Katie Rox

It’s not easy recording an entire CD within the confines of your own apartment. But singer/ songwriter Katie Rox pulled it off quite nicely, with her superb latest project Pony Up. The former Red Deer College music student with the sweet, compelling and expressive voice plays The Hideout on June 30.

Pony Up was released just last week and Rox, 29, describes it as an acoustic-driven CD similar to her first disc High Standards – which was also recorded at home.

“It sounds great – it has a real home-like, ‘labour of love’ kind of feel to it,” she explains of Pony Up during a recent chat.

It came together in about four months in her Vancouver apartment, but the project wasn’t obstacle free. First, her drummer promised his drum kit was the quietest one on earth (so as to not disturb the neighbours).

That wasn’t quite the case. But Rox’s neighbours have grown accustomed to her musical endeavors. “I’ll often see a neighbour and they’ll say ‘I heard you singing yesterday’.”

Rox also developed a vocal chord hemorrhage at one point and had to stay pretty quiet for about a month. Musicians could still lay down tracks, but she wasn’t able to contribute in the way of vocals.

“I could whistle a bit,” she says, chuckling.

She also had some of her vocals already recorded as demos, so these were used as the songs began to take shape. After her vocal chords healed, she was given the green light to belt it out again. “When I was finally told I could sing again, I was so relieved. But I was scared. What if it happened again?” But the doctors assured her there was no problem with her resuming, so she did just that. She does feel like her voice has a different tone to it – a more mature sound. Although others feel she sounds like she always did. Either way, Rox is thrilled to be hitting the road to introduce Pony Up to folks across the nation over the next while.

Originally from Airdrie, Rox had an inkling pretty early on she was born to sing. Her passion for music was sparked during her growing up years, and a singing recital at eight years of age proved one of those pivotal moments. She got up to sing, looked at all the people gathered, and promptly burst into tears. She told her mom there was no way she was going to do that again.

But seeing her sister get up there and do her thing was at least part of the reason Rox decided to give it another try. “I decided I should go up in front of all those people and try again. And I did,” she says. “I realized that not only is this not so bad, but I really loved it.”

Things started out rather simply at first as she honed her musical skills around the family farm.

“I sang on buckets in barns, for friends in the living room, in competitions at festivals, you name it.”

After high school, she embarked in the late 1990s on a post secondary path to study music at Red Deer College. It was here she met the late Keith Mann. The music instructor had a powerful influence on Rox. He passed away in the spring of 2001 just as she was making connections in her new home on the west coast.

“I couldn’t wait to tell him about how things were going, but I never had the chance.”

It wasn’t long before doors started to open, specifically with the band Jakalope. Her years with the group proved a whirlwind of wonderful opportunities including videos, red carpets and visiting foreign countries.

But eventually she knew she had to venture out on her own, and she did so in the spring of 2007. That summer brought a season of soul-searching and figuring out where next to pour her creative energies. It’s been fulfilling from the get-go.

Besides her solo debut High Standards and Pony Up, she also released Searchlight a couple of years back.

Meanwhile, she’s excited to be heading out and introducing her new music to the masses. She’ll also be spending Stampede week in Calgary as well – a nice treat as it’s so close to home. Ultimately, Rox can’t imagine another path in life.

“Last year, I took some time off because I was feeling a bit tired. And I wanted to think about maybe doing other things,” she says reflectively. - Red Deer Express

Airdrie’s Katie Rox released her third solo album this past summer and will head to Japan to tour with a fellow artist this month.

Vancouver artist, Danny Echo, recently tweeted about his upcoming trip to Japan to tour and play various cities, and this sparked the interest of Rox.

“I expressed interest in joining him, they suggested I submit material for a chance to go,” said Rox. “I got an e-mail telling me ‘yes, come to Japan.’”

This will be Rox’s third time in Japan, having made the overseas trip twice before while touring with Jackalope, but she says she is excited to tour on her own.

“This will be my first time going back as a solo artist so I am looking forward to playing my new material for everyone. And the food, and the people. (I am looking forward to) all of it, I love Japan,” said Rox. “I have received e-mails from people thanking me for coming because ever since the earthquake in March, tourism has been down. They are such amazing people in such an amazing country, I support them in any way I can.”

