Hold on to your hats….
My Me in my Place shoot is beginning to post today, starting with this charming photo of Thomas and I in matching outfits and matching expressions 
If you’re asking for a sign, don’t ignore it when one comes along
Really Katelyn. How can you say you’re a blogger when you haven’t posted all WEEK? Boo – sorry friends. I had such a good update streak going before I fell down completely exhausted about a week ago and haven’t had much interaction with the world since then. To say I’m tired would be an understatement.
I’ve written briefly about how I am going to need to do some serious fund-raising (and FAST) to get my record going. I’ve been fighting the urge to disengage and spend all day in bed by throwing together information kits to give to potential investors, but really, if I don’t plan every moment of my day the night before, I may very well spend it in bed protesting the work that needs to be done before I can get back to work. This isn’t helpful. I know. And to be fair to myself, far more has happened this Summer that has contributed to this feeling of defeat and exhaustion that wouldn’t be appropriate to share here. I very well could probably benefit from a couple days of detachment and rest, but I’m not sure how to do that without feeling like the entire world will collapse upon my absence.
I think everyone feels this way when they’re overwhelmed and stressed.
Well, last week I decided to go to some audition. I wasn’t invested in the idea of going at all. It was for a show I hadn’t heard of, it wasn’t really a paying gig, and I had to drive into the hot hot hot valley to get there and hopefully not be stuck in traffic the whole way there and back. However, I knew it would be good for me to leave the house. I would ultimately feel better just knowing I had at least gone somewhere that day. The audition was fine (got a call back, not sure if I’ll take it or not because it may be while I’m in CO), but the interesting part of the outing happened right as I was loading my keyboard up into my car. As though my eyeballs were made out of magnets, in the midst of maneuvering that heavy keyboard into the back of my Subaru, they fixed their gaze directly at the road beneath my feet and locked in on something laying there on the ground. Right in front of me was a $100 bill. No one else was even in sight. It was just me, my keyboard, and seemingly a gift from the universe to smack me into realizing that I am fortunate, my music IS worth pursuing, and I will come up with the money to fund my project. I consider myself to be more spiritual than strictly religious, but that doesn’t mean I miss signs from God when they’re right in front of me. A couple of weeks ago I cried to myself asking the universe for some sign that I was even supposed to be doing this anymore. It was a very sad, lonely and dark moment for me. In the time between then and now I have had two people donate to my cause without officially launching my campaign, a close friend of mine donated her graphic design services to make my information kits look professional and lovely, and here right on the ground in front of me was a $100 bill. WHO finds $100 in the street? I bet you’re mad at me a little, because just by me telling you my story of finding $100 makes it much less likely the same will happen to you. It’s rare. I’ll take it as a sign because that’s what I asked for. You don’t ask for signs and then ignore them when they come.
Thanks for coming out to The Mint!
Thanks to everyone who came out to The Mint in Los Angeles last night. We had a great show including 2 encore songs. You all made my entire week. I’m so lucky to get to play with such great musicians and to have a following of such wonderful and supportive people. Thanks for filling the house!
For those of you who couldn’t make it, here are some photos tagged on facebook/twitter from last night. Enjoy!
photo by Meg Boberg
photo by Meg Boberg
Photo by Ellie Krysl
Photo by Katie DeSplinter
[PHOTO] Me jamming in my place before tonight’s show at The Mint?
Anyone interested in a [PHOTO] of me jamming in my place before tonight’s show at The Mint?
I’m at Mile 90 in a 100 Mile Race
I’m going to be straight forward here. This has not been my week. A combination of being tired from travel and tired from crewing, my defenses have been down lately which have left me vulnerable to getting stuck in a pretty negative place. I’ve learned this week that Scott and I are going to need to do some serious fund raising if there’s any hope of this record getting done. Fund raising to the tune of $10,000+, which is overwhelming enough to keep me hiding in bed with the covers pulled over my head. Logically I know that I will find a way to see this record through and I’ll find people who really want to help me, but because of my state of mind going into this week, I really took the entire event as a personal blow from the universe to me.
