Music
Press
January 1 2006
Without a doubt the sizzle on the Valdosta scene is definately Blackeyed Katy. While their adventures have recently brought them up to where the Eleventh Hour's Mother Ship hovers, we've gotten the chance to see these fellows rise to the top, fine musicianship, endless jams, and something a lot of "jammers" miss out on, honest songs. While they still cover, they are breaking from that mold it seems, and we feel this is going to elevate them to a new level in the world. Make sure you are watching. - The Eleventh Hour
Blackeyed Katy
This up-and-coming South Georgia organic rock group first hit town a few weeks ago and played a few last-minute gigs at JJ Cagney’s with little fanfare. Those who were in attendance say they were blown away by the band’s songcraft and musical interaction.
Led by the Waycross-born vocalist and rhythm guitarist Jared Perkins, the band’s anchor is the impressive rhythm section of bassist Rory Hoke (a George Porter, Jr. acolyte) and drummer Justin Moore, whose nuanced use of dynamics betrays an affinity for both jazz, and the muscular playing of The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Mitch Mitchell.
Above and beyond their unabashedly anthemic arena-jams that instantly suggest a weird amalgam of The Dave Matthews Band and Pearl Jam (can we say “ca-ching?”), their printed setlist includes hits by The Who and The Rolling Stones. I’m not sure if “Dr. Detroit” is a cover of the DEVO tune from the Dan Ackroyd/TK Carter film of the same name, but just on the odd chance that it is – that’s reason enough to make the show in my book. Tues., 10 pm, Fiddler’s Crab House. - Connect Savannah Magazine
Great things are happening for Blackeyed Katy. The band is lined up for a 40-city Southeast Summer tour, their new album is currently available on iTunes, Napster, CDBaby and 35 other digital media outlets (and soon to be released in stores this summer) and they've got two dates lined up in Macon that gives everyone a chance to catch them in the act before they make it big. The South Georgia rock band is full of energy, as well as a mix of players that bring everything from Americana, funk, jazz and jam band influences to the stage. - Eleventh Hour Magazine
Southbound Beat Magazine www.southboundbeat.com March 16, 2006 Iissue
Blackeyed Katy
CD – Dealin’
Blackeyed Katy is one of those bands that you can’t quite classify. They are form Georgia and have a southern sound, but they are not Southern rock. They have the standard two guitars, bass, and drums rock line-up, but they often sound more acoustic than electric.
They are listed on jambase.com, but only one of the ten tracks here goes over five minutes, although David Lee’s electric guitar comes to the forefront on occasion. And they sound different on different ones, with influences that seem to range from Pearl Jam to Bob Dylan (honestly, I wrote this before I saw the same thing written about them at cdbaby.com).
Singer Jared Perkins has a lot to do with the group’s sound, with heartfelt vocals on songs. There is a lot of attention to songwriting, with songs like “Glory and Grievance” going beyond the usual relationship songs.
Something different from a band whose members are young but have been playing for a long time, and it shows.
Web site at http://www.blackeyedkaty.com.
- Dave Howell
- Southbound Beat
By Dean Poling
dean.poling@gaflnews.com
REMERTON
Blackeyed Katy is a band itching to get started.
Speaking to the local band a few hours prior to a recent gig at Loozie
Anna's, the guys are relaxed, funny and open about recent developments. They smoke cigarettes, sip drinks, laugh, joke, and chat seated at a table on the back deck of Loozie's.
Yet, just under the surface, Blackeyed Katy is ready to get on with it. And that doesn't mean the show a few hours away, either.
No, Blackeyed Katy is looking down the road, a road which will likely have them touring across the Southeast and other American locales, as hopefully the band's name becomes better known and their music becomes familiar to
more listeners outside of South Georgia.
"Yeah, we're ready to cram into a van and deal with four stinky guys on the road. That won't be too different for us actually," says Jared Perkins, Blackeyed Katy's lead vocalist, chief co-songwriter and rhythm guitarist.
The band has a new CD, "Dealin'" which is a beautiful, powerful, elegant, and stunning (insert your wondrous, positive adjectives here, and you will not go wrong) album of 10 original songs. The album features the Blackeyed Katy line-up of Perkins; David Lee, lead guitar; Rory Hoke, bass guitar,co-songwriter; Trey Reed, drums.
Nashville, Tenn.'s The Cordell Group label backs the project and is plotting a touring schedule that should keep the guys on the road and playing. Though the CD has just been released, the band has experienced a membership change in the past month with Reed leaving the band and Justin Moore
stepping in as the new drummer.
With this new line-up and the new CD, each member is ready to hit the road.
There are no "day job" schedules to juggle. No school schedules. For the past several months, the band has dedicated itself to Blackeyed Katy and, now, each member is ready to up that commitment by spending weeks together on tour.
Equally committed to Blackeyed Katy is The Cordell Group, which signed the band, produced the album, and is reportedly scheduling the tour.
Many local bands have CDs, but few have an album that was backed by a label.
Many local bands save money, purchase recording time at a studio and, in a day, record an album.
In Blackeyed Katy's case, according to the band, "Dealin'" started several months ago with a label rep saying he wanted to record the group following a
Blackeyed Katy gig in a Remerton club. There were a few contacts between the label rep and the band. Blackeyed Katy listened to what he had to say, but Perkins admits they were skeptical. Cold cash outweighed skepticism, though, when the rep laid $1,000 on the table, asking if that was enough money to get the band to Nashville, Tenn., and the recording studio.