Rox will be leaving for Japan on Sept. 13, and playing until the 21st in both Osaka and Tokyo.

Once the tour wraps up, Rox said she is hoping to link up with Canadian artist Lelsey Pike, who she toured with a few years ago on what was called the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes tour, to continue to promote Pony Up.

Rox, who first broke onto the music scene as the leader singer of Canadian industrial rock band Jackalope in 2003, released her third album, Pony Up, June 14 and said she is happy with the response she has been getting.

“It was recorded in my spare bedroom, it’s very stripped down,” said Rox. “I love albums that sound very personal and often that seems to be achieved through the less-is-more approach, so we did that.”

The album, which features seven original tracks, was recorded with the help of some big names in the music industry.

“I got some really amazing musicians to agree to come to my little makeshift studio and lay down their parts,” she said. “Jesse Tucker (guitarist for Aaron Pritchett), Pat Steward (plays for Matthew Good and Bryan Adams), Sidney York. Those that couldn’t be in Vancouver recorded their parts from wherever they were. Sebastien Lefebvre, from Simple Plan, was in Montreal and sent me his tracks.”

Rox was recently in Airdrie, and performed a one evening show at a local pub June 25. She said it’s nice to see more venues.

“So often when I come home, I play in Calgary, it’s great to see that as the city of Airdrie grows, there are becoming more places to play,” said Rox. “I hear from more and more bands who are now playing in Airdrie while on tour.”

For more information about Rox, or to pick up a copy of Pony Up, visit www.katieroxmusic.com - Airdrie City View

Airdrie’s Katie Rox released her third solo album this past summer and will head to Japan to tour with a fellow artist this month.

Vancouver artist, Danny Echo, recently tweeted about his upcoming trip to Japan to tour and play various cities, and this sparked the interest of Rox.

“I expressed interest in joining him, they suggested I submit material for a chance to go,” said Rox. “I got an e-mail telling me ‘yes, come to Japan.’”

This will be Rox’s third time in Japan, having made the overseas trip twice before while touring with Jackalope, but she says she is excited to tour on her own.

“This will be my first time going back as a solo artist so I am looking forward to playing my new material for everyone. And the food, and the people. (I am looking forward to) all of it, I love Japan,” said Rox. “I have received e-mails from people thanking me for coming because ever since the earthquake in March, tourism has been down. They are such amazing people in such an amazing country, I support them in any way I can.”

Rox will be leaving for Japan on Sept. 13, and playing until the 21st in both Osaka and Tokyo.

Once the tour wraps up, Rox said she is hoping to link up with Canadian artist Lelsey Pike, who she toured with a few years ago on what was called the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes tour, to continue to promote Pony Up.

Rox, who first broke onto the music scene as the leader singer of Canadian industrial rock band Jackalope in 2003, released her third album, Pony Up, June 14 and said she is happy with the response she has been getting.

“It was recorded in my spare bedroom, it’s very stripped down,” said Rox. “I love albums that sound very personal and often that seems to be achieved through the less-is-more approach, so we did that.”

The album, which features seven original tracks, was recorded with the help of some big names in the music industry.

“I got some really amazing musicians to agree to come to my little makeshift studio and lay down their parts,” she said. “Jesse Tucker (guitarist for Aaron Pritchett), Pat Steward (plays for Matthew Good and Bryan Adams), Sidney York. Those that couldn’t be in Vancouver recorded their parts from wherever they were. Sebastien Lefebvre, from Simple Plan, was in Montreal and sent me his tracks.”

Rox was recently in Airdrie, and performed a one evening show at a local pub June 25. She said it’s nice to see more venues.

“So often when I come home, I play in Calgary, it’s great to see that as the city of Airdrie grows, there are becoming more places to play,” said Rox. “I hear from more and more bands who are now playing in Airdrie while on tour.”

For more information about Rox, or to pick up a copy of Pony Up, visit www.katieroxmusic.com - Airdrie City View

Things have changed a bit since the last time I spoke to singer and songwriter Katie B, or as you can now call her, Katie Rox. She’s been on an adventure few artists get to enjoy, and it all came very early in her career. Signed as the lead singer for the rock band Jakalope after an audition at the music studio she worked, Katie toured as far away as Japan with the group, released a number of popular singles, and they were even nominated for a handful of awards.

