WHEELCHAIR SPORTS CAMP

PHOTO CREDIT: ERIK ZIEMBA

1. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! Before we jump into it, would you be so kind as to introduce yourself and what you do in Wheelchair Sports Camp?

Thanks for having me! I'm Kalyn, the wheelchair of the sports camp. The big head, the rapper, the tiny front bitch. Greggy's my gimp on drums but now he makes beats sometimes and even played guitar once.  

2. Would you please provide a little context about WSC—where you’re from, how you formed, etc.?

We're from Denver, Colorado, baby! I started the project a long long time ago, and it evolved into a band. Greggy jumped in around 2013. We actually went to a lot of the same concerts together growing up, he remembers me in middle school at a punk show my cousins took me to. I hardly remember. We also went to college together, which I hardly remember either, but after we graduated he started a DIY venue called UnitE and that's where we all came up and really started figuring out our new adult lives together.

3. What about your personal hip-hop and alternative music journey? What got you hooked? Take us down the iceberg if you would.

I got hooked on rap music when i was 5 years old, 1992. I was obsessed!!! and I got my hands on TLC Oooooh on the TLC Tip album. That was it for me. I somehow convinced one of my mom to get me Salt-n-Pepa "Very Necessary" soon after. I knew every word. I knew I was rapping about safe sex without really knowing what that meant. I signed up for a talent show in 2nd grade and performed Waterfalls. I knew the whole Left Eye verse. She was really everything to me. I loved everything about them. The tomboy, baggy pants, Hat2DaBack sexy, loud empowering women. Then Missy Elliott cracked me open with her visuals. When I was 12 years old, I signed up for another talent show, but this time I wrote my first rap about the Broncos winning the Super Bowl. So Denver... In high school I decided I was going to be a rapper, got a job, saved all my dollars to get a Roland 909 beat machine and just never stopped. I started Wheelchair Sports Camp early in college where I got a scholarship to go for audio production. I spent all my time recording and forming WSC.

4. Who would you say are some of the primary influences on yourself as an artist as well as for WSC?

I was so obsessed with rap, I didn't dig in to a ton of other genres until I graduated high school. I became very influenced by the bands around Denver, the jazz heads, the noise freaks, all of it. 

5. oh imperfecta is being released on May 15th on seminal punk label Alternative Tentacles. How did that relationship come about?

I was bound to meet Jello Biafra, because he's actually from Boulder, CO and my best bud Mark Bliesener (Radio Pete) gave him the name Dead Kennedy's when Jello was a teen in Boulder. Mark is my main man, my one time manager, and forever spiritual advisor. So I had that connection. Then, I also am dear friends with Chris Bagley, who made the documentary about Wesley Willis, who was also on AT. Bagley made 3 of our music videos before Jello finally caught on to "YESS i'm a MESS" and wanted to put it out on a 7" along with another single "Hard Out Here for a Gimp," which Bagley also made the music video for. Jello's now our uncle and I'm so lucky to call him a close friend. He really picked us up out of the dumps, when I felt like things needed to shift. Coming back from Covid lockdown was rough, and the 7" gave Greggy and I a good reason to get our shit together and ride a new wave. I'm forever grateful to the label for believing in us, trusting us and putting their weight behind us. It's been such a sweet love affair and somehow feels like we're onto something in a way we haven't felt before. We've been at it for a long time, but everything feels fresh and new and fun for the first time ever. We really worked through our communication, simplified and made some music I'm so proud of.

6. Tell us about the meaning of the title oh imperfecta and its significance, if you would.

Some of the songs on this album have been in the works for a looooonnnnnng time and I was really reflecting on my relationship to perfectionism. As a tiny, white, queer rapper in a wheelchair, I've always put a ton of pressure on myself to be the best. You can't be a good rapper unless you think you're better than all rappers, but in this body, I really couldn't be mediocre. Greggy's always been the guy telling me to let things go and move on, but I live for the details. And sometimes my attention to details can make things take a realllly long time to finish. But we had to finish the damn album, so I picked up the drums for the first time since middle school, and Gregg picked up a dusty guitar. We wrote EAT MEAT! on the spot in his garage and it was like something clicked. It was the most fun we've probably ever had writing something together and it all happened so fast. It felt so freeing. Maybe I'm punk now? I couldn't overdo anything, because I was playing drums at the same time and I had to be simple, to the point and direct. My disability is called Osteogenesis Imperfecta. I have brittle bones, I was born into this little brittle body and I realized I've been overcompensating my whole life with humor, with raps, fashion, whatever I could to re-direct the attention on my body. The older I get the more I am aware of how my body is talked about. Genetically imperfect, deformed, diminutive, broken, pitiful, so like no wonder iIm always trying to be a perfectionist. But the more I let go, as hard as it is, the more I feel good about being imperfecta. 

7. Without too many spoilers, what can listeners expect?

The album is really a collage of sounds, which is why it's so legendary that Winston Smith made the cover art. We started recording the album at the end of a sad Saturn Return, and ended on a fun freeing new punk sound. There's a little bit of everything: sad boi, rageful, sexy, silly, happy, ridiculous, jazzy, all tied together with clips of my wild mother on the phone. It's all over the place but I think it works really well together and showcases how far we've come. We got Jello on the album twice, and even got Radio Pete and him on a song for their first time in 50+ years!!! Legendary. Plus Kimya Dawson, Olivia Jean, Junia-T, our honorary WSC members. It's gonna bang and take you for a ride front to back. 

8. How do politics inform your work?

My life is so political I can't shy away from it. I got radicalized around 9/11 and haven't been able to shut up about the state of the world since. I really feel responsible as an artist to reflect the times and state of the world around me. I feel too much to keep my beliefs to myself. They'd eat me alive. 

9. How important is collaboration for you in your work?

Collaboration is everything to me. While there are some really stripped back, simple songs, there are also some songs with a long list of star musicians, engineers, and influence. I've been so lucky to surround myself with amazing musicians who I rely on heavily for feedback and taking things to the next level out of my reach. I got to say Tyler Lindgren swooped in at the end to help us finish the album; he recorded, mixed and mastered the album while adding some layers that really make the sound what it is. Also, Junia-T was one of my favorite producers from Toronto and he really helped finish a couple songs that I could not figure out what was missing until he laid down the juciest additions. And boom it was complete. 

10. What would you say have been your career highlights to date?

I feel like the highlights are still coming, but we took over the Denver Art Museum last summer and that really was our coolest show yet. Performance art, music, conceptual art, video installations, it was everything. Super proud and honored to be on Democracy Now for a sit-in. Rolled for mayor in 2019. Wrote a musical with all my favorite friends. But being on Alternative Tentacles takes the cake. Such a legacy to be part of.  

11. What do you have planned for the rest of 2026 readers should be looking out for?

This album is already bringing a lot of new people to the sports camp. Really excited for the album release show MAY 23 @ Meow Wolf in Denver, then we go back to Canada to play Sled Island Fest. Plus we're now headlining Tentacle Fest San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall June 27. Plusssssss a very special show at Red Rocks in July? Well it's not announced yet so you heard it first. Lots of cool stuff happening and we already can't wait to write the next album.