Month: October 2013

Hi there. It’s been an interesting week. I took part in a couple of events that really moved me and made me think so much about why I write and perform. The first was a private show and I don’t want to even get into the details of it. Those that were in attendance know that it was an honour for me to be involved in and I was extremely touched. Sorry to be vague.

The second was my small part in the massive undertaking at Icehouse yesterday and then night before. Mick Sterling and his 30 Days Foundation mounted  a 30 hour show to raise awareness of teenage homelessness. The organisation it benefited was ‘Avenues for Homeless Youth’.

What I hadn’t really connected to beyond just my desire to be involved in a good cause was how much I could relate to it. The organisation supports Teens age 16-21.

At 17 both of my parents had passed away and within weeks I went from feeling like a pretty normal teen to living with my slightly older brother as my legal guardian. Things went downhill pretty fast and any sense of a normal home went out the window. Drugs were dealt, furniture went missing and strangers filled the house day and night. One night my brother told me not to come back and if it wasn’t for friends and support I know I could have quickly spiraled out of control. My coping mechanism was school. I got a job and stayed in school and at 18 was able to move into college housing. All sense of ‘Home” was gone and although I love my brother I know that it was a deeply damaging time for both of us.

I met and married my husband young (at 21) and I think a big part of that was knowing that I wanted to create a family and a home. I j0ked during this show that although I grew up quick I feel now like I just want to quit growing up and have fun! That’s so true and a huge reason why I sing and play my happy little ukulele.

Anyway if you have read this far thank you. I have never talked much about any of this. I don’t want to hurt my brothers feelings as I’m sure he did his best, but this is part of who I am and this is why I felt a really strong connection yesterday. I hope to get more directly involved with this cause too.

Happy Halloween folks, Katy x

Thanks to everyone who came to Uke-Fest. It was truly one of the highlights of my life. So many amazing players and a room full of friends, fans and Arc Greater Twin City supporters. After the scramble of having to find a new date and line up after the flood of the venue I felt truly grateful that it all worked as well as it did.
One of my favourite parts of the night was seeing the connections made on stage between the musicians. Some planned to collaborate and quite a few just did it spontaniously.
I knew I wanted a real variety of players and to see the audiences reaction was really fun.
I couldn’t even choose my favourite player of the night and that’s what made it great. I feel so encouraged to do this again.
The biggest source of encouragement of the night was YOU! We sold out the venue and then some!! I felt bad for people that had to stand at the back but the smiles on peoples faces assured me that everyone was glad they were there.
The gig was about so much more than me or any single musician. It was inspired by the community that ARC Gtc has created and I felt the love in the room. Nice surprise to see the CEO of Arc, Kim Keprios, there too and she said a few words in between acts.

We raised $750 too. You can donate more at www.arcgreatertwincities.org or have fun shopping at the Arc Value Village stores to continue your support.

Thanks and here’s to Uke-Fest 2014!!!

I warned some of you that I’d be pushing ‘Uke-Fest’ hard, and I have. It was daunting to take on the role of organiser for an event and it’s never easy to know how to promote something.
It helped that I had a big dose of passion for this show though. That can make even the most shameless pitch meaningful.
I had no idea if WCCO would even reply to my emails, let alone film an interview. I feel extremely grateful for that.
This story by Andrea Swensson does a great job capturing the purpose behind this gig.

Despite the attached stories behind my reasons for doing this the main thing I hope people walk away from is that I have amazingly talented people playing the show and that the Ukulele is an amazing little instrument that can make songs fly and hearts flutter. We will all leave happy, charmed and singing!!
Special thanks to all of the musicians on the lineup!

Brianna Lane, Dave Kapell, Jim Clifford (The Meteor Boys), John Munson, Keldon Ancheta, Shawn Gibbons, Eric Carranza, Sada Estrada, Natalie Lovejoy, and Dean R Johnson!!

So anyway, thank you all for the support. It’s been overwhelming, but in a great way.

Local Current Blog

CBS Uke-Fest Interview

It’s finally Uke-Fest week! I’m so excited after all the planning to have a really exciting lineup to share with you all.

I recorded an interview and performance on WCCO news this morning. They will be playing it a couple of times on tomorrow mornings broadcast. This will be early, but I’ll post clips to Facebook later in the day.

Then The Current Blog will feature an interview tomorrow too.

I am so glad that The Aster is back open for business and the Arc Greater Twin Cities will benefit from such a fun event.

Thank you for all your support and I hope to see some of you this Friday… Music starts at 8:30pm.

Reservations recommended.

Aster Cafe
125 Main Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414
(612) 379-3138

I spent some time in the last couple of weeks digesting the amazing experience of singing at the Fitzgerald. It was such a roller coaster of nerves (Not as bad as I thought they’d be) and pure enjoyment.

I have always loved to sing but to stand there on that beautiful stage with my wonderfully talented band mates and sing songs I had written was overwhelming. The best part of the experience was that I felt completely present and let it all soak in.
It’s so incredibly self indulgent to talk about and there were parts of the evening I felt like I should just hold inside and remember. I want to thank all of you that were there though and acknowledge what a great experience it was.

Of course the other side of such a high is the feeling that you may not recapture it. It’s hard to know what other goals to set for myself and the band. I get so worried sometimes about trying to keep up and book shows that I don’t always take a moment to enjoy what I have done. Consider this a moment ; )

Two shows this week, then……

….. I have Uke-Fest coming up and I’m incredibly excited about that. It was so disappointing when the first date fell through due to the water main break. The Aster have worked so hard and I’m extremely grateful that they held a date for this. It’s going to be worth it I promise.

I finally nailed how to play one of my favourite cover songs too, ‘Falling Slowly’ from “Once”. Sounds so pretty on the uke.