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Monday, January 21, 2013

Interview with Katie Cole - @KatieColeMusic

About 2 weeks ago we received word that Katie Cole was available for one of our email based Road Trip interviews! We were very excited to hear this as we have been supporting Katie for some time now and just love her work! We will start off with a little from her EPK:


Meet Katie Cole originally from Melbourne, Australia, now based in Los Angeles, USA. Not your every day female singer songwriter. Does she dominate with ballads? No. Does she compose songs on the piano? Rarely. What she does do then? She rocks and enjoys a loud guitar, a strong melodic hook and an up tempo pop song. Growing up on a strict diet of rock music from her Mom, she was fed Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin in one ear and Maria Callas from her vocally classically trained, Father. After a quick detour in music to Smashing Pumpkins, Aretha Franklin and Eurythmics, Katie describes her own style of music as having flavors of Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow, Fleetwood Mac and Colbie Caillat. She calls it “Americana meets British Pop”.

Instrumentation

KATIE COLE - Lead Vocals/Guitar
Matt D. Reyes - Bass; Vocals
Brad Lindsay - Guitar and VOX
Nick Bearden - Drums
Paul Redel - Guitar


And now on to our interview with Katie Cole conducted by Kiva of @IndieViews




When I was doing my research on you for the interview and saw you had worked with Glen Campbell, that really brought a smile to my face. Before I ever fangirled over Sean Cassidy and Duran Duran, I fell in love with "Rhinestone Cowboy", so much so that it is on my iPod now. You are much younger than I am so your memories of Glen Campbell are surely much different, especially since you have gotten to know him personally and professionally. But you got to perform with him as he began to say goodbye to his fans, as Alzheimer's takes his memories away. What was that like for you, to be part of something so personal and so special to not only him and his band, but the fans as well?


Opening up shows for Glen Campbell was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. I actually flew in from Australia and opened up some shows...then relocated and did the same tour the following year in Laughlin, NV. Every night I watched him perform I was learning so much. He would tell stories and really draw the crowd into his world. As a fan of his music, he has some songs that are the soundtrack of a lot of people's lives so seeing/hearing that live was such an honour. He would open his mouth and that voice would come out crystal clear as ever. It's truly a sad thing that his gift is being slowly taken from him. We are all lucky to have what he has given us though.



Enjoy Katie Cole's video for "I Can't Wait"





How did you come about working with Howard Willing, famed producer of bands like OK Go, Smashing Pumpkins and Glen Campbell? What can fans expect from the new album, "Lay It All Down", which is being released in a couple of months. Do you have a big release party planned?



I met my Producer Howard Willing, when he reached out to me. I know.. can you believe it? I certainly couldn't at the time. I was in Australia and got this email about wanting to possibly work together. I was a huge fan of his work on albums from Counting Crows and "The Globe Sessions" by Sheryl Crow, Smashing Pumpkins...then adding my name to that list just seemed weird. hehe. I eventually flew over to LA and we began tracking what would become my first American EP "Lost Inside a Moment". Soon after that I up and moved to Los Angeles to really begin my career in a completely new territory. It was equally terrifying as it was exciting. 2 EP's later I decided I was ready to make some more music...but as luck had it my wallet was a tad thin. Living in another country in the beginning for me was challenging and a little, how can I say "fiscally wearing". haha. I decided to launch a campaign via Kickstarter to make a new record. Flash forward a bit and it was funded successfully. It's taken a long time to write these songs and record them at some amazing studios with some incredible musicians. The album date is not set for release. But anticipating a March date now. I need a little more run up to organize that big release party you mentioned and all the marketing stuff that goes with that. I am super excited. I released the first single in Oct "I Can't Wait", but I really feel so proud of this album and hope people will enjoy it.



You are all packed and headed off for Sundance. What are you most excited for? The winter activities, rubbing elbows with celebrities or performing? How did you find out you were going to Sundance?


I am still packing my own punches and doing all the muscle work in my career for the most part, so Sundance came about from a great friend of mine Scottie Briggs who manages some great bands, asked me to play some shows. I paused for all of 1.2 seconds before answering YES!!!!!! I have decided to meet some amazing directors and dazzle them with my music. This is a loose plan and could easily turn into several large cups of coffee and a snowball fight. I packed all of my scarves , gloves and hats...so I'm prepared. I've never been to Sundance before and am very honoured and excited to hopefully see some great screenings and play some great shows.



Katie Cole - "LOST INSIDE A MOMENT"





Sundance is part of the winter tour, Tell us about what's in store for your upcoming tour?


I'm actually on tour at the moment. I thought I may get a break. This tour is Denver and Colorado Springs in CO with Nina Storey and Wendy Woo, then over to Sundance for 3 shows and a TV show. Then back to Los Angeles for a few shows. Then break to prepare for album launch. Looks like i may end up at SxSW for a couple of shows too. As you may be able to tell... plans can change in a snap so somethings get thrown my way at the last second. My cat like reflexes just take over and I essentially either make it work or ...not.



You have toured all over the US, Australia and the UK. What is the most important lesson you have learned from spending so much time on the road and what was your favorite stop along the way and why?


Most important lesson...You can never have too much hand sanitizer. True. But also to be humble. Many shows are someone's first impression of you....so I want to make that count and I never take it for granted. I'll always look forward to being back in Melbourne. It's my hometown..so you know.... it's my home. I loved London though. Can't wait to be back there soon. I'm a big foodie and the Indian food there was to die for. Food plays a big role when touring. it's how you enjoy a place. Who you saw, what you ate.




Although you are Australian, you live in Los Angeles. How long have you lived in the States and how long do you plan to stay? Do you miss home or are the states your home now?


I've been in LA for just over 2/12 years I suppose. I miss Melbourne. That will always be home....but LA is like a really good friend. We "get" each other. I also spend a lot of time in Nashville. I'm actually quite happy to hop around to a bunch of different cities. I truly love to explore and live and learn other people's cultures. There are subtle differences from city to city in the USA. I love that.



What was it like working with legends like Kris Kristofferson and Gloria Gaynor?



So I've written a lot of dance and pop music for different artists outside my career. I've written songs for some big European artists and through one of those connections I had an opportunity to write for Gloria Gaynor. She recorded a song I wrote called "Supernatural Love". It came out a while back and has had a zillion remixes that keep coming out. I never got to meet her. I was in Australia at the time. She recorded vocals in New York and the producers were in Germany. Go figure. It was like the UN made a song. hehe. Speaking of not meeting people, I've been lucky enough to have an amazing producer that brought Kris Kristofferson in to sing on a song of mine. It's called "Penelope" and it's on the new record. Unfortunately I didn't get to meet him that day either. I did make my producer snap some photos of Kris holding lyrics to my song as he sang it. That was enough for me. I've actually been really lucky to work with and sing on a bunch of artists albums from Glen Campbell to a Xmas song for Scarlett Johansson/Dean Martin. I recorded some vocals last week for the amazing Carlene Carter of the Carter Family/Carter Sisters. It's a crazy ride...this music thing. I just never know where it will take me next. I do have plenty of hand sanitizer....so I'm ready.


Listen to the album "I Can't Wait" by Katie Cole

This email based interview was conducted by Kiva of IndieViews. Kiva is also the Executive Producer and Host of the Butterflies Radio @IndieViews Artist Spotlight, which airs Monday night's at 8pm EDT at http://butterfliesradio.com

Katie Cole Links

2 comments:

  1. Very informative interview. I will have to look up some of her music.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks like Willie Nelson should be next on her list. I think it is fun that she has a connection with the old country stars. Being able to bridge the gap between many genres will assure a long and stable career.

    ReplyDelete

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