The 36th anniversary of Pridefest is this weekend on Saturday, and Sunday, March 9 & 10, and will take place once again at the very popular Holiday Park/War Memorial Auditorium. Pridefest is a celebration and tribute to the LGBT community and its unique culture. The weekend-long event features over 200 vendors, music, food, and nonstop entertainment. The hours are Noon – 7 p.m. both days. It was a pleasure to sit down with the headliners for Sunday, Karmin for this exclusive Hotspots Interview.
When did you first realize you each wanted to be a singer/recording artist?
For Amy, it was when she was in 6th grade – she wanted to be Brandy! And for Nick, it was when he had all of Les Miserables (musical) memorized as a 4th grader.
How did you meet?
We met at Berklee College of Music in Boston at a house party, next to the refrigerator.
When did you realize that you were going to be a recording duo?
A couple years after graduating and working day jobs, Amy had this crazy idea of starting our own group when we were sitting in the Lowell, MA train station. Before we knew it, we were learning new instruments and learning to record ourselves!
It was in Old Town, Maine which is Nick’s hometown. At the time it was just Amy signing and playing guitar and me (Nick) playing cajon and singing backgrounds.
You became famous for covers and are YouTube superstars, how did that help your career?
It gave us an audience! We were too broke to tour and hire musicians, but still felt like people had to watch us perform to understand us. So, we felt like YouTube was the perfect, affordable way to do that! lol
Who was the first person in the biz to notice you and when was that?
There were a few producers that noticed us covering their songs early on in the YouTube days. We remember being so pumped that people in the industry were seeing us!
How did it feel the first time you heard your own song on the radio?
Welp, that’s actually a YouTube video! We were in Nashville and our radio rep and manager somehow talked the station into playing our song when they knew we would be in the car. I (Nick) thought it was a prank, so I kept looking around trying to figure out where the music was coming from, and Amy just started crying.
Who are your inspirations in the music industry?
Oh man, there’s a ton, and for a ton of different reasons. Watching Gaga explode the way she did, and by doing something so different was inspiring to see. Kanye West’s Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album had a big impact on us too – those are a few that come to mind.
What would people be shocked to know about you?
We have 4 children. Just kidding. A lot of people are surprised to find out that our birthday’s are two days apart – and we’re both Taurus’s so that means we butt heads, a lot.
What’s ahead for Karmin?
So many things! Of course we’ve been working on our first full album, and should have our first single out very soon (which we think is kinda awesome….biased) and we’re working with designers on our new look! We’re also starting Karminology.com which is a beauty/fashion site with hair and make-up tutorials amongst other things. Also, we really want a dog, badly.
Catch Karmin performing at Pridefest on Sunday, March 10 at 6 pm. For more information on Pridefest events, volunteering and other activities, please visit our website PrideSouthFlorida.org or call the PrideLine at (954) 561-2020.
