The Peverett Phile Interviews: Tish Meeks From 3 Kisses

Hi there, Merry Christmas Eve, and welcome to another entry of the Peverett Phile Interviews. Today we have the hot rocker Tish Meeks from the band 3 Kisses. So, Phile phans, here's Tish.

Me: Hello, Tish, thanks for agreeing to be interviewed for my blog, I really appreciate it. Okay, first let me say, Tish, you look like the genuine real rocker chick, which is hard to come by nowadays. I take it you like to party.

Tish: I don't do anything half-assed. I like to work hard and I like to play hard. Balance is very important, so we definitely have to make some time for friends, parties and lots of Jager shots.

Me: Where did the name 3 Kisses come from? There's four of you in the band, so maybe one member doesn't get kissed.

Tish: I'm married to our guitarist, Tony, and we have two kids. When we started 3 Kisses, my son Benji was 3-years-old. When we'd tuck him in at night and kiss him goodnight he'd say, "No mom, one kiss isn't enough...I want 3 Kisses." So, he's responsible for the band name.

Me: How did the band come together?

Tish: Tony and I started writing music together when we were dating. We'd sit down to play guitar together and we never wanted to play the same things. We decided we should just write our own music. We were living in California then. After the kids were born, we moved back to Texas (where I am originally from) and started 3 Kisses in 2004. We've gone through a lot of drummers and bass players and finally found the right guys in January of this year. Sean and Brian both have the talent, level of dedication and we are all very good friends. We're told all the time that we have great chemistry onstage and I think that's because we all just get along so well.

Me: Your husband is one of the band members, right? Do you both write the music together.

Tish: Tony and I did all the songwriting until Sean and Brian came along. Now, it's more of a group effort.

Me: I downloaded all your music that's on iTunes, and I want to thank you for naming the last CD after me... "Nutjob." Seriously, who is the CD named after?

Tish: Ha! A lot of people seem to relate to Nut Job. Everyone either knows someone who's a Nut Job or they are one themselves. The song was inspired by a couple of different people, one of which I can't discuss for legal reasons and the other I refuse to discuss because I don't want to get stalked and/or killed.

Me: From the first CD to the last, how has the band's music changed?

 
Tish: We really had no idea what we were doing with the first CD. We were still learning. But, my opinion has always been it's better to do something than nothing, so we just forged ahead with what we had. Tony wanted us go in a more mellow alt direction, so that's how we started, but it was totally unnatural for me. I've always been a rocker chick and as I got more comfortable on stage, the music evolved more in that direction. Josh Tallerine was our drummer for 2006 and he did a lot to shape the sound, too. We were all over the place until Josh came on board and it was while he was in the band that we settled on "Texas Party Punk" to define our sound. The new CD that we're releasing on Rat Pak Records (www. ratpakrecords. com) in February 2009 is by far our best work both performance-wise and production-wise. We're all very proud of this work. Took us awhile, but we finally got it right!

Me: 3 Kisses is from Texas. What can you tell the Phile readers about your town and the music scene there?

Tish: We live halfway between Austin and Houston, so we're in an ideal location. Everyone will tell you their local scene sucks, but I think it is what you make of it. We have some very cool venues we play at and the fans are great. In fact, just this past weekend we had a bunch of girls flashing the band throughout the show and I got fed way too many Jager shots. The fans are great here...Texans really know how to party!

Me: You recently played in Florida, did you take your daughter to Disney?

 
Tish: We don't take the kids on tour with us. It's just way too grueling and would be so hard on them. When 3 Kisses gets bigger and we are touring in a bus instead of a cramped van, we will homeschool them and take them on the road. But for now, we have a nanny and they go to public school.

Me: So, what was the band doing on "Wife Swap"? Was that a fun experience? It gave you great exposure I bet.

Tish: "Wife Swap" contacted us. They were looking for a mom in a band and found out that Tony and I were married and both in the band. We decided to do the show because we thought it would be a fun experience as well as great exposure for the band. It turned out to be both. We got tons of e-mails, made a lot of new fans and we're friends with the family we 'swapped' with. They are very different from us in many ways, but we have a lot more in common than you would think.

Me: I saw a picture of you with Buck Dharma from BOC. I know him pretty good, as my dad was friends of him. Buck's a really nice guy. How did you get to meet him?

Tish: We played the "Hawgs of Texas" Biker Rally at Lake Somerville, TX and BOC was the headliner. Since 3 Kisses was playing, we got to hang out backstage. Buck was nice enough to stop for a photo with us. They were amazing.

