Mix the whimsical piano of Ben Folds, the raw emotion of Regina Spektor, the art rock of Florence and the Machine and the chic baggage of being an underground band in San Francisco, and you’ll get something approximating Sit Kitty Sit, a funky-fresh duo composed of pianist Kat Downs and drummer Mike Thompson. On Sept. 7, they’re coming to The Frequency.
The duo’s no-frills, dramatic and catchy piano-pop sound works because of their similar chemistry and musical training. Both started playing their respective instruments when they were children, went to college for music performance and played in other Bay Area bands before deciding to make Sit Kitty Sit their number one musical priority.
The classically-trained musicians say they work so well together because they play their different instruments in similar ways. “If I was a pianist, I’d play like her, and if she was a drummer, she’d play like me,” Thompson said.
It’s not surprising that when the two met through mutual musician friends, they hit it off and started jamming out together. In 2010, they officially formed Sit Kitty Sit. The group’s name stems from Kat’s tendency to get so into playing her piano standing up that she would thrash around, which once caused her friend to shout, “Sit down, Kitty! Sit down!” The duo released an EP called The Push the same year they formed. Two years later, in 2012, they released their first full-fledged album, Beautiful/Terrible, on the same day they played at San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill, well-known for hosting relatively unknown bands that later hit it big.
Signs are looking good for Sit Kitty Sit. Downs and Thompson have already put a lot of work into their young band. With their stripped-down rock style, they’ve been touring extensively throughout California and the surrounding states, playing both small festivals and a little something called South by Southwest in 2012. Their favorite festival appearance, however, was at the three-day Bask Music and Arts Festival in Forestville, Calif.
“The energy of that crowd was like they were absorbing everything you were playing,” Kat said. “They were just sitting there mesmerized because it was really too hot to dance.”
Lesson learned. When attending a Sit Kitty Sit concert, it’s not hard to be mesmerized. Playing live seems to be Downs and Thompson’s thing. They play with a raw and palpable energy, and it’s easy to sense the rush the performers get from performing. But, Mike said, the key to success when playing live on tours and festivals is preparation.
And prepare they have. With their fall tour just beginning, venues locked down and the van packed and set to go, Thompson says the only thing they have left to do is to go out and actually perform.
Thompson said he’ll still be working his job as a software head-hunter from the tour van. With this nervousness and stress, will they drive each other nuts on their first extensive tour? “No,” Kat said. “We’re not afraid of driving each other crazy. We’re both the type of people that can sit in a room and not have to talk.”
When they wrap up their Classical Reverie Tour in early November, Downs and Thompson say they’ll start planning their Northeast tour and recording their new album over the winter. While the band’s previous two releases have been spent finding their core sound, the next album is sure to be chock-full of frills: special guests, new techniques and more elaborate production.
“It’ll be a lot more epic,” Thompson said.
