Singer/songwriter Katie Cole has been surrounded by an eclectic mix of music her whole life, from classical to rock to country music and Americana. Now this amazing artist from Down Under, who has worked and toured with the likes of country legends and rock icons, has released her new single “Time On My Hands” off her upcoming EP Things That Break, Part 1 available on September 28th.
We caught up with Katie to talk about her incredible experiences with some of music’s royalty as well as her own cataloge.
CN: For our readers who may not be familiar with you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
KC: I’m an Australian-born singer and songwriter and I live in Nashville, Tennessee. I describe my personal genre as Singer-songwriter/ Americana. I am a songwriter for other artists in various genres and am also a touring musician in The Smashing Pumpkins.
CN: You were born in Australia and as we know Australians love country music. At what age did you discover music and then specifically country music?
KC: I don’t think I necessarily “discovered” music at a certain age. It was always there. My father was a trained classical vocalist who also played piano. And my mother who also played piano was a creative type who dabbled in painting and bonsai amongst other things. I always sang and was forever around music. I was fed an obscure diet of anything from Led Zeppelin to Chopin. In honesty, I didn’t really discover country music til I moved to America. It was a long learning curve to understand America better through listening to country music. In some parts of middle America, country music isn’t a genre, it’s a way of life. I see that now and it makes perfect sense.
CN: How has the transition been moving from Australia to Nashville? When did you decide that you had to relocate to Music City?
KC: I first traveled to Los Angeles to work with my now long-time Record Producer Howard Willing. After my second trip to Los Angeles, I knew I had to be there on the ground to make my career really happen. After living there for over a year, I began to hear word of “music city” Nashville, and booked a well-planned trip there to play some shows and do my first round of Nashville co-writes. Co-writing is such an important part of the way of life there. I felt an immediate connection to the city, it’s southern hospitality and friendly locals. But it took me a few years of regular trips there before I finally moved in 2015.
CN: Which musicians, country or not, have influenced you both personally and as an artist?
KC: I grew up listening to such a vast and wide selection of music. There really was never a moment my Mum wasn’t blasting some type of music. This could mean anything from Little Richard to The Eagles. At a young age, I was introduced to music and shown how to really listen to music and appreciate it. The Beatles, like so many songwriters, were my first musical crush. I learnt so much from Rubber Soul and Revolver as they were incredible albums in entirety. Annie Lennox from Eurythmics was my first vocal crush. The power of her voice and delivery to dominate or be docile still amazes me. I listen to a lot more songwriters that sit in the Country/Americana genre these days. Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and Jason Isbell are my new “go to’s” for listening. I gravitate towards heavier lyrics, great musicianship and captivating vocals.
CN: Being a songwriter, can you take us through your songwriting process? Do you draw mostly from personal experiences, or from those around you?
KC: My process is a little varied. I’m a story teller, so the emotional content is always real, but I draw from both past experiences and from those around me. Colouring in the blanks with creative liberties when needed. If I’m writing for myself, I’ll generally be thinking about the big picture in terms of themes, narrative and concepts. If I’m writing for other artists, anything goes. Almost always I write the best songs with a song title and concept already on the table. But I still get random ideas, melodies and lyrics that come to me. My voice memos section on my phone is always in use.
CN: Lay It All Down was your first full-length LP and it included the song “Penelope” which featured the legendary Kris Kristofferson. How did that pairing come about? What was it like to perform with one of the greatest songwriters and performers?
KC: I still can’t believe that happened. Kris has written some of the most important songs in history. This came about as Howard Willing, my producer was engineering an album for Kristofferson and working with Producer Don Was. The idea of him singing on this song was just brought up to him on one of those session days. Kris listened to the song and read the lyrics and asked who wrote the song. Howard said “She did”. Kristofferson replied emphatically “She did?!!!”. I think this meant he was impressed by the song haha. He recorded his parts over the chorus and that was that. The heaven’s parted that day, for sure. It was truly an amazing moment.
CN: You opened for another country music legend, the late great Glen Campbell. Can you tell us what that experience was like?
KC: As you’re learning, I have been really blessed to share moments with legends. I opened up some shows for Glen in Nevada when I had just moved to America. He was truly one of the greatest performers of any generation. His voice was clear as day and his guitar playing was always spot on. He was of course in his young days a guitarist and part of the wrecking crew. A group of A-level session musicians that recorded on some of the most iconic musical works including Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night” and Beach Boys “Pet Sounds”. Glen told me a few great stories about some of those moments. He was just lovely and so engaging when he spoke.
CN: In addition to touring with Glen, your vocals were also featured on two of his albums: Ghost on the Canvas and See You There. How did you get involved on those albums?
KC: Again this answer starts with Howard Willing. A man behind a lot of artist careers. When I first moved to Los Angeles, I was working with Howard and his music partner at the time Julian Raymond. Both were A&R together at Capitol Records years earlier and maintained a great working relationship and friendship even to this day. Both Willing and Raymond collaborated on some of Glen’s records including Meet Glen Campbell and Ghost On the Canvas amongst others. I was brought in to sing all the female background vocals parts for the Ghost album which included new songs written by songwriter Jimmy Webb and others co-written by Campbell. Wonderful experience.
