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April Kae

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April Kae
Kae performing in 2023 with Fever 333
Kae performing in 2023 with Fever 333
Background information
BornAustin, Texas, U.S.
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • producer
  • model
  • social media content creator
Instruments
  • Bass guitar
  • vocals
Member ofFever 333


April Kae is an American musician, singer, songwriter, producer, model, social media content creator, and current bassist of Fever 333.[1][2][3][4] April was born in Austin, Texas, and works in New York City and Los Angeles.[1][5]

Early life

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Kae was exposed to the arts through her mother’s work as a music teacher and a vocalist and her father was an instrumentalist during her adolescence.[2][6] Kae joined the school orchestra playing upright bass at 12.[3][1] April Kae and her younger sister Nikki were both signed with a modeling agency in Austin, Texas as children.[5] She attributed her comfort in front of the camera on social media to that early experience modeling.[2] Her mother is African American and her Father is Jewish.

At age 12, Kae was exposed to activism through the Quaker church.[2] (Quakers have documented a history of social justice work including but not limited to their involvement with the Underground Railroad in early American history.)[7] She continued combining activism and music as a young teen organizing fundraising concerts for various charitable causes, such as raising money for refugees of the genocide in Darfur and for displaced peoples from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.[1][5][6]

Kae attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon taking a year-long sabbatical to volunteer as a high school teaching assistant and mentor in Philadelphia. After returning to Reed College, she completed her undergrad with a degree in Economics. In 2014, she did a Finance internship in New York City’s Wall Street.[1] Kae also attended Temple University for a Master of Social Work.[2][8]

Career

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Social media

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Kae went viral on Instagram after posting a bass cover of the Cardi B song “Up”.[5] She chose the song to cover because it was number one on the Spotify 100 list at the time.[2] The cover went viral on Instagram reaching 1.5 million views.[1] Her second viral bass cover was to Bill Withers' “Just the Two of Us”, which was posted to show solidarity with the Stop Asian Hate movement, and received 6 million views.[2] In both videos, Kae plays a white Mexican-made Fender Precision Bass.[3]

Kae is a Fender-sponsored artist and designed a custom Fender bass.[3][9] At the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation event, ‘The “#guitartok” Effect’ in July 2022, April was a featured panelist along with several others, who gathered to discuss TikTok’s effect on the music industry as well as the changing landscape of guitar culture.[10][11] In 2023, as part of her continued her partnership with Fender, April helped launch the Vintera II Series for Fender.[12] Most recently, April was one of the four featured artists in Fender's 2024 "The All New Player II Series" launch, which included a full-scale video campaign in which each artist performed a rendition of "All Day & All of the Night" by The Kinks.[13][14][15]

IMANIGOLD (2013-2023)

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IMANIGOLD is both the name of the band, as well as the name of the art and social justice collective created by April and Nikki Kae, which includes a digital publication that discusses a range of social justice issues.[3][16][17] April Kae wrote, sang, produced, and played bass for the band IMANIGOLD, and Nikki Kae was the visual director for the band, as well as contributing to the vocals, guitar, and writing.[16][17]  IMANIGOLD released their single “CONTINENTAL DRIFT” in 2021 and was entirely self-produced and released by the duo.[16] The single would later be featured on their self-titled EP released in 2022.[3][5] Imanigold was a decade-long project that is on a break as of 2023.[18]

FEVER 333

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Kae joined the American rock band FEVER 333 in the summer of 2023 for European tour dates.[4][6] In several articles covering Fever 333's first performances with a new band member lineup, which includes Kae, she was described as a "viral bass virtuoso."[19][20] So far, in 2024, April played with Fever 333 as the Sunday headliner at the 2024 X Games in Ventura.[21]

Other ventures

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In October 2022, Kae was represented by We Speak Model Management, an exclusive mother agency in New York.[5][22] As of 2024, April has been linked to CLTR LAB, a creative and talent management agency that focuses on empowering a roster of "diverse talent to be seen, heard, and valued,"[23] according CEO, founder, and talent manager, Michaella Bloom.[24]

In August 2021 Kae was featured on one of four covers of Bass Player.[5] Also featured on the cover of Guitar Girl Magazine and NYC Pride Guide 2020.[25] The It Gets Better Project, a nonprofit uplifting LGBTQIA+ youth, shared a video profile of Kae as part of their initiative highlighting prominent Queer voices.[26]

