[EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] The One & Only, Nylon Pink

Nylon Pink has sat down and answered some questions for HypnoticAsia’s exclusive interview. In 2008, the one and only all Asian-American, all female band in the United States, Nylon Pink was formed. Currently, the “Hello Kitty On Acid” style band consists of lead singer Kaila, the youngest member and drummer of the band, Jamie (Hi-may), Kitt.E.Katt who plays the bass and the guitarist Kiki. The pop, punk, rock band has over 11,000 subscribers on YouTube and more than a million views.

They are known for their awesome covers on YouTube like “Run Devil Run” and “Gee” by Girls’ Generation, “Monster” and “Blue” by Big Bang, as well as their originals like “Fluff,” “The New Black,” “My Religion,” “Hello Drama,” “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” and many more. Not only that, but the group owns their own jewelry line named “Hello Drama.”

Check out more about the group and each of the members by reading our interview with them below.

HYPNOTICASIA: Please introduce yourselves.

Kaila: I am the lead singer for Nylon Pink!
Jamie: I’m Jamie aka Hi-may aka the baby of the band and I am the drummer of Nylon Pink!
Katt: I’m Kitt.E.Katt and I play bass :).
Kiki: I’m Kiki and I play the guitar \m/.

HYPNOTICASIA: What’s your story? How was Nylon Pink formed?

Katt: Kaila and I actually met because we were dating the same guy at the same time lol. Of course, we hated each other at first but we realized it wasn’t our fault that the guy was two timing us. We eventually dumped the guy and realized we had a lot in common. Kaila was starting a jewelry line and band and I just happened to be a designer and bassist. Voila, that’s how the story began! Kiki then modeled for our line and we found out she was an amazing guitarist! Kiki then found Jamie playing a solo show and we thought she was so talented we had to have her in our band.

HYPNOTICASIA: How and why did each of the members of Nylon Pink get started with music?

Jamie: Being greatly influenced by Blink-182! They are the reason why I got started with music. When I was in 5th grade, they became really popular and I would listen to them all the time. I wanted to be like Tom, so I got a guitar. Then I wanted to be like Mark, so I got a bass guitar. Then I wanted to be like Travis, so I got a drum set. Once I got to the drums at age 10, I instantly fell in love with it and stuck to it since.
Kiki: I started playing piano at the age of 6. I played piano for about 12 years; our family had purchased a really cheap acoustic guitar for my dad’s birthday. It ended up collecting dust for a long time, so finally, when I was about 13 years old, I decided to pick it up and I learned how to play from the internet. I also played the drums and bass in several garage bands in high school.

HYPNOTICASIA: Where did Nylon Pink get their style and why were the genre’s Pop, Punk and Rock combined?

Kiki: Our style of music is influenced from all of our individual tastes in music. I listen to a lot of heavy metal and dubstep so that’s where those elements come from. Each of our influences has made a significant impact on how our sound has grown throughout the years.

HYPNOTICASIA: Has there been one particular moment in your musical career that you’re most proud of?

Kaila: Performing at The Sunset Music Festival — one headliner was Marilyn Manson, who many of us are huge fans of. He is definitely an artist who broke creative boundaries and wasn’t afraid to establish his own identity and carve his own niche.
Jamie: Definitely The Sunset Music Festival like Kaila said, and also Macau because it was my first time out of the country and it was on my bucket list to travel out of the country for music. It was a proud moment for me when I got to cross that off my list. I would also have to say Japan as well because it has always been my dream to go to Tokyo, Japan so being there was unreal.
Kiki: I would definitely say our first international tours in Macau and Malaysia was the most impacting moment of my musical career. We’ve had a lot of amazing opportunities to travel and to do what we love, all on our own as musicians and I can’t be anymore grateful for what we’ve been able to accomplish!

HYPNOTICASIA: Where do you get your inspiration when writing and creating music?

Jamie: When writing and creating music, I get my inspiration from everything really. Other artists, different genres, life experiences… usually, something will happen in my life and writing about it always makes me feel better so that’s usually where my writing comes from.
Kiki: It’s kind of weird, but I actually can’t really write that well unless it’s after like 10pm. For some reason, night time is when all my creative juices start flowing. Of course, we have studio sessions during the day, but there’s something about the placid silence of night that really brings out some awesome creative sparks.

HYPNOTICASIA: We see that you have your own jewelry brand, “Hello Drama”, where did the name come from and who comes up with the designs for the jewelry being sold online?

Katt: The name Hello Drama came from one of our first singles called “Hello Drama.” A lot of our designs are inspired from the lyrics of our songs. We are also influenced by street culture, Harajuku, rock n’ roll, anime, love and of course, all of our friends who are all wonderful artists!