CN: A few years back when you were opening for Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan requested you play bass and keys as well as on vocals. Since then you have toured with them several times, including their current world tour. What was that moment like, when he asked you to join the band?
KC: Guess who was the catalyst for this relationship…… you guessed it – Willing. Howard has a long term working relationship with the Smashing Pumpkins that began in the era of Machina and Adore albums right up to now. Corgan was subsequently aware of my career as an artist. I was asked to open a Billy Corgan solo show in Ravinia Pavillon in Chicago in 2014. Was a great night…obviously. The following year Smashing Pumpkins were embarking on an Acoustic/Electro tour called In Plainsong. This was be a scaled back band tour. I was asked to be the opening act. I said Yes. I was then asked if I also wanted to play bass on a few songs and sing during this tour. I said yes. This first tour introduced me to a large amount of fans that also began to support my career. Regardless of genre, these fans decided they loved my music – a huge compliment. The following year in 2016, I was asked again to join the line up on bass and vocals for a second and larger leg of the In Plainsong tour. This tour had us performing at iconic venues like Tower Theater in Philly and the “mother church” – The Ryman in Nashville. A huge series of memories was created along with a number of bucket list checks. This year I was asked to join the line up on keys and vocals for the Shiny And Oh So Bright arena tour. Bucket list checks all over the place. Madison Square Garden check , sold out shows check, selling my cd’s in all these venues check. I’m endlessly grateful to be welcomed into this family. I can’t thank WPC (William Patrick Corgan), Jimmy, James, Jeff and touring bassist Jack enough.
CN: How does playing in a band like The Smashing Pumpkins, who are iconic in their own genre, differ from playing your own material?
KC: It’s different in just about every way. Haha. The Smashing Pumpkins music and genre is different which means the crowd response is very different to my own. There are a lot of high energy rock songs in the catalogue, so this means, high energy performance, big light show, large visual aspect to the entire tour. But there are of course, more thought-provoking songs that pair easily with my own. As a songwriter WPC [William Patrick Corgan] is very fluid and often esoteric with lyrics. Some of his songs if interpreted with bluegrass or roots instrumentation could easier transport to another genre. The last WPC solo offering Ogilala is evidence of this. A great song is a great song and I’ve seen WPC play his many of this hit songs on one guitar or piano and hear the song void of genre yet still shine very brightly. I am in a wondering position to learn a lot from someone who is both a masterful musician as well as songwriter. Lately, as a songwriter my gut feeling is to take a song as deep as I can with it. If it leans a little dark, go darker, and so forth. The art of re-writing and re-working is something I take very seriously. If a song can be better, don’t be afraid to try new things with it.
CN: From a fan stand point, what is it like to play on songs like “Disarm” or “1979” or “Bullet with Butterfly Wings”? Has to be so surreal…..
KC: It’s always surreal. Every show, every time. Being on stage during these moments throughout the tours is like being a tourist in many ways. I am there performing, but very much watching the crowd, and also the band. I jus try to be in the moment.
CN: Earlier this month you released your new single “Time On My Hands.” Can you tell us the story behind the song?
KC: I hate to be this person, I knew this song was special when I wrote it. The melody, the concept… all of it. I did however, re-write the lyric several times til it felt like it was where it needed to be. I wrote it about having a relationship turn bad and finding yourself in that raw moment where it hurts so much. And you have zero choice but to wait it out until the pain has softened. The lyric is very ambiguous in nature as I wanted it to also apply to other heights of great anguish and other things.
CN: The song is the lead single off your upcoming solo EP Things That Break, Part 1 out on September 28th. Can you tell us what fans can expect from the EP?
KC: I’m not sure what fans expect… but this particular group of songs includes themes of heartache, alcoholism, broken homes, love and much more. It’s pretty hard hitting with lyrics as I didn’t hold back in any capacity. There are musical elements of Americana, soul, country and folk. I drew influences from Staples Singers, Bowie, Lucinda and others and applied it to either the writing or recording process. It’s my best work to date.
CN: Will there be a Part 2?
KC: Yes.
CN: Do you have a dream collaboration in mind?
KC: Wow, I’m such a fan of so many artists it’s really hard to narrow down the list. I also really enjoy performing with other artists. Here’s a list in no particular order. Emmylou Harris, Margo Price, Sam Smith, Jason Isbell, Lucinda Williams and Ryan Adams.
CN: If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be and why?
KC: Adaptive. It’s the hardest skill I’m still mastering, but the most useful.
CN: What’s next on the horizon?
KC: I really want to be touring my new music with more shows, house concerts and whatever else I can find. That and continue to write better songs with great people. I suppose, I just pray that there is a horizon. As that’s all I need to continue!
For more information on Katie Cole, visit her website at: http://katiecoleofficial.com/