How vain of me to even think that, really. That the universe specifically wants me to have love and passion for something but then at the same time seems to throw hurdle after hurdle at me. I know that the music business is tough, but it’s hardly a choice I have rather than the one thing that I feel like I’m on the planet to do. It chose me. Many days I wish I could be satisfied being something more attainable, because it seems I break my own heart just as often as I feel fulfilled. But really, there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing because…. well, I don’t actually have a choice.
I spent most of yesterday brainstorming (in between my fits of anger aimed at whatever higher power was obviously out to get me I have a lot of good ideas of ways to go about raising money over the next 6 weeks. I know the next steps I will be taking. I know I am a hard worker, I won’t let this completely flatten my momentum even though that’s how I feel right now. I do have things I can do. This is an “action” moment – a moment where the ball is in my court and I can make a difference when it comes to what comes next. The thing is, is that I’m just too tired. I feel like I generally attempt to see the positive light in most things. I try to be a compassionate person, I try and stay optimistic because I really do believe that it comes back to you, but right now I just feel like a well that has been completely tapped of it’s resources.
In the ultra-running world, I would say that it feels like I just finished climbing a mountain. I spent all day climbing this mountain and I’m at the top only to find another mountain (thanks for the reference, Toby). It feels like the low points of a hundred miler. It feels like I’m at mile 90, I know the things I have to do to finish and I know I CAN do those things, I’m just feeling the fatigue of the miles I’ve already covered and every step forward takes 100% of my concentration and energy.
This morning I managed to get my pouting self out of bed and out to the weekly Coyote trail run. I walked up the Westridge fire road with Jimmy, Adam and Malcolm. Malcolm is Adam’s English Setter, and is what we consider the closest thing we have to a hazing ritual in the Coyotes. Malcolm is by far, the fastest Coyote. We have what we call the “Malcolm Challenge” where one brave soul runs Malcolm all the way up Westridge fire road, and even more challenging, all the way down on the single track. Once, we even strapped cameras to the runner and the dog to document the journey.
Watch out Usain Bolt!
The four of us hiked along as I shared some personal details of my current disposition on my life and career. When we had hiked and talked our way up the fire road a ways before we crossed over onto the single track where Jimmy handed me Malcolm and told me it was time to run.
Not exactly what I wanted to hear. I still felt like questioning the universe and it was much easier to hike and vent than it was to run Malcolm down the mountain, even if it was only halfway down. I struggled to keep up with him, even though he was still practically walking some of the bits. Nervous about my recently sprained ankle, I had to focus all my energy on not landing funny on my left foot as I was jerked awkwardly down the mountain.
The entire time, I heard the message loud and clear, when I hit a bump in the road, I amazingly DO have what I need to move forward. Ultra marathons are a series of highs and lows. The key is figuring out how to quickly rebound from the lows (paraphrase – Jimmy this morning). This is why I run. I’m not an impressive athlete by any means. I just happen to be able to run for a long time, and I’m attracted to that because I feel understood by trail running in a way that I feel understood by music. I’m definitely at a low point, but that means that this is the part before it gets better.
:(
Days like this make me wish I had aspired to be something more attainable.
Be back tomorrow folks!
Sorry for not having an update for you yesterday! I’m on my way back to Los Angeles right now and will be back to regular updates tomorrow!
In the mean time, you should totally check Peter Simon! He’s a great singer/songwriter from Baton Rouge and his music will make you want to spread it like a wildfire. He rocks!
Check out his Facebook page here,
John Mayer Gives a Little Bit of Bad Advice…
I will be quick to admit that back in 2004, I too was a Berklee student lining up to see John Mayer give a clinic at my school. I loved the clinic. I thought he was funny and intelligent and had a lot of good advice. Not to mention, that’s when I learned that he can actually really play the guitar! However, after reading this blog re-cap from Mayer’s recent visit to Berklee, I was amazed at his advice to students to “manage the temptation to publish yourself.” Duh – I’m a blogger, twitterer, facebooker, redditer, stumbler, and on and on and on, so obviously I come across as bias, but that doesn’t mean that knowing what you are doing with social media isn’t an extremely valuable tool. I’ll put it to you this way, when I tweet, facebook, send out newsletters, etc., people come to my shows. If I do not, I will be lucky to meet the minimum requirement at the door.
