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| Step aside young divas, Katie's been bringing it for years! |
Interview conducted by Greno.
How long have you been playing piano?
Almost 50 years....yikes!
What musicians inspired you to begin playing music?
My grandfather and my Sunday school teacher. My grandfather had one of the bands in California called “depression bands”. He played guitar and fiddle and he had a radio show in the valley. At family reunions my dad and him would play music all the time. Bluegrass or what I would call now Country Swing. My Sunday school teacher played piano by notes and that fascinated me and compelled me to learn piano. To compose musicals was Leonard Bernstein who wrote West Side Story and had a t.v. Show. Later Artur Rubenstein the concert pianist was my main inspiration for classical piano.
When did you write your first song and what was it called?
14 years old. “All Mankind”. It was a protest song against war during the 60’s.
What was the first record you bought?
Joan Baez and Sound of Music with Mary Martin the original Broadway cast.
Describe your first experience in the studio.
I fell in love with my singing voice for the first time, because I could really hear it through the head phones. I loved the studio experience because no one was watching me except the sound man. I’ve had to work hard to get used to people watching me when I perform.
Where did you get the idea to perform your one-person shows?
My mother did a project in college in which she did a film of the writer Dickens being interviewed on the tonight show. She brought history alive. I did the music for the commercials. I loved that idea of bringing history to life.
How many one-person concept shows have you written?
I’ve written five one person plays with music and two plays with more characters. “Impressions of Mary Cassatt: American Painter”, The Mary Magdalene Story, Clara Schumann; 19th Century pianist, and I wrote two I haven’t performed about Jenny Lind the Swedish singer and Teresa Careno the South American pianist and singer. I received the National Endowment for this play. The Magdalene was performed at the Sacramento Theatre Company 28 times and the Clara Schumann I toured in Massachusetts and performed in San Francisco and the bay area.
Where did the song "Let's Dance" come from?
Magdalene
What is Katie Ketchum doing these days?
I am rewriting and rehearsing the Mary Cassatt show and am getting ready to perform it at Boston University and Cranberry Coast Concerts this summer. I also take gigs...playing for a children’s choir and singing Joan Baez songs at concerts in June. Teaching piano and voice as well.
Can rock and roll change the world?
Yes, and so can other genres. If there were musicians playing on every street corners there wouldn’t be wars. I find I can’t sing if I’m angry.
What kind of things inspire you to write songs?
Usually it’s the personal feelings of a character in my play. Another type of song I tend to write is satirical, expressing an injustice the character feels in a humorous way. And now days I’ve been composing choral pieces for a church in San Francisco. These pieces I call feminine gospel/chants. Because they start out like a chant and then when sung upbeat they sound gospel. But the words are usually based on the divine feminine which that church is exploring.
Is there a particular style you enjoy playing the most?
There is not one style but a few: my original songs, classical and these gospel/chants.
3-5 words that best describe your music. Passionate, exhilarating, tender.
You write songs in so many different genres, is this a conscious thing? Since a lot of my songs are written in a show, the emotion dictates the style for me. Like in Magdalene, as the prostitute, she sings a satirical song which turned out to be a Tango. In the moment of conception I would say it is not a conscious decision, it just flows out that way as I place my hands on the keys and sing out the emotion. When I was a student I played in fancy restaurants in Toronto. As much as I disliked playing for people while they were eating I realize now I sight read a lot of different styles that they requested. That has probably influenced the different genres.
Any current artists that you really like?
I guess due to the economy I just see the same faces on the media-I find the music boring with no innovation. I liked the compilation Glen sent me a few years ago...not sure his sources of those artists. Part of my job as a piano and voice teacher is to go to performances of students. I have one student who has composed 25 piano pieces in the last year and a half and recorded an album. Her work is what I would call minimalism ala Phillip Glass or George Winston, although I like her work better than Phillip Glass or George Winston. Alea Andreson...her album is on I tunes. I find her work very moving. As far as vocally I have a student named Pearl Wright...she’s made an album but not for sale. And then Friday I saw a student performer that blew me away as far as charisma on stage and vocal potential....Danny Waters....watch for him in about five years. The regional artists are also more important to our culture than Americans realize. And live music is very important to our bodies and souls.
Are you currently working on any new material?
Re-working old material in the Mary Cassatt. But it’s becoming new material!
Any new projects on the horizon?
It’s hard for me to think past the project at hand. I’ll keep you posted!
Best venue you have ever played?
Sacramento Theatre Company.
Favorite thing to do besides playing music?
Walking in nature
Favorite song of all-time and why?
This is going to sound very egotistical but one of my own songs: Hold Me. It’s really fun to sing the vocal lines and when I sing it people get very emotional. They cry, which I think is healing.
One thing that would make the world a better place?
Music on every street corner all over the world.