Me: What's been the coolest band you ever opened for? And the worse...

Tish: We work with a lot of cool bands. It would be hard to pick just one. And as far as the worst, I have this thing about not talking shit about other artists....it's just not cool. :-)

Me: It seems you drink a lot of Jager. I never tried the stuff, I am more of a beer drinker. Anyway, 3 Kisses has a sponsorship from Jager. How did that come about? By the way, I tried to get the Phile sponsored by Zoloft. LOL.

Tish: We are big beer drinkers, too. We have a sponsorship with a local Miller distributor, but Jager is pretty much the only liquor we drink. I sent Adam Grayer at Jagermusic a TON of pictures of us doing shots with fans and such and he offered us an introductory sponsorship. We didn't get custom merch right away. Now, they do custom shirts, posters, shot glasses, etc. for us. We promote them and they promote us. I still send them a ton of pictures and let them know we're holding up our end of the deal. I'm not sure drug companies do sponsorship deals. LOL

Me: Tish, I am sorry to hear about your mom passing away from breast cancer. Fuck Cancer is what I say. I lost both of my parents from cancer in 2000, and started doing a lot of writing. Has your music changed since the passing, or did it stay the same?

 
Tish: Yeah, cancer sucks. It's the worst. I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy. I'm sorry to hear about your parents passing. My mom passed away before I started the band, but losing her definitely shaped my life in many ways. A lot of it came down to making a decision to be the person she raised me to be. She would not have wanted to see me screw up my whole life, although it could have easily gone that way. It was a conscious effort for a long time to stay positive and focused.


Me: There's a story about you in one of the Chicken Soup books. Was that hard to do?

Tish: The story was tough to write. But I'm glad I did it. It was therapeutic for me and it allowed me to memorialize my mom and use my experience to be a positive influence on other people.

Me: I looked at your influences, and I don't mean Jager... and was glad to see Bowling For Soup is one of them. I just interviewed Erik, the bass player for the Phile. Also, Social D is one of my all time favorite bands. Do you know anybody that made it in the music business that has you as an influence? I bet there's a lot of new bands that saw you rock been influenced by you. Maybe Avril saw you in concert.

Tish: I actually mentor several bands. I try to do what I can to help young bands who are just getting started because I know how tough it is and if I can save them time and money, that's just a good thing to do. So many people have helped us along the way and I don't take that for granted one bit.

Me: Here's a question I ask all my interviewees... what is your favorite Foghat song?

Tish: I guess I'd have to say "Slow Ride" Is that cheesy?

Me: Have you ever opened up for Foghat?

Tish: No, but I've seen them at a biker rally in California.

Me: Let's talk about tattoos... I know you have a drawing your daughter did, which is a cute idea, do you have any more? I have four myself, and want to get a fifth.

Tish: I have eight tattoos and I'm going to get more, for sure. I have a fish on my left ankle, two crosses with a heart on fire on my right ankle, the GoGirls Music logo my right calf, the picture my daughter drew on the outside of my left calf, my Paul Reed Smith McCarty on my left shin, the trinity on my right arm, the archangel Raphael in angelic script on my left arm and a tribal cross on my back. I love tattoos. :-)

Me: So, what are your plans for 2009? Any news music? Any more tours?

Tish: We just signed with Rat Pak Records following our Florida tour in September. We just finished recording the new album in October. We've got two awesome producers we're working with. Eric LaBrosse at Cherry Pit Studios in Milwaukee, WI did our album and we're also working with Dan Workman at SugarHill Studios in Houston, TX. We're constantly writing, so there's always new music. We have 3 songs to complete with Dan and we're going to be doing some more recording with Eric in January. We also have plans to shoot a couple of music videos after the first of the year, then we'll be playing as many shows as possible. We've got the CD release in February, so we're going to be out promoting that. We'll be heading up to the Northeast sometime in the Spring and we're touring in Germany in November with our friends Nude L.N. We'll be updating the website often with new tour dates, so everyone should check it often! :-)

Me: Tish, I wish you a lot of luck, and hope to see the band next time you hit Florida.

Tish: Thanks so much for interviewing me.

You can check out the 3 Kisses at 3kisses.com.

Have a good Christmas tomorrow and the Phile will be back on Friday with the normal weekly update, then on Saturday it's the Lindsay Rush interview. So, until then, spread the word, not the turd.