Interview: Spinning With Kim Cameron of Side FX

Kim Cameron is an all around talented lady. She's can sing, write songs, and she has a knack for telling some amazing stories. She, along with her band Side FX, have been perfecting her newest album, "Spin Me Ever After", what can only be described as a musical experience. As always, I wasn't shy at getting right to the source to get all my questions answered -- and then some.

Side FX has really exploded in 2012. A cold released video for 3 Seconds snagged over a million views!

I had a great video producer, and he should get all the credit. He came up with the concept and all the graphics. We did have a little bit of airplay for the song, I think it got up to about 55 on the Mediabase charts, but the video is what brought it together. It was his idea to have the hip hop dancers and everything else that went into the final product.

How did you get so many hits so quickly?

I really don't know! I think it was just good timing. We released it right after Christmas, and in most places it's cold and dark -- the perfect time to curl up next to your computer and watch videos online.

What else has spun out of the video?

When you have those kinds of numbers, people are very quick to talk to you. Being in an indie band is hard enough, and you are really limited with what you can promote, dollars wise, so this video landing us with an agency was a really big deal. I also acquired a manager from this. I'm not saying it's all because of the video. We do have talent and we have been at the music business for a long time, but I'd say the views are what pushed us to the next level.

3 Seconds was not your only hit from the EP The Blondside. People really responded to A Dance.

That song brought us into the Billboard Top 40 back in May 2011. We were really played in the smaller markets, but we were played a lot. Im talking one thousand plus plays a week. Personally, I think the song isn't my best writing, but there is just something about it that makes everyone just stop. It doesn't matter if I'm in New York, L.A., or wherever else, it's one of those great live songs. It's so much better playing it live, too. I can't explain why, but it was such a great song to perform live, and I think that is why it got as far as it did.

What was it like seeing yourself on the Billboard Top 40? Not everybody can do that!

I put that and singing on the 50 Yard Line with the Redskins as my top two achievements in life so far. You look at the chart, and you saw my my name stacked between names like Justin Bieber and Beyonce. Being on that same chart was just amazing.

I'm told you do a lot of the writing for Side FX yourself.

Actually I write all of the songs. Sometimes I have cowriters involved, but I'm always involved with the writing.

The new album Spin Me Ever After has a very female point of view to it. Was this intentional?

I've never thought of it that way. I really just consider it to be my most "artsy" album. I paid a lot of attention to the lyrical content, even more so than usual. I wanted it to have a lot of subtle references. I wanted it to be smart -- I didn't want to have to dumb myself down to be able to fit into the genre of dance music. I also wanted it to feel like it was one piece of work instead of singles pieced together into an album.

I do like that the album is being released as a package as opposed to single after single.

I think this one was meant to go out in it's entirety. It's a complete package. This is in complete contrast to The Blondside before that, which we felt worked better as a collection of hand picked singles. Spin Me Ever After is so well tied together that it needed to be released all at once. The main recurring theme is the word "spin" being used in six different ways in six different songs. There is also an element of romance that flows from song to song.

The album will have hard copies right?

Yes. We are going to release everything on September 1st, and it will be available for order immediately on Amazon. As a special bonus, the hard copy is mastered differently than the online MP3 format in that the songs flow into one another creating a non-stop record and a continuous mix.

That sounds exciting! It already feels like I'm listening to a constant adventure. What inspired you to write something so unique?

A lot of it has to do with where we are in our culture today. People have been struggling both in relationships and with the economy. My songs are always about people I know or have met, so I've taken in all these situations I see around me. For instance the track I'm Waiting is about a woman I know who watched a guy from afar for months without the courage to talk to him. Eventually she did talk to him and they've been dating for years. When she told me this story, it really stuck with me. It just added to the romance of the album.

The song Spin Me Ever After is a strong song on it's own. Is that why it was chosen to be the title track?

It is my most clever lyrical track, as it has various references to things that you can discover after multiple listens. It is a very sexual song, and it was very interesting to write. I guess it just boils down to being instinctive. I haven't had a title track for any of my albums so far. It all just sort of happened. It felt right.

The group has recently shifted from a rock vibe to being quite pop. Why the change?

I've been trying to graduate in that direction for a while now. My first album was very much a rock album, and as culture changed and time changed, I found people were wanting something more uptempo and more dance oriented. I gradually moved in that direction -- probably a little slower than I should have -- but after seeing everyone's reaction to The Blondside, I saw that I really needed to be full on dance and totally embrace it.

Side FX's new album "Spin Me Ever After" hits online retailers September 1st. Be sure to like them on Facebook to get all the latest info. Also, preview and preorder the album on Amazon.