About That Song: Meghan Kreidler of Kiss the Tiger
About That Song #87
In our special series, singer-songwriter Sarah Morris interviews artists about the songs that shaped them.
Hi! I’m Sarah Morris. I’m wildly in love with songs and the people who write them. There have been a few songs in my life that have been total gamechangers—songs that made me want to be a songwriter and songs I’ve written that made me feel like I am a songwriter. About That Song is a space where I can learn more about those pivotal songs in other writers’ lives.
For our 88th edition, I was beyond excited to connect with Meghan Kreidler, lead singer and songwriter of Kiss the Tiger—a band that Music in Minnesota calls “a soon-to-be Minnesota icon”! We talked about the music that started Meghan’s lifelong desire to create her own songs as well as the making of their new album.
Meghan Kreidler of Kiss the Tiger. Photo credit: Juliet Farmer.
Sarah: Kiss the Tiger!! Hi Meghan Kreidler! You've spent the last few years headlining stages across the Twin Cities and touring nationally, wowing audiences with your incredibly dynamic performances. Kiss The Tiger just released the fantastic new album Infinite Love (which has been accompanying my morning runs lately), so it feels like the perfect opportunity to learn a bit more about your musical journey—and the songs behind that captivating stage show.
Do you remember the song you heard that made you want to be a songwriter? Tell us about that song.
Meghan: “Creator, Destroyer” by Angel Olsen. It’s one of the first songs I learned on guitar. The chord progression is so simple, but lyrically and melodically, the song is so beautiful. I would play it over and over again and just get lost in the world of the song. Because of the simplicity of the chord progression, it made me realize a song could be built from the most basic of tools.
Sarah: Oh gosh yes, it’s got that 1 - 6 minor - 2 minor - 5 progression on repeat. There are so many songs built like that that just knock me out. I dream of writing a song like that one day! Once you began writing, did you feel like a writer immediately? It took me a few years of writing before I believed it—was there a song that gave you that “a-HA! I AM a songwriter!” moment? Tell us about that song.
Meghan: I suppose I’ve always been a writer, but it took awhile for me to come to realize it because I didn’t really start writing music until my late 20s. My “a-HA!” song was “Out Of My Mind,” which is on our last album Vicious Kid. I had written a lot of little ditties before then, but this one sort of spilled out of me very organically and felt like it could be very good as a live song. When I brought it to the band and we started bringing it to life I got really excited. Here was a real song I had written that had a story and dynamics and DRAMA. I try to seek out that drama in all of my songwriting now.
Sarah: Ohhhhh, as a fan, let me affirm—you seek it and YOU FIND IT! That sense of drama and aliveness absolutely permeates the new album. One of the things I admire about you is you are equal parts rock star and singer. Vocal performances that capture and display every bit of rock and roll energy while maintaining an excellent tone. The former music teacher in me goes YES! The grownup fan in me also says YES! On your new album, the song “Big Booty Scooty” might be my favorite example. The chorus could work near as a vocalise—I imagine there’s no way to sing that without being in tip-top vocal shape. Can you tell us about that song?
Meghan: I’m glad you asked! Figuring out the physical life of this song while performing it live and performing it well vocally was a challenge at first. The song has so much personality and I wanted that to come through in my performance of it as well. But it also requires vocal focus that is easily lost if I’m shimmying around too much on stage. The hardest part about the chorus in particular is maintaining my breath support. In the live setting I’ve found places to take catch breaths, but in the recording I sang every musical phrase/thought in one breath. It helps that our backing vocalist and keyboard player Isabella Dawis helps keep me in pitch and helps maintain the movement of the phrasing.
Finding ways for the body to help the voice is one of my favorite tasks as a vocalist; finding the places where the body can be more economical in order to allow the voice to do what it needs to do and also finding the places where the body can really expand and physicalize to free the voice.
Sarah: Oh yes, with certain songs I’ve found it can take time to take that recorded vocal performance and find my way into the live performance of it in ways that make it repeatable and comfortable. I’ve been listening to your album in the middle of a resurgence of summer heat and humidity, and the swoony melody of “Crawl Inside” hit me as one of those just-right combinations of song and moment. Can you tell us about that song?
