Kat Devlin

Artist Information

Biography

Santa Barbara songstress Kat Devlin has been playing righteously and regularly along the California Coast since moving from New York three years ago, rocking clubs from the House of Blues in West Hollywood to Santa Barbara’s SOhO.

Influenced by classic one-namers like Dolly, Ani, Dylan and Joni, and crooning indies like Belle and Sebastian and Neko Case, Kat has created a country-hipster sound that has attracted the attention of listeners near and far. She’s been featured in print (Glide, Music! Sounds of Santa Barbara, Velvet Park, to name a few), on the radio (Treble Clef Live, Proboscis Radio Hour, Key Moments on the Krush), and on television (MusicalCafe TV). And she’s been rocking in the studio.

Kat released her first full-length album, “The Voyage Out,” in August 2010. The record features Ona’s Bear Erickson on slide and bass, and Santa Barbara rhythm marvel Nate Keezer on drums, and ranges from driving rockers (“This is Just to Say”) to twangy waltzes (“Aubade”). The trio reunited in the studio in fall 2011, adding Andrew Kalaidjian on keys and vocals, and Betsy Wise on cello, to record as Kat Devlin and the White Whale (with Kat doing the singing, guitar, (and mandolin!) thing). Kat and band emerged after an intense two-week recording extravaganza with the “REM Cycle” extended EP. The 6-song EP was recorded up at Erickson Sound Labs in Buellton, Calif., and gives some indie-pop legs to Kat’s folk-country sound in tunes like the twee-beated “Dear Emmi,” and the sweet and sultry “REM Cycle #3.”

In addition to gigging with the White Whale, Kat continues a full schedule of solo performances, creating a larger sound through the expert use of a loop station that transforms her music into a symphony of vocal percussion, soloing guitar, and layered vocals.

Kat’s music feels like the Weepies; with folk like Mumford and Sons; and a voice like a Wailin’ Jenny. You’re gonna love it.

Instrumentation

Kat Devlin: vocals, guitar, loop station

Discography

2011 - REM Cycle
extended studio EP
"Dear Emmi"
"Adirondack Day"
"4 o'clock light"
"REM Cycle #3"
"Our Brooklyn Place"
"Big Ivan"

2010 - The Voyage Out
full-length studio album
"Ghost Stories"
"This is Just to Say"
"Watertown"
"Ocean Song"
"Song from Shannon"
"Running"
"Drawing"
"Been There Before"
"Over You"
"Aubade"
"Paris"

2009 - Ghost Stories EP
"Aubade"
"Ghost Stories"

2008 - California EP
"Carolyn"
"California"
"How Long"

2007 - Chapters of Ink EP
"A Song From Shannon"
"Running"
"Falling Into You"
"Over You"
"Touch of a Girl"

Links

• Twitter
• Kat Devlin web site
• Facebook
• Bandcamp

Audio

• This is Just to Say
  Listen  
• Running
  Listen  
• Ghost Stories
  Listen  
• Aubade
  Listen  
• Ocean Song
  Listen  

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Treble Clef – Kat Devlin by Jeff Sandstoe, 12/8/10 [+ Show ]
  

  On the December 3rd edition of “TREBLE CLEF LIVE” host Leigh Swansborough welcomed Santa Barbara ...On the December 3rd edition of “TREBLE CLEF LIVE” host Leigh Swansborough welcomed Santa Barbara based singer song writer Kat Devlin. Performing songs from her debut album “The Voyage Out”, the California Celtic Country singer openly talked about her move from Brooklyn to Santa Barbara, and her experiences as an indie artist in Santa Barbara.
  
  

• Singer-songwriter Kat Devlin by Jenny Aisenberg [+ Show ]
  

  If you¡¯re anything like me, you probably spent most of the 90¡¯s ignoring all music that wasn¡¯t g... If you¡¯re anything like me, you probably spent most of the 90¡¯s ignoring all music that wasn¡¯t girls with acoustic guitars, and worshipped blissfully at the altars of Ani, Dar, and the Indigo Girls. Newport Folk Festival? I manned the recycling booth the summer after 9th grade, thank you, and saw all 3 of the folk-dyke Holy Trinity on the same day¨C way before Lilith Fair was even dreamed up down at girlpower headquarters (and yes, yes, I know Dar Williams isn¡¯t a dyke. But try telling that to a mob of Smithies, and you will get beat down). If this in any way resembles your adolescence, if you enjoy the soulful and only occasionally angsty strummings of scrappy young riot grrrrlz with something to say and the voice to belt it, then get thee down to Brooklyn for a visit to Park Slope¡¯s Perch Cafe. If you¡¯re lucky, you¡¯ll catch a set from Kat Devlin.
  
  You don¡¯t have to wait around for your Thursday night to open up, either, you busy little city girl! Just cruise on over to www.katdevlin.com, where you can listen to sample tracks, buy music, and check show dates. If ¡°Touch of a Girl (Gay)¡± doesn¡¯t bring a wiseass grin to your face, you are not only not queer, you are in fact dispossessed of all human qualities (I¡¯d find a therapist if I were you). I sat down with the Minnesota-born singer/songwriter over brunch at Sotto Voce last Sunday, and over unlimited mimosas and homemade pound cake, discussed musical identity, roots, and how to pick a good song for church.
  
  Jenny Aisenberg: As a young, up and coming musician in New York City, do you worry about being pigeonholed as a queer artist? Do you want to be known as a lesbian musician? Is that something that boxes you in, or is it simply descriptive?
  
