Kate Russell

Artist Information

Biography

Coining the phrase "Barbecue Music" to describe her first CD release Powerful Stuff, multi-talented musician, composer, singer and songwriter Kate Russell says, "It's the kind of fun, dancing, rocking music you want to hear while you're socializing at a barbecue."

A native of Australia whose years in the U.S. have not affected her irresistibly charming accent one bit, Russell is eager to clue Stateside country fans in on a little secret: that barbecues and the contemporary kind of music she makes are just as popular Down Under as they are in the United States.

Russell draws upon a unique array of influences in creating her distinctive musical sound. She uses the phrase "Keith Urban meets Bonnie Raitt" to best describe her blend of Aussie style, soulful vocals, insightful and emotional songwriting and accomplished musicianship. Yet her remarkable lower register vocal timbre has the unmistakable stamp of an even earlier inspiration, Karen Carpenter.

Powerful Stuff was produced in Los Angeles with Rich Mouser, who has worked with artists like Oleander, Tears For Fears, Dream Theatre, and did tracks for the American Pie 2 soundtrack, with additional production by Clyde Brooks in Nashville. Brooks, who has worked with Curb and Polygram with such artists as Ronna Reeves and Perfect Stranger, is an accomplished Nashville studio drummer with over 6,000 sessions to his credit, including dates with Dolly Parton, Dwight Yoakum, George Jones and Little Richard.

"Kate is an artist who brings soul and lyrical imagery to everything that she sings," Brooks says. "She is an eclectic singer/songwriter who approaches her artistry from a standpoint of integrity. It has been a pleasure to work with her both musically and personally."

kate pic 2The Sydney-born Russell, who credits her parents for passing their deep love of music on to her, began singing at age five and was soon harmonizing with her grandmother, who sang what Russell calls "light opera." She started piano lessons around seven, and by the time she was in her teens was playing and singing at local hotels and restaurants.

Russell remembers playing for the first time in a club in the western suburbs of Sydney. "The next time I played there, it was standing room only," she says. "This was one of the first times I realized that I could someday make music for a living."

She carried her passions and growing ambition to the United States, studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. A former marathon runner who once competed in qualifying races for the Olympic trials, and a tri-athlete as well, Russell spent many harsh Beantown winters dedicated to training. "After my runs, I would have sweat frozen to my body," she says.

A few years later, studying for her degree in Music Composition at a college in North Texas, she performed Top 40 songs in a band between exams. Russell then moved to San Pedro, California, a small town outside of L.A. where she taught as an adjunct professor at a college, and where she currently gives private vocal and piano instruction. While establishing herself on the West Coast, she also took her upbeat style overseas to entertain troops on a Department of Defense tour of the Pacific Rim, including Hawaii, Southeast Asia and Guam.

kate pic3Drawing an analogy between songwriting and another longtime passion of hers, surfing (which she once considered turning into a professional career), Russell says, "Surfing is a composition all on its own. It's about watching a wave and designing how you're going to ride it. There's nothing quite like the freedom of surfing on a day that's clear - the sun, the water. It's a peaceful place to be."



"I'm really excited about people's reactions to the songs on Powerful Stuff, and I'm looking forward to getting out there and performing, which is something I've always been totally at home with," she says. "I think I'm writing the best songs of my life. I've reached a place that I want to be with my writing, and I'd like to branch out and write songs for other people, too. I also wouldn't mind doing film scores. I enjoy doing any composing, from a simple three-minute song to a symphonic piece. I've never believed in setting limits for myself, and I can't wait to share all I have with the world."

Kate's music is a cross between country and rock so she can perform at country,rock, roots festivals and venues.

She is an expatriate Australian who moved to the USA to go to college and now lives in California.

She began singing at age 5 and took piano lessons at age seven and grew up listening to all kinds of music due to her Dad's influence. After graduating from college she played in bars in Texas, then moved out to LA to teach at a college.

Her cd Powerful Stuff was produced in LA and Nashville by Kate Russell, Rich Mouser (Tears For Fears, Oleander) and Clyde Brooks (Polygram and Curb artists).

A quote from Clyde Brooks. "Kate is an artist who brings soul and lyrical imagery to everything she sings".
Her music has been described as a cross between
Bonnie Raitt and Keith Urban "Country barbecue music."

Kate performed at the Monterey Bay Blues Festival recently and opened for Leon Russell, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Great White, The Blasters etc.
She has done radio tours in the midwest and will be
doing more in Texas, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Instrumentation

Kate Russell- vocals/keyboards
John De Patie - guitar
Gil Domingue- guitar
Chris Roy- bass
George Dum- drums

Discography

Cd- Powerful Stuff - 4 singles released playing on major,secondary and tertiary radio stations in the USA nationally. Also she has radio play in Germany, France ,The Netherlands,Poland,Austria, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Scotland,the UK, Australia and New Zealand
Video - Powerful Stuff played regionally on 44 stations- some national.
Kate has a new Cd entitled "Kicking Down The Door".

