'Dead' on TV, Emily Kinney lets her musical career spring to life

DON'T expect songs about the undead from Emily Kinney, but the singer has taken inspiration from her time acting on the apocalyptic AMC drama "The Walking Dead."

As she gears up for the August release of her debut album, "This Is War," Kinney is taking her musical chops - already familiar to "Dead" fans from her soothing, songs-around-the-campfire scenes with head zombie fighter Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) - to stages across the country. She'll play a sold-out show Friday at MilkBoy.

Much of the record was written in Georgia, where "The Walking Dead," which recently ended its fifth season, is filmed. Her apartment was just outside Atlanta, in a secluded, woodsy area that got the creative juices flowing.

"I remember writing a lot of those songs in my apartment," Kinney recalled. "The memory of them, they started in this room in Georgia. In that way, the show definitely comes through."

Beth's death on "The Walking Dead" after four years cleared the way for her multiweek tour. Her character's final episode aired in early December, though she came back briefly after the midseason break in a hallucination during the final moments of another character, Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman).

Since then, Kinney's gone full throttle with her music, even releasing a single, the warm and peppy "This Is War." But she isn't shy about discussing her time on one of television's most popular shows. In fact, she credits its popularity for the interest in her tour.

Because of the timing, her current career shift might seem like a new venture. It's not. Always a musical person, she listened to her parents' records and sang at church as a kid growing up in Nebraska.

When she moved to New York City to pursue acting, she became more serious with her music, though she never intended for the songs to escape the confines of her bedroom. Acting was a way for her to earn a living; songwriting was a method of expression.

Then came a turning point.

In 2008, Kinney was cast in the hit Broadway musical "Spring Awakening." Many of her nights off were spent seeing live music, and some musicians invited her to sing backup. She shared some of her tunes, and the encouragement she received got her thinking that music could move beyond a personal, cathartic exercise.

"I just felt, 'Oh, I can do both,' that I wanted to do both and they both fulfilled different things for me," she said. She started performing in New York, then recorded and released an EP, "Blue Toothbrush," in 2011. The five-song collection featured Kinney's ethereal, Priscilla Ahn-like vocals over dainty keys or acoustic strums.

Then, six episodes into the first season, she was cast in "The Walking Dead." That turned into a four-year gig, and her character's expanding story line made it difficult to take time out to tour. There were one-off shows in New York or Los Angeles, and the release of a second EP in 2014, her ode to young romance in New York City, "Expired Love."

Now she's working full on with her music and her debut, full-length disc. The album's title track features Kinney's almost childlike vocals and a lovely melody, but there's an edge in the lyrics: "I just can't be beat so I will stand the heat until your love, your love is sure."

The allusion to battle might sound enticing to thrill-seeking "Walking Dead" fans, many of whom will be in town Thursday through Sunday for Wizard World Comic Con, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. A few of Kinney's former castmates will appear at the con, including Michael Rooker and Scott Wilson, who played Beth's TV dad.

But don't count on a surprise Kinney appearance at the con. She says she'll be heading out immediately after her show here for a gig Saturday in Virginia.

If you're going to the MilkBoy, though, you might be in good company: "Walking Dead" cast members are big supporters of up-and-coming artists. "We love going to those things," Kinney said.