Things got complicated for Katie when she realized, “Somewhere along the way, while I was busy saying yes, my heart started telling me no. The real me was getting lost in the music.”

Early last year Katie decided that it was time to move on and pursue her own solo career. “I could feel my heart was just taking me in a different direction,” she said in a phone interview last month. “I didn’t want to continue on and let people down if my heart wasn’t there. I didn’t think it was right to the fans and I didn’t think it was right to anybody in the band, or myself. So I thought the best thing to do was to move on.”

Moving on from an Industrial-styled rock band was both scary and exiting, and even as she says it’s a cliché, Katie admits that it took some soul searching to move on to what she wanted to do next.

“I took some time away from music entirely. I didn’t want to listen to the radio, I didn’t want to listen to anything and then I just picked up my guitar again and started writing and singing. You know sometimes you hear a song and it just makes you remember why you love music…”

Passionate to the core, Katie is honest and open about making her way as a solo artist, and deciding what she’s doing next.

Over the summer, and leading into December, Katie wrote new songs, went through her collection of songs she had written before joining Jakalope, and came up with her new seven-song EP, High Standards. (Which also features singer-songwriter Jeremy Fisher on guitar for three songs, including the tracks “Fly” and “Favorite Friend”.) - The Gate

Last year, Katie Biever was at a musical crossroads, still known as lead singer Katie B. of Canadian industrial rock band Jakalope but not feeling like she was being true to herself.

After hearing a song from days gone by, she knew a change had to be made.

"I was at a wedding or something and I heard a Patsy Cline song come on," she says from her Vancouver home. "I listened to her all the time when I was a kid and I literally forgot about her. I thought, 'God that's what influences me.' Mostly it just came down to following my heart. I really just felt myself wanting to do something different."

After leaving Jakalope, Biever changed her stage name to Katie Rox and went the independent route, releasing her new EP, High Standards earlier this year. She performs Saturday at the Revival club.

While making the change wasn't easy, Rox gave herself some time to regroup, recharge and refocus.

"I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do or how I wanted to do it or anything," she says. "So really what I was going to do was to take this time off and become a music fan again instead of a music maker. But I just found myself writing right away and playing and singing."

By going the do-it-yourself route, Rox says she's finding it as rewarding as Jakalope but in a different way.

"Jakalope was a lot of fun and it was everything I wanted to do," she says. "Like the MuchMusic Video Award nominations, when I was nominated I was beyond excited. That was something I had always wanted to do in my life so that was really cool. But the rewards now are coming in the fact that everything I'm doing is 100 per cent me."

That includes the new EP featuring the songs Fly and Sound Advice, the latter Rox describes as having a Jackson 5 "doo wop" feel. She also says some of the material was written prior to joining Jakalope.

"It was just a collection of songs that I was proud of, that I was happy that I wrote so I thought why not put them together," she says. "It was a lot of work because I recorded it myself, I used (recording software) Garage Band and my closet. I could've recorded it in a couple of weeks in a studio but I had a personal goal of doing it myself so that was hard. I'm not a recording engineer, I'm not a producer and so I decided to put on all hats."

Despite currently being a proverbial Jill-of-all-trades, Rox says the biggest challenge was simply making the decision to forge ahead.

"I guess the hardest part is getting from the idea to realizing it," she says. "It's that middle point between. The hardest part was finally saying, 'Okay I'm going to do this,' and making that first step. Once you're in deep then it all comes naturally to you about what you need to do. But that moment of I could watch television or I could decide to go on tour, that's the hardest part."

Rox will spend most of the summer touring the Maritimes and Ontario but says she'll start thinking about the next album after "playing everywhere two or three times."

One thing she hasn't done is look for interest from labels.

"I really wanted to take my time and learn more about myself before taking that step," she says. "I think if I just would've started out saying 'Who wants to sign me?' I would've been a lost soul."

