Fan of the Month!
Interviewed by Kayt

For the record, what is your name? Kat Where were you born, and where did you grow up? I was born in Fountain Valley, California and grew up in the OC, yes the OC. You can stop laughing now. What were your main interests, entertainment and otherwise, growing up? My father was the lead guitarist for two Philadelphia Rock bands in the ‘70s and my mother was a piano player and singer in Pasadena, CA. So you can only imagine what my childhood was like. Since the moment I was brought home from the hospital there was music in the house. But there was never any pressure to be in the music industry. My parents would have jam sessions and musicians over all the time. My brother was named after one of my father’s friends from Philly named Todd. Do the math you can probably figure out who…

I started singing for audiences when I was three but just did it for fun. I never actually thought about making it a career. I actually pursued a degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice and was interviewing with the CHP when I realized that I did not want to be in law enforcement anymore. All I wanted to do was make music. I couldn’t do that if I was holding a badge and gun instead of a guitar and microphone.

Tell us about your musical endeavors and any musical instruments you play… If I actually went into detail this would be a very long interview. I sing, play the piano, bass, flute, violin, write my own music and lyrics, record, mix and produce. I have completed my first album, but they say a song is never done. I am re recording and mixing a lot of the songs because I can see that I have grown since the first cuts and really like the idea of comparing where I was when I first wrote them and where I am now.

What accomplishments are you most proud of at this point in your life?
My music publishing company just got incorporated the beginning of this year. But for me that still is not the greatest accomplishment in my mind, I’m a CEO!!!!. I think my greatest accomplishment is being able to take adversity and use it to make me who I am. I have been able to maintain a positive attitude throughout my life and never look at a negative situation as just that, a negative situation. I rather see it as a learning experience and an opportunity to grow. That and using my music as an outlet sure helps. Without it, what could I possibly have to write about?

What are your favorite movies?
“White Oleander” and “Closer” are at the top of my list right now. Oh and “Six-String Samurai” too!!

Do you have any favorite books?
“White Oleander” and the rock biography “U2-At the End of the World.”

What music are you into, in addition to Red Elvises?
I really am into Coldplay's new album, Train, Dishwalla, Tom Waits, and Russian Techno Pop.

When, where, how, etc. did you first hear and experience Red Elvises?
I met the Red Elvises as people before I ever heard their music. I meet them at my friend Scotty’s birthday party in 2003.

About how many times have you seen them?
More then 20 but not as many times as Kayt!!!

Interviewer’s Note: Heh heh... Okay, everybody, please don’t compare yourselves to my growing list of Red Elvises shows seen ‘cos everyone who knows me knows or thinks I’m crazy, including Igor! I do appreciate the nod, it’s in some strange way rather flattering, albeit mildly startling, to be mentioned in an interview I’m conducting (lol), but I have always said it’s not quantity that counts the most but quality... i.e., enthusiasm! That feeling of joy in your heart and mind when you see Red Elvises...much more important than the number of times you’ve seen them. The question is here mainly for curiosity’s sake...we realize that not everyone has the opportunity to either see the band very often in a city or town near them and/or travel the country for Red Elvises shows so just enjoy them when and where you can and remember to keep having fun!

And now back to Kat...

What is it about Red Elvises that draws you to them, that you like the most?
I think my mother put it best when she stole my copy of "Six-String Samurai" by saying that they are captivating and really hold your attention. They have great stage presence. However and most importantly they are creative, funny and interesting individuals with a lot of talent. I look up to Oleg and Igor for their business decisions in keeping the Red Elvises under an independent label and the sacrifices that they have made to keep their creative rights when many other bands have seen the interest of big labels in their music as an easy way to make money. I am amazed at how they have been able to turn down the big labels that would have tried to change their music and taken away their freedom to write, create, tour, etc when they want to the way they want to. Not a lot of people realize that the music industry today is not a pretty, moneymaking place. And it shouldn’t be about the money anyway, but more about the art. I can see that Igor and Oleg care more about the music then the money and fame.

What’s the farthest you’ve traveled to see them? And do you have a good story around that?
I have seen them in San Diego, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Petaluma outside of all the Rusty’s and Orange County shows. So I guess Petaluma was the farthest. It’s about a 6 1/2-hour drive from LA. I actually drove to the last San Fran show in January with Jamie, Igor’s roommate. The show was sold out which was awesome. I ended up getting to the front of the audience and seeing the typical big gap between the first group of people and the stage and addressed the crowd with a “Oh gee look at all of this room. Why isn’t anyone getting closer? Igor doesn’t bite.” And ended up starting a conversation with seven different people at the same time. Most of them said that this was their 2nd or 3rd show; when they asked me I said, “Let’s just say more than ten.” It was a weird moment. I don’t know what I was on…

Which show is your favorite of the Red Elvises shows you've seen?
I have seen so many it’s hard to say.

Any other standout, all time great memories of shows you’ve seen so far?
Oleg singing falsetto on “Sex and Paradise” always makes me laugh.

What are your favorite Red Elvises songs?
“Scorchi Chorni,” “Telephone Call From Istanbul,” their rendition of “Wicked Game,” “Running Away,” “Welcome to the Freak Show,” “I Want To See You Belly Dance,” and “Million Miles.”

What would you like to see them do in the future? Any ideas? Anything you’d like to say to the band?
I would like to see them take more old Russian folk songs and remake them. They did a great job with “Scorchi Chorni.”

Okay, last question… Do you have anything you’d especially like to say to all the fans?
"Silence's most eloquent contradiction is music--not because music breaks silence with its sounds but because it interrupts its motion. All the arts do this: books freeze events between two covers, pictures pin them against a wall. But music goes viscerally to the source of our mortality. It stops time in its tracks and reinvents it. What a supernatural act it is to command a tempo and rhythm, to set time in motion and bring it to a halt. In a life of temporal endlessness, the musician who makes time start and stop plays at being God. This is music's comfort and its triumph: that somewhere there exists an antidote for decay." -Bernard Holland