Catching Up with Kim Yarbrough

By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com

It is a privilege to welcome back my friend, Kim Yarbrough, to Jake’s Take!

This quadruple threat has been extremely busy this year. Many readers might recognize her as the villainous Madame Lebeuf from Nickelodeon’s hit show The Haunted Hathaways or her guest appearances on Hot in Cleveland, Jane the Virgin and Mystery Ladies.

In addition to her acting career, The Voice alum is also a co-host on the popular LA Talk Radio show: Frank Talk. Over the past couple of months, Kim and her co-host Frank Sheftel, have sat down with a diverse group of interviewees ranging from Civil Rights lawyer Gloria Allred to legendary actor Ed Asner.

Musically, Kim released her new song, “Family Tree,” which is the first single off of her latest studio album that is scheduled to drop early 2015.

In this edition of Catching Up, Kim talked about how she has grown as an actress, the challenges of recording her studio album and her experiences on both The Haunted Hathaways and Frank Talk.

Jacob Elyachar: How have you grown professionally since the last time we talked?

Kim Yarbrough: I have been doing a lot more acting than singing! But, I have grown exponentially as an actor because of the show (The Voice). It has enabled me to do more auditions because the casting directors know my name because I was on The Voice. The show has also given me more credibility when I go into an audition. Strangely enough, the show has made me a better actor!

When I first came off The Voice and people asked me that question, it was an easy answer. The lesson that I remember the most from my time with Adam (Levine) is that less is more when you are doing a television performance and you are singing. It is just like stage acting, as compared to film acting. If you are incorporating stage acting on film, your performance is going to be way too big! Actors have to tailor their performance for the camera and that was the biggest thing that Adam taught me and the biggest lesson I learned from my time on The Voice.

 

JE: Since we are taking about your acting career, a lot of my readers might recognize you for your portrayal of Madame Lebeuf from Nickelodeon’s “The Haunted Hathaways.” What attracted you to portray this villain?

KY: It is so much fun playing the bad guy! (Laughs) I did not realize how much I would come off as a fortune teller until I started getting calls for auditions. I have been called in for three auditions this year for that same type of character. A few weeks ago, I went in for an audition for a project featuring Oscar Winner Octavia Spencer. I learned that the Oscar-winning actress played a similarly sinister character on Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place. I realized that we have the same attitude, build and from the same part of the country, so I saw why the producers asked me to audition.

It is so fun being able to play this character! She is not really a villain, because I think Madame Lebeuf is funny! I would describe her as a cross between Whoopi Goldberg’s character in Ghost and Miss Cleo! (Laughs) (JE: That is a really interesting combination.) It is! In the episode, “Haunted Bakery,” she is afraid of the ghost that she is trying to exorcise. She is good at what she does, but tries not to let things get out of hand.

JE: What has been your favorite memory from the show?

KY: My favorite memory from The Haunted Hathaways was walking on the set and looking at my house! The show’s writers gave Madame Lebeuf a husband and a Voodoo house in the swamp! When I first walked in, I saw all this voodoo paraphernalia on the set. There were masks on the wall, because the show is set in New Orleans. There were a lot of potions, herbs, claws, feet and horns in jars (laughs). We even had a live alligator on set! It was incredible to see my character’s home and what my fictional husband looked like (laughs).

JE: In addition to your time on “The Haunted Hathaways,” you have also appeared on “Hot In Cleveland,” “Jane the Virgin,” “Mystery Girls” & “New Girl.” What lessons did you learn while guest starring on those shows?

KY: The biggest lesson that I learned is that you have to be ready for anything! Instead of playing one character week-in and week-out on one show, I have been given the opportunity to spread, expand and do all of these incredible characters. Sometimes I post on my Facebook page, a selfie of how I might have dressed that day and the caption is always…”Who am I today?” (Laughs). Some days it is a flower child; some days it is a judge, a mom, a voodoo lady or a nurse! In fact, I have played a nurse on both Hot in Cleveland and Mystery Girls.  You have to be ready for what curve ball that they throw at you; I like that because it keeps me on my toes as an actor.

JE: I think it is time that we transition out of TV and back to your music career!

KY: Okay!

JE: Earlier this year, you released your latest single: “Family Tree” and are preparing to release your upcoming record later this month. How long have you been working on both of these projects?

KY: It seems like I have been working on this project for about a year. When I got off tour with One Night With Janis Joplin, I immediately started working on this project. As for the album, it has been 10 years in the making. I started working on the album with someone else. Something happened and we put that project aside. A couple of years later, my producer called me up and said: “Hey! You know those tracks that we did back in 2003?” (Laughs) Why don’t we put your vocals on them?” That is how the album came about.

The album is mostly covers and has four original tracks. As of right now, the working title for the album is Champaign & Grits. If you put those two things together, you get me. (Both laugh) For the first time in my life, I feel like the music that I am singing is like stepping into an old comfortable pair of shoes. The album is so me! I am singing classics from the Rolling Stones, the Doors, Hendrix and the Beatles and putting a contemporary neo-Soul twist on them. The tracks are so cool, and everybody that has heard the sample tracks has loved them! This process has been a labor of love for me.

“Family Tree” was among the shelved tracks that my producer and I brought back. My producer and I had been working with two writers since 2007 and unfortunately, shortly after we wrote the song, Miles, one of the writers left the planet two years ago on Christmas Day. We have continued the project in his name and for his legacy! Miles played with every music legend you can imagine including Aretha Franklin.