- Toronto Sun

A year ago, Katie Rox was gathering the courage to leave a successful band with a number of hit singles under its belt, an international touring schedule, and backing from a big record company.
As lead singer of the Vancouver - based industrial punk-core band Jakalope for four years, Rox (known as Katie B back then) was accustomed to sporting black eyeliner, red fingernailes, and fishnet stockings as she sang above a wall of distorted guitar and studio-crafted hard-rock sound.
"I am proud of what I did with them, and Jakalope is a great band. I'm sure they'll go on to do great things," says the Alberta-bred singer.
"But I needed to do something different. I didn't want it to be half-hearted."
This summer she recorded a self-produced, indie solo effort, aptly named High Standards.
"When I left Jakalope, I just started writing. The ideas started flowing and I decided to do it myself so I can really know the work it takes."
When she left the comfort of her family home (a cattle ranch near Airdrie) and headed to Vancouver five years ago, Rox didn't expect her career to go into warp speed. Within a few months of her arrival in B.C., however, Rox had landed a job as receptionist and manager at Bryan Adams' recording studio, The Warehouse.
"Things just started rolling for me...I started meeting people and getting involved in the industry," says Rox, who was 19 when she moved West.
Rox's solo release is full of well-crafted, folk-pop singer-songwriter pieces that are stripped down to sometimes just Rox and her acoustic guitar.
Instead of photo shoots and big-budget music videos, Rox went to the beach with her boyfriend, photographer Colby Johannson, who took a few, simple, but beautiful press shots of her as the sun rose.
She put the CD packages together herself and will distribute the solo release from her website next month.
"This is really different, but this is what I want and it's home most people start out. I guess I want that - I want to start from the ground up", says Rox.

Katie Rox plays One Eyed Jacks in Airdrie on Dec 26th.

- The Calgary Sun - Dec 24 2007

Previously of BC’s Jakalope, Katie Rox is now all on her own and has gone solo. From a rock and roll chick to a solo artist, this lady has found her passion and is now dedicating her life to her own thing. Rox is touring all over eastern Canada, all around the Greater Toronto area then she’s taking it even more east to Quebec, and New Brunswick. This being Rox’s first time going solo and doing her own thing, she is ecstatic and ready to give it her all. With an attempt at the rock and roll lifestyle in Jakalope, Rox decided that her life was not a life of a rocker girl, but her own Albertan country girl folk style. Rox has a passion for giving her art her all. She puts her heart and soul into her music and just has fun.

When performing live, Rox has a blast, she is definitely an entertainer. Rox likes to be intimate with the audience; she gets to know what they want to hear and forms her show off the energy that the fans feed her. An adorable joker, Rox simply likes to have fun with what she does.

Prior to the show, I had dinner with Katie and we chatted up a storm. "I hated music at first" Rox mentioned, "but the first time I had to do the recital stuff I just wouldn’t perform and then somehow I got over it then I started musical theatre and was getting recognized and won awards then it just went up from there." Rox took off and dove right into the music scene, "I went to college in Red Deer Alberta for Music and that helped me figure out what I wanted to do and what I really liked. I was one of those people who was not afraid of the top 40 which is rare because I’m an artist, but if you like Mariah Carey then you Like Mariah Carey. I definitely didn’t want to do or be anything that was alienating." After a intense time at college and journey of self discovery Rox moved to the vast and beautiful Vancouver where her music career took off, "I got a job in a Recording studio there for awhile, and I really loved the singer/songwriter appeal of music" Rox mentioned, then opportunity knocked. "I joined up with Jakalope after listening to a few tracks and my impression was ‘wow I’ve never heard anything like that before.’ That experience was fun, setting down the guitar and being a rocker chick. I got to do a lot of things that I was never able to do like music videos and just living the dream. It was really fun." After a blast being the rocker girl front of Jakalope and touring all over, Rox decided to leave the band in Spring of 2007 and go back to where her heart and soul lie, "I didn’t want to keep doing something that my heart was not really in."

After some time off to work on her own, Rox missed playing to an audience "I love having an audience to sing to" Rox mentioned with enthusiasm. With a need for something to take with her on the road, Rox put together her first album, High Standards "I recorded the entire album using garage band at home and that experience was really fun too." A beautiful acoustic album with touching lyrics and moving guitar licks, the idea of High Standards for Rox is reaching a limit and putting out a big production record all on her own.

