An Interview With Newcomer Musician, EYELID KID!

Meet the musician, Eyelid Kid!

He recently released a music video that was directed by Violett Beane and also stars The Flash actress. It is definitely a unique video and highlights the creative genius of both Paul Grant (Eyelid Kid) and Violett. Paul is a rising force in the indie pop genre and is poised to be a breakout artist. Paul combines infectious tunes with performance art to create his group Eyelid Kid.

Recently, Eyelid Kid played at SXSW, which they received fan and critic acclaim for.

Violett Beane can currently be seen as DC Comics superhero character Jesse Quick, in The CW series ‘The Flash’. Violett also played Taylor Truitt in HBO series, ‘The Leftovers’.

Learn more about Eyelid Kid in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time today! How’s 2016 been treating you so far? What were some of the highlights of 2015 for you and your music? 

Great! 2016 has already felt like a big step for Eyelid Kid. There has been a lot of firsts so we are excited to keep riding this wave out through the rest of the year. 2015 felt very much like a development stage, we were finding our sound and getting to know each other through each performance. Producing the “On Your Mind” music video was a huge highlight for me. Originally it was going to be me and a videographer walking through some sort of party but turned into a sponsored production with a cast and crew. There were massive amounts of energy poured into that video out of sheer passion.

Growing up, did you always want to be a musician? Can you recall your earliest musical memory? Was your family supportive of you?

Growing up I always wanted to entertain everyone around me, music was just a natural outlet to do so. There are photos of me as a toddler climbing on my pops shoulders while he was playing the piano. But one of my earliest memories was pounding away at a miniature drum set for hours on end. I think for my parent’s sanity they tried to distract me with a guitar, and needless to say, it worked. My family is very supportive and slightly competitive, I’ve got 2 very talented brothers and a musician for a father.

I’m curious to know how you came up with your name? Why not just go by your own name?

My own name was never even an option for me, I felt like I needed to encapsulate my artistic identity in a separate alias. I came up with the name Eyelid Kid while naming a student film I was starring in at the time. The name kinda just stuck with me and I later told the director it was off limits haha I started using it as my stage name in my prior band and just held on that as my alias when that project came to an end.

Can you talk about the inspiration for your newest music video with Violett Beane? How creatively involved were you with it all?

At the time, Violett and I were really yearning to do something a little darker and grittier than what we were currently involved in, and Landscape is exactly what that is. I feel like the concept and direction it took was a pretty equal effort between us both. We wrote out the entire story in one night while inside the abandoned house where we shot it.

Why do you think you two work so well together?

I think we understand each other in a creative setting because of the chemistry we have in our everyday. It was funny, throughout the shoot, we’d just give each other a look and know exactly what each other were thinking. Violett did most of the editing but it came out pretty much exactly how we imagined it on that initial night.

When do you hope to release more music and a whole new albums?

We will definitely be dropping some new material this summer including our debut album “Hometown”. I’m nervous, excited, and ready to put this work out there. I really believe it is a cross of genres and something new for people to experience.

What was it like playing at SXSW? Was it your first time performing there? 

It was our first time officially performing. It was exciting to be a part of a festival on its scale. The experience was much like the festival, hyped up, unique, and extremely fun!

Do you have any upcoming shows? 

We are currently reviving the live set, so we don’t have any immediate showcases but we are preparing for an album release and mid-west tour in August!

Who are some of your favorite artists? What musicians have continued to inspire you year after year? Who would you love to work with in the future?

It really ranges! Animal Collective really changed the way I approach making music, they pioneered sound to a level I don’t think many artists have. But I have also been following Pop Culture with artists like Drake and Kendrick because I admire their stories, and the level they perform at.

I want to turn that last question around and ask you and my supporters, who would you like to see me work with!? Let’s tweet at em!

At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope listeners take away from your songs?

I hope that people can’t find comfort in relating to what I am saying through my music, I hope that they feel the togetherness that I do at our concerts, and I hope that I spread an understanding of love.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourself or your music?

In addition to music I have been designed a fashion line that consists of both screen printed, and digitally printed designs on high-quality fabrics. EK Fashion line just launched last week at eyelidkid.com/wear

Instead of buying your summer shirts from ________ department store in the mall, support an artist you know and trust! 😉