BAND NAME: 3 Kisses
WEBSITE: www.3kisses.com
MYSPACE SITE: www.myspace.com/3kisses
NAME: Tish Meeks
NICKNAME: Tishker
BIRTH PLACE/HOMETOWN: Amarillo, Texas / Littlefield, Texas
MUSIC LIKES: Anything good! I listen to a lot of Indie bands - friends who we do shows with etc. There is a huge variety of stuff on my IPod. Some cool bands we work with, who aren't on the Label and worth checking out are: "Bent Eye Bolt"; "Freebleeder"; "She Craves"; "Highlines"; "Project H&M"; "Marashino"
WORST HABIT: I sometimes have unrealistic expectations of other people.
BEST TRAIT/QUALITY: I'm really easy to get along with.
PET PEEVE: Lazy people who make excuses and blame other people for their problems. And insects. I hate insects. We live in the "Bug of the Month" state.
FAVORITE VACATION SPOT: Mexico. In fact, I just returned from there. I love the sun, heat, beach...aah!! It's the best!
PETS: We have a Pit Bull/Dalmatian mix named Taffy and a cat named Dynah.
WORST FEAR: Regret
FAVORITE BEVERAGE: Miller Light, Jagermeister, Imperial sugar, Dr. Pepper.
BEST TOUR STORY: Definitely going to Georgia and Florida last year. There were so many good things that happened on that tour. First off, we were touring with Marashino, a band we're very good friends with-always fun hanging with those guys. Then we stayed with friends in Tampa for most of the tour and they treated us like royalty-beer on ice 24/7, deli trays, fruit trays, black licorice (inside joke-if you want to know, ask Traci Fabyanic on Facebook and as her why we were served black licorice)-we were totally spoiled! Then the tour ended with playing J-Rock & Patty's Rock Solid Pressure showcase, where we met Joe (O'Brien-Founder/Owner of Rat Pak Records) and signed with Rat Pak a month later.
The fans in Florida are AWESOME too...we had a whole group following us from show to show. I can't wait to go back there.
ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE: Invisibility
YOU'RE 15 YRS OLD AND MAKING A TAPE FOR YOUR GF/BF, NAME THREE SONGS YOU WOULD PUT ON THE TAPE: I'm going to show my complete cheesy side here: I Would Do Anything For Love (Meatloaf); Real World (Matchbox 20); You're The Inspiration (Chicago).
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE CARTOON AS A CHILD: Super friends...Wonder Twin Power Activate!
DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS AND/OR PIERCINGS: Tattoo's: left ankle-Christian fish; left leg-My Paul Reed Smith McCarty; left outside calf-a drawing my daughter Hannah did; right ankle-heart, two crosses and flames; right calf (back)-the Go Girls music logo; right leg-another drawing Hannah did; right shoulder-tribal cross; right arm-Trinity; left arm-the Arch Angel Raphael in angelic script. Piercings: left ear-four; right ear-two; bellybutton; nose; eyebrow.
WHAT WOULD BE THE TITLE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Relax, It's Only Music!
SPOTLIGHT STORY:
I grew up in a small town in the panhandle of Texas. It was a farming community and my dad farmed for years while I was growing up, so I grew up in the country in a big ranch style house. I started getting into music at the age of 7 when my mom signed me up for piano lessons. I added saxophone to that at the age of 11 when I joined band. I was one of those kids who didn’t have to work too hard to be better than average at most anything I picked up, so I was good at both instruments. I kind of lost interest in piano when I got into Junior High and was focusing more on saxophone at that point. I went to State Solo & Ensemble all four years of high school, but at this point music was nothing more than fun. I had no aspirations of doing anything with it beyond high school. Growing up in such a small farming community, there weren’t any kids in my school who played, let alone owned guitars. Although I spent my high school years attending every rock concert that came through the nearest city, I couldn’t imagine myself up on the stage. Still, I was totally hooked on music and entertainment.
