MODERN MUSICIAN: A CONVERSATION WITH MODERN MOD'S ALIVIA KLEINFELDT-SIDE ONE

SIDE ONE: BEGINNINGS

What is your earliest musical memory?

ALIVIA KLEINFELDT (Modern Mod bass guitar/vocals, age 19): I think my earliest musical memory would have to be watching “The Monkees” reruns on Sunday mornings as a little, little kid. It was my favorite show since before I could remember. I was probably 2 years old when I started watching the show and I worshiped them and had so many songs memorized, and recently, my Mom and I just discovered that they are once again playing reruns, so it’s been so much fun to revisit that and remember why they were my first favorite band!

That is amazing!! The Monkees were the very first band I was ever obsessed with as well. I think I was maybe 5 or 6 years old when I first saw the TV show. I just have to ask. Who is your favorite Monkee? When I was a kid, it was Mickey Dolenz. Now, I think it's Mike Nesmith.

It’s too hard to choose a favorite! But I’d probably have to go with Davy Jones because I’m good friends with someone who has toured multiple times as Davy’s bassist, and he actually gave me the bass he used to play on stage for him and had informed me that Davy had often times picked up this bass and had loved playing it! So, I feel a special connection to Davy. And also, because he was on an episode of “Spongebob Squarepants” and that used to be one of my favorite shows, haha!!

Aside from The Monkees, which artists were your first sources of inspiration?
I have an extremely wide array of musical influences now that it's pretty crazy for me to think about what it really started with. But, I'd definitely have to say that as far as what initially inspired me to start seriously listening to and appreciating music in general was Alice Cooper.  There's a pretty long backstory on him for me.

I’d love to hear it.

One night in eighth grade when I couldn't sleep, out of desperation to do something other than lie wide awake, I got out this little iPod-shaped radio that my Mom bought me and I never had interest in using until that moment, and I started scanning the stations. I came across a familiar voice: Alice Cooper. My brother and Dad were really into classic rock and whenever we were in the car, they would turn on his radio show, so I decided to listen for myself. I instantly was fascinated by him and the music he played, and I started listening to his show every night. I got really into bands like Van Halen, Guns N Roses, and Alice Cooper of course.

My interest in 80’s hair metal bands and the like faded pretty quickly but Alice's earlier work really stuck with me, as did the classic heavy metal and psychedelic bands like Black Sabbath, The Doors, The Animals, Arthur Brown, etc. But, I also got into The Beatles for the first time, who then in turn opened me up to stuff of all different genres and time periods, and the rest is history I guess!  

To list a few of my first sources of inspiration for writing my first few songs, I'd have to say the Beatles and The Monkees for sure, Alice Cooper, The Doors, The Who, and my favorite contemporary band at the time: The Strokes. Those were the bands that really influenced me to write and play music, and inspired what and how I wrote. Also, something I more recently realized, is my vocal style is largely inspired by listening to and admiring my Grandparents sing to themselves around the house when I would visit them as a kid. I have always loved their voices, and the way they sing- capturing the 1940's/50's style- is just beautiful to me and I've tried to recreate that myself.

So, I say that I owe my love of music to Alice Cooper and his radio show, and accredit him for my being a musician. I even went as Alice for Halloween! You know, there was a period of time, pretty much most of middle school, that I stopped listening to and playing music.

Really? Why is that?
I think I stopped playing because I was really big into sports. I was a big time basketball player and I even thought at one point that I'd be playing it throughout college. I was a bit aimless in middle school, which makes sense because I was only 12, ha ha! But, I never wanted to practice my guitar because practicing just seemed like a chore at the time. I was in orchestra and was a pretty good violinist all throughout middle school, but I didn't ever want to practice that either. I was also really shy and felt like I got even moreso at the time, so I didn't ever sing or play in front of people unless I had to at an orchestra concert. So I think I stopped music due to a combination of other interests, a lack of purpose and confidence, and a bit of laziness too, ha ha!!

Even with going through that piece of your life, do you remember when you realized that you even wanted to express yourself musically?

I think when I really realized that I wanted to be a musician, a bassist to be specific, was one night in 8th grade when I joined my parents in watching a special on The Beatles, and I instantly connected with their music and with Paul McCartney in particular. It was pretty mind-blowing to me at the time, to think that I had never truly listened to them in the way I had that night.

All the while, I was becoming really good friends with someone in my school, a drummer named Emma Witmer (ed note: original Modern Mod songwriter/drummer credited as "Ronnie Clarke"). After we realized we were both really into music, Emma and I started joking about making a band, how I'd take up bass and we'd make a 3-piece with a random Hot Topic employee. One day, though, one of us said "you and I should actually make a band," and we were both so on board that I bought a bass a week later and we were playing music together practically every day.