It was.
Details were negotiated and the band entered the studio. With the label picking up the bill, Blackeyed Katy spent eight days in the studio recording the tracks for "Dealin'" which proves to be time well spent. Regular followers of Blackeyed Katy will already know many of these songs from area live performances and those same listeners will be familiar with the talents of the group, too.
Perkins has a versatile voice which adapts like a chameleon to the need of a song. It isn't a put-on change from song to song, either. Perkins maintains an individual style while bringing a different nuance to the voice of each tune. Though the entire band shares songwriting credits, Perkins and Rory Hoke are the band's chief songwriters. They create a depth of feeling and evoke a scene and mood with a few,deftly chosen words.
The instrumentation on this album is very textured and features four tight musicians who know their craft and, better still, know their songs. David Lee is a powerhouse guitarist who can make his guitar sound achingly alone or strum it with enough power to sound like a symphony of guitar.
The band admits that the recording session involved arrangements and extras that audiences won't find in live shows, which feature the four-member band.
The album included mandolin work by Pat McGrath and keyboards by Michael Rojas. Additional singers Jaime Babbitt, Kara McNealy and H.L. Voelker add their voices to those of Blackeyed Katy, giving a few songs something akin to a gospel choir sound.
"A few of the songs on the CD sound very different from how we play them in a show," Lee says.
"Yeah, hopefully, the audiences will let us get away with that," Perkins
adds.
Blackeyed Katy is forging a sound and identity of its own, though the band will receive comparisons to other jam bands, like the Grateful Dead and Phish. But it captures energetic rhythms that don't fly off on neverending tangents like too many up-and-coming jam bands. On "Long Time Gone," Blackeyed Katy captures a rhthym that is reminiscent of the kinetic energy
found in Paul Simon's "Graceland" album. It is a refreshing song and an innovative CD.
The core of Blackeyed Katy has been going for four years. In 2001 - Valdosta Daily Times- Preview
Discography
The debut CD Dealin' has 10 tracks some which can be heard on Valdosta's Rock Station WWRQ Rock 108 FM, as well as our website or CDbaby.com.
Photos
Bio
For the members of Blackeyed Katy, it is all about the songs. Crossing genres, tempos and influences, the songs - written primarily by band frontman/singer/guitarist Jared Perkins with musical contributions from the whole band – blend melodies, rhythms and lyrics into well-structured essays on everyday life. They write songs about lost love, personal struggles and the world around them, much the way the singer-songwriters of the ‘60’s did – songs that will mean something to everyone and that will stand the test of time.
Formed in the bars and clubs of southern Georgia, Blackeyed Katy grew out of the duo of Perkins along with guitarist David Lee whose guitar solos seem almost to cry along with Jared’s heart-stirring lyrics. Perfectly meshed and blended Lee understands Perkins’ voice – probably from their years performing together as an acoustic duo when it was just the words, voice and guitars. Now, as a full band with the talented rhythm section of bassist Trey Orsborn and Justin Moore on drums, Blackeyed Katy’s debut CD dealin’ is a collection of musical dissertations reminiscent of the songs of Van Morrison and Paul Simon. Musically the full band’s rock edge adds the sound of a Springsteen or Dave Matthews.
“When David and Jared approached me to join Blackeyed Katy,” explains Trey, “they told me that they loved my energy and sound and knew it would fit with their styles.” Drummer Moore brought them even further with his no boundaries style that blends jazz and heavy rock “I love all kinds of music,” explains Justin, “and I play guitar as well as drums, so that definitely adds some unique influences to my style. I treat the drums as if they are there to do more than just keep the beat.”
“We were first influenced by listening to our parents’ albums,” explains Perkins. “I would say that for me, I have always felt that the songs themselves are what’s most important because I grew up listening to guys like Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. But in terms of my vocal style, I’d say I’ve been most influenced by Eddie Vedder.” What could sound like a strange mix of influences and styles is made even more kaleidoscopic by guitarist Lee’s affinity for guitarists like Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour.
“I believe that my part is to accompany Jared’s vocals,” says David Lee. “If you listen to old Gilmour or Page solos, you’ll see how that as flashy and technically great they are is only part of their beauty. The solos fit the songs, and that’s what I try to do in this band.” Like his bandmate, Lee also credits Pearl Jam, particularly guitarist Mike McCreedy, with having a powerful influence on their style..
But most important to all the members of Blackeyed Katy, in spite of the many obvious influences, is to stay true to themselves and their vision for this band. On dealin’, the songs are the immediate stand out, but this is one of those albums that grows on you with every listening. “Broken” uses voices like instruments – the harmonies filling out the sound that starts out sounding like an acoustic number and ends up a melodic pop song with hit potential. And then on “Glory And Grievance” the emphasis is almost reversed as the rhythm seems to lead the vocals and melodies.
Live, Blackeyed Katy play their originals mixed in with cover tunes of the members’ favorite hits and album cuts from all genres of popular music. But the songwriting and musical ability in this band leaves no doubt that in time they will need only play their favorite hits and album cuts from their own very rich catalogue of material.
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