As you know, over the past few years, I have had the honor of
performing in over 22 countries. I have encountered some
entertaining scenes from the road during that time:

One of my favorites from Vietnam.

How to drive off a cliff into the ocean....(South Korea)

This says it all. A fellow muso friend posted this, too funny not to include. (USA)

Who knew Tourist Menus were so controversial? (Italy)

What's slower than slow?

Lost in translation. I have a 50/50 chance. (Fukuoka, Japan)

Wishing you adventure on your journey! And would love to see YOUR scenes! Please post!

Warmly,

Kat

Continuation of Part 1: Making Out in the Surf (Life as Baywatch)

So, I moved to Los Angeles…..

I lived with my friend in her studio apartment, where I slept on her couch…..and broke all of her dishes because “they were so slippery when I was trying to wash them” (very patient friend!)…eventually moving into the cheapest apartment I could find. It was only $450, AND it had a pool where I could swim laps. “Laps” might be an exaggeration. The pool was about 15 meters across, so really this was me pushing off one side and arriving at the other…. Repeat…. and it must have been a sight to see, because lacking the funds for new pool goggles, I swam “laps” with scuba goggles and a snorkel.

I rollerbladed down the palm lined streets and hummed David Hasselhoff’s theme song as I drove down the 10. BUT, I also sat in hours of traffic to get to the palm lined streets; I played crappy gigs on Wednesday’s at 12:30am; my keyboard was stolen out of my car; I was double booked; not paid; fell while rollerblading; experimented with “Coke” (-a-cola) as the remedy for everything in order to avoid the cost of going to the doctor (though I had $200/month insurance which seemed only to cover the cost of my coffin should I need one); I did not rescue anyone from the jaws of the Pacific; and, as it turns out, making out in the surf was not all that comfortable. Full of surprises, wonder AND the mundane, life keeps teaching me that it is different than my fantasy…..sometimes better, sometimes not. And it contains much more daily than an episode of Baywatch.

It’s fascinating to explore the dissonance between life on the “big screen” of my mind, and how life plays out in the “real world”; between “should be” and all that actually “is”. I have struggled with, and am learning to live with the seeming limits of my power and reach, slowly realizing that I can’t solve all the problems of the world, and actually, often have my hands full with the arena of my daily life.

While I may not be the super hero I imagined being as a child, while my life may not look like the romantic comedies so often seen on TV, and while I may not be saving lives every day like the Baywatch lifeguards…I am here. I keep showing up for the life lessons. In the process of being “present” in my life, I have discovered that magic and super powers DO exist, but on a much different scale and in much subtler ways and that we “save” each other every day….in smiles, and kisses, and generous hearts, and compassion, and singing, and dancing, and expression, and love, and open minds, and in our own ways, and, and, and…..this is the story of my song “Differently”. (Can’t figure out how to stream it on this page, but you can Download it here.)

And, let’s be honest, when the cameras weren’t rolling, probably some of the people on Baywatch drowned. They couldn’t save everyone.

Leave a comment and tell me what you think.

I think it’s funny to talk about the disillusionment of finding out that my adult life is not like in the movies. I guess your opinion of this would change depending on what movies you watch. If you watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre, then this is probably a really exciting discovery for you (and a huge relief!). However, if you watch romantic comedies, like Crazy Stupid Love, you may be bummed.

I moved to Los Angeles from Chicago because of the show Baywatch. I love the show Baywatch. I know I shouldn’t be admitting this – it is not cool to love Baywatch. But, oh my, it was so exciting! Everyone rollerblading down the palm tree lined sidewalks, the lifeguards saving everyone, but, I have to admit, my favorite parts were, what I call, the Baywatch Music Videos. Essentially, this was the montage of whatever the current romance on the show was and it usually involved them splashing each other in the surf, giggling tons, picking each other up and spinning each other around and then making out on the sand while the waves and surf occasionally would wash over their legs, but they wouldn’t have even noticed if a wave crashed right on them, because they were SO in love!! Oh my gosh, I wanted to move to Los Angeles and be SO in love and splash in the water. It would be nice to save people too. So, then I moved to Los Angeles…..Part 2 coming next week!

