Hot off the release of her second album, Goldfish, k. is set to hit the Espresso Metro on Fri. Oct. 25th. Lone band member Karla Schickele gives her take on her music and her life.

Hilton Collins: What do you want listeners to feel or think when they hear your music?

k.: I’m always shooting for being able to give other people the feeling that I get when I listen to music. I like being moved, and I can be moved by either a phrase or a really beautiful melody, or just an awesome beat or just a real kind of honesty in songwriting. There’s so many different things that can be powerful.

HC: Is there a central message you want to convey with your songs?

k.: Oh, absolutely not. I think the best music happens out of a combination of things that you intend to do and things that you can’t control, so I don’t worry too much about having a message or having a sound. I try and approach each song individually. Try to work on it’s own terms.

HC: Previously, you were part of the groups Ida and Beekeeper.

k.: I was in the band Beekeeper with my brother for several years. And then I joined Ida and I’m still doing that. It’s just that Ida’s been on maternity leave. The two other band mates had a baby a little over a year ago, so we’ve been taking time off of touring.

HC: What inspired you to go solo?

k.: Well, I just like making music all the time, really. As long as I’m working on songs and working with other musicians, I feel pretty good. So I had a lot of songs that I was eager to be able to try out, and so when Ida went on a break, it was a good opportunity to call up some friends, get together and learn some songs, and do some recording.

HC: Your real name is Karla, but you go by k. Why did you choose a lowercase “k”?

k.: I went with the name k. because I didn’t feel like spelling my last name all the time, because it’s hard to pronounce and hard to spell. And I went with a lowercase k just because I like the way it looked on paper.

HC: Who are some of your musical influences?

k.: Basically everything I’ve ever listened to. On this trip, for example, I just listened to Otis Redding yesterday. It’s just such fantastic music. All of the things that I would look for in music are in the songs that he made. I listened to the Clash a lot when I was growing up. Definitely The Beatles. I saw an ESG show recently that really blew my mind. I think they’re a fantastic band. They inspire me with the way they make music and their longevity and,just their whole spirit is completely badass. So, it’s a real range.

HC: What do you think sets you apart from other artists? What makes k. different from anyone else?

k.: I think that would be up to people listening. I’m trying to put together music that feels fresh and interesting to my ears. And I’m hoping that anyone else who either has the same kind of sensibility or is open to hearing new kinds of things will check it out and get into it or not get into it.

HC: You sing, play guitar and write songs. Which one do you enjoy the most?

k.: Oh, gosh. That’s a really tough question. I like all of them except playing guitar. I don’t like playing guitar ’cause the strings are too close together. There’s not enough room to move your fingers around. I get cranky when I have to play guitar, pretty much.

HC: What are some of your hobbies outside of your music?

k.: We’ve been doing a lot of arts and crafts on this door. A lot of gluing. A lot of sewing. We’ve just been making things. We’ve been decorating household objects and gluing things to other things.

HC: What’s your ultimate goal in life?

k.: My ultimate goal is to stay out of trouble.

HC: Where do you see yourself in five or ten years?

k.: I see myself living in a mountain chalet in the Colorado Rockies. Probably sewing and crafting. I’m a New York City girl, so I get really turned on whenever I’m in nature, and that’s one of the great things about touring. It’s getting to see what air actually smells and tastes like, because it’s easy to forget when you’re living in New York.

HC: What is it like when you’re performing onstage?

k.: It can feel very electric. Even if you’re not plugged into anything. It’s very fun to play music. And there’s something about playing music with people listening and giving back their own energy that’s a pretty unbeatable feeling. You can get up there and intend to things in a certain way, but you can’t second guess how an audience is gonna respond to something, and what they’re gonna be bringing to the experience.