Artist Information
Biography
“A profound songwriter and expressive singer, San Franciscan Kathy Kallick is a mountain gal at heart. Her singing has always been earthy and passionate. As a songwriter, she knows how to pen beautiful impressionistic pieces with memorable contemporary messages. A troubadour and exquisite storyteller, (her) arrangements are tightly crafted, with each song given its own non-formulaic treatment.”
—Joe Ross, BLUEGRASS NOW
Kathy Kallick has been among the elite of contemporary songwriters and singers since co-founding the internationally-acclaimed band, Good Ol’ Persons. Originally comprising five women including Kathy and Laurie Lewis, the Good Ol’ Persons tweaked the bluegrass establishment with not only with their name and personnel but also by combining contemporary sensibilities with a traditional foundation. Evolving into a unique and influential band, they were among the first musicians to incorporate swing, Latin, Cajun, and other folk musics into bluegrass, and were trailblazers in featuring the songwriting, lead playing, and singing of women.
These attributes, along with Kathy’s embracing of eclectic styles while rooted in classic bluegrass, continue to define her music. Along the way, she has ... won a Grammy and two IBMA Awards for her part on “True Life Blues: The Songs Of Bill Monroe” … had three title tracks and albums (“Call Me A Taxi,” “Walkin’ In My Shoes,” and “Warmer Kind Of Blue”) each spend close to a year in the upper echelon of the Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Survey (“the charts”) … performed and recorded with the Frank Wakefield Band … appeared on three high-profile Rounder collections of bluegrass songs by women … written and recorded award-winning music for children and families … toured throughout North America, Europe, and Japan … received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the California Bluegrass Association ... and … collaborated with some of the country’s top acoustic musicians.
THE KATHY KALLICK BAND is equally at home at a bluegrass festival, kids show, and folk concert, and band members are also experienced teachers as well as versatile, magnetic performers. Their shows are as engaging as they are memorable, always based in HOT BLUEGRASS & COOL ORIGINALS.
Everyone in the band harmonizes, and Tom, Dan, and Annie each sing a lead or three during a Kathy Kallick Band show.
Tom Bekeny (mandolin), who has been playing and singing with Kathy since 1996, is among the most adventurous mandolinists in the music, creating thrilling solos as well as solid backup by using influences ranging from his thorough grounding in blues to his mastery of Jesse McReynolds’ “split string” technique. Tom is a veteran of Laurie Lewis & Grant Street and Done Gone, and has been the fiddler in High Country, the west coast’s premier traditional bluegrass band, for nearly 20 years. Tom also plays in a jazz trio and recently released a mandolin instruction DVD.
Dan Booth (acoustic bass) has been playing and singing bluegrass for half of his 28 years. Born and raised in Alaska, where he performed with Ginger Boatwright, Bearfoot Bluegrass, and several regional groups, Dan’s now a Bay Area resident and part of 49 Special (winners of the 2009 RockyGrass band competition) and Homespun Rowdy as well as the KKB. He’s also a frequent guest with local and touring bands, recently with Ralph Stanley as well as the Laurie Lewis-Kathy Kallick Band. Dan’s soulful lead and harmony singing, as well as rock-solid bass playing, provide a perfect compliment to Kathy’s music.
Dan's Dad, Greg Booth (dobro, banjo), still lives in Anchorage, where, for many years, he’s played pedal steel guitar in country groups -- as well as banjo (which he first learned from Bill Emerson) and, more recently, dobro in legendary Alaskan bluegrass bands like Fault Line and Rank Strangers. Winner of the RockyGrass dobro competition in 2006 (after playing that instrument for only one year), regular participant in WinterGrass’ Resomania Workshop, and star of YouTube, "Greg's innovative, expressive dobro playing is even more remarkable." says guitarist Joe Karson, "when you consider that he employs no 'licks.'"
Annie Staninec (fiddle) has been playing gigs for half of her 22 years, beginning with the award-winning Donner Mountain and Lost Coast and the old time band, All Wrecked Up. She’s guested with Darol Anger's Republic of Strings, played with David Grisman’s Gypsy Caravan, won the 2008 and 2009 Fiddle Player of the Year award from the Northern California Bluegrass Society, as well as the 2006 Outstanding Young Musician award at Djangofest Northwest. Annie continues to play gypsy jazz, as well as recording and touring with Town Mountain (from Asheville, NC), and with Bay Area bands Deep Elem and Dark Hollow. Her collaboration with the KKB showcases her fiery soloing (think Scotty Stoneman meets Benny Martin), and gives her the chance to express lyrical, sensitive backup and charming singing.