  Kat Devlin: I think it¡¯s absolutely the latter. The music industry is a really tough place, and you have to find your niche¡­I think there¡¯s a real deficit of out singer/songwriters. A lot of my music is about that process¡­ I remember listening to music as a kid and changing the pronouns, you know? There are songs out there that are so obviously about being gay, but they were always afraid to talk about it. I mean, come, who are you kidding? I think the pronouns are really important; the stories are there, and I didn¡¯t feel like they were being told by the music I was listening to. Am I worried about being pigeonholed? No. I think it¡¯s fine if I¡¯m thought of as a lesbian singer/songwriter, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll appeal only to lesbian audiences. I think with my music, I just had to embrace it and be honest about it; it was too hard not to talk about it. And no, I¡¯m not going to have a thousand songs about ¡°thank you for making me gay¡­¡±
  
  JA: I love that song! (laughter)
  
  KD: Right¨C to be able to say it, and then move beyond it.
  
  JA: You can¡¯t move beyond it unless you¡¯re able to say it.
  
  KD: Exactly.
  
  JA: Like when I was in all these creative writing seminars in high school, and my friends would always say, ¡°you know, all your stories are about gay people. Don¡¯t you think you should try to write some different kinds of characters?¡± But at the same time, all their characters were straight, because that¡¯s what they knew.
  
  KD: Right! It¡¯s the same situation. You¡¯ve got to tell it like it is.
  
  JA: What are some of your main resources as an emerging musician in the city? Other than open mic night at Cattyshack, I mean.
  
  
  
  KD: New York City is the best place for someone in my situation. I could play every night of the week¨C and sometimes I do! Because you¡¯re always reaching new audiences. Maybe I go to some open mic night, and 4 people go to my website; but that¡¯s 4 people who haven¡¯t heard of me before. After that, it¡¯s all about getting my CD out in the next few months.
  
  JA: That¡¯s really exciting¨C have you always known that this was what you were going to do with your life? Have you always been writing music?
  
  KD: I have. My sister and I got our first guitars when I was 12 and she was 16; we got these $99 shit Epiphone guitars. And ever since we¡¯ve been playing and writing together. I still have most of those early songs, and they¡¯re really bad. (laughs) But you have to do it, and I guess it¡¯s better to write those songs when you¡¯re 15 instead of waiting till you¡¯re 25. But at that age, I lacked a lot of confidence¡­actually, my girlfriend Shannon has really changed that. Having someone there who sees you and says, ¡°wow, you got it. You just have to, you know, DO it.¡± And that¡¯s been a big thing for me since I moved to New York: being a musician, not just someone who plays music.
  
  JA: Did you do a lot of formal training as a kid? Or were those $99 Epiphones the beginning?
  
  KD: Growing up, I did the whole piano lesson thing. And I played French horn in the school band¡­
  
  JA: That¡¯s the one with the big loop-de-loop, right?
  
  KD: Yeah! (laughs) I played that for years.
  
  JA: I haven¡¯t seen that at Cattyshack yet.
  
  KD: No, no, I haven¡¯t added that into my set yet. But in high school I did a lot of these singer/songwriter nights; then when I got to college I was in an a-capella group, and left the guitar for a while. But I think that was really good for me. My musicianship changed and improved a lot, just being in that group¨C having to have a good dynamic, and work with other people, arranging songs, learning theory, really working. So it was really cool.
  
  JA: How important do you think theory is for your music?
  
  KD: Well since I¡¯m no good with theory, I tend to say that it¡¯s not. (laughs)
  
  JA: Is it too tired to ask you what are some of your biggest influences?
  
  KD: I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too tired at all. Well obviously there¡¯s Ani, I think she¡¯s my end-all-be-all when it comes to music; I really do believe that she¡¯s changed the way music works. Her guitar playing is just phenomenal. She can be up there on the stage by herself or with just a bassist, and all of a sudden these orchestral sounds start coming out of her guitar. And don¡¯t even get me started on lyrics. She¡¯s absolutely up there. My sister and I were also big Indigo Girls fans. Back when we were first learning, we would sit there and sing it out to the harmonies. We sang ¡°The Power of 2¡å in church, which is a very dumb song to sing in church¨C we just thought we could get away with it if we said it was ¡°God¡¯s hand¡± on your knee.
  
  JA: Do you have a dream venue in New York where you fantasize about playing?
  
  KD: Well I¡¯d love to start playing bigger venues¡­I definitely dream about packing the Knitting Factory. But honestly, that¡¯s not even in my imagination right now.
  
  JA: Well, it IS in your imagination¡­
  
  KD: Okay, yeah. But way in the back.
  
  

• Your Weekly Women to Listen To by Mia Jones, 12/15/10 [+ Show ]
  

  File Under: Singer songwriter, acoustic folk From: California For Fans Of: Dar Williams, Ani Dif...File Under: Singer songwriter, acoustic folk
  From: California
  For Fans Of: Dar Williams, Ani Difranco’s Not So Soft album, herbal tea, spice gardens, hemp.
  

Setlist

Kat's has played shows of 15 minutes to 4 hours.

Kat's original songs include:
"California," "Carolyn," "How Long," "Watertown," "This is Just to Say," "Been There Before," "Redeemable,"
"Paris," "A Song From Shannon," "Running," "Falling Into You," "Over You," "Touch of a Girl," "Slowness," "Two Hours," "Bound," "An Emo Love Song," "Tree Tattoo," "Annie," "Drawing," and more ... many more.

Kat occasionally plays covers, including a brilliant all-looped a cappella version of "Both Hands" by Ani DiFranco, a number of Ben Harper Tunes, and others that move her.

Basic Requirements

Calendar