Meghan: I wrote this song during 2020 lockdown after reading the short story “A Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri. The premise of the story is that a couple’s power is scheduled to go out between the same hours every evening for the week. They end up eating dinner over candlelight, and as the week progresses certain conversations and truths start to emerge about their relationship that perhaps wouldn’t have if they hadn’t been forced to sit in the dark with one another.
This inspired me to write the first line “When we sat in the dark I saw you for the first time / Your eyes, your eyes, your eyes a pair of jewels in the moonlight.” I was really excited about the song and wanted to figure out how it might exist sonically as a recording so I scrapped together a demo on Garage Band and that’s where I figured out what the bridge might sound like. I hadn’t written a chorus for the song and Michael immediately upon hearing it came up with “Open up your eyes and let me crawl inside.”
Kiss The Tiger. Photo credit: Derek Kamnetz.
Sarah: Songs that emerge from books, or short stories—AH! I’m such a fan of any instance where one piece of art begets another piece of art. Now about the title track off of Infinite Love! To my ears it leans into this jangly, bright Beatles-esque pop melody with the lyric “Why do you care for me, why do you hold on for me, why do you give me infinite love.” What can you tell us about that song?
Meghan: This was another song written during the pandemic lockdown! Michael just picked up his guitar and started popping it out. I think the first round of lyrics started off with “Why do you shave for me, why do you care for me, why do you give me infinite love?” We sat in our living room, as we often do when writing together, and just started messing around with fun lyrics about love and all the things a person might do for you in a relationship. When it came down to cementing some lyrics for the song I also started thinking about our dog (Iggy Pup) and wrote some lyrics that were a little more geared toward her.
The song is definitelyyy inspired by The Beatles, especially the lines “When I see you I just fall away / never knowing if I’ll be the same / And until I die I’ll be yours for sure / With arms spread open wide around your heart”—that was me trying to harness my best John Lennon.
Sarah: I think you did it! You harnessed! Also, one of my favorite love songs of all time is “Heavenly Day” by Patty Griffin, and I’ve read a few times that those lyrics were inspired by her pup, so this song is in excellent company. Congrats on all the wonderful music, Meghan! You’ve been celebrating with a whirlwind tour—any plans for October or November shows where we might hear you sing that song?
Meghan: November 14th we’re playing the Landmark Live series at the Landmark Center in St. Paul and I’m positive we will play “Infinite Love”!
Sarah: What a fantastic venue! That will be a special show, I’m certain. Thank you so much for sitting down with About That Song, Meghan!
Get your tickets to see Kiss the Tiger on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025 at the Landmark Center in St. Paul! The music starts at 7:30 pm preceded by a cocktail hour at 6:45 pm (complimentary refreshments and a cash bar). Tickets are $25 in advance/$30 at the door.
Listen to “Infinite Love”
Infinite Love Album Credits
Recorded at The Terrarium in Northeast Minneapolis
Engineered and mixed by Jason Orris
Mastered by Jacques Wait
All songs written by Michael Anderson and Meghan Kreidler
Produced by Michael Anderson and Meghan Kreidler
with additional production by Jason Orris
Meghan Kreidler - Lead Vocals
Michael Anderson - Guitar
Alex Sandberg - Guitar
Paul DeLong - Bass
Isabella Dawis - Keys/Backing Vocals
Alyse Emanuel - Drums/Backing Vocals
Richard Medek -Drums (Big Booty Scooty, See More, Crawl Inside)
Hilary James - Cello (Infinite Love)
Anna Andrews - Violin (Infinite Love)
Sue Orfield - Tenor Saxophone (Big Booty Scooty, See More)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Morris. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah Morris is a superfan of songs and the people who write them, and a believer that certain songs can change your life. A singer-songwriter / mama / bread maker / coffee drinker who recently released her fifth album of original material, she’s been known to joyfully sing with people in her Big Green Bathroom.