When Miles was alive, we always got had conversations around the kitchen table. We discussed the state of the world, friendship and politics. One day I said, “Would it be funny, if someone wrote a song about family trees?” We all come from the same place and I started singing (sings): “Don’t go shaking your family tree; you might find that you are related to me.” All of us laughed and the conversation turned into a song! We all had a hand in the recording process, we wrote the lyrics and shaped the melody. I came up with the most of the backgrounds and it was released digitally onto iTunes and Amazon in October!

JE: I would like to talk about the songs that you selected to cover for the album. How did you pick out the rock tracks that you wanted to transfigure into neo-Soul?

KY: The decision was made 10 years when we were collaborating with the original producer of the work. I did not decide on the tracks for the album. When it came time to return to the studio and sing them myself, we selected and kept several tracks that featured my strongest vocals.

JE: What were some of the challenges that you faced during the entire recording process? How did you overcome them?

KY: One of the challenges that I encountered during the recording process was when I covered “Born Under a Bad Sign.” It is an old Blues song that was written before any of us were born. A lot of Blues artists have covered it! This track was also one of the songs that my producer picked for me to record. I just got off tour with A Night With Janis Joplin and when you are on tour for eight months, your life looks a lot different then if you stayed in one place.

When you come home after eight months of traveling city-to-city and you are at a new place, there are huge life adjustments that have to be made! Both my agent and I were unanimous when we thought that the tour was great, but I am a TV actor and the tour took me out of the market. (JE: Really?) I was not there to audition and I am not at a point yet, where people just call me and offered me a job. Even though, that happened a couple of times this year! I believed that I turned a corner where the network heads have called in and said to their casting people: “Call in Kim, she can do it.” It made really happy to not have to prepare a resume or a headshot, but if you are not at your point yet like Denzel Washington and you do not have to audition, then it can be difficult to return from an extended absence.

It was a real tough transition for me. While I was on the road with Janis, I also moved into my new apartment. So, when the tour just started…I threw my stuff in the apartment and left! During all of this, my producer wanted me to record this song! (Screams in frustration!) (JE laughs) The day I went into the studio, I asked myself: “What is this all for?” There are days and everybody has them where you say: “I cannot take one more thing! If one more thing comes down the pike, I think I will lose my mind.” I went in to record the track under complete duress.

I had a lot of “ups” and “downs” on my plate, and THANK GOD all this stuff was going on! Listeners will feel the pain in the recording. I was in all that pain and I left it in the studio mike. The engineer would tell you that I was in tears when I walked into the recording studio. I just poured and channeled all that pain into the song. I do not think that cover would have come out the way it did, if I did not have that pain in me.

JE: In addition to being a singer and an actress, you added talk radio host to your resume this year when you became a co-host on LA Talk Radio’s “Frank Talk.” How did you become interested in radio? What attracted you to join this show?

KY: I was originally brought on as a guest. My chemistry between the show’s host, Frank Sheftel, and the staff was so great that they asked me to come on the show as a co-host. Frank was in between co-hosts for a couple of months, and they asked me to do it. He knew that I did co-hosting in radio back in 2009 and 2010 with another radio program and he thought that I could slip right in and that is what I did! Frank and I have great chemistry on and off the radio. We go to events together and make ourselves known as “Kim Yarbrough and Frank Sheftel from Frank Talk.”

Frank is the real life Willy Wonka! He has a family owned business called The Candy Factory and they are candy makers to the stars. In fact, they actually provided the party favors for Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley’s wedding! They carry Chaka Khan’s signature line of chocolates called “Chakalates” and all kinds of goodies.

One of my favorite Frank stories involved the late Joan Rivers. She came into the shop and ordered a telephone made out of chocolate. This chocolate phone was for someone that Joan wanted to connect with in the entertainment industry. The message that came with the chocolate telephone was: “I haven’t heard from you! You haven’t called!” (Laughs)

Frank can make anything out of chocolate! He is a genius that comes up with all of these crazy ideas that uses candy and chocolate. He has made red carpet dresses out of candy (using Mike & Ike’s), dogs out of licorice and made a huge Hollywood sign using all the candy in the shop!

The show is the perfect blend of Frank’s love for politics and my love of entertainment! It is really a great match in the radio studio. Sometimes, our show can get very political. We had civil rights attorney Gloria Allred, who is a friend of the show and sometime we have musical guests. Recently, we had Dawn of Tony Orlando and Dawn visit the studio and we also had Ed Asner. In addition, Frank Talk also hosted its very first on the air wedding with Gloria Allred officiating the event! I have been with the show since June and it has been a great few months.

JE: If you had the chance to meet with someone who is going through “growing pains” in their career and want to reinvent themselves, what advice would you share with them?

KY: What has been great for me is that I have not depended on one thing to get me through the entertainment industry. Gone are the days where you can be one thing…like a comedian! What you have to do now is keep your finger on the pulse of many things. Dabble in the things that you always wanted to do! If you ever dreamed about being a producer when you were a kid, why don’t you try to produce!

I have been with my acting coach since 2008 and he always stressed to all of his students: “you need to have slashes behind your name!” Ben Affleck is an actor and a producer, Will Smith is an actor but he started off as a rapper. (Martin) Scorsese just does not produce movies…he also directed music videos. You cannot just do one thing anymore!

Also, have fun while you are dabbling! You will never know where it might lead!

To learn more about Kim’s work, visit her website: http://www.kimyarbrough.com/

You can also connect with Kim on social media by visiting her Facebook and Twitter!