While I agree that you should give attention to your craft and strive to be an artist worth listening to, you should absolutely keep up on social media and implement it. Build your followers NOW so when you do have something to promote, there will be someone there to hear you! Yes – it only takes 30 seconds to create a tweet, but if John Mayer is implying that promotion takes 30 seconds, then the students who took his words to heart at that clinic will have no one there to hear them when they DO have something to say.
“Good music is it’s own promotion” – John Mayer Not quite… Good music can spread, but as we’ve seen, there is plenty of bad music that spreads faster. Learn their techniques. Don’t let the fact that they made use of social media while you made use of your….. good musicianship… be an excuse for them being 100x more popular than you. You have access to the very same tools!! If you’re serious about doing music professionally, then don’t believe in fairy tales. Just because you’re good does not mean your music will catch on.
If you are plugged into the current music scene, if you’re trying to make a living doing music, or if you’re not John Mayer, then you probably already understand that not only are digital media methods extremely effective, they take a little while to build properly. I have really delayed having to depend on social media as an artist, hoping that my music was just good enough to draw people out. The truth is that NO ONE will come hear your music if they don’t know about you, and the way people find out who you are is the internet. I’ve done a lot of social media professionally, but I’ve really waited to use it for my own career because I really wanted the music to be enough. Now, even with the professional level skills I have with marketing, I am having to move very quickly to catch up.
Not everyone is John Mayer. We don’t have major labels paying the radio stations to play our songs (whether they’re good or not). The internet is the new forum for music and if you aren’t embracing it you’ll be left behind. Except you, John Mayer. You’ll be fine.
All that being said, I’m re-doing my facebook fan page!! Like me? ;) ;)
Click here to read the article and my response to it -
What a Weekend!!
First of all, for those of you who didn’t see my post earlier today, I booked a show in Los Angeles for the end of the month with my band! If you’re in town, come out to The Mint and say hello!
This weekend has been quite extraordinary. For starters, I had a photo shoot with Me in my Place, a photo blog that features women in their homes. It’s actually quite sexy and I never imagined I would have the balls to do something like this, but it turns out that I do, because I did. Check out their blog, just do so in the comfort of your own home because some of the site is not safe for work.
The entire experience was incredibly positive. Just because I run 100 miles at a time does not mean that I am immune to body image hangups. I consider myself to be a confident young woman, but truly, I’m actually quite conservative. Conservative. That’s a word I wouldn’t normally tag myself as, but during my conversation with Scott yesterday about the image I project as an artist, the word “conservative” came up a few times. I guess I like being classy and respected, but truly, my own lack of a healthy body image has prevented me from putting myself out there on stage in a lot of ways and this is translated as being conservative. This wasn’t something I was conscious of until after I finished the photo shoot on Saturday. I spent a good 20 minutes laying on the floor of my living room feeling so invigorated! I had spent 3 hours that morning being told how beautiful I was and encouraged to let my sex appeal show its shy little face. During the shoot I got to see some of the photos and I was in disbelief that the girl in display was ME! It was so sexy, but without being gross or perverted. I felt rejuvenated. By the end of the shoot I was feeling so empowered. I felt like I could take over the world. And really, the feeling has been lasting ever since. I had no idea what I have been keeping to myself.
I started yesterday morning off at the beach before I had a recording session with Scott. We’re working on a ton of background vocal parts for “Pretend” right now. Scott has been working extremely hard on the production of this tune, and believe me, it is worth it. This song is really starting to merge with the rest of the songs we have produced. It seems that Scott and I have been able to bring more energy into the studio lately. We both have had a lot of activity in our lives lately that has caused us both to treat our time together as something we know we should be doing, but in reality neither of us had much of the emotional or physical energy to be working. Now we’re acting more as co-creators again, having fun and getting a lot done. I’m really excited for all of YOU to hear these new tunes!!
Best way to warm up for a day in a dark recording studio - spend an hour playing on the beach!
Scott listening back to the background tracks we worked on yesterday
Last night I played at Hotel Cafe with Nina Storey. We’ve played there a million times, but it’s always nice. Because it’s sort of our “go to” venue, it feels like home and I never feel like I have to think about the gig too much. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t think I played very well last night. I’m not sure what played into that exactly, but I’ll tell you one thing, it didn’t matter one bit. Nina was amazing. The crowd loved her and I think she had a great show. Besides, with her on stage, I don’t think anyone is noticing the handful of times I wasn’t quite playing 100%.