Her music is what she describes as Katie music. "I think it’s just me. Everyone sorta says that about their music, and it’s kinda cliché, but that’s what your music is right?! When I have asked people and they have put it in categories, but it doesn’t really have a definite spot that you can put it in." Rox was adorable and lost for a definite description, "Its singer/songwriter, but anyone can write songs and be a singer songwriter. It’s folky, light hearted, I don’t really take myself too seriously, and I try to have fun in the songs I write. It’s tongue and cheek, happy, but there are some very good depressing songs that make you want to be depressed so you can relate."

This lovely artist has never really done anything else other than music, she tried waitressing for a few months but it wasn’t her thing and she has always had a passion for music. "When you want to do something, you just do it," mentioned Rox, "really the only thing that is ever really stopping you is you."

When it comes to being on the road, most love to meet new people, including Rox, "what I love most about touring and the reason I wanted to do it this way is because I like the interaction, when you get to chat and find out who people are." Rox truly loves not just the music, but being intimate with the audience, "I have made this career and this new chapter in my life personal," Rox said, "I tend to keep it personal, write back to people, sign autographs. It’s very different, a very hectic schedule. I made my own schedule. I get to know the people personally, I get to know peoples names, because I send things out from my apartment. It feels cool to meet the people because without them you wouldn’t have a career. You want to know who is supporting you." - Lucidforge.com

eeked her head musically out of the closet in the latter half of 2007, it was a surprise to her just how many people were waiting outside the door. It was the response that led her to recording her aptly titled solo - largely acoustic - debut, High Standards.

Within this musical wonderland of hers, Rox took the better part of two months to put together her first musical statement since her departure from the industrial rock act Jakalope. After receiving the break of a lifetime through world-renowned producer Dave "Rave" Ogilvie in 2003, Rox (then under the name Katie B.) went from a receptionist at Bryan Adams’ Vancouver recording spot - The Warehouse Studio - to the front woman of a full-fledged touring and recording outfit.

In 2004, Jakalope’s first release In Dreams would spawn the radio hits "Pretty Mind" and "Feel It", thus paving the way for a follow-up in the form of 2006’s Born 4. However, while Rox was writing, learning, and singing lots within the Jakalope set-up, her heart was leading her elsewhere. So, by the spring of 2007 Rox said goodbye to Ogilvie and the gang and decided to go out on her own.

"I just knew it was time. I’m not really one to sit around and wait; if I want to do something, I do it. Switching a band is just like switching a job. I just felt myself wanting to do that. I felt my heart wanting to put out a record like this so I did. It was time to move on for me," says Rox about why she left Jakalope. "You really have to believe that you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, so in that sense it’s not that hard because you have to think that whatever you do, you can be successful at it. So, leaving Jakalope I don’t think [of] as leaving success; it’s changing the direction of my success.

"I thought maybe I should take a little break from [music]," she continues. "Music is music, but it is business too. So I thought, ‘I’m just going to go to concerts again.’ I couldn’t remember the last time I had gone to a concert. In the process, my guitar looked kind of lonely, so I just started writing songs again."

This would be a time in Rox’s life that would be of the utmost importance. She took the summer of 2007 to re-discover herself, as well as what she wanted from music. There were internal debates about whether or not she’d prefer to just be a performer, or whether or not she’d prefer just being a songwriter. In the end, she chose to take on both. While Rox admits that those decisions - along with having to take on all the working responsibilities that come from being an indie artist - weren’t always the easiest, she eventually realized that she was stronger than she thought, and that moving forward was something she had to do.

What came out of this giant push-and-pull is High Expectations, which features a mish-mash of songs from the pre- and post-Jakalope eras. Tracks of personal inspiration, love, loss, and strength are ever-present here, and represent an artist that isn’t looking to make a temporary impression.

"I wanted something that I would be proud of. I really thought, ‘10 years from now, am I going to be embarrassed about this, or happy with it’ I did recordings when I was 16 or 17 and I listen to them and I’m like, ‘what was I thinking I’m such an idiot,’" explains Rox. "But again, you’re just learning and growing and you can’t fault yourself. I wanted to make an album that hopefully years from now I’ll still be proud of it, whether my direction stays exactly that way or changes again.