HYPNOTICASIA: You have already toured Thailand, China, and other places; do you have plans to tour any other countries?

Kaila: We are definitely looking to hit up Europe next!!

Kiki: Yes! So want to go to Europe or South America!

HYPNOTICASIA: Why did you come up with the idea to cover KPOP songs on YouTube? Also, who writes the English lyrics and music to the covers?

Kiki: Jamie and Katt are definitely our big KPOP fans of the band and we’d always hear them talking about their new favorite songs so we all decided to check out the music. I ended up really enjoying and appreciating the music because it’s so catchy and has some awesome songwriting. We decided to just make our own renditions of the covers and post them on YouTube. We all collaborate when it comes to the English lyrics. Each member helps out with the words.

HYPNOTICASIA: Who are some of your favorite K-POP artists?

Kaila: SNSD and HyunA!

Jamie: 2NE1 and BIG BANG!!!
Katt: 2NE1 for ever n’ Eva!!!

HYPNOTICASIA: From all of your original songs, which would you say is your favorite?

Jamie: My favorite original song is “Fluff” but I have other top favorite original songs too. They just haven’t been released yet. I’m antsy to release them because I’m really excited for everyone to hear our new stuff!
Katt: My favorite original song is probably our new songs that haven’t come out yet, I can’t talk too much about them just yet!

HYPNOTICASIA:Who came up with the name for your fanclub, Ninjas?

Kiki: One of our good friends, TJ, called us ninjas when we were all hanging out, and suddenly we realized that would be an awesome name for our fans since they are all awesome, swift, and pretty much the coolest cats on the block! We love you all!!!

HYPNOTICASIA: If you could collaborate with an artist you haven’t worked with already, who would it be and why?

Jamie: 2NE1 and Big Bang probably because they have a style similar to ours and a Nylon Pink and 2NE1/Big Bang baby would be pretty amazing.
Kiki: If we could, I would die if we collaborated with some of the big dubstep DJ’s like Caspa, Borgore, or Datsik!

HYPNOTICASIA: How does social networking benefit you?

Katt: Social networking has been such an integral part of Nylon Pink. Of course, we meet our fans from shows but we’ve also met a bunch of fans just chatting on the internet as well. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, has also helped us meet photographers, producers and other artists to collaborate with as well. It’s so much easier these days to also put up your work and share it with the world; I really don’t know what we would do without social networking sites!
Kiki: Networking is extremely important for us. Since we are a self-sufficient independent band, we rely solely on our own points of contact to be able to progress with shows, tours, endorsements, etc. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without the help of some amazing people we’ve met along the way!

HYPNOTICASIA: What is each of your hobbies outside of music?

Jamie: I have such a wide range of hobbies but most of them are creative. I have a thirst for knowledge so I try to dabble in anything and everything I can. Right now, my main hobbies include design, cars/racing, video games, photography, and hopefully I can pursue more of film and soccer soon.
Kiki: I am a professional eater and collector of llama figurines. It’s true! It says on my Twitter bio ;).
Katt: I’m in love with fashion! 🙂 I actually studied fashion design in school so I love designing, styling and dressing up in ridiculous outfits lol.

HYPNOTICASIA: What is Nylon Pink’s current schedule like?

Kiki: We’ve got a lot of awesome shows coming up in the near future. If you’re an anime fan, don’t forget to check out our schedule of upcoming shows! We have a ton of fun anime conventions we’ll be playing in the near future. We’re also really excited to be playing some of the pride festivals as well, and hopefully another international tour! Piggies crossed! ^.^

HYPNOTICASIA: If it wasn’t music, what do the members of Nylon Pink feel they’d be doing instead?

Kaila: Going to culinary school, chefing it up, trying to be the next Anthony Bourdain!
Jamie: Probably finishing up my bachelor’s degree in business and going to a community college to take random courses in anything that interests me and spending more time designing.
Kiki: It’s kind of random, but I’d probably be doing something in the medical field or traveling the world nomad style.

HYPNOTICASIA: If you could give advice to an up and coming band, what would it be?

Katt: The best advice that we can give being in a band is to never give up even when things get really tough. It’s difficult keeping it together with four very different personalities but keeping an open line of communication helps a great deal. People assume being in a band is glamorous and fun all the time but in reality it’s a lot of hard work like everything else. But if that is something you want, it definitely pays off in the end.
Kaila: Find your niche, discover what’s complete unique about your band, don’t try to be like anyone else and never give up!

HYPNOTICASIA: What are the girls of Nylon Pink currently working on? Any new releases we should look forward to?

Kaila: Tons of new music and currently shooting 2 music videos for our original releases!

Keep up to date on Nylon Pink’s upcoming music, schedules and events by following their Twitter, Facebook, and official sites.