After the show, Toby and Nabeel from White Lights came over for dinner. Nabeel did a Tarot card reading for me. I asked what was holding me back in moving forward with my career. The cards gave me a vocabulary of some interesting things that I found very relevant to me right now, especially after the shoot with Me in my Place the day before. It’s kind of cool to use Tarot as a tool in helping yourself translate what control your emotions and environment have over you and how the way you perceive those two things impacts your actions. The good news is that the Tarot cards suggest that I am in a good head space to be moving forward and taking action now and I am surrounded with people who are going to lift me up. Sounds pretty good to me!
Nabeel gave me a Tarot card reading last night
Toby in my kitchen!
Tomorrow I’m off to Louisiana! I’m so excited to come and play at The Haven Gallery/Listening Room!
Keep and eye out for more updates/videos/pictures throughout the week!
New Show Announced! Katelyn Benton at The Mint!
WOOOO! Swanky awesome venue! So excited to play here with my band! Mark your calendars now!!
Live Performance of Impossible Love
Hey Everyone -
I got some fan footage from Friday’ night’s show at Molly Malone’s in Los Angeles. Here is the live footage of “Impossible Love”. Enjoy!
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And in case you haven’t seen it, here’s the official music video!
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Thanks Molly Malone’s!!!
Thanks to everyone who made it out last night. For those who couldn’t make it, here’s a picture!
Photo by Kevin Chan
I’ve done SO MANY PULL-UPs!
Y’all. I am officially able to do a pull-up. I do one every time I walk by the pull-up bar! It took about 10 days of trying, starting with me not even able to get off the ground. Now I can really do one! I do 4-10 every day (but not in a row). I’ve done so many lately that I actually hurt myself this past weekend from doing too many. Now I have to take a few days off from pull-ups to let my muscles recover. You hear that? I’ve done so many pull-ups that my muscles exploded.
I’ve spent the last 2 days giving my resume a serious facelift and attempting to look for actual paying work as a musician. It seems so silly to be as qualified as I am and to be struggling so much to find work as a singer in Los Angeles. I know that the hard part is getting in the door, but for crying out loud, it’s time. I’m psyched to have the opportunity that I do to be working with Scott and putting out this record, but I also need to pursue other avenues of income and I really don’t like straying from music. As you all know, I’ve had my share of crappy jobs. I’ve paid my dues with the best of them, but I will not justify my hard work and talent being unseen because I’m not doing everything I possibly can, and if I’m not doing everything, I’m not doing enough.
Remember this job? FML
Anyway – I noticed on the Berklee alumni page that Cirque du Soleil will be auditioning singers in LA later this year. I have no idea what they’re looking for but I’ll definitely audition, because, why not?
This Friday is my first show with my new band. We’re headlining at Molly Malone’s, which makes me very happy. I love Molly’s and I love playing last. Molly’s doesn’t have the most ideal green room. When you’re playing, often times you can hear the band playing after you arriving and loading in gear right behind you. It’s kind of lame, but I won’t have to worry about that this time.
Summer running has been interesting for me. I find I have very little desire to run when it’s sunny out. It’s not even that it’s all that hot yet in West LA. I just prefer to run in the shade of the marine layer first thing in the morning, and when I don’t get out first thing in the morning, I find I probably won’t go run at all. So – this morning I made sure to get a run to the beach and back before breakfast. Success – I feel great and beat the sun! I’m beginning to toy with the idea of another ultramarathon later this year…. which one, which one….
Off to go promote the heck out of my show at Molly Malone’s this Friday. Are you in LA? You should come? If you mention my blog I’ll give you a discount on your CD!
Cool Press Release!
I’m traveling to Baton Rouge in a few weeks to play at the Haven Gallery/Listening Room. They sent out this press release yesterday which is pretty cool!
Back from Colorado!
I’m sorry! I know it’s been over a week since my last update. Last Wednesday night Max and I drove to Colorado. The trip was a non-stop blur of sorting, packing, moving, driving, and a show in there somewhere too.