"There was a bit of pressure, but I didn’t realize that people would be quite so interested in it. I hoped people would be, but I didn’t really think that it would be under a critical eye, so thank God I didn’t think about that or I probably wouldn’t have been done [the album] yet. I was having fun recording some songs and I wanted to release them to people so that people would know what I was up to and what I wanted to do as a reintroduction - View Weekly

Previously of BC’s Jakalope, Katie Rox is now all on her own and has gone solo. From a rock and roll chick to a solo artist, this lady has found her passion and is now dedicating her life to her own thing. Rox is touring all over eastern Canada, all around the Greater Toronto area then she’s taking it even more east to Quebec, and New Brunswick. This being Rox’s first time going solo and doing her own thing, she is ecstatic and ready to give it her all. With an attempt at the rock and roll lifestyle in Jakalope, Rox decided that her life was not a life of a rocker girl, but her own Albertan country girl folk style. Rox has a passion for giving her art her all. She puts her heart and soul into her music and just has fun.

When performing live, Rox has a blast, she is definitely an entertainer. Rox likes to be intimate with the audience; she gets to know what they want to hear and forms her show off the energy that the fans feed her. An adorable joker, Rox simply likes to have fun with what she does.

Prior to the show, I had dinner with Katie and we chatted up a storm. "I hated music at first" Rox mentioned, "but the first time I had to do the recital stuff I just wouldn’t perform and then somehow I got over it then I started musical theatre and was getting recognized and won awards then it just went up from there." Rox took off and dove right into the music scene, "I went to college in Red Deer Alberta for Music and that helped me figure out what I wanted to do and what I really liked. I was one of those people who was not afraid of the top 40 which is rare because I’m an artist, but if you like Mariah Carey then you Like Mariah Carey. I definitely didn’t want to do or be anything that was alienating." After a intense time at college and journey of self discovery Rox moved to the vast and beautiful Vancouver where her music career took off, "I got a job in a Recording studio there for awhile, and I really loved the singer/songwriter appeal of music" Rox mentioned, then opportunity knocked. "I joined up with Jakalope after listening to a few tracks and my impression was ‘wow I’ve never heard anything like that before.’ That experience was fun, setting down the guitar and being a rocker chick. I got to do a lot of things that I was never able to do like music videos and just living the dream. It was really fun." After a blast being the rocker girl front of Jakalope and touring all over, Rox decided to leave the band in Spring of 2007 and go back to where her heart and soul lie, "I didn’t want to keep doing something that my heart was not really in."

After some time off to work on her own, Rox missed playing to an audience "I love having an audience to sing to" Rox mentioned with enthusiasm. With a need for something to take with her on the road, Rox put together her first album, High Standards "I recorded the entire album using garage band at home and that experience was really fun too." A beautiful acoustic album with touching lyrics and moving guitar licks, the idea of High Standards for Rox is reaching a limit and putting out a big production record all on her own.

Her music is what she describes as Katie music. "I think it’s just me. Everyone sorta says that about their music, and it’s kinda cliché, but that’s what your music is right?! When I have asked people and they have put it in categories, but it doesn’t really have a definite spot that you can put it in." Rox was adorable and lost for a definite description, "Its singer/songwriter, but anyone can write songs and be a singer songwriter. It’s folky, light hearted, I don’t really take myself too seriously, and I try to have fun in the songs I write. It’s tongue and cheek, happy, but there are some very good depressing songs that make you want to be depressed so you can relate."

This lovely artist has never really done anything else other than music, she tried waitressing for a few months but it wasn’t her thing and she has always had a passion for music. "When you want to do something, you just do it," mentioned Rox, "really the only thing that is ever really stopping you is you."