Kae hosted the biweekly podcast, I See What You Mean, which featured guests across different gender binaries and backgrounds, and offered tips to creatives, from the years 2020-2021.[2]  

April landed a brand partnership in 2023, which included a large-scale commercial, print, and ad campaign with hair company Clairol.[27] The “It’s So Me,” campaign featured Kae, saying she “represents a connection to the modern Clairol woman…” Clariol called Kae and the other women involved with the campaign, “authentic, self-reliant, and unafraid to be one’s true self.”[27][28][29]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Staffpublished, Bass Player (2021-09-23). "April Kae: "Bringing my bass playing to social media has challenged me, and I feel like I'm growing"". guitarworld. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "April Kae Is The Viral Bassist Embracing Fame On Her Own Terms". Nylon. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "April Kae: An Advocate for Creativity and Activism - Guitar Girl Magazine". 2022-12-28. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  4. ^ a b wookubus (2023-05-11). "Fever 333's New Lineup Features Ex-Members Of The Mars Volta & More, Watch Jason Aalon Butler House Dive At The Band's First Show Back". Theprp.com. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g LADYGUNN (2022-10-19). "LADYGUNN – APRIL KAE, BASSIST, MODEL AND ACTIVIST ON GOING VIRAL AND FORGING FORWARD WITH MUSIC". LADYGUNN. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  6. ^ a b c "April Kae". Music-News.com. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  7. ^ "Quakers & Slavery : Underground Railroad". web.tricolib.brynmawr.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  8. ^ "Style Icon: April Kae". Multifaceted. 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  9. ^ "April Kae". Music-News.com. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  10. ^ "Listen: MGK's guitarist Sophie Lloyd drops single Do Or Die from first studio album". Guitar.com | All Things Guitar. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  11. ^ Corporation, Fender Musical Instruments. "FENDER HOSTS 'THE #GUITARTOK EFFECT' PANEL -- DISCUSSING HOW TIKTOK IS EMPOWERING MULTIDIMENSIONAL ARTISTS, BRINGING GUITAR TO GEN-Z". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  12. ^ Scaramangapublished, Jenna (2023-10-27). ""When I'm not playing online, I love to blend with the band. I'm not the one who wants to stand out. But online, that's what it's all about": April Kae is on a quest to inspire new bass players – and it starts with making bass sound good on phone speakers". guitarworld. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  13. ^ PremierGuitar Press Release (2024-07-09). "Fender Releases Revamped Player II Series". PREMIERGuitar. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  14. ^ Fender (2024-07-09). All Day and All of the Night: The All New Player II Series | Fender®. Retrieved 2024-07-15 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ "Fender Releases the Player II Series, a Catalyst to Unite the Next-Generation of Players". 2024-07-09. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  16. ^ a b c "IMANIGOLD: The Soundtrack of Our Generation's Fight for Black, Queer Liberation - Guitar Girl Magazine". 2023-01-07. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  17. ^ a b "EXCLUSIVE SINGLE PREMIERE: "Continental Drift" – Indulge in Longing, Heartbreak, and Unapologetic Catharsis with IMANIGOLD - Guitar Girl Magazine". 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  18. ^ Femme, Raw (2023-07-09). "April Kae: Empowering Souls Through Music & Activism". Raw Femme. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  19. ^ Nijmeddin, Alessandro DeCaroAlessandro DeCaroContributing Authors: Kat (2023-05-18). "See photos of FEVER 333's brand-new lineup at a rowdy Los Angeles house show". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  20. ^ "Hear FEVER 333's first song with new lineup "$wing"". Revolver. 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  21. ^ II, Wes Woods. "Fever 333 takes center stage at X Games in Ventura". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  22. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions at We Speak Model Management". We Speak Model Management. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  23. ^ TemPositions (2024-02-29). "Creating Inclusive Spaces: A Diversity Expert's Blueprint for the Future". The TemPositions Group of Companies. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  24. ^ Stories, Local (2024-06-24). "Rising Stars: Meet Michaella Bloom - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide". voyagela.com. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  25. ^ "Pride Guide". www.nycpride.org. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  26. ^ "It Gets Better: April Kae". It Gets Better. 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  27. ^ a b "Clairol taps hair color influencers for first ad campaign in five years". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  28. ^ Manso, James (2023-03-23). "Clairol Aims Younger With First Global Campaign in Five Years". WWD. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  29. ^ "Clairol, Inventor of the At-Home Hair Color Category, Reinvents Itself for a New Generation of DIY Beauty Lovers". Yahoo Finance. 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
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