My Mom is moving and because of this, it was time for me to go through my entire bedroom and figure out what I was keeping, storing, giving away, or trashing. The process of going through all of this stuff was overwhelming to me. I saved EVERYTHING as a kid. I swear, it’s amazing I’m not a hoarder as an adult because I definitely was one as a kid. I’ve always held on to everything – knick knacks, notes, toys, costume jewelry, stuffed animals, magazines, books, folders, you name it. As a kid I just felt an emotional attachment to everything. As an adult, I’m beginning to understand why. I’ve always had a very vivid memory. I have one of those memories where if you say “remember the time we went and saw Titanic” I not only would remember seeing it with you, I’d remember where, what day of the week it was, what we did after, what I did the day before, what I ate, what YOU ate, etc. It’s weird and effortless. Going through my bedroom was very strange. Anything could trigger these memories. I picked up a cheap crappy hair clip and remembered buying it, who I was with, where we were, etc. I have memories attached to just about everything I own. I threw out at least 12 trash bags full of stuff and gave away another dozen boxes of stuff. I still have about 20 boxes I put in storage too! Most of those boxes have photos, art projects, books, and special things of mine that I want to pass along to my kids, but in one of those boxes is just a bunch of shit I didn’t have the heart to get rid of because they triggered such strong memories. I kept of box of lip glosses because the smells brought me back to a specific age or moment. It’s a window into my childhood and adolescence that I wasn’t ready to close completely.
Nickelodeon Magazine! Of course I kept them....
I came across this while in Boulder. It seemed amazingly relevant to the weekend I was having.
While I was in Colorado I played a show at The Laughing Goat in Boulder. I love Boulder. When we first moved to Colorado we lived in Nywot, which is just outside of Boulder. I have infinite memories from my childhood that take place in that wonderful sweet little town. If I end up there eventually, don’t be surprised. It has all the beauty of a small town by the mountains but with the resources of a city and a community based off of a love for the outdoors and adventure. If that doesn’t sound like heaven on earth I don’t know what is. But anyway – back to the show! I’ve played here before and have really enjoyed this small, intimate venue that’s base is a coffee shop, but is completely committed to art. They bring down the lights and put out candles for the performances and offer food and drinks in addition to just coffee and free wifi. They also hand around a tip jar during the show instead of charging a cover which is cool. That way, people who aren’t there to specifically see you can still passively watch and hear you and buy your CD or tip you if they like. Finding places with a built in community is a huge plus. The Laughing Goat is exactly that, plus, the staff is really friendly.
Also playing that night were The Constant Tourists. They have a tap dancer instead of a drummer, which is pretty neat. We talked briefly after the show about rallying together for a show at The Walnut Room next time I’m in town. Sounds like fun! CO fans, keep and eye on the tour page…
The drive back to LA felt long. We drove during the day time instead of at night, putting us in 110 degree weather in Nevada. YUCK. We had to slow down and turn the air down to keep the engine from getting too hot. Did I mention we had a live animal in the car for those 18 hours? Thomas, my wonderful, loving, sweet, curious, obnoxious kitty has moved back to LA. He had to find a home with my Mom for the past 2 years since I didn’t have a proper place to live for a while. Anyway, Thomas is extremely happy to be reunited with us. I’ve spent the last few days unpacking and cleaning. Our apartment actually looks like we live in it now! Amazing! We are in desperate need of art, but aside from that the place is pretty much done!
Thomas mrow.
Today I’m contacting LA magazines and newspapers in the hopes that someone will come out to my show at Molly Malone’s on July 1st to do a review! Time to get some new press!
First Rehearsal
Last night I got together with Scott, Ryan Franks, and Chris McKinley for our first rehearsal as a band. We’re getting together a few times before we have one last run through with Eric Valentine (our drummer for the Molly’s show). For a first rehearsal, I was pretty happy about it. It’s difficult to really know how things are sounding, but my players are great and from what I can hear from all the way behind the piano, it’s going to be a great set.
Photo Ryan Franks took from his spot in the live room. Scott on bass, Chris' nose and music in the foreground.
New songs for all of your ears!
Bass player, producer, co-writer, friend - Scott. I'd be lost if not for him.
Chris McKinley and Ryan Franks - both super talented and super nice. Come see them play with me at Molly Malone's on July 1st!
Spotted this gem at Scott's last night. Neat-O!