When it comes to being on the road, most love to meet new people, including Rox, "what I love most about touring and the reason I wanted to do it this way is because I like the interaction, when you get to chat and find out who people are." Rox truly loves not just the music, but being intimate with the audience, "I have made this career and this new chapter in my life personal," Rox said, "I tend to keep it personal, write back to people, sign autographs. It’s very different, a very hectic schedule. I made my own schedule. I get to know the people personally, I get to know peoples names, because I send things out from my apartment. It feels cool to meet the people because without them you wouldn’t have a career. You want to know who is supporting you." - Lucidforge.com

Big impressions can be made with few words, or in the case of Katie Rox, a seven-track disc recorded in her walk-in closet.

Rox, former lead singer of industrial rock band Jakalope, is forging a new path in music, one which brings this gifted singer closer to her rural roots in Airdrie where she raised black Angus cattle for 4-H and was known by her birthname - Biever.

Vancouver-based Rox is a gem, a songwriter with a sweet angelic voice and a knack for writing melodic hooks.

Rox sets "High Standards" on this self-penned album recorded with the help of a few friends including Jeremy Fisher, a respected artist in his own right.

Only in her early 20s, Biever, er Rox, has a maturity that belies her years. She can be melancholy and introspective or light and girlie without missing a beat.

Her style almost defies description. The song ‘Sound Advice’ has a 60s beach vibe, heightened by the Motownesque background vocals. The irresistible opening track ‘Fly’ is the kind of melodic, feel-good tune that will be etched permanently in a listener’s memory. It’s a song that could never get be played too much.

Lyrically and vocally, Rox is an artist who could stand alone with guitar on stage and silence an entire audience with a single note from her throat.

She hasn¹t yet sought out a label and Rox won’t have to with this effort, the biggest companies in the business should be soon knocking on her door. This girl is going places - and not just home to Airdrie and the black Angus.

Watch out, Canada; a world-class star is emerging from the Alberta heartland. - Lethbridge Herald

Big impressions can be made with few words, or in the case of Katie Rox, a seven-track disc recorded in her walk-in closet.

Rox, former lead singer of industrial rock band Jakalope, is forging a new path in music, one which brings this gifted singer closer to her rural roots in Airdrie where she raised black Angus cattle for 4-H and was known by her birthname - Biever.

Vancouver-based Rox is a gem, a songwriter with a sweet angelic voice and a knack for writing melodic hooks.

Rox sets "High Standards" on this self-penned album recorded with the help of a few friends including Jeremy Fisher, a respected artist in his own right.

Only in her early 20s, Biever, er Rox, has a maturity that belies her years. She can be melancholy and introspective or light and girlie without missing a beat.

Her style almost defies description. The song ‘Sound Advice’ has a 60s beach vibe, heightened by the Motownesque background vocals. The irresistible opening track ‘Fly’ is the kind of melodic, feel-good tune that will be etched permanently in a listener’s memory. It’s a song that could never get be played too much.

Lyrically and vocally, Rox is an artist who could stand alone with guitar on stage and silence an entire audience with a single note from her throat.

She hasn¹t yet sought out a label and Rox won’t have to with this effort, the biggest companies in the business should be soon knocking on her door. This girl is going places - and not just home to Airdrie and the black Angus.

Watch out, Canada; a world-class star is emerging from the Alberta heartland. - Lethbridge Herald

e, record and rediscover herself. The result, a solo debut entitled High Standards, is as different from Jakalope’s sound as one can get. Biever has traded her industrial anthems for an acoustic guitar, folk-pop melodies and simplistic, stripped-down vocal work. In addition, Biever has rechristened herself Katie Rox to match the revamped musical direction.

"The album itself centres a lot around being independent," says Biever. "That wasn’t a conscious decision, but it’s there, as not all of those songs were written after my departure from [Jakalope]. To me, the theme here is simplicity, something stripped down and sincere. It felt like I was putting myself, and my heart, on a platter." Recorded at home last fall, High Standards is a simple, folksy affair free from the intricate production techniques, overdubbing and meticulous tracking prominent in Jakalope’s recorded work. Instead, Biever lets silence play as much of a role as sound. It creates a whimsical, relaxed listen, one more akin to Nova Scotia’s Ruth Minnikin than anything involving Jakalope mastermind and industrial legend Dave Ogilvie.