Official Website

http://www.katerussellonline.com

Audio

• POWERFUL STUFF
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• TALK IS CHEAP
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• BITTERSWEET
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• BETTER DAYS
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• WHAT IS LOVE?
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• TABLE 32
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• THE MAN HE COULD BE
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• Our Redneck Neigbor
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• Red Cloud Road
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• Coyote Moon
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• Damned If I Do
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Lyrics

• Better Days
• Powerful Stuff
• Talk Is Cheap
• The Man He Could Be

Video

Powerful Stuff

Photo Gallery

Press

• As seen on Smother.net [+ Show ]
  

  As seen on Smother.net July 9, 2006. Australian country?! Yes. Nashville better prepare itself f...As seen on Smother.net
  July 9, 2006.
  
  Australian country?! Yes. Nashville better prepare itself for the hot and sultry voice of Kate Russell whose Australian outback roots give her a distinct feel much different from her Nashville compatriots.
  
  Mumbling something about putting more than just shrimp on the Barbie, Russell culls powerful hooks and flips burgers with her huge throaty vocals. Kneeslappin’ honky tonk that will get you dancin’ in no time.
  
  - J-Sin

• As seen on Neufutur.com [+ Show ]
  

  As seen on Neufutur.com July 26, 2006 I thought Kate Russell was a movie star? Maybe I’m just th...As seen on Neufutur.com
  July 26, 2006
  
  I thought Kate Russell was a movie star? Maybe I’m just thinking of Kurt Russell and Kate Winslet? Anyways, that has nothing to do with what is present on Kate Russell’s album “Powerful Stuff”. The album cover does not immediately clue individuals in to what style of music that Russell would be creating for this album; current country is what individuals will get when “Powerful Stuff” is put on the changer. There is nothing to hold Russell back from putting out “Powerful Stuff” (the first track) out as a single for the country video music stations.
  
  The track seems to be in line with all of the rest of the music that are played on the channels, albeit a little more serious than say a “Redneck Yacht Club”. The track feels descended much more from the seventies Southern rock tradition than from the fifties and sixties vein of country. This means that there is a good chance that Russell could conceivably make one or two tracks on “Powerful Stuff” into crossover hits. The type of country / rock / whatever that Russell commits to “Powerful Stuff” is varied; this means that “Stranded” throws in a little ZZ Top and Ted Nugent with the Dixie Chicks style that they adopts during this track.
  
  The only thing that can be construed as a negative during “Stranded” is that the guitar solo sounds a little canned, even if it does work with the rest of the track well. There is something that resembles a ballad during “What Is Love”; Russell is able to slow down the tempo without completely killing the momentum that they accumulated during the first few tracks of “Powerful Stuff”. The use of a piano during this track is a nice addition, even if it only seems to cement the formula that Russell uses during “Powerful Stuff”. This formula is to build the vocal side of things heavily and then going into a solo, whether it be piano or guitar, and then coming back into the vocal tradition. Russell puts out a country album that will easily shoot up the country-pop charts in the near future. If you are a fan of stuff like Shania Twain or Gretchen Wilson, then “Powerful Stuff” may be up your alley. If you are a fan of metal, or punk, or anything “hard”, there is just not much here to help get listeners on Russell’s bandwagon.
  
  Top Tracks: Stranded, Open My Eyes

• As seen on IndieCore.com [+ Show ]
  

  As seen on IndieCore.com, July 27, 2006. Kate Russell Debut Coming On Halloween Australian Si...As seen on IndieCore.com,
  July 27, 2006.
  
  Kate Russell Debut Coming On Halloween
  
  Australian Singer-Songwriter Teams Her Own Urunga With Indie Aspirion
  
  Australian-bred singer-songwriter Kate Russell with release her debut album "Powerful Stuff" on Halloween, October 31st. Costumes to listn will be optional. Russell and her label imprint Urunga Records have forged d a distribution deal with Nashville-based indie Aspirion Records.
  
  The first single from “Powerful Stuff” is the title track, which has already been issued. Russell worked with two producers on the album: Rich Mouser (Oleander, Tears For Fears) and Clyde Brooks (Ronna Reeves, Perfect Stranger). She describes her musical sound as “Keith Urban meets Bonnie Raitt.”
  
  Aspirion Records Group is distributed nationally by Navarre Corporation. The company has developed a record label program specifically designed to increase an artist’s sphere of influence and public awareness.

• Kate makes an A in Arizona. [+ Show ]
  

  Kate makes an A in Arizona. August 10, 2006 Grade: A CORKY SIMPSON Tucson Citizen "Powerful S...Kate makes an A in Arizona.
  August 10, 2006
  
  Grade: A
  CORKY SIMPSON
  Tucson Citizen
  "Powerful Stuff" (Urunga Records)
  
  "Powerful Stuff" is a good title for Kate Russell's new country CD. It describes the singer perfectly.
  