In the meantime, were there movies or TV shows that you aspired to or made you move or changed your thoughts, or, is it just me and my deep thoughts about Baywatch?!

After I released my last album, I went through a lot of doubt about whether I could continue down this musical path. I felt really unsure of myself and disappointed in my “dream”, as if I had failed my potential as a person…was I making a difference in the world? Was my music helping or serving anyone?

I started looking for other possible careers. I applied for an internship in Thailand working with victims of human trafficking, I looked into grad school for social work. I applied for the Peace Corps and was nominated to go to Jordan. During this time, I found out, getting a job is REALLY hard. I generally thought when I met people, they’d know I could do the job, but apparently, telling people you can do a great job is not, on its own, convincing enough.

Every time I pulled away from music, something or someone kept pulling me back…it was actually during this time that, for the first time in my life, I became a full time singer-songwriter. Oftentimes what kept me going was an email from someone telling me that a song meant something to them; or someone inviting me to perform.

When I was a teenager, I imagined playing to screaming stadiums and also thought I could solve all of the world’s problems. This wasn’t quite like that. But all of a sudden I was finding myself so fulfilled by the response of people who connected with my music. I realized, THIS is what I have been working towards my whole life….connection and more connection and more connection…I love it so much.

I offer this to you. I offer this music and my honest experience to you with the hope that it connects us. I hope that by being as much myself as possible (as awkward as that sometimes may be) that it helps YOU to be as much you as possible. As I express in my song, Differently, “we’re not all born to sing the same melody”. Whatever your melody is, I love it.

I always love to hear from you in the comments, even if it’s just a “hello”.

As the release date, APRIL 3 (yay!), approaches, I want to share a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the beginning of these recordings with you. “Talk to Me” is produced by Warren Huart (Aerosmith, Howie Day) and the lead track is co-produced by Head of A&R at Epic Records, Mike Flynn (Sara Bareilles, The Fray).  Yes, that’s right, I’m name dropping. We recorded it at Swinghouse Studios in West Hollywood, however, when I first started demo-ing the songs from this album, I was recording it at…Mom & Dad’s house in Maryland. I happened to be at my parents for a couple of weeks and, as luck would have it, Paul Maylone (producer of my last album, No Will Power) was living in the area at the time. Paul is one of the most talented people I know and can play any and every instrument, but we didn’t have any and every instrument at my parents. My parents had quite a few instruments – an organ, piano, keyboard, trumpet, french horn, guitar, and 12 string. My mom even has an ancient drum machine. I’m not sure she would appreciate that description.

We were picturing humans with TV heads chasing me through the forest.  For this, we needed drums, or….an industrial garbage can. Paul made a kick drum out of our outdoor garbage bin (it sounded quite good!) and employed my Dad to play chimes with different style water glasses filled to different heights. We actually came up with an awesome and crazy version of “TV Radio” that inspired the version of “TV Radio” that is on this upcoming EP. When you get it, you’ll have to let me know if you hear anything inspired by a trash can or water chimes….

Here’s a photo from what you will hear very soooooonnnnn…..

Ok, your turn….Have you ever used anything for a different purpose than its intended use?  I want to hear!

How was YOUR prom? Did you go with the person who you wanted to go with? Did you ask or, did he/she ask? Was it romantic, friendly or other? I want to know if it was exciting? Disappointing? Was there a limo and taffeta involved? Did you skip it altogether?

The album cover for “Talk to Me” began with a conversation about my prom.

I can’t really remember if I asked my date to prom or if he asked me…upon my suggestion. I have to admit that I was googly-eyed because I thought he was such a good dancer. The night of prom I wanted romance and he showed up in a multicolored beanie with a helicopter on top. Enough said. Oh my gosh, I thought my dress was so pretty (it was not) and my hair, so fancy (it was hideous) and well….I want to hear about your prom.

When Dan Busta and I were thinking about the artwork for “Talk to Me”, a post prom, smeared make up, things-didn’t-go-so-well look popped into our heads, particularly when listening to “Fall for It”. Below are a couple stills of our photo shoot of this cover idea. I went overboard and brought a banana into it. Me going overboard is so out of character. This eventually led to…..another photo shoot and, a different idea! And that was the start of the “Talk to Me” cover!

I want to hear about your prom in the comments below. Details please!