"It was a truly intimate experience," explains Rox, "as it was recorded in my closet, using GarageBand, from mid-September to December 2007. It was a personal goal of mine to record it on my own. I wanted to push myself creatively. I put the pressure on myself to deliver something solid. I didn’t have anyone to rely on to fill in the blanks. It was rewarding, but I faced a lot of challenges. It’s not easy doing it on your own, especially when you are used to the technologies of a recording studio. There were times when I seriously considered calling in some favours, but I made the deal with myself to do it this way for this album, so I stuck with that."

Biever is releasing the album independently (note the theme here), and touring solo in support of it, a choice that will only help her songs. Mixing in too much instrumentation would muddy the waters, as it Biever’s enchanting vocals that provide the musical clarity.

"I didn’t mess too much with the original versions of the songs that I wrote, nor did I think too much about it," she explains. "It is not a calculated record, not in any sense, but it’s an emotional record. Essentially, this is a collection of songs that I feel good about sharing - a way of reintroducing myself.

"It is true that what I am doing now is a complete 180 from what I was doing in Jakalope," she continues. "I wrote the lyrics and melodies on the Jakalope material, but that music was darker and more complex in rhythms [and] electronics. I worked as a songwriter to keep that essence and to complement the instrumentation while always adding my own flavour. What I am doing now, it's lighter and more simplistic, and everything - the performance, lyrics and attitude towards these songs - reflects that as well.”

With a fresh outlook and a guitar in hand, Rox will cross Canada alongside Vancouver roots rockers The Matinee out West and Leslie Pike out East, and she could not be more excited. "I feel I opened a window," she says, "and life is out there for the taking." - FFWD Weekly - Calgary

e, record and rediscover herself. The result, a solo debut entitled High Standards, is as different from Jakalope’s sound as one can get. Biever has traded her industrial anthems for an acoustic guitar, folk-pop melodies and simplistic, stripped-down vocal work. In addition, Biever has rechristened herself Katie Rox to match the revamped musical direction.

"The album itself centres a lot around being independent," says Biever. "That wasn’t a conscious decision, but it’s there, as not all of those songs were written after my departure from [Jakalope]. To me, the theme here is simplicity, something stripped down and sincere. It felt like I was putting myself, and my heart, on a platter." Recorded at home last fall, High Standards is a simple, folksy affair free from the intricate production techniques, overdubbing and meticulous tracking prominent in Jakalope’s recorded work. Instead, Biever lets silence play as much of a role as sound. It creates a whimsical, relaxed listen, one more akin to Nova Scotia’s Ruth Minnikin than anything involving Jakalope mastermind and industrial legend Dave Ogilvie.

"It was a truly intimate experience," explains Rox, "as it was recorded in my closet, using GarageBand, from mid-September to December 2007. It was a personal goal of mine to record it on my own. I wanted to push myself creatively. I put the pressure on myself to deliver something solid. I didn’t have anyone to rely on to fill in the blanks. It was rewarding, but I faced a lot of challenges. It’s not easy doing it on your own, especially when you are used to the technologies of a recording studio. There were times when I seriously considered calling in some favours, but I made the deal with myself to do it this way for this album, so I stuck with that."

Biever is releasing the album independently (note the theme here), and touring solo in support of it, a choice that will only help her songs. Mixing in too much instrumentation would muddy the waters, as it Biever’s enchanting vocals that provide the musical clarity.

"I didn’t mess too much with the original versions of the songs that I wrote, nor did I think too much about it," she explains. "It is not a calculated record, not in any sense, but it’s an emotional record. Essentially, this is a collection of songs that I feel good about sharing - a way of reintroducing myself.

"It is true that what I am doing now is a complete 180 from what I was doing in Jakalope," she continues. "I wrote the lyrics and melodies on the Jakalope material, but that music was darker and more complex in rhythms [and] electronics. I worked as a songwriter to keep that essence and to complement the instrumentation while always adding my own flavour. What I am doing now, it's lighter and more simplistic, and everything - the performance, lyrics and attitude towards these songs - reflects that as well.”

With a fresh outlook and a guitar in hand, Rox will cross Canada alongside Vancouver roots rockers The Matinee out West and Leslie Pike out East, and she could not be more excited. "I feel I opened a window," she says, "and life is out there for the taking." - FFWD Weekly - Calgary