Katie Cole Interview

I’ve been a fan of Katie’s music for 5 years, so enjoy interviewing her and love what she does as a musician. So I’ll be always supporting her. She got loads of talent and will go far so read on.

http://www.katiecoleofficial.com 

1.
How did recording the album come about?

Well
after the unexpected success of the “Lost Inside A Moment EP”, I
knew I had to deliver a great follow up. Recording, unfortunately
costs a lot of money. Who knew! The website “Kickstarter” started
circling back and forth around those I knew and other artists I
follow the careers of so I looked into it. It’s essentially a
fundraising/pledge based website where people with a great idea
(whether it be music, art, invention or craft) state their case of
what their idea is. They then in exchange for donations, give out
rewards. I was really successful with my campaign with Kickstarter
and raised 120% of the funds I was aiming for. It was amazing.

Well,
I launched my Kickstarter campaign to raise money to make a new EP
once again, with my Producer Howard Willing. No matter what you can
get “on the cheap” or at “mates rates” there are still hard
costs like studios, session musicians, mastering, manufacturing and
that sort of thing. I raised a really great chunk of change, but
knowing my 8k was trying to compete with artists that are on major
record labels with MUCH larger budgets, I knew I would have to work a
lot smarter this time around. This meant scheduling recording tracks
when the musicians are already in a session, and book-ending my
sessions on the back of others at studios. All sort of “creative”
stuff like that. Then what began as a 5 song EP soon looked like it
would become a full album of songs.

There
are always hurdles, but hey, I’m getting to do something I love, so
I’m not complaining.

I
took a lot of insight from the songs that people have reacted most to
from all my recordings and live shows before deciding what I was
going to focus on writing for this record. I am always song-writing
whether it’s for me or not, so I’m fortunate to be able to express a
variety of different emotions, genres and stories on a regular basis.
If I’m in a co-writing situation, there is a usually a common goal
for the song, but on my own, I try not to filter what is ready to
come out. Out of all the songs I’ve written whether on my own or not,
I then listen after the fact and decide if the pieces are a good fit
for me or not. During the writing process I try not to fit myself
into a song as it is being created. It’s too hard to focus on making
the song the best song it can be, if I am limiting it to my style.

That
being said, this record is definitely infused with a strong sense of
Americana mixed with Pop. For many of the songs, I was thinking about
bands like Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty and Counting Crows as
inspiration, but with my story telling and vocal sensibility. In a
simple sense, great stories and songs that I want to sound timeless.

When
I was recording “Lost Inside a Moment” and “Melodiem” which
were both done at roughly the same time, there was a lot space and I
felt a little separated from much of the process. I travelled back
and forth to LA recording a few songs the first trip, then hearing
mixes while I was back in Australia, then flying back repeating the
process. This new record, has still been a little disjointed, but a
lot less time has passed since I wrote the songs, and my Producer
Howard and I have taken the time to choose the right songs and choose
the right musicians to perform on the record. We have Victor Indrizzo
and Aaron Sterling on Drums, Chris Chaney and Sean Hurley on bass,
Zac Rae and Roger Manning Jr on Keys/Piano, Tim Pierce on guitar and
lost more musicians to come. My Producer has a real gift for choosing
the right musicians for the right songs. I have definitely had the
space and reflection to choose songs wisely and chip away at
recording them until we are all happy about the outcome. It will be
finished roughly Jan/Feb 2012.

Cake
and eating large quantities of it. Haha. No. My inspiration is still
pretty much the same. As ridiculous as it sounds, if I’m full of
humour, I can write great songs. My imagination and humour are
definitely the bridge to my songwriting.

As
a musician/performer, I am always really excited to see what new
bands are doing. My influences vary a lot from month to month, from
Indie to folk to rock… but I still am very grounded with what I do
and who I am stylistically.

It
is amazing. Amazing! I don’t think I can express into words how
grateful I am for the BBC radio 2 airplay I receive. Amazing! It
widened my audience to a whole new group of fans and listeners. I am
working with a great radio promoter Mike Mills from Matrix Promotions
who helped to get my music playlisted twice on BBC Radio 2. In the UK
BBC Radio 1 is the pop/dance/Rnb network. BBC Radio 2 is the more
adult contemporary music network. Usually said for listeners over 25,
but what it really means is new and older music from artists from the
last few decades. They will mix in music from Rolling Stones; The
Carpenters and David Bowie with newer artists like Alison Krauss:
Sara Bareilles and Adele. Its kinda amazing.

Being
playlisted means that the from the dozen or so Programs on the Radio2
, their show producers all vote bi-weekly on which songs get to be on
the playlist. That list is a taste-maker for what other radio
stations want to add to their stations too. Major record labels from
around the world strive to get their artists playlisted the way I
was. Again, I don’t have a record label, so it’s all a very big deal.

Yes
I have. I have been really lucky to get a number of placements with
my music. I have had synchs with American and Canadian TV shows that
include “Men In Trees”, “Jersey Shore”, “Tough Love”,
“Young and Restless”, “The Real World”, “Degrassi” and
“Debra”. I have also synched a song to a horror flick “Vacancy
2”.

A
big accomplishment was winning Movado Watches “Future Legend 2010”
where my song “Gravity” was synched to a USA national ad campaign
through 2010 and 2011. I had major television exposure which brought
me a lot of new fans.

I
really believe this new record is my best yet. I have had a lot of
time to record things the way I want and the time to assess each song
and what it needs musically. I’m sort of at a point in my career
where I just want to make great music that I believe in. I’m really
honest, so my music has to reflect that too. As an artist, I hope to
continue to tour and share my music with fans from around the world.
I think they will really like this record as it’s really fluid, but
sonically interesting. Unfortunately, a successful career is the
outcome of great music and a lot of positive media and marketing. I
spend a lot of time marketing as many indie artists do. Much more
time on that than actual creativity. The level of success is the
result of a lot of work. The more work put in, the more chance of
success.

At
the moment I am very interested in Foster the People, Lenka and The
Script. Again, what I listen to varies a lot. I follow great songs
and interesting sounds. I like it when I hear something and think “I
never would have thought of that”. They are good moments.

Ooh.
I get a lot of good ones. A common misconception/compliment I get is
that a lot of people assume I’m on a major record label. I guess
people see the photos, the website and hear the quality of the music
and assume that. That’s amazing to me.

I
have performed at a number of elementary schools and at one of them,
the kids painted “Katie Cole” on their faces and had banners that
said “Katie Cole rocks”. That was also a great moment.

Many
people have said they thought I was really famous. I try to remember
all the great moments. They mean a lot to me.

I
am heading to Australia in January for a couple of weeks. It’s a
personal visit, but I am trying to lock in a few shows in Melbourne
if possible. All my touring info is up to date on
http://www.katiecoleofficial.com
that is the best way to keep track of my many travels.

I
really am looking forward to stepping foot back in Australia again.
It’s been a long time. Heat up a meat pie and crack open a Bundaberg
Ginger beer for me. I’ll see you soon.