It’s 10:00 p.m. in Boardman, Ohio as I pull up to the empty warehouse of Nationwide Industrial Supply. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the warehouse on South Avenue sells industrial fasteners and supplies, but on a quiet Friday night, it becomes something entirely contrast.
I wait in the frost for a minute as a large black van pulls in. Lexi Kays steps out, her bright fuchsia hair making her into a little pink speck in the darkness. Soon exits her collaborator Hayden Brooke, a long streak of a man in black jeans with a 5 o’clock shadow. Lexi and Hayden have performed together since 2017, they’re an inseperable duo and one could argue that neither of their solo music would be the same without the other.
Shortly arrives a 1989 Toyota Pickup Base, a car probably worth a fraction of the total music equipment inside it, carrying slide guitarist Pete Burger and following behind, a Chevy truck hauling bassist Brian Lawson and drummer Pat Majernik. Pat’s father owns Nationwide Industrial, and by his good graces the band is allowed to practice here after hours.
The band is rehearsing for Lexi’s album release party, they wrapped up recording and mastering on her debut EP “Hush,” a six-track eclectic mixture of ballads, pop songs, and groovy tunes to dance to.
The album kicks off with the smooth, souful title track and flows seamlessly into romantic ballad “Jaded,” Lexi’s champagne vocals—bright, bubbly and crystal clear—accented by the seductive warble of Mitch Lawrence’s sweet, sweet tenor saxophone.
The album lifts in its spirits with the up-beat pop track “Harmony,” a groovy little dance track that, as I’m listening to the rehearsal in the stray office chair of the warehouse, makes me think this must be what it would look like if Elsa from Frozen played at Bonnaroo.
“Harmony” is quite the title for a singer like Lexi, as it’s one of her strongest suits. You see, many years ago before Kays turned into the neo-soul pop-fusion goddess she is now, she came up playing piano and performing harmonies for a local bluegrass band. Her ear for harmony is complex and intuitive, she can strike a chord on a recording or with the assistance of Hayden Brooke that can send your entire spine shivering.
Now it’s Saturday evening in Akron at the Rialto Theatre, where I know I’ve arrived by looking at the old-style marquee that reads “Lexi Kays EP Release Party.” I get out of my car, wearing a pink skirt, pink top, and a pink bow in my hair per Lexi Kays’ request—“I want everyone to wear pink for me. I’m gonna be in pink, I told all the guys to dress in pink shirts and ties, I wanna look at the crowd and just see pink!” And as the guys all hang around smoking underneath the marquee, I see that they followed instructions as well, wearing pink button-downs, Hayden in salmon pants. “These guys don’t know how to dress up anymore. They wear jeans and t-shirts to perform, Brian even wore cargo pants to our show at Federal Frenzy.” Lexi rants as she leads me inside the theatre, continuing “People are paying money to see you perform and you’re wearing cargo pants and a black tee? That’s bullshit. When people see me they’re gonna see something classy.” Her passion for this particular argument speaks to the particular care she takes in every minute detail of her performances. I’m inclined to agree with her, I think her annoyance is warranted, but there is something about seeing the amount of rage that can emit from such a dainty, Disney-voiced woman that makes me laugh as we walk inside.
The show is opened by Rubix Groove, a high-energy 80s, 90s and 00s tribute band full of energy, variety, and a full brass section. They are followed up by Angie Haze, a riveting multi-instrumentalist experimental composer from Akron, Ohio. A master of the looping pedal and soundboard, Angie’s evocative arrangements are haunting and riveting with four-part vocal harmonies that seem to densify the very air in the room.
When Angi gets offstage, the boys go out to have a smoke and Lexi spends time inside greeting every person, and I mean every person that’s come to see her, floating table to table, beaming wide with her bright pink hair and beautiful smile.
Soon, the band finally takes to the stage and the party starts. Kays has played the piano since she was seven years old, taking weekly lessons that she continued through highschool at Victoria Auth’s Music Lessons for Us All in Poland, Ohio. As she moves from song to song throughout the night, it’s clear she’s achieved expert-level technical skills on the keys as she plays seamless runs up and down the board.
As masterful as her skill on the keys is, something truly magical happens when Lexi makes the rare decision to step out from behind the piano. Kays opens with her pre-released single from the album, “Quite Loud,” a cleverly vicious neo-soul bop about drunken men that tend to project their voices too powerfully over her, men whose rantings cascade into incoherence with every sip from a bottle. It’s cutting and witty and says all of the right things, and the force of Kays’ feelings about the issue are tangible and powerful in her performance as she bends backward to emit powerhouse vocal parts into the microphone. You can tell everyone is feeling it, the crowd a mix of older couples enjoying a night on the town, a gaggle of students vibing in front of the stage, even the bartenders are smiling and gliding around behind the bar.
The band closes out the night with an eclectic choice of a cover in Minnie Riperton’s “Baby This Love I Have,” with Kays once again stepping out from behind the keys as she is joined by the horn section of Rubix Groove once again taking the stage to assist her in giving a rendition epic enough to satisfy the soul-titan Riperton herself. Miss Kays gives an electrifying performance all around, her stage presence filled with sass, variety, and jazzy beats that will make any listener move their feet and groove.
“Hush” by Lexi Kays can be purchased online at Lexikays.com or listened to on Spotify.
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