Ramona Vogue and kidd Chaos are the heart and hype that make up the Savage Patch Kidds. The alt-pop duo are true triple-threat artists and performers, joining forces from Canada and the United States.
Stemming from polar opposite realms of the arts industry, kidd and Ramona bring their combined experiences of storytelling through lyricism, visual aspects and unique perspective to the table. Their differing backgrounds in rock, hip hop and alternative pop bring a fresh sound to their craft- inspired by their constant changes in environment between Toronto and Los Angeles.
This year since their debut EP ‘1991’, SPK won the John Lennon Songwriting
Contest for their original song, “Tangible Love”, as well as winning the Lift-Off Global Network’s First-Time Filmmaker’s Contest for their self-directed music video, “Good Old Days”. Their follow-up conceptual LP “Oody Mart” is set to release early 2022, tackling the inner workings of the mind as it processes the world they have endured. Stay tuned to the Savage Patch Kidds, as they’re ready to put their combined performing careers on stage to create a show you won’t want to miss.
Tell us about your story as an artist.
kidd Chaos and Ramona Vogue met in 2020 in Los Angeles, California as professional dancers. Combining their slightly above average jokes, wildly different musical backgrounds, and unwavering work ethic, The Savage Patch Kidds were formed.
kidd: Born with a cleft lip and palate, you could say my lips weren’t supposed to be shut (because a cleft lip and palate is when they don’t fully form and there is a large gap in the lip and roof of the mouth in utero)…cleft humor, it’s okay to laugh. My artist journey truly began at birth, because every time I look in a mirror, I can see the scar that makes me…me. I had 8 serious surgeries by the age of 10, so toughness and tenacity were attributes I took on at an early age. I was always into the arts but they definitely took a back seat to my sports in the early years playing basketball, baseball, football, and track and field. I danced at my mom’s dance studio and played the drums growing up, but when I won a contest and my poem was published at age 12, I cannonballed into lyrics and songwriting. I started to put my poems to beats and then couldn’t get enough. As a 90s kid, I was into hip hop, rap, boy bands, pop, rock, emo, punk, hardcore…you name it, I can tell you a song I like from that genre. I had stopped making music after college as I was dancing full time and didn’t have the extra funds to do that in New York City, but found myself still writing because it was a great outlet. When I linked up with Ramona and we got to talking about our musical pasts, I suggested we write and record a song for fun…and the rest is history. Our sound has grown so much since our first song and I am so excited to keep moving forward. A major high for us this past year was winning the Lift Off First Time Director’s Award for our music video, ‘Good Old Days’. Stay tuned and get your popcorn ready for the Savage Patch Kidds, baby!
Ramona: I grew up immediately exposed to the world of music – I think I was 1 or 2 years old at my first RUSH concert watching my uncle Neil drum at the ACC in Toronto. I was always drawn to the lyrical aspect of music as a child and spent a lot of my formative years putting the pen to paper about anything that came to mind. I have always been an entertainer! I performed regularly for 18 years as a competitive dancer, and played guitar and piano to accompany my vocal training. I ended up landing my first ‘job’ with Disney Cruise Line after graduation which introduced me to an entire new realm of the world. I traveled across the sea through the majority of the Mediterranean and Baltic as an entertainer, which pushed all aspects of my artistry. I knew I had to make it happen somehow for the rest of my life. I have been working all over North America for the past 10 years as a choreographer, actress, singer, adjudicator and dance educator which allows me to incorporate all of the pieces of art that I love most. Music was my first true love, and I feel so fortunate to be able to still have it as the focal point of my life today through SPK. In the two years we have been writing together, we have had the opportunity to play for the John Lennon Bus, winning their songwriting competition in 2021, gained 13 TV network contracts and have a ton in motion for 2022.
What do you think is the most important aspect of your life right now?
Now that is a really difficult question because the answer could change in twenty seconds, but right now: balance and persistence. We both wear many hats in the entertainment world. Both of us are professional dancers, actors, writers, and creative directors…in addition to working on The Savage Patch Kidds. Some people “poo-poo” doing so many different things, but why would we shy away from things that we are seasoned in and passionate about? They keep us from burning out and, to be honest, getting better in one area helps all of the others. Making music or any type of art is difficult as a career and persistence is important when you feel like you’ve had enough. Balance is important because we’re both workaholics. We are huge family people and always appreciate spending time with friends and family. They support the shit out of us and we truly wouldn’t be here without them.
What makes this song special in your opinion?
“Poster Child” is an ode to our millennial generation – lyrically, it’s a raw interpretation of the way we become jaded to the world as we live through it. It was written based on the way both of our lives have been affected by mental illness, living in a time where we’ve seen a shift in the narrative around it. It’s an important conversation people are finally having. Musically, we are loving the resurgence of pop-punk and mainstream ‘emo’-fusion happening in the world right now. It was a big part of both of our roots as teenagers and we love that we are finding a way to fuse our individual artistry back into a track that hits so close to home for us.
What inspired this track?
