Music
Karmina
“We just want to impart a message about life. If you are just starting out to be a musician, the key to success is when preparation meets opportunity. We were persistent, we are not one-night, one-hit wonders.”
~Kelly Rudisills
“Yes, we have been working on this for eight years. You can never not get better. Kind of what life is about. Life is a journey, you have to stay open to possibilities, believe in your self and stay determined.”
~Kamille Rudisills
Beautiful, Talented and Successful Sisters
By Dawn Bonner
Photos courtesy of Karmina
Born: Kelly Anne Rudisills
June 2, 1984
Birthplace: Benediktbeuern, Germany
Keyboards, Vocals
Born: Kamille Anne Rudisills
February 8, 1986
Birthplace: Honolulu, Hawaii
Guitar, Vocals
Karmina, in translation, means song in Latin. Add the word beautiful and you describe the musical talent of Kelly and Kamille Rudisills. Yet, there is more than vocals here–add composing their own music, both play instruments, and they both sing lead and harmony.
Now, wait a minute, we’re talking about a good old boomer band, right? Nope, you read it correctly. In the days of designer bands–chosen for their looks and perhaps a bit of singing talent, at least they should be able to lip-sync well…Right? But, seriously, Kamille Rudisills and Kelly Rudisills do music like they did in the good old days of music. Which is refreshing.
First Days of Song Writing
Kelly who plays keyboards and is the blond sister said, “The first pop song I wrote is called Dreaming of You. Only very special people get to hear that song. I wrote it when I was 11. And, the first song we wrote together, Orange Rush is also a song only a very special people hear. We wrote the song in late middle school or early high school at 13 or 14 years old.”
Kamille who plays guitar and is the brunette sister said, “I think my first song was co-writing Orange Rush.’ It’s about the chakras in the body. Mom woke up one night and had had a dream about the orange chakra and that we wrote a song about it, it is the sexual chakra. The song is about emotions and love, but it’s specifically about the sex chakra.”
Training
At eight and 10 years old, the girls attended San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Their classes included music theory, composition and classical voice training.
Karmina successfully competed in music competitions, such as; the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, ASCAP’s Lester Sill Songwriters’ Workshop, San Francisco Concerto Orchestra Competition and California State Vocal competition–which they won 27 times.
After eight years in San Francisco, the girls moved to Los Angeles where they attended the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, and earned their Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Industry. Kelly went on to receive a Master’s Degree in Music Education and a teaching credential.
They Excel at Everything They Do
Kelly was a skilled soccer player and even made it to an Olympic development team. Kamille was winning dance competitions and sang classically. So well, in fact, that veteran Grammy-winning producer David Foster teamed her with Josh Groban to perform at various high-profile fundraising affairs.
Kelly said, “Everything really changed when music came into our lives. It was kind of what we wanted, nor did I really see myself being a professional soccer player or Kamille a professional dancer for the rest of our lives.”
Kamille said, “It came down to having enough time, we didn’t have enough time to do everything…so, music was the one we went for it. We can see ourselves doing this professionally for a long time.”
Who do They Listen to?
Kamille said, “It’s difficult to choose…only one person. It would be The Beatles Blackbird or Yesterday. As song writers, Kelly and I, really look up to them in a big way. They totally mastered every genre. Everything about their songs; the structure, the melody, tone. They are one of the first bands to really have hooks in their songs. Elvis got close.”
Kelly said, Between the Bars by Elliot Smith. It’s short, it’s very emotional and sweet. Very beautifully crafted song, simple but not quite.”
Kelly’s favorite is the first track called Satellites.
She said, “There is a lot of meaning behind the song, people go through many different transitions in their life. The song really speaks to who I am now. The song has musical quotes of Hildegard von Vingen, the first recorded woman composer in history…we just played around with a lot of things. The bridge of the song has a very inspirational co-write. And, is part of what makes it meaningful for me, the fact it was co-written.”
Kelly and Kamille
Kamille’s favorite is track number three, The Kiss.
She said, The Kiss, again, telling about meaning behind our music…there are so many different meanings and textures. One of them is the painting The Kiss by Gustave Klimt, and also the song has a theme of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Some of the bridge of that song is from Romeo and Juliet. It was really wonderful writing it, it was one of those songs we finished very quickly. Some come to you right away, the melody and everything…this was one of them.”
Television
Karmina has been featured on several TV shows: Cane, The Young and the Restless, a feature on Access Hollywood, a performance on CBS Early Show’s Second Cup Café, NCIS and The Hills.
Kelly said, “We have a few TV shows that we’ll be performing on soon. The Cleaner with Benjamin Bratt. We’ll be on the show performing a song we wrote as part of a funeral theme, its a very special show and special song. Has a lot of meaning. We’ll be taping a Christmas special with Beyonce and Chris Browne.”
Kelly said, “And Karmina. Karmina, too!”