I started dating a guy from Alaska when I was a senior in high school. He had long blond hair, dressed like a rock star and could wail on the guitar. He tried giving me lessons a few times to no avail. I was really a late bloomer, but better late than never, right? My teenage years were full of turmoil, primarily because my mom was dying of breast cancer. My dad and grandparents have my utmost respect for the way they cared for her. If you could meet my mom, you would understand. She was one of those people who was loved by many and hated by NONE. It really sucked that I wasn’t able to have more of a relationship with her, but she was so sick so much of the time, I kind of just went off and did my own thing. That included getting into a little trouble here and there, but nothing serious. My mom was a teacher and education was very important to her. I always did well in school and graduated with honors, 5th in my class. For as long as I could remember, I wanted to be a doctor. I guess that’s why it took awhile for the music bug to really infect me. I went on to college and majored in Biology, minored in Chemistry. My mom passed away in my freshman year of college. It was tough for me to finish out the year, but I had a great support group of friends, professors and family (from a distance). I had to keep reminding myself that my mom would want me to finish school, so I pushed myself to do it. Again, I graduated with honors in 3 ½ years.
I needed a break, so before pursuing medical school, I worked in a hospital for awhile and shadowed as many doctors as I could. I’d talk to any of them who’d take the time to talk with me. Ultimately, I decided medical school wasn’t for me. Then, I was just lost for awhile. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Once again, I started dating a musician. This one was successful in teaching me to play a little guitar. I started picking stuff up on my own and would stay in the bus or at the hotel many of the nights he had gigs just practicing for hours. Eventually, we grew apart and went our separate ways (although we remained very close friends) and I moved from Texas to California with my limited guitar skills, determined to start a band. I got there and started playing with a couple of guys, but the drummer was more interested in me than in music and I moved on quickly from that. Then, I met Tony. When we started dating, we’d sit down to jam together and we had completely different backgrounds. Most of our disagreements in our relationship were over what songs to play. Finally, one day I’d had enough. I said, “Why don’t we just write our own music. Then, we’ll BOTH like to play it.” Tony insisted that he’d tried writing in the past and was no good at it, but I persisted. Once convinced to give it a try, we were amazed at how easily it came to us.
We started doing open mics. I had horrible stage fright. I was frozen on stage and one of the first open mics we did came complete with hecklers. It took every ounce of self control I had to keep from bolting from the stage. Tony wouldn’t let me leave either, so I was pretty much stuck. We finished our two songs and I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Then, this guy came up to play next and he said, “You guys are really good. Here’s my card. Call me if I can ever help you in any way.” I’m getting ahead of myself a little bit, here. After Tony and I got married, Benji came along in January 2000 followed by Hannah in 2001. Having two kids under the age of two didn’t make it very conducive to starting a band. But when the kids were toddlers, we moved back to Texas to be near friends and family and in 2004, we launched 3 Kisses. I had now found my purpose and was determined to be a success at music. We were very fortunate to make friends with other Austin bands very quickly. We had people helping us get gigs and we played 45 shows our first year. We also played our first Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for about 17,000 people in memory of my mom and in honor of other relatives who have survived breast cancer. That was a defining moment for me. I was determined to play as many of these races as possible in memory of my mom. So, Susan G. Komen for the Cure became our charity and we’ve now played over a dozen races all over the state of Texas for hundreds of thousands of race participants, survivors and volunteers. It is an amazing feeling to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves. I also had a story published in “Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul” about the way my mother’s life and death has influenced my own life.
Over the past 5 years of 3 Kisses existence, I’ve poured my life into juggling my family and my band. When the kids were younger, I’d work late after they were in bed learning the music business, building our web presence, networking with industry people, learning how to get sponsorships and endorsements…really, anything that I could learn. Not much has changed about the way I do things now; I’m constantly learning more, meeting new people, playing bigger and better gigs, and touring as much as possible. The biggest change is that now I have information to teach and I love working with other bands and helping them with their careers. Anytime I can save other artists time, money or hardship, I’m happy to do it. If we are home, there is usually at least one other band here. We have an open door policy and there is a positive, festive atmosphere at our house all the time. We’ve also gotten a little TV exposure via the Reality TV show “Wife Swap” which is still in syndication on the Lifetime network. That was a great experience that wouldn’t have come our way, if not for the band. Benji takes full responsibility for all the success we’ve had since he came up for the name of the band. He says that it’s a good thing he was born or there would be no 3 Kisses. I feel very fortunate to have awesome kids, a great husband who I get to play music with, a warm & loving home and a dream to pursue. I look forward to what the future holds for 3 Kisses as we continue to grow and develop as a band. I am one of those people who, when I set my mind to something, I usually get it, so people can expect to see the same level of passion, persistence and dedication from 3 Kisses in the future that we have become known for. Stay tuned…watch us go!