I’m leaving for CO in about an hour. Hopefully I’ll be there not too long after lunchtime tomorrow. Wish Max and I luck driving! It’s a beautiful drive. If you have never driven across Utah, I recommend you do someday!
I’ll leave you with a short video clip taken from my piano last night. Just a sneak peek of what we’re working on, and when I say peek, I really mean peek. You can’t see much
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I know, I know, I know…
I was doing SO GOOD at updating everyday until the weekend hit! Mostly, I haven’t been doing much of anything exciting to report except that I DID do my FIRST PULL-UP 2 days ago! I did 2 pull-ups in one evening! I haven’t been able to do one since, but I think it’s progress nevertheless!
Last night Scott called to talk about how the record is shaping up. He’s been working vigorously to cut the drum tracks we recorded with Eric. I’m very pleased with how everything is sounding and I can’t wait to hear the production that Scott has in mind for these songs. In producing the first two songs we established a pretty high bar production wise for the rest of the record to live up to, but we can do it. The only part of Scott and I’s conversation last night that I found troubling is that he wants us to consider dropping “Somebody Else” from the record. “Somebody Else” is a songwriter’s song. I’ve been writing everything on this CD with t.v./movie/commercial placement in mind. Meaning the vibe has come first, hook 2nd, overall lyrical songwriting 3rd. Somebody Else has all of these. I feel like it’s a song on the record to fill the need for me to have a song that my songwriting peers and critics can be proud of. It’s a song I could maybe enter into a songwriting contest. It’s dreamy and dark and thought provoking, beautiful, and clever. There is no question that both Scott and I LOVE this song. The problem is that we can’t think of a way to produce it that will be cohesive with the rest of the album. That being said, it is a major favorite at shows and I think having it on the album will help me sell more records. It’s a troubling position we’re in. Either way, Scott has asked me to write another ballad. I haven’t been letting myself really write ballads for the last 6 months because I’ve been trying to write mostly upbeat material. I’m excited to write some ballads over the next couple of weeks, but sad that one of them might replace “Somebody Else”. These are problems I am grateful to have. I am so lucky to be doing what I love.
Progress!
Today Scott sent me the newly cut drum tracks that Eric played for us last month. I think we’re both officially re-fired-up about this project. SO EXCITED to be working and making progress again!!
By the way, Thursday’s writing efforts DID turn into a song. Maybe you’ll hear it soon….
The Problem with Boycotting Plan B’s
Do you ever wake up in the middle of worrying about money? It’s such a DUMB way to start the day.
This morning Max and I went to play Smash Ball as soon as we got up, and the entire time I was thinking how I have no idea how I’m going to fund this next month. We’re taking a trip to Colorado to get a bunch of our belongings out of my Mom’s house, pick up our cat, and I have a show to play. It should only be about a 6 day trip because we can’t really afford to be gone much longer. Realistically, there are plenty of times where we both go 6 days without getting work, but for some reason being on a trip and definitely knowing that those 6 days are not going to be very profitable, it stresses me out. It’s a dumb thing to worry about so I’m trying to let it go. They’re only bills if you pay the right? Otherwise it’s just mail :-/
I keep thinking how amazing it would be if Scott and I got something liscenced now. I’m trying not to hold my breath, because at some point it will start to happen and then it will just be the way I make money. Still, I can’t help thinking if someone told me that they wanted to use one of our songs and all of the sudden I had enough cash at hand to NOT stress out about something as simple as affording groceries at the end of the month, WOW what a life upgrade that would be! The truth is, my financial situation is quite entertaining. I can go from being as rich as I’ve ever been to being as poor as I’ve ever been in a matter of weeks. This is the case with most 20-somethings without a lot of income or without steady income. A lot of my friends are in the same boat. There’s an out of town wedding I really want to attend at the end of the Summer, but it’s impossible for me to plan for it because at the end of the day, there’s no extra money yet. The thought of being able to plan for a trip or a vacation BLOWS MY MIND. I don’t know how anyone does it. I used to be able to do it, I suppose, back when I had a real job there for a minute at PreSonus. I was making enough to comfortably support myself in a 3 bedroom place w/o roommates and I had money for the fun stuff too. The problem is that I was so unhappy in that life that it didn’t mean anything. I guess I learned early that money isn’t everything, and now I’m learning that some money would be nice
MAN, it’s going to feel good when music becomes a regular paycheck. I’m not sure I could ask for much more in life.
