January 2015 | Issue 3.2 | OutBoise.com
We caught up with Niccole Blaze of Blaze & Kelly to
find out more about the duo.
You two met in 2002, in Sandpoint. Did you know, right
away, that you would be working together?
“We didn’t know right away if we’d be working
together but we knew we wanted to spend time
together. We’ve been partners now for 12 years,
in love and music, but love came first and music
made our relationship much more richer. We’d
like to believe that the richness of the emotion
has spilled its way into the quality of the music.”
What has been your favorite part of your experience in
the music industry?
“The challenge of it all. Can we play here?
Can we play this song? Can we move people
with our voices and lyrics? The “industry” has
little to be desired but the art of writing, playing
and performing is the true joy for us but mainly as
it touches people. We love to tour and explore
new places and sing for new audiences but we
also love to come home and crowd a local venue with listeners upon our return. It’s like a big
party full of amazing people, many now, which
have become our friends. We thank all the listeners and people who have touched our hearts.
We have yet to thank the music industry.”
How has Boise’s audience treated you?
“Wow! Boise has been the most beautiful
community of supporters. We couldn’t have
asked for a better place to land. We’ve had
folks coming to our shows here locally since we
started 10 years ago! We get to play with other
amazing local artists, like Rochelle Smith, Kent
Persons, Rebecca Scott, and Oliver Thompson.
Between music and dogs, a wonderful community of people have come together, who
continue to come out and celebrate their lives
with us, their ups and downs, their epiphanies,
their aspirations. We get to hear how our music inspires people to follow their dreams, or
bring serenity to their hearts when they’re going
through challenging times. We love Boise and
all it has to offer. This is our home.”
What are some of the shows you’ve performed with?
Have you considered being a part of Boise Pride?
We played “Chicks with Picks” put on by Ben
Chow at the Woodriver Cellars back in 2008.
We’ve also played at the Goddess Festival but
we would LOVE to see more Women’s Festivals
surface in this great city. There are a number of
talented women players here and we feel fortu-
NEWS | OutBoise Magazine | 15
nate to be friends with most of them.
We have also performed at Pride for several
years. We would be more than happy to support Boise Pride an y way we can, as long as the
schedule permits. We did play for several events
to support the Add the Words movement. We
do what we can to let people know this is a safe
place to be and thanks to our straight “brothers
and sisters” who resonate with the music, they
really have made it a safer place for us too. We
would like to think our music has helped close
the gap that divides the straight and gay communities.
The LGBT community in Boise is showing signs of some
fantastic growth, what would you like to see in the future?
We would love to see and be a part of the
movement that brings safety into our schools.
Kids have to know it is safe to be their natural
selves regardless of their differences or sexuality. We still have such a long way to go on this.
Much of the state is still so anit-gay and filled with
judgement. Every time a child is battered for
being “different” or takes their own lives it breaks
our hearts.
What should your fans expect from you in 2015?
Well hopefully more original tunes as we always strive to keep on creating. We have 6 CD’s
we’ve put out over the years and a professional
video of a full concert with special guests at the
Sapphire Room, Boise, ID. We anticipate new
ways in which we will be sharing music in the
future, as physical CD’s may be a thing of the
past.
We have developed a new VIP membership
available on our website which gives members
access to new free exclusive mp3 downloads,
pictures, and video footage not otherwise
available to the public. Members get our “inside views” on the business of music and a first
glance of creativity in the making. This membership is designed to establish a deeper understanding of what we as musicians do and offers
something very real and raw to our avid listeners.
Their contributions helps assure our tour act stays
on the road and keeps moving forward. Web
based streaming concerts may also be something that we would like to strive for in 2015. So
we may be in Boise, but our listeners in Vermont
or Florida can catch us at a show, right in their
living room! :-)