I had already been playing guitar for years, so instruments had come pretty naturally to me and I was confident on that right away. Singing was definitely more difficult for me to start because I had very little self-confidence, and singing in front of an audience was an extremely nerve wracking thought, especially since I never sang even to myself and I thought that I was a pretty bad singer. I was just kind of forced into doing backup vocals at the beginning of joining my first band, and I think being pushed to do it and practice it consistently in front of people was what helped me feel more confident in my own ability. And now, I absolutely love to sing!

And how many instruments are you able to play exactly?

It really started with a plastic green harmonica that I got in a gift bag from my 2nd grade best friend’s birthday party, that I decided that I wanted to play real instruments. So, I got a real harmonica and taught myself how to play that. Then, I picked up a guitar after I saw my sister learning, and I wanted to do the same. I took guitar lessons for a while, then I took that break from music altogether until middle school orchestra, that’s when I picked up the violin. When I picked up the bass guitar, I also switched to the double bass in orchestra. I was also in my school’s Secret Underground Ukulele Club for a year. I can also fake my way decently enough on the cello and piano. But, I’d say I can respectably claim to play harmonica, bass guitar, guitar, double bass, violin, and ukulele.

Emma Witmer and Alivia Kleinfeldt, circa 2014

How did you and your Modern Mod bandmates first meet?

So, I am actually the only original member of this band right now, but it started as my best friend Emma and I deciding we want to start a band in middle school, and we found a program called Rock Workshop at the Madison Music Foundry, where I learned to play bass. The program puts kids of all ages, skill levels, and musical tastes together to form bands where they learn to write and record a song together and perform at a showcase. That’s how the band started, and we went through a number of people after deciding to try to stick together. We met Cal Pocernich (Modern Mod guitarist) through his friend Dan who was the original guitarist, and we met Emily Massey (Modern Mod lead singer) through her sister because I went to camp with her. This was all spread out through several years, and we’ve gone through a few (embarrassing) band name changes.

What is the origin of the name “Modern Mod”?

The name Modern Mod came from our interest in the 1960’s mod music and culture.  We actually decided that Modern Mod would be a good name because it implied we were taking on a new, modern spin on the Mod music and fashion, although, and I could be wrong, but I don’t think our music ever ended up really sounding like any mod bands I’d think of. But, we also agreed the name had a nice ring to it.

Were your parents always supportive of your musical aspirations, as well as your role in Modern Mod?

Yes for sure, they were always very supportive of my interest in music, and had encouraged me to pursue it even when I had my doubts and considered going to college out of state and forgetting about music for a while. I remember when I first told them that I wanted to buy a bass they were a little skeptical, but that's probably because I was so impatient and was determined to purchase one basically a few days after deciding I wanted to play the instrument (which I ended up doing anyways.) But, they’ve always supported my dream and are just as passionate as I am about my music, and I’m incredibly grateful for that fact.

Modern Mod, circa 2014

Do you remember very your first gig? What was the response to your first Modern Mod performance?

Our first gig was at the High Noon Saloon, under a different name and with all different members, and with songs we never play anymore, so I guess it’s barely a Modern Mod gig but I’ll still count it (laughs)! It was in the middle of the day for the Rock Workshop showcase. We “headlined" because we were the only band to write not one, but three original songs, and play two covers. It was terrifying, to say the least. I was so incredibly nervous, but I remember thinking it went well despite that. Our parents loved it! But, I remember getting some good compliments, so I’d say our first show was a success.

I asked the members of Post Social this very same question and I’d love to get your feelings about this one. It is one thing to receive praise from your parents. How have you been received by your friends and peers? Was one set (adults or peers) easier or harder to get on your side?

A lot of my friends thought it was the coolest thing in the world that they knew someone who was in a band, so I felt a lot of support from my peers in the early days of the band. It was always difficult getting them to our shows though because of age restrictions and the fact that none of them could drive. I’ve been very lucky to receive almost nothing but support throughout my entire musical career from friends and family alike. Only a few times I received a disapproving remark about my not going to college immediately after high school, but I knew and my family knew that I was making the right choice because it’s what I wanted to do most, so those negative comments never affected me.

Have you ever surprised yourself with any piece of music that you have written?
I have written and worked on a fairly substantial amount of music for the amount of time I’ve been doing it, but I’ve really only completed a small handful of songs. So I was astounded when “Papercuts” won the alternative song of the year at the MAMA’s (Madison Area Music Association awards) this year, because that was only the second song I’d ever written. But, some of the newer songs I’ve written have been sort of amazing to me that I could come up with something of the sort. I think back to my early days of writing, and I love where I’ve been going and I know that I can only progress and keep pushing my creativity because I have so much I want to create and I am still trying to figure out how to do so. But, I think that one of my newest songs that I’ve written for myself has surprised me the most, because of its lyrical content. The lyrics are pretty simple, it’s plain English, yet the meaning behind them is so powerful to me that it takes me aback when I really think about them. The song is still in progress but I really cannot wait until I finish it and let everyone hear it.

Stay tuned for Part Two of my exclusive conversation with Alivia Kleinfeldt where she discusses the recording of Modern Mod's debut album "Tunnels" and its subsequent success, the MAMA awards and her bandmates!