  The native Australian is a former marathon runner and triathlete. She competed in Olympic qualifying races. All of this may help explain her powerful stuff, but George Peden of CountryStarsOnline.com put it best when he wrote that Russell has "a voice that could power light bulbs."
  
  A multitalented musician, writer and singer, Russell first played in a club in the suburbs of Sydney. When she returned for a second engagement, the place was packed. "That was one of the first times I realized I could someday make music for a living," she said.
  
  She lists Patsy Cline, Floyd Cramer, Patty Loveless and Australian artist Slim Dusty among her musical influences.
  
  This CD is a beautifully arranged track, upbeat and well . . . just a lot of fun in addition to being "Powerful Stuff."
  
  Clyde Brooks, co-producer, said of Russell: "Kate is an artist who brings soul and lyrical imagery to everything she sings."
  
  No kidding. In "Better Days," she delivers these lyrics: "The dog tried jumping out the window of my second-story flat . . . had to find a ladder to put him back . . . now parking tickets wallpaper my pickup truck . . . a country girl in the city is down on her luck . . . ah ah ah ha, just down on her luck."
  
  But Russell's luck couldn't be better with the release of this fine album.
  
  Kate Russell’s debut single “Powerful Stuff” is currently in regular rotation at 91 country stations nationwide. Sixty stations have the single in significant rotation (1 to 5x’s daily).
  
  Kate recently was interviewed on WXJB by DJ Brian OBrien who championed her music .
  
  The video “ Powerful Stuff” is in rotation at 35 clubs and video stations nation wide.
  
  Kate is releasing a new single” Talk Is Cheap” in September 2006.

• Three Stars for Kate [+ Show ]
  

  Three Stars for Kate As written online evolutionofmedia.com Looks like Keith Urban isn’t going...Three Stars for Kate
  
  As written online evolutionofmedia.com
  
  Looks like Keith Urban isn’t going to be the Australian Country singer on the block anymore; meet newcomer Kate Russell and her debut album Powerful Stuff.
  
  Boasting exotic looks similar to fellow Aussie Lucy Lawless and a powerful voice that’s a cross between early 70’s Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt, Russell appears to have the goods right off the bat for achieving fame and fortune. Then you notice that she can write songs too.
  
  The songs on Powerful Stuff mostly deal with Country music’s favorite topics: falling for the wrong man and/or being wronged by said man. Ordinarily this would be standard stuff, but Russell’s delivery of her stories is sincere and, in places, heart wrenching--as if she had lived through some of these broken love affairs. She pours it on in “Stranded”, “Open My Eyes” and, especially, “Talk Is Cheap”, exuding vulnerability and strength simultaneously.
  
  Kudos must go to co-producer Richard Mouser, who nominally works with rock artists (Tears For Fears, Dream Theater, and Spock’s Beard are some of the bands he’s produced), for his crisp and concise production; and to the musicians--particularly Spock’s Beard drummer Nick De Virgilio--for giving Russell’s Country/Rock/Blues tunes the extra kick they needed to make them seem special.
  
  As Country albums go, Kate Russell’s debut has the goods to make it on Country radio--in a just world “Talk Is Cheap” should be a big hit--and “Powerful Stuff” and “Outback Shuffle”, a possibly autobiographical nod to her Aussie roots, could even make it on Adult Alternative Rock radio given half a chance. In any case, Powerful Stuff is no-frills Country music that warrants your attention.
  
  Written By: Gina Morris

• Kate Russell Press release [+ Show ]
  

  Kate has just returned from Nashville where she performed at the CMA Country Music Festival. Recen...Kate has just returned from Nashville where she performed
  at the CMA Country Music Festival.
  Recent career highlights include
  licensing "Powerful Stuff" to Warren Miller Enterprises for his Webisodes
  which follow the Toyota Extreme Sports Team across the USA.
  She will also be doing a mini tour of San Diego to coincide with an interview on the San Diego Morning News.
  Kate toured Central and Northern California in September 2007.
  She visited radio stations and performed at live venues.
  Highlights were the KNCI radio concert in Sacramento, opening for Leon Russell.
  