Sound check at The Music Box in Los Angeles - Nina Storey show. Photo by Ryan Franks
Popsicle Peas!
I’m spending the entire day today writing, networking, updating my website, sending out a newsletter, and staring at the Orange Tree outside my window that refuses to produce a single edible orange. I’m dealing with a small case of writer’s block, which, as my former songwriting teacher Pat Pattison once said, “Your writer’s block is only as big as the space between you and the piano.” Which is true. I should change locations and see if the black and whiteness of the keys inspire something.
Remnants of an ultra-running songwriter
Don't let it fool you. Those oranges are more sour than a Warhead!
In the meantime, I’ll share with you one of my favorite Summer snacks. It’s great for those afternoons that you should be writing songs but instead you’re taking pictures of peas!
Step 1: Buy frozen peas
Step 2: Eat dem peas!! Frozen!!
Popsicle Peas!
The Month of May – Adventures of Being a Party Princess
Tomorrow is the last day of May, which means June is practically here which means in my book, it is Summer.
This morning Max and I got up early to go play Smash Ball at the beach, something we’ve been doing pretty regularly since we moved into our totally awesome apartment. That’s right, I’m no longer living in someone’s dining room. It’s been a year since I’ve put my official race training on the back burner for the sake of my new record, so finding ways to play outside as much as possible has been a crucial element of my sanity. Lucky for me, I live at the beach, so there is unlimited access to butt-toning sand playtime.
Playing smash ball, especially if you suck and have to run everywhere to get the ball, is a GREAT workout.
May was a big month for me. I kicked off May with running the Leona Divide 50 miler, which is my only race this year due to recording. Truly, I thought I had no business being out there, but apparently my body just remembers how to run ultra’s and I REALLY enjoyed that run. I ran my 2nd fastest 50 miler that day with a time of 11:57, my fastest being 9:02 at American River. The day after Leona Divide I was up at 5am. It was MOVING DAY and it felt like Christmas for me! For a year I have been existing in a dining room of a 1 bedroom apartment with at least 2-3 other people. When I first moved in, it was an upgrade from the sofa I had been sleeping on for 7 months, but by the time I moved out, I was sharing a twin bed with someone else and I was losing my sanity. I didn’t enjoy being home anymore. I wanted s p a c e to rest my eyes, a sofa to stretch out on, a big open floor not covered with things that didn’t belong to me, a kitchen filled with my pots and pans, a bedroom with four real walls and a door that shut, and that’s exactly what I got. This new apartment is a serious life upgrade and I couldn’t be happier about it.
My throne. The kitchen is my new official work space. I love it.
My kitchen is bigger than my entire living space at my old place!! This is AMAZING.
Chalk board paint is pretty much the best.
At the end of the first week in the new apartment, I had my first show of the Summer at Genghis Cohen. I love this venue. It is quirky and small and intimate and charming and they are always so friendly to me here. The show had a great turn out. I thought my performance was decent. I felt tired I think from all of the activity of the preceding week, but lucky for me, no one seemed to notice that I was a little off my game. I drew in enough people to get paid decently, though Genghis Cohen isn’t the best at collecting from the door. Every show I’ve ever played there I’ve had people tell me that they didn’t pay to get in or that the folks collecting money didn’t ask them who they were there to see, thus, I don’t get paid for those patrons. Most shows, the head count I take from stage and the one they give me when they pay me are different numbers. I’m going to assume it’s because I’m so furiously popular that the rush at the door is too much for them to handle everyone I also played for over an hour and got to hang out with my friends and fans after the show. It was a great night – if you came out, thanks!!
Picture that friend Dominic Grossman took during the Genghis Cohen show on 5/13
Since music doesn’t exactly pay me enough to pay my rent (yet), I’ve had to get creative with making more money now that I have… like… a real place with responsibilities and electricity I want to keep on. I have been working on t.v. shows, but since almost everything is on hiatus until July, work has been really hard to find. My good friend and fellow ultra-runner, Summer, has been casting me to work on Hawthorne just about every week, which has been tremendously helpful, though still isn’t quite enough to get by on. This past month I haven’t turned down a single opportunity to work and the result has been a full wallet and an exhausted Katelyn. One way I tried to earn extra money this month is being a character at children’s birthday parties. Summer hooked me up with this job as well. She used to do it when she first moved out here and said it was good money and a lot of fun. Both of these things are true – it was pretty good money and it was a lot of fun!