“Kathy Kallick is a great singer in the bluegrass-country-folk idiom, and the show with her band included plenty of humor, pathos, zippy instrumentals, and country harmonies. And then there were the soaring moments that made me tingle.” - LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM
Instrumentation
Kathy Kallick: guitar, vocals
Tom Bekeny: mandolin, vocals
Dan Booth: acoustic bass, vocals
Greg Booth: dobro, banjo, vocals
Annie Staninec: fiddle, vocals
Discography
THE KATHY KALLICK BAND: Between the Hollow & the High-Rise (LIVE OAK)
THE KATHY KALLICK BAND: Warmer Kind Of Blue (COPPER CREEK)
THE KATHY KALLICK BAND: Walkin' In My Shoes (LIVE OAK)
KATHY KALLICK: Reason & Rhyme (COPPER CREEK)
KATHY KALLICK: My Mother’s Voice (COPPER CREEK)
KATHY KALLICK: Call Me A Taxi (SUGAR HILL)
KATHY KALLICK: Matters Of the Heart (SUGAR HILL)
KATHY KALLICK: Use A Napkin (Not Your Mom (SUGAR HILL)
KATHY KALIICK: What Do You Dream About? (LIVE OAK)
LAURIE LEWIS & KATHY KALLICK: Together (ROUNDER)
GOOD OL' PERSONS: Good N' Live (SUGAR HILL)
GOOD OL' PERSONS: Anywhere the Wind Blows (FLAT ROCK)
GOOD OL' PERSONS: Part Of A Story (FLAT ROCK)
GOOD OL' PERSONS: I Can't Stand To Ramble (FLAT ROCK)
GOOD OL' PERSONS: Good Ol' Persons (BAY)
SELECTED COMPILATIONS:
Blockbuster Bluegrass (COPPER CREEK)
The Voices Of Wintergrass 2004 (ACOUSTIC SOUND)
Lost & Found Sound and Beyond (The Kitchen Sisters) (HIGHBRIDGE)
California Picks (CALIFORNIA BLUEGRASS ASSOCIATION)
Fresh Faces At MerleFest (MERLEFEST.ORG)
American Lullaby (ELLIPSIS ARTS)
O Sister 2: A Women’s Bluegrass Collection (ROUNDER)
The Angels Are Singing: A Women’s Bluegrass Gospel Collection (ROUNDER)
Mother, Queen Of My Heart: A Collection of Songs Inspired by Mom (SUGAR HILL)
O Sister!: The Women’s Bluegrass Collection (ROUNDER)
Cool Blue and Lonesome: Bluegrass For the Broken-Hearted (SUGAR HILL)
Diamond Cuts: Baseball Songs and Poetry (HUNGRY FOR MUSIC)
True Life Blues: The Songs Of Bill Monroe - An All-Star Tribute To the Father Of Bluegrass (SUGAR HILL)
Tinsel Tunes: More Holiday Treats (SUGAR HILL)
25 Years Of Strictly Country Magazine (STRICTLY COUNTRY)
Telluride Bluegrass Festival: Incredibly Live (PLANET BLUEGRASS)
Who Will Calm the Storm (STRICTLY COUNTRY)
"Kathy Kallick is simply a great lead singer, with a voice that vividly expresses with power and clarity whatever emotions a lyric was meant to convey. [She also] displays her knack for writing burning bluegrass songs in a classic mode." - BLUEGRASS UNLIMITED
Links
Video
Photo Gallery
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Kathy
Download print quality (high-res) version -
Kathy, Dan, Greg
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Annie & Chad Manning
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KKB in SF
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First show at new Freight (photo by Mike Melnyk)
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Annie & Tom
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Greg & Dan (& Kathy)
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Lonesome Dan(g)
Press
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Review
[+ Show ]
“A profound songwriter and expressive singer, San Franciscan Kathy Kallick is a mountain gal at hear...
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Review
[+ Show ]
“Kathy Kallick is a great singer in the bluegrass-country-folk idiom, and the show with her band inc...
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Review
[+ Show ]
"Kathy Kallick is simply a great lead singer, with a voice that vividly expresses with power and cla...
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Review
[+ Show ]
"Kallick pays her deepest respects to the roots of bluegrass music. She just dresses it up a little,...
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Review
[+ Show ]
"A skillful songwriter with a knack for catchy melodies and thoughtful lyrics, Kallick's strong, ear...
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Review
[+ Show ]
"An outstanding band, led by Kathy Kallick who, given the breaks, could be the next ... [complete as...
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Use A Napkin (Not Your Mom)
"Lively ... humorous ... thoughtful ... historical ... merry music. Recommended."
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Use A Napkin (Not Your Mom)
[+ Show ]
"The most exciting children's recording I1ve heard in years, (with) stellar vocal and guitar work, g...
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Use A Napkin (Not Your Mom)
"A delightful package of toe-tapping, Appalachian-style tunes. Highest rating!"
Setlist
1. Broken Tie (KK)
2. Call Me A Taxi (KK)
3. Come Walk With Me (Josh Graves)
4. Panhandle Rag (from Bob Wills)
5. Wildflowers (KK)
6. Where Is My Little Cabin Home (KK)
7. Cotton-Eyed Joe (trad)
8. Ralph's Banjo Special (Ralph Stanley)
9. Warmer Kind of Blue (KK)
10. You Took Me Away (KK)
11. Don't Let Your Deal Go Down (trad)
12. Blue Night (from Bill Monroe)
13. Waterbound (trad)
1. Close By (from Bill Monroe)
2. Burn Down The House (KK)
3. Whistle-Stop Town (KK)
4. Monobrow (GB)
5. Evangelina (Hoyt Axton)
6. Dark As the Night, Blue As the Day (from Bill Monroe)
7. New White House Blues (Charlie Poole -> KK)
8. The Snow (KK)
9. Billy In the Lowground (trad)
10. A Lonesome Night (Stanley Brothers)
11. Rock Hearts (Jimmy Martin)
12. Girl Next Door (KK)
13. Walkin’ In My Shoes (KK)
1. East Virginia Blues (trad)
2. Hard Hearted (Jim & Jesse)
3. Friend of Mine (KK)
4. The Messenger (KK)
5. Old Red Mandolin (TB)
6. Send Me Your Address From Heaven (Red Allen)
7. My Native Home (Carter Family)
8. Thinkin' Of Home (Vern & Ray)
9. Thoughts Of Love & Home (KK)
10. North Carolina Breakdown (Arthur Smith)
11. Honky Tonk Blues (Hank Williams)
12. I Won't Do It Again (KK)
13. Cindy (trad)