  
  

• Media Quotes [+ Show ]
  

  " I really like Kate's sound" Tanya Campos KKGO Los Angeles "That was really some powerful stuf..." I really like Kate's sound"
  Tanya Campos KKGO Los Angeles
  
  "That was really some powerful stuff"
  Dan Plante, KUSI Morning news
  
  It's reat to play an exciting song like powerful stuff"
  DJ Ralph, KPLM 106 Palm Springs
  
  "An amazing show"
  Sam Gambrell, production manager
  CMA Riverfront stages
  
  

• Press Release 2008 [+ Show ]
  

  Kate Russell, multi talented performer who describes her unique vibe as Country Barbecue Music - ...Kate Russell, multi talented
  performer who describes her unique vibe as Country Barbecue Music -
  is keeping this exciting career
  momentum going with more
  powerful musical stuff in 2008.
  In March she is launching
  another national radio campaign
  for "The Man He Could Be", the
  infectious first single from her
  upcoming album "Kicking Down The Door".
  The collection is being released by Urunga Records in association with Aspirion Records Group.
  The Russell-penned song about a woman who daydreams about the potential her boyfriend could reach with a little work is going for adds
  at major counry radio outlets across
  the country. She recently finished shooting the video for the track
  in Nashville; the clip features an appearance by Randy Khors, who has played with numerous country superstars(Dolly Parton, Hank Williams Jr, Dierks Bentley) and is considered by some "the best dobro player on the planet."
  On February 6th Russell heads over
  to Germany for big shows at the Country Music Messe in Berlin and the Blues Garage in Isernhagen.
  On March 8th she is hosting a pre- CD release party at one of her favorite spots in California wine country, The Maverick Saloon" in Santa Ynez before kicking off her official "Kicking Down The Door"
  tour in the Bay Area.
  Kae who co-produced Powerful Stuff with veteran producers Rich Mouser
  and Clyde Brooks, takes charge as the main producer on the ten tracks
  of Kicking Down The Door; Rich Mouser is her co-producer.
  The artist wrote or co-wrote eight of the ten tracks. The collection also features bassist David Hungate, a
  top Nashville session player who is well known for his work as a member of 70s and 80s supergroup Toto.
  
  

Setlist

Powerful Stuff (Covers listed as well scroll down)
Stranded
What is Love
Better Days
Open My Eyes
Talk Is Cheap
Bittersweet
Vanish Into The Night
Faster Than The Cat
Outback Shuffle
Mr Right
The Man He Could Be
Our Redneck Neighbor
Low Percentage
Coyote Moon
Red Cloud Road
Damned If I Do
Table 32
Kick Down The Door

Typically a set goes from 45-60 minutes.
We can play longer- yes we do classic rock covers

COVERS:
What's In it for me/Breathe - Faith Hill
This One's For The Girls- Martina McBride

Leave The Pieces The Wreckers
Crazy/Walkin' After Midnight - Patsy Cline
Here For The Party/Redneck Woman- Gretchen Wilson
Hotel California/Tequila Sunrise- The Eagles
Shania Twain Medley- Whose Boots/I Feel Like A Woman/Up
Something To Talk About/I Can't Make You Love Me- Bonnie Raitt
Delicious Surprise- Jo Dee Messina
A Real Fine Place To Start- Sarah Evans
Landslide- The Dixie Chicks

You're No Good/When Will I be Loved- Linda Ronstadt
Love You- Jack Ingram
5 o'clock Somewhere/Margaritaville- Jimmy Buffet
Takin' Care Of Business- Bachman Turner Overdrive
China Grove- Doobie Bros
Ride Like The Wind- Christopher Cross
Dreams/Don't Stop- Fleetwood Mac
Breakdown/Freefallin'- Tom Petty
Down In Mississippi And Up To No Good- Sugarland
One Way Out/Jessica/Midnight Rider- Allman Bros
Sweet Home Alabama/Freebird- Lynard Skynard
There Goes Another Love Song- The Outlaws
Sharp Dressed Man- ZZ Top
Out My Back Door/Proud Mary- CCR
Poor Pitiful Me- Terri Clark
Hold On Loosely- 38 special
The Devil Went Down In Georgia- Charlie Daniels
Car Wheels On a Gravel Road- Lucinda Williams
La Vida Loca- Pam Tillis
Blame It On Your Heart- Patty Loveless
455 Rocket- Kathy Mattea
A Change'll Do You Good/ The First Cut- Sheryl Crowe
Bobby Magee- Janis Joplin
Come To My Window- Melissa Etheridge
Rhiannon- Stevie Nicks
Heartless- Anne Wilson
Don't Blink/Summertime - Kenny Chesney
Somebody Like You- Keith Urban
Like We Never Loved at All- Faith Hill/Tim McGraw
Save A Horse Ride a Cowboy- Big and Rich
Honky Tonk Badonkadonk- Trace Adkins
My Town- Montgomery Gentry
Firecracker- Josh Turner
What Was I Thinkin'- Dierks Bentley
Hicktown- Jason Aldean
Friends In Low Places/ When the Sun Comes Up-Garth Brooks
I Love This Bar- Toby Keith
Ring Of Fire- Johnny Cash
Live Like You Were Dying- Tim McGraw
Shadows In The Moonlight- Anne Murray


Plus more.... we can tailor a list to fit your requirements.

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