I made a GREAT Rapunzel
Balloon animals! So much fun!
However, the driving got to me pretty quickly. I would be driving from Pasadena to Long Beach to the valley all in one day, sucking my gas tank dry and leaving me sweating in a my princess costume while rushing from place to place. Also, they don’t prepare you for the fact that you probably won’t get a chance to pee for 5 hours. This alone was not enough to get me to quit, but when I realized that the costumes weren’t being washed (omg, the smell was horrendous), and that the toys and magic tricks weren’t being replinshed, like, ever, I started to feel like a fool. I would arrive in a torn, stained, smelly costume with a balloon pump that didn’t work (actually had to run and get my own when I realized my boss packed one for me that didn’t work at all), not enough balloons to survive a day of parties, and 3 magic tricks, one of which didn’t work anymore. I felt like even though the company made over half of the money from each party, none of that was going towards cleaning costumes, replacing tools and toys and thus, kind of made me look unprofessional. Also, for some reason, after my 10 minute lesson on face painting (practicing with a pencil on paper) I some how wasn’t as prepared as I thought to draw artful sketches onto a squirming 3 year-old’s face with paint. When I tried to draw a horse it ended up looking like a glittery spider. I am NOT a visual artist. It was embarrassing actually. Max made a joke that I took way to personally when I was goofing around in one of the costumes and he said “You went to college!!” It destoyed me. I shut myself into the bedroom for an hour trying to sort out what the hell I was feeling.
FML
The breaking point for me was when I showed up at a party in a park for a little girl named Jade. The directions were to look for a party by the sandbox. There were 6 parties in the park. None of the ones by the sandbox had ordered a pink-haired clown. I did eventually find the party on the other side of the park, but it wasn’t for Jade, it was for Jada, and they were insulted that I got the name wrong. Jada was 3 and had absolutely no interest in a clown that only spoke English, couldn’t blow up a balloon, and smelled like dirty socks. The following party was in a part of town that a 24-year-old girl in a costume as NO business being in. It made me feel like the company didn’t research where the parties were and thus didn’t have any interest in my well-being. I spent about 20 minutes just pulling myself together so I wouldn’t be this poor, pathetic, crying clown the rest of the day. I ended that weekend on an up note with parties that LOVED me, but in general, the job wasn’t for me. I could deal with the driving I think, but definitely not with the lack of care with the costumes and supplies. The job should be fun, not degrading.
Nothing says "I have self-respect and a reliable business" like this fine getup. You're all lucky I can't take a picture of the smell.
Held together with safety pins.....
We'll just call this "ventilation"
May finished up with pacing Summer (three mentions in one blog entry!) at the Nanny Goat 24 Hour Run. For those of you unfamiliar with this sort of thing, it is a run that goes for 24 hours. You run a mile loop over and over and basically run as far as you can in 1 day. Summer wanted to run the 100 mile option, which meant she needed to get to 86 miles by 24 hours in. My job was to get her through the night and into the next day, which is typically the hardest part of any hundred miler. You feel like a crazy person at about 4am during a hundred miler. Summer did amazingly well. We ran miles 63-86 together, getting her to 86 miles by about 6am, 2 hours to spare before the cutoff. She then continued on to finish her 100 miles with a PR of about 3 hours. Totally badass. She’s a rock star. I, on the other hand, was sore and exhausted after my measly 23 miles and had to smack myself the entire drive home to stay awake. For a rock star I am terrible at staying up late/all night. However, I am really good at sleeping all day, which is what yesterday was when I got home from the race.
Me (background) while pacing Summer (foreground) at Nanny Goat's this weekend.
Here’s what you have to look forward to reading about this coming month in my blog – more regular entries, SO MUCH RECORDING, a road trip to Colorado, lots more job searching so I can pay July’s rent, beach trips, trail runs, and videos!!