Looking back on the time when you really ‘thought’ you know what the world was is a trip. Our generation of young(ish) adults grew up in the 90’s – the age of Nickelodeon slime, Lunchables for meals – a time where things were pretty cool in the world around us… we all had big dreams. There’s a shift in your life where you become painfully aware of reality – a lot of dreams just don’t come to fruition…people have bills to pay and they fall in line, do what they need to do to get by. People just lose their drive to be successful because they feel like they’ve failed. Dealing with our own experiences with ‘vices’ to numb ourselves of this feeling and watching our loved ones be affected by them as well, is tough. ‘Poster Child’ was written with the vision of an entire society of kids that grew up with potential but were raised on weird communication methods, inadequate coping mechanisms and now we’re all walking through life pretending we know what we’re doing.
What are some of the core messages here?
The overall message here is that we’re all a little messed up – plain and simple. Everyone’s got something they feel insecure or uneasy about – and usually these things come out in ways that are hard to talk about…so we just don’t. The lyric ‘But you were down in the worst way, and I was down in the worst way, kept rolling with punches we knew would make us both stay” gives insight to the way that we fall into less than ideal situations out of ease and comfort rather than realistic necessity. If you’re feeling stuck or unhappy, break your patterns. Give your future-self a shot at happiness.
How do you think tik tok and social media are contributing to change an artist’s career?
kidd: I think social media and tik tok are contributing in a major and quite interesting way in terms of how “artists” create. I think that “target audience” has so much to do with the kind of music made and the marketing as well. Tik tok is free marketing…unless you are paying for it, because that is also a thing now. Some of these “influencers” are making a killing on tik tok and, you know what, good on them! Do I want a zillion hits on an idea-recycled, lukewarm water trash video in order to “make it”? It especially hits home because we’ve been “passed on” for things because we don’t have a big enough “following” on social media and it’s wild because that is becoming a theme across mediums. And, yes, I have been using finger air quotes typing this whole answer. We could pay for a million followers…but that’s just not really our style. Are we trying to create the next viral video for hits… or something that has substance? I believe George Washington said, “Get it how you live” and I agree with him.
Ramona: Social media is allowing artists to gain exposure at such a crazy rate. Sharing your favorite songs to your IG story, using a song behind your videos, media is everywhere…the internet is not the internet without music. We’re grateful to have the option to get our music to people all over the world and have discovered a lot of our own favorite artists through Instagram and other platforms. Ah, Tiktok. A blessing and a curse. As an artist, the idea of your song being able to go viral in a day is enticing, and there are a lot of people using it in very creative ways. There are a ton of songs being discovered daily through tutorial videos and cool compilations (big fan of the ‘I understood the assignment’ videos). However, the trained dancer in me can’t help but cringe at a number of the ‘viral dance challenges’ that have become cool. I imagine it must feel like spending 8 years on a medical degree to become a doctor… and then watching an actor on TV hook up the equipment wrong in the show. I just hope this won’t water down the fact that there are so many professional dancers still being severely underpaid and undervalued for their craft – I don’t think that’s a well-known fact for many outside of the performing arts world (check out the narrative around the Super Bowl performance this year for a bit of insight). We got an email last year from a kid who led with ‘I am a professional dancer’…because they had a million hits on their Tiktok video. If that’s what deems you to be a professional at something then go ahead with it for as long as it’s working for ya but, take a class. There are so many real-life dance professionals to learn from that would love to share their techniques and years of passion for the arts with you!
What excites you about your lives?
Every new project, song, and day! Even though it’s difficult at times, we look at each other and laugh because we are so fortunate to get to do what we want with our best friend. We are the type of people that get hype about a breakfast sandwich and doing a silly dance in the kitchen. When we’re not making music, we get excited about dancing, both professionally and ridiculously. When we’re not dancing, we’re getting excited about acting, writing, producing, or directing. And we’re not doing anything work-related, which is super rare, we like to drink a few beers, solve puzzles, or play board games.
What are some of your core values as human beings?
We are firm believers in helping people strive to their full potential on a personal level. With kidd growing up with a cleft lip and palate, he is now an advocate and resource for both parents and children on the Cleft Community Advisory Panel for ‘SmileTrain’. Ramona is a proud ADHD advocate, still learning new methods and ideologies that can help neurodivergent humans thrive in a neurotypical world. Being ‘different’ is a cool thing to be. With the internet turning into a ‘Look-at-how-great-my-life-is’ highlight reel, we try to always keep it real. Life can be weird and tough, we experience it too, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. If honesty was a real policy, a lot of other values in the world would shift, and we try to make that something we practice daily. Tell your friends and family that you’re proud of the little things along the way and give each other the tools to be a good human.
What are your projects for this year?
We are super stoked for the projects we are currently working on and the ones that are coming up next! ‘Poster Child’ is the first song from our summer ‘22 album, Oody Mart, which has been a year (and some change) in the making! It’s based around the psychology of the mind and the under, over, and nonexistent function of our brains. We both loved emo culture growing up, so this is a big homage to the music of that time. We are producing a virtual reality experience around the album as well, bringing a visual element into the mix. As multi-disciplined artists, we are really focusing on the visual aspect that makes it more than just a song. Aside from that, we are excited to start playing live shows again, in your face Covid! This is something that makes us so happy because there is truly nothing like a live show.
On top of music, we run a small multimedia production company specializing in photography and social media branding. Utilizing our combined toolbelt to help others bring their dreams to life is pretty damn cool, too, and we’re looking forward to what this year has in store for artists as we navigate this new post-pandemic world.
