Kiki Lane is a Minneapolis-based singer/songwriter whose passion for singing and great pop hooks is crystal clear on her new CD, Bandwagon. From the power pop of “Shake Me Awake”, “Your Maroon Camaro” and “Silly Little Things”, to the gentler “900 Seconds” and “His Favorite Pick”, Kiki’s songs will surely impress upon the listener that great, radio-friendly songs are still being written…the kind he or she grew up listening to.

For this CD, Kiki enlisted the talents of many like-minded musicians to create a lush, guitar and keyboard-based landscape that recalls the best of 60’s and 70’s AM radio hits, without trying to recreate them. Twin Cities musicians David Russ, Randy Casey, Joe Loskota, Pete Sands, Dan Neale, Jenny Russ, and Mike Lane all make sonic contributions to Bandwagon.

Kiki Lane grew up in Rochester, Minnesota, and from a very early age sang with her older siblings, learning the secrets of harmony and the joyous grooves of classic pop music. In her twenties, she began performing with rhythm and blues bands, forging her strong and soulful voice over years of club and wedding gigs.

She moved to the Twin Cities in 1986, and again performed with various R&B bands for several years. But the call of that classic pop music she had first gleamed from her transistor radio and earphone as a kid beckoned. She rekindled a love for the music of the Beatles, Hollies and Kinks (and gained an appreciation for newer works by the Pretenders and XTC), picked up her guitar, and began writing songs.

Fusing elements of British pop and the R&B she had cut her teeth on as a singer, Kiki developed her own style, and soon formed the band Union Jack to showcase her new songs.    In 1998 (as Kiki Klein), she recorded her first disc, Out of a Crowd, a 13-song collection that ranged from the gentle “Next Big Thing”, to the stomping title track, to the very Beatle-esque “No”.

After meeting Mike Lane in 2003, the pair joined together to pursue their common musical interests. They formed The Lanes after marrying and play infrequent shows around Minnesota. A few of their recordings have appeared on various compilation CD’s. The Lanes have also performed at several International Pop Overthrow festivals, including one in Liverpool, where they played at the legendary Cavern Club.