” Housholder says. “Not only is Asheville a far more nurturing city for artists, but it also allows its artists to spread their wings and expand their business on a national level. New York City allowed us to cultivate our craft, and really lock in our sound. Asheville has allowed us to take our music and make it our business.”

Band members have also been enthusiastic about tapping into the local music scene, and say they’re huge fans of artists here such as stephaniesid, Your Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band and Moses Atwood.

“It’s a solid, eclectic, supportive community, and it makes us feel like we have a family to come home to when we get off the road,” Housholder says.

Catch the Broadcast on Saturday, Jan. 22, at Jack of the Wood. That show will also be a celebration of Krisko’s birthday. Learn more at http://www.thebroadcastmusic.com. - Mountain Xpress

Until a few months ago, the Broadcast were just your typical amazing Brooklyn folksy six-piece Stevie Wonder-worshipping soul band, selling out venues with platinum princess Caitlin Krisko's powerhouse vocals and waiting for a bigger break. Cut to September, when the entire band relocated to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, in order to become full-time rock stars. The result? Their impressive sophomore release Days Like Dreams, in which they forget about the New York rat race to focus on the original inspiration of the ecstatic music they make. Tonight they pay their hometown a visit and give us a taste of their Southern epiphany — a performance perfect for those who want to dance barefoot in the middle of winter.”

Chloe Leichman, Flavorpill - flavorpill.com